lydibird

I've budgeted about $3500 for the move and I hope it covers everything! My stipend doesn't start until the end of September so if it goes over I'm going to be hungry for a month or so! Luckily my roommate has most of the furniture we need in order to get started so that really cuts down on expenses. I think all I have to buy until I start earning a paycheck is a mattress.

Two of my sisters skipped grades early on in elementary school (one skipped 1st grade, the other skipped kindergarten). If they decide to go to grad school right after graduating, they'll begin at 21. I can also see someone who took AP or concurrent enrollment courses during high school easily finishing college a year or two early and beginning grad school at 20 or 21. In fact, I thought about it but ultimately decided to take advantage of my scholarships and took as many classes as the college would pay for. One of my sisters thought about it but instead decided to double major in an unrelated field. I come from an intelligent family, but we aren't super-geniuses or even particularly ambitious. Honestly it's more that we enjoy school a lot and are lucky enough to know what we want to study early on in life. Starting so early isn't for everyone (and it wasn't for me, I stayed the full 4 years in undergrad then took a year off) but I'm not surprised or even necessarily impressed with those who choose to. I'm more impressed by those who have the courage to go back to school later in life when they have more responsibilities (families, mortgages, etc).

This time last year I was looking for a job and hoping I made the right decision to defer admission for a year.

For applying for jobs I wouldn't mention it on your resume. I was in a really similar position this last year (deferred admission to MS program for financial reasons) and it took me nearly 6 months to find a job, largely because I couldn't bring myself to lie about my plans for grad school. I had several good interviews but they all wanted to hire someone who could stay on for several years or earn their degree while working for them. Unless they specifically ask about grad school plans don't mention it. If they do, try not to let on that you're planning on leaving in a year. It's probably different for an internship or for temp positions, though, as they would expect you to move on after a while.

I second that friendship has a lot to do with luck. In undergrad I met a lot of people who I thought would make great friends: similar interests, had ambition, focused, enjoyed school, good conversationalists about things I care about. etc. Surprisingly, the only really good friend I made was the roommate I was randomly assigned sophomore year. It took us several months to warm up to each other but once we started to get to know each other past the surface we quickly became "best friends." In my experience the people you set out to be friends with rarely become quality, life-long, intimate friendships. Just go out and meet as many people as you can- inside and outside of your program. There are several threads hanging around about dating and a lot of the advice given is simply how to meet people in general. Apply that advice and expand your circle. If you have a good time with specific people, keep doing things together and let the friendship build naturally. Be proactive. Don't expect other people to make plans with you. Instead be the person who makes the plans (at least a first, after a while it should be a roughly equal effort).

Yes, you need to apply for those separately. You should get in touch with your financial aid office for more information on doing so.

A lot of it is that it's really hard to find a full-time professional library job in the US (not as sure about Canada) right now. Taking out a massive amount of loans for a degree you may not ever get to use is generally looked upon as a dumb idea. Also, for every really good, high quality MLS and MLIS programs there is a program (especially online programs not associated with a brick and mortar school) that don't adequately prepare their students for the reality of working in a modern library. Lots of programs emphasize outdated theory while not giving their students the support they need to gain the practical experience and soft skills they need to land a job. The job market is flooded by under prepared MLS holders who think that their love of books and really expensive piece of paper is enough to land them a job. Further, most people don't understand what goes on behind the scenes of a library and question the requirement of a masters degree. It doesn't help that many librarians are all too happy to fill paraprofessional positions in order to feed themselves, effectively devaluing their education and worth. In a lot fewer words, the economy sucks and bad programs give the entire field a bad name.

This is an excellent point, and a major factor in my deciding to create a new blog rather than tacking grad school and LIS issues onto the personal blog I've had forever. In my field of choice having an online presence has become more and more common, even often encouraged. In fact, many potentially game-changing conversations about the industry begin online! My plan is to include my blog in the personal website/ePortfolio that I've been advised to create to further my future career. I may repost some of my "professional" blog posts on my private blog, but never vice versa. My personal blog, where I may occasionally rant, is set so only invited readers have access and is not searchable by search engines. My family (including my mama!) and close friends read it and that's it. Even so, I've been removing any last names, really specific details, etc in order to protect myself. I don't think I've ever written anything that would make a current or potential employer/professor/coworker change their opinion of me; I save anything specific or mean spirited for my (paper) journal but you never know. It's definitely better safe than sorry!

This was the kick in the rear I needed to get going. So far I only have one post and a placeholder title, but keep checking back. It will get there and I'll blog more regularly once school actually begins and I have something to write about. I forgot to add the link! Hahaha. http://lydiahowes.wordpress.com/

I'm in the process of getting mine up and running. I've had a blog since I was in high school but right now I'm working on creating one that's more fit for my professional/grown-up life. By this I mean I don't really want people I barely know to read about and/or judge me for my angst filled teenage/early undergraduate years. Ha ha. Library/information science has a huge online presence and I want to join their ranks, so the plan is to write about grad school and information science topics until I graduate and then transition it to a purely information science blog. Once I get around to writing an entry or two I'll put a link here.

First of all, breathe. Easier said than done, I know. Next, have you contacted your program to see if pulling out this late is even possible? There may some sort of penalty to pay. It sounds like at this point you'd be willing, but are you? You need to think really hard about why you're doing this. It's hard to believe that while you were applying the issue of cost never occurred to you. When did it become such a big issue, and why? You chose Rutgers for a reason. How do the less expensive programs compare to those reasons? Does a lower price-tag completely overcome the differences? It's true that with MLIS programs prestige is less important than in many other programs, but depending on what you want to do it may still play a role. For example, if you want to be a public librarian in your hometown it might not matter, but if you want to be an academic librarian in at a well known university it probably will, at least at first. Are you willing to work harder to overcome that if it applies? If you've really thought this through and know withdrawing is the right decision your parents will understand. Sure, they're excited that you've being accepted to widely recognized, highly ranked school. They're proud of you and everything you've done to make yourself qualified to get there. But they want what's best for you. Let them know about your concerns and how you've decided to face them. Maybe they'll be disappointed that you won't get to live out your dream of a "brand name" school. I doubt they'll be disappointed in you; they'll be disappointed for you. Keep your options open. If possible, defer admission rather than completely withdrawing, if not, reapply to Rutgers when you apply elsewhere. Take the extra months or year to play with finances and look for funding options. Make yourself more competitive for these opportunities. Last year I was in much the same position. The out of state tuition costs were ridiculous, I was scared, and a lot of the research I pulled up on paying for an MLIS was from newly minted librarians shouting out words of caution. In the end I deferred admission, found a couple of jobs, saved money, and researched and applied for scholarships, grants, interest free loans, and really thought out my decision. Things worked out and I'm thrilled to be starting my MLIS a year behind schedule. I managed to figure out that while it was expensive, I was willing to live however I needed to to pay off loans because I knew librarianship was the right career and my chosen program was the best program for me. The extra experiences I gained in the year off helped me secure the funding I needed to feel comfortable making the leap. Sometimes time can give you much needed perspective, and it sounds like you need it. If your parents have any sense (and they raised you so they must) they'll understand and support you. If you really don't know what to tell them, say that you need more time to make such a big decision. Make sure they understand all your concerns. Ask for their advice and seriously consider it. But in the end make the decision that you think will make you the most happy in the end.

Orientation starts on August 27th, classes September 4th. I plan on starting my move on August 20th and arriving on the 24th. Since I can't quit my job until the 15th and thus don't get a vacation I decided to take a few extra days to move and check out some sites along the way.

If you've been involved in any sort of national/worldwide organization (sorority/fraternity, honor society, religious organization, club, etc) you might be able to find a roommate through it. I contacted the local chapter of my organization of choice and they even had a member in charge of setting roommates up with each other! I won't be living with her until the fall, but we seem to have a lot in common and pretty much agreed with each other on everything as far as lifestyle and living arrangements. Plus since I trust the organization I feel that much better about using it rather than craigslist. I'm not saying it's a foolproof plan, but for me it cut out a lot of worry.

I'm working two jobs right now. The first I've had on and off since I was 18 and I'm really going to miss it. The people are awesome and the nature of the job (wedding dinners, receptions, etc) combined with my coworkers make it feel less like a job and more like a social hour where we happen to be in charge of giving strangers food. Thinking about leaving makes me so sad that I haven't even decided when my last day will be. The other has been a good experience; I'm grateful for it and like it well enough, but I'm itching to just move on already. I still have over a month left, unfortunately.

short notice