Re: applying to graduate school after 13 year layoff

"crazyeye" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<Pszgb.60855$E95.31180
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> Hello.  I was hoping someone might be able to steer me in the right
> direction.  I am very interested in going to graduate school but I'm unsure
> as to how to proceed.  Here is my situation:

> I received a BA in 1989.  My grades were mediocre at best, basically because
> I was immature and didn't work at all.  (By mediocre I'm talking a gpa
> around 2.2).  I didn't bother even considering grad school at that point
> because I figured with such lousy grades I wouldn't get in anywhere.  I went
> on then to have a successful career until 1998 when a protracted illness
> resulted in my being permanently disabled.  I have not worked since and
> might not work again.

> It's been 14 years since I graduated and I would really like to go to
> graduate school.  I'm thinking less in terms of for career advancement
> (obviously) and just for intellectual enrichment.  I am confident that I can
> do well as I'm much more mature than I was as a 20-year old.    There is yet
> an additional obstacle:  I have a family and a home so relocating is not an
> option.  I would need to attend a school no more than 60 or so miles from my
> home.

> So my basic question is Do I have any chance at getting into a graduate
> program with such a miserable undergraduate GPA?  My thinking is that since
> so much time has transpired since then that much less emphasis would be
> placed on my undergrad performance, but I don't know if that is accurate or
> not.  Can somebody suggest a way to proceed down this road?  Believe it or
> not there is not a particular vocation that I have in mind as far as
> obtaining an advanced degree goes.  I have so many interests and would be
> excited about many different prospects ranging from philosophy to writing to
> psychology and many others.

I think your best bet at this point is to start contacting schools and
asking them what their entrance requirements are.  In some cases, work
experience can substitute for classroom experience.  You may have to
retake some undergrad classes, not just because of low grades but
because the subject matter may have changed since you graduated.

> Another question:  Do you need to have taken several undergrad courses in a
> particular field in order to study it on the graduate level or can that all
> be attacked once in grad school?

This depends on the school and department in question.  I went to grad
school in CS at UCLA from 1989-92, and was required to take some
undergrad courses there as well.  Since it had been five years since
I'd been an undergrad, I needed the review.

Good luck,
--gregbo
gds at best dot com