Posts
So this is the first post for my hopefully most active blog. So I have decided that the best thing for me to do right now for my future is to go to graduate school. As of yet no one else in my family has gone to grad school. I will admit that apparently my uncle by marriage has a Masters in some thing or other, but I don't know what that is. Alas, he is also just my uncle by marriage and is likely three times my age so, I don't know how well his experience compares to what mine will be.
If you're thinking about grad school, I suggest that before you get start taking tests and buying preparatory books you figure out what exactly graduate school means. Not until a few weeks ago I considered graduate school to be on par with undergrad, only differing in the exams I had to take in order to get in and having a greater level of specificity in terms of education. Now, however, I realize that grad school is not just that. Or rather, these two differences must not be taken lightly! If you had problems picking the right major for undergrad, then you might want to take more time in thinking about graduate school. There are many things I have to consider now that I am thinking about grad school. These things include, but may not be limited to:
- Where in the USA do I want to spend the next two or three years of my life?
- What is the difference between an MSW, a PhD in Psychology, and a PsyD?
- How can I fund a graduate school education while simultaneously pulling myself out of undergraduate debt?
These are just a few of the things I am thinking about right now. There are a lot of things I have to do in order to get into grad school, and I have about 6 months to get it all together unless I want to take a break (which is something I am not keen on doing). Here's what you should know about my experiences so far so you can understand where I am coming from:
Vampy Went to College
- I will graduate from UNC-CH with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in May '11.
- My GPA is poop.
- I got 72% of the questions right on my diagnostic PSYC GRE exam thing (see resources for more details).
- I have never held a job in the "real" world.
- I have two years of experience as a secretary, one year experience as a retailer, and a cumulative 2.5 years of experience as a writer (I get paid for none of this, however).
- Drug free/alcohol free = brain cells intact
As you may see, I have an interesting set of pluses and minuses.
However does one have secretarial and retailing experience without having had a job?
I hear you cry. College is place where you pay to work, pay to learn how to work, and then cannot find work that will pay you for what you know later down the line unless you have (1) connections or (2) luck and charm. But the third thing we all have that may be the answer to all of our whining:
DETERMINATION!!!
Updates on degree information later in the week! Don't forget to check the bottom of the page for resources and tips!
~Vampy
"If you had problems picking the right major for undergrad, then you might want to take more time in thinking about graduate school."
ReplyDeleteThis, I would disagree with. I had an hard time deciding what I ought to major in, but I - and, I think, most people who had trouble deciding - took a bunch of classes and eventually discovered the ones that called to me. I didn't know who I was in 2007. I have a much better idea in 2010.
"How can I fund a graduate school education while simultaneously pulling myself out of undergraduate debt?"
Unless you do grad school part time and hold down a steady job, you probably can't. However, most good grad schools will pay for you to be there - if they really want you as a student. You can get fellowships and teaching positions to keep grad school debt down, but I don't know if you can do all that and work on killing your undergrad debt. (Though it's probably possible, and more power to you if you can do it!)
I'm also looking to go to grad school, so I'll be keeping up with your blog! I hope to see a post about why you want to go? 'Cause everyone has different reasons.