mares

Just got my award letter from Rutgers. I got the max in federal stafford loans and $4k in work study. I didn't get a scholarship but they said to reapply in the spring. I am interviewing for a job as a full-time circulation assistant in a couple weeks so if I get that job I might just put my MLIS on the back burner for a couple of years. I am still totally undecided on what I am going to do. Good luck to everyone and hopefully you are more decisive and less confused than I am. Ha!

That sounds similar to my position, minus the whole being important thing. Haha. I'm pretty low on the totem pole, but I'm working a full-time office job as a data entry analyst. My schedule is pretty rigid, but I make good money (compared to what I made before graduating college) and get weekends off. Though I can't take any time off either, but for a different reason - because I'm basically a temp and if I take a day off, I don't get paid. I'm terrified to leave this job to go to grad school though, but it might not even be a problem if I don't get extended past my contract expiration date in July (my company contracts new workers for 90 days and you can get extended up to a year before becoming permanent or being terminated though sometimes it can take as little as six months to become permanent). I guess the reason I'm afraid to leave is because right now I can save lots of money since my expenses are limited and my undergrad loans are still in grace period until June (!). I just don't like the idea of coming out of grad school with a Master's and still not being able to find a job.

That might be cool. Though I won't be able to make it to the campus tour at 5 pm as I'll be getting off work at 4:30 and with taking the train it won't work out for me to get there until probably about 5:30, but at least I'll be able to make it to chat with some professors about course offerings. I wonder when registration is, or when we'll find out about scholarships since the application deadline for a scholarship was last Friday. The suspense is killing me!

I'm also going to Rutgers on campus (still undecided on deferring or not as it depends on my job/if I get a scholarship). I'm also going to a new students advising session on 5/12. I'm kind of excited!

I have not heard anything, either, which is maddening. I emailed the department secretary or whoever last Monday and got no response. Even though I already sent back the form stating that I will be attending, if I don't get any scholarships I will defer for at least a semester or maybe a year. I'm already in the hole for my undergrad degree, and I'm willing to wait on my graduate degree if it means getting myself into another $15-$20k of debt, especially since my boyfriend is about to take on $20k in debt for his graduate degree. Just my two cents!

I guess where we live will really be determined by the job market. With a Master's degree I'm sure it won't be hard for him to get licensed in multiple states. A lot of becoming licensed is a matter of taking and passing the Praxis exam as well as having the necessary coursework in the subject area. With a degree in NY or NJ, I'm sure he can easily become licensed in NY, NJ, PA, or CT, which are all states we have considered. And yes, I am aware of NJ's proposed budget cuts to libraries. It will probably be exceedingly difficult for us to have careers in NJ given our chosen fields, which is why I'm worried about him attending the private program vs. the public one. For me, in terms of cost, Rutgers just makes the most sense because I already have residency in NJ so I'm pretty well stuck here until I get my degree. The picture is grim on all sides and I just want him to make the right choice.

Okay, sorry for getting all defensive then. It's easy to take things differently than they were intended on the internet. lol. I do care about him, a lot, and I have struggled with the distance part of our relationship. I want to be able to see him every day, not just a few weekends a month. eucalyptus, I can see what you're saying in regards to the shorter program. Those were exactly my thoughts about why the shorter program would be better. But, the budget proposed by the new governor of NJ is not very good for teachers since so much state funding for education is slashed from next year's fiscal year budget. So that means more competition for fewer jobs, and competition with teachers who already have experience under their belts. NY isn't much better off, either, but the one of the pros of the longer program, like others said, is that he'll be coming out in 2012 and maybe state budgets will not be hurting so badly in two years. Another advantage of the longer program is that he can keep his part-time library assistant job and live at home for free, whereas with the shorter program he would not be able to work as many hours at the library (which I'm sure will hire him since he was a very good worker there as an undergrad), he would make less money there per hour, and he'd have to pay for housing. Ahh, so much to think about! Thanks again everyone for your insight. It has given me a lot of food for thought.

How callous. We have been "making it work" for almost a year now. It's a two hour train ride to his house from mine. Actually that's not even to his house; that's to the Bronx and then he has to pick me up and drive another 10-15 minutes. And I'm not even going to be living in New Brunswick; I'll be living at home, which is 25 minutes away. "Barely qualifies as long distance"? Everyone has a different experience. I don't handle long distance as well as other people. Also, samjones (sorry don't know how to reply to two posts in the same post, lol): Yeah, I've done some thinking and you and pea jay are right. The train ride is not that much closer (our undergrad is in Madison, NJ) and if I started school in the fall I'd still be in until December 2011, and if he goes the cheaper option he'll only be in until May 2012. And with the economy so crappy and everything there's no guarantee he'll even get a job in a school next September. Thanks for your input. It is definitely reassuring. I think I have been focusing too much on the short-term and not enough on the long-term ramifications of his decision.

Hey all! I've been accepted to an MLIS program for fall 2010. I'm incredibly excited and I have decided that I will be taking three or four classes in the fall-- definitely too many to work full-time. Currently I'm working a full-time job. My job is a contract job and two weeks ago I had my contract extended until July 9. In the event that my contract gets extended again (I should know in mid- to late June if it will be), it will be extended until early October since my company does extensions in 90 day increments. Anyway, if I get extended, should I tell my employer up front that I will not be able to work past some date in August, or should I sign the contract and just give them my two weeks notice when the time comes? The contract is not binding as it specifically states that my employment is "at will" - they can fire me whenever and I can leave whenever. I feel like it would be a courtesy to tell them up front, because I don't want to leave them scrambling come end of August, but at the same time I don't want them to tell me to not bother coming back for the extra month and a half before school starts. I mean, this will all be moot if I don't get extended anyway... I'm just curious as to what other people think.

A little bit of background - I promise it's relevant!: My boyfriend and I met in college at the library where we both worked. We've been together for just over a year and a half. He graduated in May and I finished up in December. We have been semi long distance since May (he lives a train ride and a subway ride away from me, which takes about two hours one way). In the fall things were okay because I was in school and he could stay with me for three day weekends since he only works part-time and I was a student and had a nice, flexible schedule. Now that I've been working full-time since the beginning of January, our visits are confined to the tiny space of Friday nights (usually not until around 8 pm or so) until Sunday night (around the same time). Now here's the problem: He was recently accepted to our (private and expensive) alma mater's Master of Arts in Teaching program for Social Studies. He was offered a 40% scholarship, which is great but not enough. He wrote a letter of appeal for more aid and they send him back a form email stating that they don't review requests like that until the beginning of May (!). The program starts in June and they expect an answer by April 20. It is a year-long, intensive program which would have him in school full-time from June until next May. But in May he'd take the teacher certification test and provided he passes, he'll be qualified to teach in NJ and PA (if he passes their test; requirements are the same) for the 2011-2012 school year. However, we recently became aware of a Master of Arts in Social Studies Education at a public CUNY school. Because he doesn't have all the core requirements under his belt to be eligible for their program, he'd have to take four undergrad courses and then apply for spring 2011 admission. Provided he is accepted, he will ideally finish in May 2012 from their program and become certified to each in NY State for the 2012-13 school year. The CUNY program will be significantly cheaper, plus he can live at home. He will have to shoulder about $6-$8k more in debt if he goes to our alma mater's teaching program. The draw to that program was the shorter length and the fact that he was already qualified - he was not a History major (rather, Classical Studies) but had enough history, poli sci, and econ courses to make him eligible. I was originally supportive of his possibly doing the CUNY program, but now that I've been accepted to and will attend Rutgers for my MLIS for at least three semesters, I see now that I will be pretty busy and will not see much of him. I can't imagine doing this long-distance thing for another two years. I realize a degree doesn't guarantee employment, which is why I would feel incredibly guilty if he got his MAT at the expensive school, went into debt, and couldn't find a job. I would feel like I forced him into it or something, because he wants to do what is best for us in the long term. I know student debt is not the worst kind of debt to have, but I really just want to make sure he doesn't make a decision we'll both regret. So I guess my question is, is it better to take on a few thousand more in loans in order to finish the degree and be eligible for a job a year earlier, or would it be better for him to go the cheaper, longer route? Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I should be happy that we both have the opportunity to go to grad school, but instead I feel depressed. Thank you for any advice or support you can share.

That's a bummer. My "acceptance packet" was a form acceptance letter and a piece of paper I'm supposed to send back stating my intention to either attend or not. It was dated Monday and I got it yesterday, and there was no financial info in the letter. Hopefully they do things differently at Rutgers!

I would suggest giving them a call. At least then you may get some answers. The status of my app didn't change from No Decision until this past Saturday, and I was told that most people should know by early this week. It's still early this week! It can't hurt to call them up. I mean, personally I'd rather have a rejection than the uncertainty of not knowing. Good luck!

I'm glad to see that many of you who have been waiting recently received acceptances! I found out I was admitted to my program when I randomly checked the website on Saturday. I'm pretty sure I checked Friday evening and no dice, so it was an unexpected surprise (I felt sure I would not hear anything until today or tomorrow since they told me the rest of the decisions were going out by the beginning of this week). Best of luck to those still waiting!

I was accepted to a Masters program, and will probably wait until close to April 15 to notify them of my decision only because I just found out about my acceptance on Saturday and don't know when I'll receive information regarding funding.

Phyl, given that Rutgers won't even notify some people of their decision until today or tomorrow (they told me I'd hear back by "early this week" and found out on Saturday), Rutgers probably will not be sending out financial info until later this week or early next week, though feel free to correct me if I am wrong. And given that Friday is more than likely a holiday for the University (it was for my undergrad alma mater, though I could be wrong), I'm thinking they won't send stuff out til next week. I hope they do soon because they want a decision by April 15, which gives me less than three weeks... and I want to know about funding before I make a decision!

Campus, but I'll be commuting while living at home since I live 25 minutes away by train.

I randomly checked my online status today and saw "Congratulations! You have been admitted." in the status part. So I have been accepted to and will be attending Rutgers! I am so glad I finally got an answer one way or the other for them. I just don't know how they expect me to give them an answer by April 15, unless I get info on funding and such by that date. I certainly can't make any decisions about going until I know the full financial picture (though more likely than not I'll go even if I don't get funding, but I may have to go only part-time).

I applied for my Masters in Library and Info Science by the priority deadline of Feb 1, got an email Feb 16 stating my application was completed and being forwarded to the adcom and that I should expect an answer by March 15. I didn't hear anything by that date and the school was on spring break last week so I called up yesterday and found out I will know "by early next week" because they are still reviewing apps from people who submitted before Feb 1, though I didn't have everything in until January 31 (LORs were submitted electronically and one prof took a while to post it) which is probably why I am now still waiting. So, no rejections yet, but still waiting for the one program I applied to to let me know whether I am in or not! Best of luck to all of you still waiting.

To me, it would be. I mean, I'm applying to a Master of Library and Information Science and my boyfriend is applying for a Master of Arts in Teaching. I assume both of us will have to take out some degree of loans in order to pay for our programs, provided we are accepted (still waiting...). For me, it is worth it because for the most part you cannot get a job in a library without an MLS/MLIS (at least in my part of the country). For my boyfriend, it is worth it because he'll have to get some kind of extra schooling to become a teacher anyway, as education was not his major in undergrad, so he might as well get the Master's and have a higher earning potential. I think it's really only worth it to pay for a Master's program if it's a terminal degree, like the MLIS, that is needed in order to obtain employment in a certain field. If you're using it as a way to get into a PhD program, it might not be the best idea. That's just my opinion.

I wrote thank you cards to my LOR writers as well as a member of the staff at my university who helped me work on my personal statement (as she graduated two years ago from the program I am applying to). When I visited my university a week later, I checked with my profs to see if they got my note and they all were very appreciative that I took the time out to write them a thank you note. I am not going to give gifts because I would probably only feel comfortable giving my advisor a gift, and I can't give only 1/3 of my LOR writers a gift! Plus I wouldn't know what to give them, anyway.

I only applied to one program, but I applied to a Masters in Library and Information Science (as opposed to a PhD). To be able to get a job at a library, your degree needs to come from an ALA-accredited school, and there are only three in the NYC/NJ area. Moving to another part of the country is not an option for me right now. It might sound silly to some, but I don't want to move hundreds or even thousands of miles away from my boyfriend. We want to settle down, get married, have a family and all that jazz, and I don't want to essentially have to put our relationship on hold for at least a year and a half while I get my MLIS (we are already "on hold" because we still live with our parents- I got my BA in December, he got his this past May). Plus, the program I applied to (Rutgers) is cheap because I qualify for in-state tuition, not to mention Rutgers is an excellent university. I also have a good bit of student loan debt from my undergrad, and I don't want to put myself in the hole for my tuition as well as my living expenses, since as of now I can live with my mom for very cheap and save money to put towards grad school/loans. If I don't get in, I'll re-apply for the spring, since they do admit students in the spring and the fall. I am just keeping my fingers crossed for now.

I am young, I just turned 22 in January and I finished my Bachelor's in December, a semester early. I have my diploma but will do the commencement ceremony in May... weird, I know. But my work study job for the entirety of my undergrad was at the circulation desk of my university's library, and I was quite sad to have to leave that job. I liked it so much I want to make a career of it. Only I want to do cooler stuff like reference work.

I know what you mean. I didn't submit my actual application until 10 days before the deadline, and one of my profs didn't even submit her letter until the day before the deadline (everything was done online so I could see when my profs submitted the letters), and I didn't get an email until last Tuesday telling me that my application was officially complete and was being forwarded to the admissions committee. So I'm not expecting any decisions until close to March 15, which is the date by which they will have their decisions ready. Here's hoping!

Hahaha, I am totally with you on the gas thing! I have family in CT and when we travel there, having to pump gas is no fun. I could move in with my boyfriend, too, but he still lives with his parents and while I know they wouldn't mind having me live with them (we get along really well), the idea makes me uncomfortable. LIU appeared to offer good internship/job opportunities for their students while in school, and they do have a duel degree MA program with NYU, but you're right, that does seem incredibly shady. I did like that they waived the GRE requirement if your undergrad GPA was above a 3.0, as mine was and my GRE scores weren't particularly strong. I guess maybe if I get rejected from Rutgers I'll look at LIU since their deadline is later. Here's hoping for an acceptance from Rutgers, haha.