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Afraid I won't get into graduate school
21/f
Here is some of my education background:
I did a high school program where I was able to get two free years of college as a high school student. I graduated with my associates at the age of 18. My advisor shoved most of our college courses during our senior year of high school--I took 27 credit hours in one semester. I barely even graduated. My GPA was knocked down. The remaining two years, I transferred to a university and graduated with a bachelors degree in Psychology. My GPA was also low because I was mentally exhausted from the year before, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I just had a rough year and I struggled to keep my grades up.
The last year of my undergrad studies, I tried my best to pull my grades back up. Making B's one semester and finally A's and B's my last semester pulling my GPA up to a 3.6 that semester and a 3.0 for my overall GPA. I reached the requirements to apply for the graduate school of my choosing.
I want to go into graduate school for counseling but I'm afraid I won't get into it. I may have reached the requirement GPA but because it's not GREAT, they will determine it through my personal statement, my GRE score, and an interview. I am TERRIBLE at standardized tests. I never do well on them. I have been studying and I've been trying to be confident. My test date is a month away and even though the school I want to go to has no required score for the GRE. I want to do well. I want to get into the school.
I know that the explanation I have given are no excuses for my grades and my GPA.
Do you have any advice for me to not get too anxious? Any tricks and tips for the GRE or to get into graduate school? I've been stressing over it and I can't help but keep worrying.
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My advice would be to relax. If you don't know the material by now you won't learn it in a month. This is what I see in people who don't test well. By the time the test rolls around they are mentally fatigued from studying. What I suggest is a light review of those areas that you are less confident in about one to two hours a day.
spend a few minutes of that study time practicing your personal statement and refining it. Ask someone who knows you well to read it to see if you have captures the real you in what you have written. In these statements I do not believe that a life history is as important as what your goals in life are. Such as what attending their program means to you.
I would also believe a letter of recommendation from your undergraduate professor in psychology would help as well. What you might ask for is a letter that tells about you and that you are better than what is reflected in your test scores. There are many like you and me who do not test well. This does not mean we do not know the materiel. For the most part people who do not test well are better practitioner than those who do test well because those that do have never learned to make theory into practice though they have learned how to test well.
Getting yourself all tied up in knots is not going to get you what you want. Take a break, relax do something that is fun for you. A short vacation say a long weekend someplace fun and exciting then back home to light studies of the weaker parts of your courses and practice writing your personal statement.
Look at what I'm suggesting this way. Your undergraduate school was the hard training a prize fighter puts in leading up to the big fight. Getting into graduate school is the prize fight, in the short span leading up to the fight the fighters coach put him and a relaxed training schedule so that he is not over trained when the bell rings. This is what I am recommending for you.
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Pretend that high school doesn't exist at this point. Recruiters will only be interested in your B.A. in Psychology and the GPA out of university and grades which relate to what you need to study for the counselling program.
When you write your personal statement about why you should be a candidate for their program tell them that you were in a high school program where you were expected to do 27 high school credits in a year and earn an university degree.
Mention that you worked your behind off and that your GPA then and right after suffered because of a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder and depression but that you slugged it out and got A's and B's final semester.
If they see you are someone who will stick in there no matter what life throws at them when they interview you and in this statement than you'll have no problem. They can't not take a look at you based on this disclosure.
I'm Canadian so I don't know what a GRE is. However, if you don't require a score nor need to take it if I read correctly than why do it? If I misread and it is needed the best thing to do is study as much as you can and give it your all and don't worry about it. Let it unfold. If you stress you won't do well.
If you are meant to be a counsellor you will be eventually regardless of whether it's in their program or another university. I would also be looking at other schools too. a 3.0 GPA means you're an average student. It's not bad given what you have dealt with health wise.
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