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crossroad
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associate's degree or post baccalaureate to improve gpa? 17 Jul 2013, 16:54
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Hi, I was wondering if you folks had some advice. I have somewhat limited work experience and a low ugpa(2.5±). Most of my past work is volunteering: teaching esl, tutoring underprivileged middle school children, etc. I'm currently applying for full-time jobs. Also, I'm considering taking night classes through a continuing studies program at a state school. The school also has a post-bac program. However, most of their information is about their pre-med post bac degree.

Would it be better for me to do the associate's degree or just post baccalaureate work? Would this actually boost my chances? Or should I just focus on beefing up my work history/resume? Finally do b-schools look at certificate/bridge/business essentials programs?

Thank you for any information you might have.
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associate's degree or post baccalaureate to improve gpa? 18 Jul 2013, 22:38
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Well, either of your two suggestions could help, but these are "fixes" for a smaller problem, and I think you might want to concentrate your energies on the bigger problem - that of work experience. Because you CAN get into a fantastic program with a poor GPA, but with weak work experience, things can be tough. Soooo, beefing up your work history should be your number one target. Whether it is advancement into some sort of management position in an ESL program, or a switch over to a more traditional business job, or committing yourself to NGO work, improvements on your work experience will likely pay off more than everything else.
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associate's degree or post baccalaureate to improve gpa? 19 Jul 2013, 01:17
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JonAdmissionado
Well, either of your two suggestions could help, but these are "fixes" for a smaller problem, and I think you might want to concentrate your energies on the bigger problem - that of work experience. Because you CAN get into a fantastic program with a poor GPA, but with weak work experience, things can be tough. Soooo, beefing up your work history should be your number one target. Whether it is advancement into some sort of management position in an ESL program, or a switch over to a more traditional business job, or committing yourself to NGO work, improvements on your work experience will likely pay off more than everything else.
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Thank you very much for your response. If I have an opportunity to take night classes while working full-time, would you recommend that? Or would you recommend focusing more on work experience so that I won't overextend myself?
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associate's degree or post baccalaureate to improve gpa? 22 Jul 2013, 01:57
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JonAdmissionado
Well, either of your two suggestions could help, but these are "fixes" for a smaller problem, and I think you might want to concentrate your energies on the bigger problem - that of work experience. Because you CAN get into a fantastic program with a poor GPA, but with weak work experience, things can be tough. Soooo, beefing up your work history should be your number one target. Whether it is advancement into some sort of management position in an ESL program, or a switch over to a more traditional business job, or committing yourself to NGO work, improvements on your work experience will likely pay off more than everything else.

Thank you very much for your response. If I have an opportunity to take night classes while working full-time, would you recommend that? Or would you recommend focusing more on work experience so that I won't overextend myself?
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Good question, but hard to answer. You know yourself far better than I do. If you can, I'd say, taking two classes a semester could help you. But do take business/math related classes, and make sure you get an A all around. :)