Hello all,
I am looking at transferring from my local CC in PA (Philadelphia suburbs) and am wondering what the best schools are for a mediocre and average GPA. I am interested in going into finance and potentially get an MBA (if it is realistic with my GPA) and want recommendations.
Also, so far I applied for one school, University of Pittsburgh but got rejected from the Pittsburgh campus but got accepted into the Johnstown campus. I am confused and concerned about the next steps are, and appreciate guidance.
My current GPA: 3.04 (There are many Ws (withdrawals) and Fs (Failures) on my transcript, so what is realistic.
My HS GPA: 2.41. During my HS experience, I had many challenges, including emotional challenges in both 11th and 12th grade.
Is there any hope for me, or am I doomed? I am a full-paying student.
I am looking at other schools.
Have you looked at St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia? They have a good business program.
How many credits will you be transferring with? Will you be applying to be a sophomore or a junior?
I’d second the recommendation of St. Joseph’s, as not only do they have a good business program but they have a lot of resources and experience for people who’ve had different types of problems before. I’d also apply to Temple and West Chester as your cc classes should transfer pretty neatly to them and they have popular finance programs. Plus, all of these schools would have the benefit of staying in decently close proximity to home, which is always helpful if any issues arise.
If you’re wanting to go further away, you might want to take a look at Mercyhurst in Erie, too.
Is being in banking realistic with the GPA as it stands? My concern is that I am going to be stuck in a school I hate and entrapped there as a result. This seems weird, but I am applying to over 30 schools. Are there options outside of the Philadelphia metropolitan area? I respect the colleges listed, but another concern is that there is going to be difficulty finding jobs in the field that I want and desire, and am going to be stuck working retail or in the restaurant industry (both of which I did already, and hated). Now, I am avoiding being able to even get a job at the local supermarket (McCaffrey’s) or even at Trader Joe’s. My hope of being successful is avoiding being improved, and it is upsetting. I apologize if I seem arrogant or rude. If you are aware of any resources, like college advisors outside of my CC please send them my way. I spoke with help (psychiatrist) and they ignored my concerns. In fact, they recommended that I end up being a pet groomer at a big-box chain (PetSmart) as the career choice and am upset about that probably being a reality. I respect pet groomers as well. I want to be in upper-middle-class and be like my parents, esteemed positions, that pay well, like a physician (pediatrician) or pharmacist, but in terms of careers relating to the business world, especially investment banking, or another lucrative position in a field that is similar to investment banking or the industries of economics and finance. Also, I believe if I leave the Philadelphia area, which I avoided thriving in, I believe that I am better off, and maybe a new metropolitan area or region of the United States is better than Philadelphia, where I avoid being able to find a job, avoid doing well in both high school and community college. I love the beauty and the convenience of being close to the ocean and the mountains. How am I going to be able to say about emotional problems in an essay? Who is even going to believe it? Everybody is going to ask why I avoided getting an IEP or 504 (because of my parents, which I greatly appreciate them doing) and being singled out which in the end I was anyway. How does everyone but me, be successful and get the jobs and careers that they want, but I get ghosted with responses? It is easy to want to give up, when you live in one of the most expensive zip codes in an expensive region of the country. How does everyone but me thrive and be happy? I want to add if this helps, that I am an only child, with parents that want and request a lot of expectations. How does everybody else make friends and acquaintances? Am I the only one in a situation like this one? Where do I meet people who are similar to me, where I am able to discuss my problems and assets? I am very upset about the reality of going to University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown and am looking for positivity, love, truthfulness, and honesty about what the recommendations for the next steps. I appreciate all of the College Confidential community members. I want happiness in a place, where I am going to thrive and be the truest version of myself, where there is shopping, entertainment, and dining avoiding being in the middle of rural America, especially as it is avoiding getting any better. I apologize for going off on a tangent. I want advice and to be appreciated for once. Any words of encouragement is great.
Physicians, pharmacists, and investment bankers are not upper-middle-class, they’re upper class. The first two also require very high GPAs and test scores to even get the chance to spend lots of money on about 4 more years of grad school where there are more high-stakes tests and lots of work. Many physicians and pharmacists advise people interested in those fields to avoid them if at all possible. Investment banking is another very niche field which is extremely competitive to get into, even for students with super high GPAs from super competitive colleges.
Right now it sounds like you’re aiming for jobs in the top 1% of income and are disappointed that 99% of jobs aren’t going to be at those incomes. That has nothing to do with you, but is just the way the world is.
Additionally, don’t think that you need to get to a high-income job straight from college. Most people will get a low to middle wage job and work and over time they will get promotions or transfer to better paying positions. It’s a gradual process, but very few people will start off earning big bucks.
No matter how much you earn, it’s important to be financially savvy. That means spending less than you earn and trying to save for a rainy day and for your retirement. There are financially savvy people who earn $35k/year and financially unsavvy people who earn $350k/year.
You’ve been very fortunate to be raised by an affluent family and your expectations may be to continue living a life like you currently see your parents living. But I am pretty confident that if you talk to your family, that’s not how they started off…it’s what they’ve worked up to doing.
To be clear, are you avoiding trying to work at a grocery store, or have you applied to work at a grocery story and have been unable to get a position?
There is absolutely no need to discuss emotional problems in an application, whether for a school or for a job.
These next questions do NOT need to be answered here…they are for you to think about. If there was a possibility of getting a 504/IEP, what would it have been for? What type of accommodations and skills would have been a focus? How can you go about learning those skills/strategies/techniques to help you be successful moving forward? What type of accommodations (actual or in selection of a career/workplace environment) do you need to keep in mind when thinking about where you will be successful professionally?
Investment banking is not realistic with your GPA where it stands. There are other types of banking that could be a possibility, particularly if your GPA increases.
Why did you apply to so many? Have you received any other responses?
It’s not everyone but you. There are ways to try to focus on the good things in one’s life and there are ways to try and figure out a plan and then all the baby steps necessary to work toward that plan, but this is a complicated topic. Additionally, if there are any chemical imbalances in one’s body, that can also impact our perceptions. Seeking help from medical professionals is strongly advised with this. If you don’t feel your psychiatrist is a good match for you, you can look for another, but health guidance is very important, particularly if there are any chemical issues at hand.
I am wishing this for you, too.
I first would ask when those W’s and F’s happened. In the last year? If so, I respectfully suggest getting the reasons for them under control, with medical or therapy help. You have plenty of time to go to college and figure out a career. I speak from experience with my own kids having a gamut of challenges and not all following the expected timeline. They are thriving but it took time.
Second, you probably need to register with the Office of Disabilities or Office of Accessible Education or whatever it is called, at your CC or at the next college. You will need professional documentation and possibly testing but accommodations can make a huge difference. Any W’s are wiped, and you can request extra time on assignments etc.
Are you done with CC? Or do you still have one year? If you have time left, maybe put energy into doing everything you can to get that GPA up. You may even be able to do something retroactively about the W’s and F’s, including a medical withdrawal that could wipe the slate clean. With accommodations, a counselor/advisor and maybe a tutor you have a good chance of raising that GPA.
To me, the choice of investment banking seems random. Honestly you could start as a teller and move up to bank manager. But there are all kinds of jobs out there that allow you to rise. I would not plan too prematurely on a career and stay open to possibilities. I would not get fixed on any one career outcome just yet, but I understand the pressure.
I get that you were raised by parents who are in esteemed professions and are an only child. Just understand there are many paths that can work out. A therapist can help you with expectations and pressures.
Most of the young people I know (20’s and early 30’s) are struggling financially, have been affected by the COVID years (is that a factor for you?), and many are loneley. Believe me you are not alone! Some do online dating or even Bumble to find friends. Libraries and churches can be good places to meet people, food coops, volunteering in general.
I hope you can value yourself and understand that this is a hard time of life and you are likely to be happier in a few years. If you are up to it, attend whatever college you get into. Or take a break. OR stay at CC. From what I have seen, things tend to work out over time. Take care!
ps This looks fine and you are already in:
Business and Enterprise | University of Pittsburgh Johnstown | University of Pittsburgh
You can try to do well and get into a good program for MBA. Be aware you don’t necessarily have to major in business, but it seems that would be the best fit for you.
You already have a good option so I am wondering what else is going on. Make sure to get accommodations and someone to support you!
OP- there are lots of people who earn a high income who did not experience the kind of academic success that’s required to become a physician, investment banker, etc. They make it big selling or developing real estate; they work their way up the ladder in the hospitality industry (hotel, cruise, theme park); they are entrepreneurs (starting with a lawnmower and hard work and end up employing hundreds of people to provide comprehensive property management services to office parks, skyscrapers, hospitals).
All of these paths require tenacity, hard work, and the ability to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them.
Right now that opportunity for you is U Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Go, work your tail off. Take the hardest courses you can handle and do well in them.
And then graduate and you’re launched. You can move to Tulsa Oklahoma or St. Paul Minnesota or Cincinnati Ohio where nobody knows you, you can re-invent yourself, and it’s cheaper to live as a young person just starting out than an expensive zip code in Philadelphia.
You aren’t being sentenced to federal prison- you’ve been accepted to a four year institution despite your challenges and bumps along the way. Take the opportunity and run with it. You can handle living in a non-urban environment for two years. Especially since it will motivate you to focus and work hard so you can experience life somewhere with great restaurants (Tulsa is a real foodie town…) or highly educated people (Minneapolis/St. Paul) or whatever it is you are looking for.
Just take the opportunity and excel. That’s your goal. Stop wasting time.
And if your therapist/shrink isn’t helping you, find another one. ASAP. Don’t continue down a path that isn’t working for you.
I am interested in applying to other schools. I am aware that it is expensive with fees for sending an application, but I figure it is worth it, just in case. It is difficult where I am at. Based on recommendations from my parents, I might defer admission for one year. I am trying to really increase my GPA. My shrink is probably going to avoid accepting any withdrawals. I am tempted to start over at another local CC with a different major. People avoid hiring people with a Pitt-Johnstown degree as it shows on a diploma and transcript, and tellers avoid getting paid well. My parents want to avoid starting over, but it might be the best option. Are any of the schools listed realistic? The challenge is going to be how to say to my parents that I want to start over. They are picky. Based off of my experiences, the kids that go there end up working at restaurants and generally avoid working in the finance industry.
You can’t start over…your record is your record. Any classes you’ve taken at a college (community college or 4-year or grad school) follows you. So you can retake the classes you failed or withdrew from, but you still need to show the transcripts that show the Ws and Fs.
College Scorecard is a website done by the federal government that shows various data points about different schools.
Here is the page for U. of Pittsburgh - Johnstown, showing a median salary of $61,744 10 years after starting, whether they completed their degree or not.
For students who earned a degree in finance, the median income was $73,298 (source).
You can look up other schools using the same website of www.collegescorecard.ed.gov.
Tellers may not have the highest salaries, but that is an entry point. If you do well as a teller than you can be promoted to positions with greater responsibility and remuneration. Several banks made this list of companies that have the highest percentage of executives that were promoted from within:
This is a different article that talks about the companies where you can work your way up to 6-figure job earnings:
Everyone needs to start somewhere. Where you start is not necessarily where you will end up. Keep working with your health team and focusing on building the skills you need to be successful. You have an acceptance to Johnstown, and all signs point to it opening doors for you, not closing them.
What other schools did you apply to? In some ways, I don’t understand the impetus for this thread, since you already have an acceptance to a good school (UPItt). I think the main concern is ensuring that the pattern of W’s and F’s doesn’t continue. What are your plans for that?
Do you have any diagnoses (ADHD, major depressive disorder, slow processing, health issue etc.) to submit to the Office of Disabilities to secure support and accommodations? You might also consider tuition refund insurance. If you want to do well, while whatever challenges you are having continue, you have the option of doing part-time college, or a degree completion program, or even something online.
You are required to submit transcripts from all schools attended, no matter where you apply. So your record is what it is (unless you can manage a retroactive withdrawal).
Grads from all kinds of programs work in what you might perceive as lower level jobs when first out of school. I know a CS grad working at Trader Joe’s and a Princeton grad who bartended for a few years. You can make UPitt work and land a good job if you work hard, make connections, volunteer or intern and stay open to opportunities.
Let us know what other schools accept you if you need help deciding, though it sounds like your parents are supportive and you have a psychiatrist, which is good!
ps Your use of the word “avoid” has confused me in places. If you say, for instance, that tellers “avoid” getting paid well, you can just write tellers “don’t” get paid well. T"Avoid" implies that they actively try to avoid getting paid well 
Tuition insurance is void for preexisting conditions.
No not the tuition refund insurance we had. I used it for two kids with preexisting conditions.
We used grad guard (I suspected an issue but the only medical professionals involved at that point were a family member and a psychiatrist who didn’t take insurance).
Last one in this tangent: I know Dewar was one we used. Maybe Allianz for the other one. Or Dewar for both. Can’t remember! It is worthwhile to check the policies beforehand.
I agree with what everyone is saying here about making sure you get as healthy as you can and figure out what lead to some of the W and F at cc. Have you ever taken a career aptitude type test? I took a one credit at my cc when I was a student considering the respiratory therapy program. I didn’t want to start the program and find out I wasn’t really suited for it. The outcome was that I am suited for healthcare among other fields like bookkeeping. I still only have my associates degree and am pretty comfortable. My husband also has an AAS in a different healthcare field. Lots of professions pay a decent living wage and don’t require a bachelor’s degree but usually do require specialized training. Pipe fitters, welders can all pay very well. My friend works in manufacturing and started out by passing a math test right out of high school to get in but studied hard for higher certifications over the years. He makes great money. I hope Pitt works out for you. If you want a college near the shore check out Stockton where you can live in Atlantic City and shuttle to campus.
Does your community college have a transfer agreement with a local 4 yr public college? Temple might be an option for you.
You just want to get the degree. Then you find out what kind of work you like and run with that. The business degree is just a credential that many employers want.
I am considering that, but want to avoid putting everything in one basket. My psychiatrist is a concierge psychiatrist, where we pay out of pocket, but am unsure, if insurance covers it. The psychiatrist is very full of himself and condescending. If I ask for any emotional issues, he might reject it. I believe I might be a person with ADHD/ADD but my parents reject that, and my parents laugh it off, and say that I avoid being hyperactive, but I do get sidetracked easily. It is difficult to be the only one to believe that I might be hyperactive and be a person with ADHD. It is difficult when it is my word versus the words of my psychiatrist and my parents. As mentioned above, my dad is a pediatrician, so maybe he is able to be aware if I actually am a person with ADHD. I am interested in going to a school like Temple, because I want to live in an urban or suburban environment, where I am currently living. My concern is that I am going to be stuck in Johnstown, or any other rural town, and being miserable. What are some other business schools that are recommended. I am interested in Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State-Fisher, Michigan State-Broad, Arizona State, IU-Kelley, SUNY-Buffalo, SUNY-Binghamton, CU-Boulder, Dickinson, Case Western Reserve, Franklin & Marshall, American, Hoftstra, Gettysburg, Goucher, Purdue, Babson, U of SC (South Carolina), Virginia Tech, Fordham-Gabelli, U-Richmond, U-Rochester, Brandeis, Lehigh, Gettysburg, Bucknell, Muhlenberg, Providence College, Temple (if that is one of the only options), U-Hartford, Syracuse, Connecticut College, GWU (DC), Elon, Santa Clara, Rutgers-New Brunswick, and Bowdoin. Yes, I am aware that this is a lot of schools. Please advise on which of these are realistic. I realize that the majority of these schools are unrealistic, but even one other than Pitt-Johnstown is what I want. I want to Temple and Pitt-Johnstown to be last resorts, and I might defer admissions for one year, if my only options are Pitt-Johnstown or Temple. I am already doing part-time college at my CC and my parents really want me to get a job, and with my medications I want to focus on school, and boosting my grades, like I am trying to do. The question is if I take classes to replace the W’s and F’s, are colleges going to accept that? Clearly Pitt avoided accepting that. Is it a good idea to write in my essays about my problems, or is this going to alienate the colleges that are on that list? Are any of the colleges on that list realistic? I respect Temple, but my parents want me to move out, and going to Temple means I am probably to going to continue to live at home and commute, which is another reason why I want to leave the Philadelphia metro area, and the state of Pennsylvania. Just to be aware, I only completed 40 credits at my CC, so I am probably transferring as a sophomore, if I get accepted to any schools on the aforementioned list.
OP- I bet if we knew each other in person we would like each other.
I love your ambition and your self-confidence. I’m concerned about your research skills and your ability to interpret data.
You want urban and you’re looking at Franklin and Marshall? Gettysburg, Muhlenberg?
This is my takeaway from your somewhat rambling and disorganized posts. You want to get out from under your parents (which I totally get). You want a lucrative career, most likely one that requires a college degree. You’ve had some learning challenges which your family and physicians have not taken seriously. You’ve had some bumps in the road with your education.
To me, the answer is staring you in the face. You’ve been admitted to Pitt-Johnstown which is not commutable in any way shape or form from your family home. Then why on EARTH would you defer admissions? Take the acceptance and run. Your family can afford it, and your parents will pay for it.
order the sweatshirt, finish as strong as you can at your community college, and get the heck out of Philadelphia.
You have the rest of your life to live in Hartford, Syracuse, Boston, New Brunswick- any of these places. You can sit at home and stew that your shrink is full of himself, and that your parents don’t understand you, and that you hate living in a rural place and you’re going to be miserable. But here’s the thing- you can’t control your shrink, and you can’t control your parents, but you most definitely can control when and where you are miserable.
Take the Pitt acceptance, learn to be a serious college student who shows up for class, does the reading, aces the quizzes and the finals, get your degree and then get on with your life.
Why would you make your path more complicated than it already is by deferring? And if your true fear is getting “stuck”, guess what- you are stuck right now, you just don’t know it.
You can get unstuck; you can find fun things to do on campus (yes, even in Johnstown) you can get a solid college education (yes, at a branch campus) and you can launch your career. But get to it.
I apologize for the disorganized post. This is just the way I speak and write. I also like your sarcastic tone. I admit I am stuck right now, but just want to explore. Like you said, there is a lot to the world, and want to try, even if it avoids success. This is why I want to avoid taking the easy way out, a la Pitt-Johnstown and want to just even see if I get into any school. As a famous person and former ice hockey player, Wayne Gretzky says, “You miss a 100% of the shots you don’t take” so that is why I am interested in applying to other schools. I mean the only thing is that I am going to be about $2,000 to $3,000, but if that is what desperation calls for, then I am going to accept that and want to be free from rigidity. I was just looking to check if I match on any of the schools I listed in my previous responses. I believe that everyone is best off avoiding being stuck on one school, and maybe I am able to get lucky. Your arrogance and conceited tone is clear.