<p>I can share my experience with applying to grad school this year. I graduated from UCLA with a 3.18 GPA. Going into the application process, I honestly felt that I was going to get rejected by most top tier schools and MAYBE get into a few state schools. The only reason I felt semi confident was because of the years of experience I have in my field of study. I started teaching when I was 21 at a private school and then became a mental health and wellness specialist for a non-profit for two years. It took me a while to feel that I had the necessary skills/knowledge to show the admission community that I was worth taking a shot at. As of now, I have been accepted into NYU’s Guidance and Counseling (Mental Health and Wellness) Masters program and have been waitlisted for a similar program at Harvard. I am still waiting to hear back from Columbia’s Teachers College. Unless Columbia says “YES!!”, then I will be enrolling at NYU. </p>
<p>The craziest part from the application process was the fact that I got rejected by two low ranking grad programs (Sac State and CSULA). The reason behind all of this was because of the vast number of applications they get because they are more affordable and “low ranking”. Now, what I’m trying to say is that it is possible to get into a good program with a lower GPA. The only issue with your GPA is that it is below a 3.0. Many states schools have a lower than 3.0 standard, but the rule of thumb with most schools is that they will not advance your grad application to the appropriate program unless you meet the minimum GPA requirement. Two of my co-workers used to be on the admissions community for 3 different schools and they all said that they, for the most part, will automatically deny you admission if you don’t meet at least the GPA requirement. May I ask which school or schools you want to apply to?</p>