CBclone

I start up again on the 25th. Five weeks has been a bit...excessive...but the school holds a two-week winter session, primarily of some undergrad courses. It's kind of odd IMO that they do two weeks off, two weeks winter session, and then this week is off again. I'll be working 20 hrs/week as a GA, shadowing the GA for the position that's been offered to me for next year (luckily I only have to observe about 5 hours a week, not the whole 20), doing 3 to 4 hours of field work placement a week, and taking 12 credits. Maybe overload, we'll find out. Last semester was pretty easy for me and I know this one will be a challenge but I think I'm ready for it. Also applying to internships & seasonal jobs for the summer. It's my last "free" summer and I can do what I want -- work to make money, volunteer, take an internship (no-credit) anywhere in the country, travel (if I had money), anything. Next summer (2017) I have to do an official, for-credit, exam-qualifying internship. Here we go!

Now that final grades are in, I did two things in my first semester that I never did in any semester as an undergrad: Attended every single class and got all A's, including an A+ (which I wasn't aware my school awarded). I'm over the top excited about it, as I wasn't sure if I could truly "buckle down" after being out of undergrad for five years and having a very poor undergrad track record. Meanwhile, I've been binge watching Netflix over break. On season 3 of Prison Break right now. I've heard it was a little too drawn out by the time season 4 rolls around, and I can already feel that. But fantastic show regardless.

Took my final exam tonight, now just have two pretty easy days of work and then 5 weeks of freeeeeeeedom! I felt pretty good going into the final, then 2nd guessed a lot of my MC answers (but stuck with my gut on all of them). One essay I nailed, the other is kinda meh. I kept blanking on names of assessments so while I could give descriptions, it seems a little vague without the title IMO. Oh well. It's done. Next semester looks like hell though so I'll just enjoy break for now.

I'm only in the first semester of a 2-year Masters program, but right now it is without a doubt my undergrad institution. My grad school is directly preparing me for my career (I took a few years to work out of undergrad, found what I love, in grad school for that) and has one of the best programs in my field. But I don't really feel "connected" to it like I did my undergrad school. My cohort isn't very close and there's not much of a sense of community among the grad students in my experience so far. I can't really peg why it is; it just seems different. Maybe it's size: My grad school is about 7000 with a little over 6200 undergrad and little less than 700 grad students. My undergrad school (current stats): about 30k undergrad and 5500 grad. The limited on-campus events for grad students that have been held have had awful attendance, maybe because so many commute from other areas. I'd rather spend my Saturdays watching my alma mater play football or basketball on TV than walk a mile down the street and watch my grad school's team play. I do sometimes wish I'd attended one of the bigger schools in my field that have the big population, crazy athletics scene, tons of activities for grad students, more metropolitan areas, but at the end of the day my program is phenomenal and that's what really matters right now.

@haltheincandescent my dad, while not that extreme, also laughs every time he calls and I say "studying/finishing a paper/reading/whatever it is" in response to "what are you doing?" and gets annoyed if he calls while I'm actually out, you know...doing something...and can't answer his call at the moment. "Oh, you went for a bike ride? Spent two days with a friend you haven't seen in years? Went to a football game? Couldn't talk to me during those?" is pretty much what it has become. Well, yeah. Sorry my time for schoolwork doesn't occur when it's convenient for you, when I'm 1,000 miles and a timezone away. Sometimes I *gasp* don't answer while studying either. My parents (divorced, both re-married, so 4 people here) are upset that I don't have $500 (at least) to spend on a way to get home for Christmas when "I have the time available" to do so. I haven't been home for the holidays since 2008, because for the last 6 seasons I've had to work "peak hours" over that stretch. Now that I have 5 weeks off, yes I have time. I don't have money. I have friends 5 hours away offering free places to stay and free ski passes though, which sound mighty fine right about now. Sorry I'm not trying to spend loan money on a vacation. Sigh. On top of that, I told them in August that I would have 5 weeks available for winter break and if they could keep me in the loop on their plans, it would be great. My dad and his wife will be home for Christmas and then in LA (i'm in NY) for the Rose Bowl and my mom & stepdad havent decided anything. I went ahead and made commitments here for 12/20 and 1/3, 1/12, and 1/18, and now it might interfere with plans they haven't even made yet. Double sigh. /vent 13 academic days left, including finals. Finish strong, everyone!

You might be in grad school and/or academia when....

The research methods class I'll be in next year isn't specifically lit review -- I just recall several cohort members who currently in that class working and stressing over their lit reviews for about 3 weeks earlier this semester. I'm actually looking forward to the content and process of the course, even if it may sound daunting and like a ton of work according to the students currently enrolled. The nuts and bolts, from what I've heard: The whole class starts from scratch to determine a research proposal, do lit reviews, go into the field and collect data, and make a formal report that goes into the school's research database. Individual students also do the same for a research topic and proposal of their own choosing, which becomes the beginning of their thesis writing process if they are in the thesis track.

I think this is very field dependent, and I don't know anything about grad programs in Archaeology. In my field, it's more common to do all 3 levels of study at different schools than to have any overlap at all.

Yes, it's crazy to say that I've added to my undergrad debt by 60% in just one year. I had other help paying for undergrad, I don't for grad. I've been pretty stingy with my funds and combined with work next summer, am projecting a lot of what I currently have in the bank to be applied to next year, greatly reducing my need for another big loan. In my field, an ever increasing number of employers and sectors are requiring (or greatly preferring) certification for full time, salaried positions (there's a fair amount of full/part-time seasonal/non-salaried work as well), and many states are even making a push for licensure to practice. There are 3 pathways to certification (academic, and two 'working') that all require the exact same core coursework, with differences being in the number of humanities/social sciences, type of undergrad degree, work experience, etc. It's complicated. If I'd received my undergrad degree in this field, I would have sat for certification upon graduating and we wouldn't be having this conversation, but alas, I didn't even know this field existed until spring of my (1st) senior year. My M.S. program only adds about 1 semester to what is required by the core coursework standards (luckily my B.S. was in a related field, so I had all but one human/social pre-reqs done), so I think it's worth it to get the depth & breadth of knowledge and expand my network (there is an online certificate program available also -- I don't do online learning well, and it seemed isolating). It also opens up the door for future PhD study if I want to go down that road; until now, I've considered this my "terminal" degree and was going to take comp exams and not do a thesis, but I've been kicking around the idea of possibly changing that (I've never done formal research and it's an intimidating prospect, but I also have some research topics of interest and curiosity). My advisor told our class that this year there are only two PhD graduates in our field and lots of open, full-time teaching positions as the field is growing. Those students have the pick of where they want and a good amount of bargaining power. I haven't researched into it much at all, but it's an option and one that I would most likely only take if fully funded. It would be great if I had in-state residency, as it's significantly cheaper, but I don't and like I said, next year it's not a relevant point as I'll only be paying for 1-credit over the entire academic year on top of the 12 my GA position will pay cover. And I'll take 6.8% student loans (w/ a variety of payment plans) over 18%+ CC debt w/ strict repayment options.

I had around 33k undergrad debt, and being out of state for grad school have added the 20.5k fed loan right off the bat for this first year. My GA position pays for 6 IS credits/semester + the OOS vs IS difference for those, but other credits are paid at full OOS cost. This fall I took 8 credits and will take 12 in the spring, so paying full freight for 2 and 6, respectively. I considered taking a year off after spring 2016 to apply for in-state eligibility, but next fall & spring (16-17) I'm only taking 6 & 7, respectively, so really I'll only be paying OOS for the 1-credit spring '17, which is my last semester. And my department chair reached out to me the other day about a GA position for next year, that definitely would not be guaranteed if I took the year off. I'm trying to find 1-2 good jobs for next summer to make a lot of money and take as small of a loan next year as I can manage. School loans will be my only debt when I graduate, which I can deal with when I know tons of people over their heads in high interest credit card debt.

I didn't do a lit review course in undergrad. I suppose schools or programs that require a thesis as an undergrad would require students to take one, but not sure. I'm in a course-based Master's on a non-thesis track option and won't take a research methods course until next year (my 2nd and last year), and it will be a two semester sequence. Students in the thesis track take it during their first year, but otherwise they just make everyone take it to get the experience in case they want to go into research later on.

On a related note....In one of my classes, we have to read the final papers of other students and participate in blackboard discussions based on those papers. It's making me bang my head on my desk and feel bad for the professor who has to assign grades for these. Transverse =/= traverse there/their/they're. Sigh. our/are. Double Sigh. Repeated words, random phrases where you can tell they had an original sentence, decided to change it to something different, and then didnt proofread so you have to read it 10 times to make it make a little bit of sense. Does anyone proofread? One paper not only missed the "most papers are around X" pages statement by "X - 6", it is also missing complete sections out of the requirements. The discussion questions this student posted are actually productive and useful, but the paper...wowzer.

I haven't in my current location, but that's probably because my place was vacant from mid-May (when the last tenant moved out) until i moved in at the end of August. I did however get her "change of address" coupons that the USPS sends out, on top of mine that I received before leaving my old address. Double coupons = score! The place I moved from was a little town that didn't have home delivery of USPS so everyone had to go to the post office, and I got one guy's mail 2 or 3 days a week for the entire 3 years that I had that mailbox. Super annoying. He apparently had that box before me, moved to the town 30 miles away, but some of his mail kept going to my mailing address. Despite the post office putting a big note on my box that said "Mail for CBClone ONLY, no mail for Random Dude" (i could see the back side of my mailbox from the counter), the person putting out the mail continued to give me his mail. And he kept forgetting to notify senders of his new (by 3-years...) address. I feel bad for whoever has that box now.

I GA in an office 20 hours a week and can do a little studying when I don't have work to do, but I'm typically working on my GA project. Actual face to face class time is a little over 4 hrs (for 5 credits) a week between two classes that each meet once in the evening. Plus a 3-credit online course that posts reading/assignments on Tuesdays that are typically due the following Monday, but is otherwise loosely structured time-wise. It took a while to find a system that works but I've given myself a "work schedule" of all my responsibilities that typically breaks down like this, typically with 4 hours of GA time in the middle. Mon & Thurs are class nights. Usually do a bit of reading/catch up on Sundays if I have to, or stay a little longer on campus Tues, Wed, or Friday. I like Saturdays to be school-free when possible. Mondays: 8:30 - 6:00 on campus Tues, Wed, Fri: 8:30 - 4:00 on campus Thurs: 8:30 - 7:00 on campus

First Exam in the books tonight (online). Wish we would've had one or two quizzes in that class to get a feel for instructor's style of questions, but oh well. Did alright; better than I thought I would considering some of the questions made me question everything I'd been studying. Good to get it out of the system.

Just bought a Chromebook, should be here by Friday! I'm excited and hoping it will alleviate some time management stressors and allow me to be more efficient and effective when doing readings and taking notes, both in class and in lecture.

Week 1 was hectic, between having to swap a couple classes, settling into my GA position, and trying to figure out the best times to go to the gym and still be productive (still working on that last one). Made a sheet tonight for each class that lists the due dates and a short description of all "Major" assignments like papers, presentations, midterms, etc. Anything that's not due weekly made it on there. One of my goals for the semester (and grad school in general...) is to be much more organized than I was as an undergrad and work on time management. I have a lot more "unstructured" time and that has historically been bad news for me. I start watching football...or chatting on Facebook...or using StumbleUpon...or sites like this one...and suddenly hours have passed and I still have all my reading to do! I digress. Also trying to figure out Blackboard and my school's main "student login/controls" site. So many links. So many options. tl/dr: Working on organization Went to a couple stores today to look at laptops (mostly Chromebooks) and narrowed it down to a couple top choices that I'll research online this week and then order. I just can't seem to study at home because 1.) it's hot. I don't have A/C and my place is just muggy. yuck, 2.) too many distractions, 3.) I live alone, but even just hearing conversations going on outside my place, doors opening and cars pulling in & out makes me lose focus. I can't close my windows because I need the breeze and circulation...sigh. Anyway, onward and upward, right?

First week has been good; I love how passionate my professors are about this field. My GA position seems to be off to a good start as well, but the first couple weeks of the semester are very different from the rest of the semester so we'll see how that's going in a month or so. In other news...got a call from Financial Aid this afternoon, saying I didn't have enough "required credits" and am at risk of losing my financial aid if I don't add a class by 4pm tomorrow. I'm at 8 credits (3 classes), but only 5 of those credits are 500+ level (grad). 3 credits are a required pre-req that is 300 level (undergrad), and not all grad students have to take that pre-req if they took it elsewhere, typically in undergrad. So it's required for me (and a few others) but not all grad students, so it's not listed on my degree audit as being "required" -- therefore, it appears to the FA office and loan distributors that I'm taking it as an "elective"...which I'm most definitely not. I ran into my advisors office after class tonight (luckily she was still around) and we came up with a few quick options to run by the FA office, hopefully one of them works. Ugggghhhhh.....

To be fair, I'm about 4 to 5 hours upstate from NYC; if I was in NYC I may have just gone w/ a furnished place or sublet or on-campus housing for simplicity. I also was able to visit my school and town in April and looked at a few places that landlords knew would be available in August and was able to sign a lease sometime in late April or early May. I'm a bit of an over-planner...some friends who also moved onto grad school this year packed their places 2 days before moving and kept saying they'd "just find a place" upon arrival, less than a week before their classes start. I'd go nuts with that idea. Two of them found places, the other is, as far as I'm aware, still living in her van in search of a place. To each their own, as they say! Good luck to you on your move and grad school adventure, RideTheLightning469!

I moved in Aug 23rd and start on the 31st, and spent most of this week unpacking and getting organized -- I also moved everything from the Rockies to a 1-bd apartment in upstate NY, but since you flew I'm assuming you'll have way less stuff and probably a furnished apartment that you're moving into? If you need to buy furniture and stuff, yeah, it'll be tougher in just a week. I think my length of time between moving in and starting classes has been great. Met a few people, had a day of orientation/training for my GA position, and had plenty of time to explore the area a bit. Excited for classes to start on Monday!

I got my undergrad degree in a rather broad field (Kinesiology) and didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I did an internship in a therapeutic recreation area and fell in love with it. I still contemplated other options, mainly working in intercollegiate athletics (my job as an undergrad) which would've probably lead to a grad program in Sports Management or working in general or outdoor recreation, which would've lead to a grad program in Outdoor Ed most likely. I dabbled in all 3 areas within about an 18-month period after graduating and always felt drawn back to my job working in TR. 5 years after last being in an academic classroom (fall 2010), I'm beginning a Master's in Recreation with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation which will give me formalized training, background, and skills that will allow me to sit for a national certification exam. Long story short: I worked for 5 years, experimented with a few different fields, realized which one was for me.

I start classes next Monday, have an orientation for my GA position at the end of this week. Finished a 9-day cross country move (w/ a stop in the middle at home for multiple days)yesterday with all of my things and spent yesterday and today unpacking and trying to organize...and will do more in the next couple days. It sucks. So much stuff. Moved 2000+ miles and had been living by myself in a 1-bed apartment and moved into a smaller 1-bed apartment here. I purged quite a bit, but I know exactly how my things work best for me and didn't want to re-adjust to new "systems" or furniture, so I moved it with the help of my parents. On that note, making a 2000+ mile cross country move with your parents can be an awful decision...I was beyond ready for them to leave this morning. But that's another topic for another day... I'm incredibly nervous to start. Haven't been in a real classroom in 4.5 years and I was a less than stellar undergrad student. But I've matured and have organizational systems and know what I need to do...just need to continue to stay on track. It helps that I have a defined end-goal this time around.

Are you doing any sort of work for your graduate program like G/T/R-A? just taking classes and studying? I'm starting school at the end of this month and will be taking 3 classes plus working ~20hrs a week for a GA position. Between studying, class, GA work, and finding time to do fun things I like to do like ride my bike for an hour or stay in and watch college football or go camping on the weekend, I wouldn't want to do much more than that. Maybe I'll get to school and have tons of free time, but I doubt it. 40 hours a week with a full courseload (are you full-time?) seems like it wouldn't leave time for "me" time.

My parents will be helping me move across the country and I'll probably be able to show them around town and campus but they won't be going to any "official" events with me. I haven't heard anything about department or program orientations; only that I have an orientation for my GA position sometime in the week before classes start.

If I wasn't over 2000 miles away, I would have gone straight to her office instead of e-mailing. My only in-person interaction with her has been when I visited the campus in the spring. Luckily, I was notified that the issue is being resolved and I should be able to register for that class in a few days.