GeoLing

I starting dating my SO while I was getting my MA and she was working on her BA. I tried to be honest and up front about my educational goals and priorities. I was actually in the process of applying to PhDs at the time (none within 1500 miles of where we currently are). I fell head-over-heels for her, so I switched to a different (and better) MA program, then took this last year off of school while I applied to PhD programs again (completely different schools than before, and I'm so glad that I waited those two years to figure out what I really want to do). I drew up a list of programs based on my academic and geographic preferences, then gave her veto power. We don't have much money these days, paying my loans and her tuition, so I ended up only applying to 4 schools in places that we'd both want to live. I'm pretty lucky in that my SO doesn't have any firm plans, and is up for the adventure. My SO finishes her BA in August, and the next day I'm heading to the University of Hawaii at Manoa (unless my Alternate status changes on my Fulbright application to Romania, in which case SO is totally not going to miss out on a year in Transylvania). She needs to do some grad work where she can definitely get in to a program (meaning in our current town) in order to either get the kind of job she wants or get into a grad program at UHM. So, she'll be in Texas for at least a year (hopefully not more!) while I get settled into grad life in Honolulu. Not ideal, but we both support each other and believe that these are investments that will really pay off later in our lives. I've never really tried long distance, and it's going to be a huge adjustment, but it's great hearing that a lot of these situations work out well. Thanks for all the stories!

I had a 2.98 from my BA in Geography at Texas Tech, with about 12 F's on my transcript. I had to drop out for a year and work at a bar to get over some personal issues and realize that I really did want to go to grad school in some branch of the social sciences (I found myself analyzing the dialects of my customers and developing hypotheses about social interaction while I watched working-class alcoholics and hipster alcoholics sitting side-by-side at the bar). I managed to get into an interdisciplinary program at Tech since I hadn't burned all of my bridges in undergrad and it was the easiest Master's program to get into. I had to work my butt off, but I found my academic calling in geolinguistics and transferred into the English MA program. Now I'm an alternate for a Fulbright grant and accepted into a PhD in Linguistics at my dream school (U of Hawaii). Most of that was to tell you that doing well in the nursing classes you have taken will show admissions committees that you are currently capable and motivated. What you have done since your undergraduate will weigh more than what you did years ago when you were less mature. I had to take about a year and a half of graduate classes to figure out how to combine all of my interests into a cohesive research program. Sometimes it just takes us longer to figure out what is going to fulfill us. You might look into some year-long post-bac programs, especially in nursing (since you already have some of the pre-reqs and have done well in them), where you can get a certification without having to complete a full Bachelor's. Also, some technical trades (electrician, etc.) have paid certification programs that might help you the most with your finances. Then, when you're feeling more secure, maybe you can take a class or two at the graduate level and figure out what graduate degree you want to work towards. Also, I would recommend that you only apply to grad programs that are responsive to your inquiries and tend to fund most of their students. I wasted several hundred dollars applying to programs that barely responded to me during the process, only to get flat-out rejected almost immediately. Don't give up on grad school or finding a fulfilling job. A poor track record can always be overcome with some blood, sweat, tears, and time. Best of luck to you!

Has anyone else decided to go to Hawaii? I officially accepted their offer a couple of days ago, and I would love to get in contact with my future cohort members. Feel free to PM me!

I would love to hear about this, too,

Finished my Master's at 27, and I'll be 28 when I (hopefully) begin my PhD. At one point I insisted that I'd be doctorated by the age of 30, but now I'm perfectly comfortable with my new, much more flexible timeline. For those older and younger folks, just remember that youthful enthusiasm and maturity are both assets for any program. My ideal program would have a healthy age spread to ensure some diversity of thought.

Thanks for all the info on neighborhoods, it's really helpful. I've applied for a PhD in Linguistics, and I just had an interview that went well, so I'm wondering about cost of living issues as well. How much is a typical monthly grocery bill for a single student in Honolulu? What about for a couple? Also- would you recommend trying to find a place online before arriving or seeing everything firsthand before making decisions on housing? Thanks for the info!