What are my chances of getting into a graduate program?

March 5, 2012 11:23 PM

I have an bachelors degree is business but want to get my masters in education. I'm applying to Hunter College's School of Education in NYC. What are my chances if I do not meet the admissions requirements for an undergraduate major in liberal arts or science. This is a link to the admissions requirements page: In general, what are the chances of getting into a graduate program? What do admissions look for when selecting prospective students? Are Hunter's graduate programs for education competitive to get into? Can I lower my chances of getting acceptance if I submit my application too close to the deadline?
posted by flowers103 to education (5 answers total)

Everything about graduate school varies a lot by field and often by institution, so there is no answer to your general questions ("In general, what are the chances of getting into a graduate program? What do admissions look for when selecting prospective students?")

As to your question about a business degree, the only requirement I'm seeing on their page is the requirement for "a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution comparable in standard and content to a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College."

You could just contact their admissions dept directly and ask them about the business degree and submitting your application close to the deadline. They will be able to answer these questions definitively for you.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:39 PM on March 5, 2012

Yeah, I second contacting the admissions office. They usually have someone whose job it is to handle these questions.

I have seen people taking undergrad courses as prereqs for grad level classes, but I don't know if that is something done across the boards or not.
posted by DoubleLune at 2:03 AM on March 6, 2012

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I've known a few people who've come from all various types of backgrounds to go into education. Business undergrad should meet most the requirements-- actually I think a lot of M.Ed programs like business if you're interested in something like Math or Business related courses.

I second what others have been mentioning, give a call/email and find out directly from admissions. Better yet, if you live close and have free time stop in and try to set up a time to sit down with a counselor. Bring your transcripts and they should figure everything out for you in terms of requirements.

Good luck!
posted by melizabeth at 6:58 AM on March 6, 2012

I used to work for a small university that specialized in master's degrees in education. If you have a BA or a BS in any field, you are almost certainly qualified for admission. Now, there may be more competitive candidates than you--particularly people who have done volunteer teaching and tutoring, or who have worked as teacher's aides--but your having a BA or BS in business is not itself a disqualification at all.

If you are intending to focus on teaching in STEM fields at the middle-school/junior high or high school levels, your business degree (presuming you have courses in the relevant math) may even be an advantage. If your plan is to teach elementary or kindergarten, it's neutral.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:28 AM on March 6, 2012

Based on what I know about Hunter (though not about the Ed school specifically), you should definitely call them/meet with someone - if your missing requirements are prereq classes, they may let you take some of them as part of your grad degree.
posted by naoko at 9:35 AM on March 6, 2012