Expert: Daniel Mazur - 10/29/2009

Question
hi sir,
i am an immigrant who came to the U.S. some 10+ years ago. Here i did poorly in academics, and it took me 7 years to get a biology BS degree from one of the Universities in California, having switched from school to school and major to major during that time because i was struggling with academic life.
I find no job offers with my BS degree, so now I want to obtain a masters degree in something more useful. I did not like biology, but I always liked and did relatively well in physics and mathematics. Therefore I applied to several California state universities engineering masters program. They have now all rejected me, i think partly because my professors refused to write me recommendation letters.
My undergraduate GPA was only 2.9. With a academic record like this, what are my real chances of getting into a masters or Ph.D. program? Should I look at a second bachelor degree? Also, what is the right age for graduate schools? I am already 28, and if I do a second bachelor degree for 2 years, i would be at least 30 before I can go to a graduate school (!).

Answer
Dear Min,

I think that in your situation it is very much given:
1) poor academic history both in length and in scores
2) only rejections from graduate school
It is not for me to judge, what went wrong and when, but it is clear that only you will have to take the consequences. Your chances of getting to a graduate school are minimal - and yes, the missing letters of recommendation are a big flaw. The letters have value of honor in the academia. It does not matter much, what exactly is written in them. But to move up, you need a couple of former professors, who are willing to vouch for you that you are at least a good student and capable, in their opinion, of passing all that awaits a graduate student. And you can take my word for it that being accepted for a program is among the SMALLEST of the hurdles that await a Master's-degree candidate.

Your missing letters of recommendation send a clear message to the institution that no faculty is willing to put their name forward for you and so, that there is probably something wrong with you. This is, of course not the only criterion, but what do you have to offer? The GPA of 2.9 is in itself not detrimental, but if it took you 7 years to collect it? Professors would understand, if your reason was not having money for tuition, but struggling with the academic life just is not buying any sympathy.

The job situation in the USA is now worse than ever, even graduated Ph.D.'s cannot find jobs. Your problem with biology BS is not because "it's not useful", but because the job market is low. Otherwise a biology BS is more useful than a physics BS. Coming back to the previous subject, though, missing letters of recommendation will kill any job application as well as application for a graduate school study. By the way, the low job market is part of your problem with the graduate applications: in this situation MANY people are returning to school to raise their qualification, so the schools have plenty of students and no economic pressure to accept students, who they don't (based on their applications) believe capable.

So, if you have the money for the tuition, you can go to another undergraduate program. There is no age limit to undergraduate nor graduate programs as far as I know. In the USA the faculty are even expressly forbidden to take into account your age, when evaluating your application. As I have written, there is no field a-priori more useful BS than biology. I am sorry to read that you did not like it and even more sorry to think that you'd had to change your program several times already. This is another sign that changing the program is most likely not going to get you anywhere. Most likely. There is always a hope they say. But your odds, as I see them, are huge.

If I was in your place I would look for any job at all and give academia the painful farewell. There are successful people-businessmen in the world, who have little formal education, yet they are successful. I always advise people to follow what they like and what they are good at, when they ask advice about their academic future. It never works to say "I need a Masters in something that will give me a good chance for a job". I would be pleased to hear about your interest and comparative skill in maths and physics, but I fear you might have discovered this too late. Even if you are good at them indeed and go all the way through another BS, you will be 32 by the end of that curriculum. And then in Physics or Maths you NEED a Master's degree to get any job at all, because a BS in them doesn't give you any specialized and practically useful skills - it is just a prep for a Graduate school. So, add another 3 years at least, perhaps 5 years to that. You will be 35 or older when you get there. Ask yourself: Is it worth it? Isn't it better to just start working in an ordinary job now and stay on the look-out for a job, where my BS in biology will be useful? Isn't it better to earn some letters of recommendation from "ordinary people" in an ordinary job that you'll do well instead of being turned down again and again due to the academic years, where you did poorly?

These are difficult questions to look straight in the face, indeed. But I think you need to, because otherwise you may head into even more disappointment. We have only one life at a time - we use it or we waste it without a chance for a recall...

Good luck to you indeed!
Daniel