Go to graduate school

I am currently living in Germany under a Fulbright Scholarship. When I have completed this I plan on living at home for a year to help my little sister get off to college and then I am hoping to be accepted into Newcastle University.

I just got into Temple’s Masters of Journalism program! It’s so gratifying to know that all those hours of GRE prep finally paid off!

Although I’m still undecided whether I’ll attend full-time or part-time, I’m thrilled to now have that option… Woo!!

As the senior year of my undergraduate career is quickly approaching, I’m trying to decide whether I want to do the BS/MS program here, or attempt applying at other schools, particularly: UW-Madison, Georgia Tech or Purdue University.

But either way, I know I want to go to graduate school.

I have been procrastinating this for 5 years. I took the GRE immediately after getting my undergrad and scored poorly. I’ve been scared to take it again for fear of failure.

This isn’t the only thing that is stopping me though. I really don’t know what to go to school for. I have so many interests and the thought of settling for something that isn’t right terrifies me.

The cost of going also makes me cringe. With the US’s economy, everything is unsure.

I’m registered for the GREs on February 26th… Ahhhh!! I have actually been studying quite diligently for almost three weeks now. Wellll…. diligently for me, anyway. I usually study the most in the mornings, sitting in Panera with a coffee in hand. I’ve run through the 400 verbal flash cards I’ve made, practiced my arithmetic, pondered WHY arithmetic is even on the exam…

The test is no joke: It’s incredibly $$$. Like, one hundred-forty buck-a-roos. That’s like a new outfit, fantastic shoes, or a weekend getaway expensive. OR it’s like my future expensive. It’s hard to imagine that so much rests upon one little, computerized exam. Don’t they know how much fun I’ll bring to campus (once again, in the case of Temple)? Or that I graduated Summa Cum Laude, hello?! Why do I need to prove myself in the mathematical realm…as if knowing the volume of a sphere will ever float into my everyday life as a journalist. I’m sure the test makers would dispute this, but I’m pretty resolute in my reasoning… most of the things I am currently studying will have no impact on my future/career/life as a whole, whatsoever!

I just need to get a good score. That’s all.

I’ve wanted to get my masters since I started undergrad! But since I’ve lost what I wanted to do in my life, and the people around me have deemed it unnecessary for me to go back (as I work in a family business), I have not gone back to school. I love to learn, and I would love to master in something that I love.

I’ve been so bipolar about applying to graduate schools, but I finally took the great leap and will finish my applications to 6 schools very soon. Which ones will accept me and which one I will choose is another matter entirely!

I don’t know what I want to do. Phd program, optometry or pharmacy. My time is running out and I need to decide now. I will take my gre this summer and the oat or pcat next summer.

And then I need a back-up plan because my gpa is far from perfect.

I’m applying to three or four schools. Two of my applications are due in 25 days. Eek.

This idea has been in the back of my mind since well before graduation last May. I feel like college is to our generation what high school may have been to the Baby Boomers… it’s pretty standard. That being said, I feel like having my graduate degree would really open a lot of doors and allow me to differentiate myself from the pack. I know that right now, many reporters don’t have their graduate degrees, but I have the feeling that in a few years, it will become the norm. Yet, tackling this cumbersome goal seems complicated. I guess the best way to do it would be to break it down. Step One: Where to go?

I’m going to give myself a deadline for researching schools (since this has been on my “to-do” list for weeks, pushed aside for other more pertinent and time-sensitive projects): Sunday. By this Sunday, I will compile a list of potential grad schools and wade through their requirements. Then I can begin phase two… planning for the GREs and applications!