Raising a GPA / Getting into Grad School?

Question

So this is my dilemma: I did horrible as an undergraduate for the first couple years of my college career. My GPA is below a 2.5, which means I'll never get accepted to grad school unless I do astoundingly well on my GRE exam. Should I get an other B.A. (I would do education) so that I can start from "scratch"? I am currently a teacher, one of the only ones without an M.A., and it makes me feel terrible. Plus, I think it would be better for the future if I get a master's degree. What should I do? I was a crappy student before but I can do so much better now. There is no way I can raise my already crappy GPA unless I take more classes at my alma mater, right? Help.

Answer 1

If you've got a degree, you can't change that GPA now.  What you could do is take a few graduate-level education courses at a nearby university.  You can take them as a non-degree student, and pay by the credit.  If you do well in the courses, you can use that as leverage to apply to a graduate program - their biggest concern will be that you can't handle graduate level work, so show them you can.

Answer 2

You don't have to go back to the same school.  You can just sign up for classes at the school you want to go to without being part of a degree program.  If you do well there, then you can apply to their graduate program, and have a good shot at getting in.

This won't work for an elite school.  I'm afraid you have no shot at them even with a perfect GRE score.  But it could work at your local public university.