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[acetylcholine]

I'm asking for my best friend who lives in a crappy Eastern European country.

My aforementioned friend lives in a crappy Eastern European country.  He wants to go to grad school.  What can he do to maximize his chances of getting in?

Caveats: his GPA is cruddy (probably in the 2.x range) because of, let's see, he's had depression for a fair amount of time, he's had to deal with both parents dying at age 18 and his grandmother, who when she died was living with him (which even if he wasn't particularly close to her had to be traumatic to deal with), about a year ago, and his country has practically no mental health infrastructure (and even if it did, he wouldn't be able to afford it).  He has boatloads of experience, mostly because he's had to get several jobs to support himself along the way.  I KNOW he is not living up to his potential gradewise, partially because I've seen his CV, which details a near-perfect high school GPA and near-perfect scores on the SAT when he took those things back in the Dark Ages, among other things.  I've searched around the internet a bit for resources he can use to help himself, to no avail.

What can he do?

[tuxthepenguin]

Sounds like he is looking for admission with financial assistance. This is just my opinion (I review applications for our not highly ranked graduate program). There's no way we would consider such an applicant. Even in our not highly ranked graduate program we turn away a lot of high quality applicants. Sorry to be negative, and hopefully I'm wrong, but I don't see it happening.

OTOH, if he could enroll in an undergraduate program in the US (shouldn't be difficult to get admission at a school of reasonable quality) for two years, does well, gets good recommendation letters, it's a whole different story.

I review many applications from individuals who are simply not cut out for grad school. A lot of them are unlikely to get admission to any program, definitely not with financial assistance.

[t_r_b]

I agree with Tux: it sounds pretty hopeless. Even if he could get in to grad school, and even if you are correct about his "potential," that poor undergrad record makes me wonder whether he acquired enough mastery of his field to succeed as a grad student. There are plenty of really smart, talented people out there who couldn't hack it in grad school, simply because they lack the necessary background.

Why does this person want to go to grad school? It certainly doesn't sound as if his prior academic experiences indicate a good fit for an academic career.

Also, while I sympathize with his personal struggles, it's kind of like the student who fails to turn in the term paper and then shows up hoping for a passing grade. No matter how good the student's reasons for not writing the paper, the student has not done the minimum work required to pass the class, and therefore cannot pass. Similarly, no matter what your friend's reasons for flaming out as an undergraduate, he has not acquired the academic background (subject knowledge, skill set, etc.) necessary for admission to grad school. Until he can demonstrate to graduate programs that he has acquired the requisite background (and as Tux suggested, a few years of US undergrad coursework, or even a second BA, might be the best way to do that), he's not going to make it.

[larryc]

Could he immigrate first and establish himself professionally in the U.S.?

[lizzy]

I agree that your friend will not get into a grad program with his record, and second Tux and Larry who suggest he do something else either educationally or professionally to establish himself. I know it will be hard to deliver this kind of advice to your friend, but he's better off hearing a hard truth than chasing something that will not work.

[hegemony]

Second B.A.s at our state university take a year.  Many students do them because they've done badly on their first B.A.s, taken a few years out, matured, and want to go to grad school but recognize that their undergrad records aren't strong enough.  The two students I've known who did them both got high GPAs (one 4.0, one 3.8) and went on to good grad schools.

However, that kind of thing requires funding which your friend would unfortunately have to scare up from his own resources.

[bluezebracat]

I have actually helped a friend from a super crappy E.European country get into a top Phd program in his field in the US.  His field is not mine, and I learned in the process that it really, really depends on the field what the prejudices are against a) super crappy E. European country and b) non US BAs in general c) candidate's job experience in non US settings.

His position as an outsider and a critic of SCEEC was actually valued in his field which was in the humanities and valued his political sensitivities.  Also, I should add that his English abilities are *amazing* and that he had a MA in an associated humanities field.

I actually called up depts on his behalf (no reliable cheap phone service from SCEEC) and chatted with chairs to see if his candidacy was even in the realm of possibility before he applied, while selling him as the best most interesting candidate ever.

[untenured]

Thumbs up to you, blue!  Your spot in the academic great beyond is secure.