Mal83

If I'm interpreting that line at all correctly I feel like it might mean that you can't apply for graduation while you still have to first take a whole class. Like if you haven't met all of the requirements for graduation you can't apply to graduate at the end of whatever term you're closing in on. I'm not sure why you'd have to sit out a whole semester before making up the requirement, couldn't you do it right after this one and apply for graduation at then end of it? Will the course take an entire semester? So is right that you got a C- in the senior seminar course and have to retake it? What's the minimum grade for fulfilling the senior sem requirement? If it's a C, maybe there's something you can work out with the professor, like doing an extra paper to get your final grad up, if you do it fast and do it well there might be a chance you'll satisfy the professor and he/she will give you the pass to graduate. But you might also want to contact your adviser as soon as possible for clarification.

I had gone to 3 schools in order to get my BA. I spent a year and a half as a Biology major at a small private school. I was very happy my first semester, but after that my commitment to the subject matter started waning and I was doing well grade wise in everything other then the science related courses. So it was in my 3rd semester that I had decided it was time to rethink things. My parents told me to come home and take some time off, but I was terrified to do that, I wasn't supposed to have to take time off, I've always been good at school and I was supposed to have it all figured out already. Plus I was scared I wouldn't get back into it for some reason. Anyway, I refused to take time off and went straight to a community college to figure things out there for much less money. I was so turned off to the sciences that I went the art direction and decided to take some interior design classes...what a disaster that was, I mean it was OK, but I quickly realized that was not where I needed to be. But I found myself more and more attracted to political science, cultural studies, and languages. So I ended up completing an AA in International Studies. Once I was really into that course of study I knew that was it for me. Then right after I transferred to the college where I got my BA in the same major. I then did 2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer which is directly related to my field and is considered valuable experience, which is generally required for admission into an International Affairs/development type program. I was a little worried about the fact that I had gone to 3 schools and how that would look to admissions committees, but it panned out just fine. I was accepted to 2 out of the 3 schools I applied. I'll be attending my top choice school, the acceptance was off of the waitlist but it's an acceptance nonetheless. But what helped was that after seeing that my first undergrad school had nothing to do with anything, admissions committees would clearly see that I had some direction...international studies at a CC and finished up my BA in the very same subject and then got some very relevant experience. I'm not sure how much more you have to go before getting a BA but it's good that you're thinking ahead and have narrowed down your choices for a degree, but a word of advice from someone who changed their mind repeatedly would be to start out with an open mind, you don't have to declare a major immediately. You seem to have a few options but they're pretty different. As you get more into a particular course of study you might see that it's not really what you want. Taking classes in different areas, perhaps the ones you mentioned, in the same term might prevent you from having to start completely over if you were to change your mind. If I had it to do all over again I would have started at a community college, it's really the best thing to do if you're not 100% certain, I mean I guess if you or your parents have money to burn it's OK to flounder around at a private university. Get that GPA above 3.0, it's not unheard of to get into a grad program with a lower one but then the other areas of your application will have to be stellar like a lot of relevant experience or very high GRE scores. You should also be thinking about from whom to get recommendations and be making more of an effort to make sure they know your abilities so they have really good things to say about you. Of course your SOP is really important, the committees don't just want a list of what you've done and your accomplishments, they want to know how your education and relevant work/volunteer/internship experiences have prepared you mentally and academically for that particular program. So you should be aware of how the course of study you choose will get to your ultimate goal and desired occupation. Don't hesitate to ask anything else.

You can just go to the school graduate website and this information should be right in their application requirements section. I'm going into a different field but not all programs have a requirement per say, but they will include an average score for their accepted applicants. I was a bit below my school's GRE average and still got in.

So you're planning on applying again for the spring admissions cycle? Or next fall? If I were you I'd email her with some sort of update on my stats or experience or ask about what I can do to improve upon my application. I mean I suppose you can just drop her a line confirming your continued interest in the program, if you're applying for spring admissions it might be a good idea to do that in the near future so your name stays fresh in her mind. Maybe when you get into the application process let her know that you'll submitting soon so she knows to be aware of you and how serious you are. Something along those lines. I'm going for a professional degree so I don't have any POIs but while I was on the waitlist at my top choice I emailed the program coordinator to simply reaffirm my commitment, not sure how much good it did, but I had nothing to loose and I got in. Who knows, maybe knowing that I'd accept their offer helped them choose me over someone else who didn't send in that email....ya just never know.

I took the GRE twice. I experienced something similar to you my first time in that the night before I was checking the ETS website one last time to make sure I had everything that I'd need to be able to start the test, like ID, confirmation, and directions to the test site, while doing this I came across their rules for being letting in. I realized that I had not put my middle name in while registering for the test, but it's on my driver's license and every other form of ID I have. I'm just not used to using it so I didn't think twice while registering without it a month prior. But the rules said that the name on your ID must match EXACTLY the name you used to register, if not you won't be let in to take the test. Well, I basically freaked out when I saw on my confirmation that I didn't put in my middle name. I mean I freaked. My parents were telling me it's no big deal, that's not something that they'd turn me away for...I really tried to believe that, but what did they know? I couldn't get over it, I spent 4 months preparing for this and I might not be able to do it because I made some moronic mistake. I could not stop thinking about the possibility of not being let in the next morning, it totally consumed me. I had anticipated just relaxing that night after months of preping. I had to be up at around 5:30am to get there on time, I could not sleep at all, I searched the internet to see if anyone has posted something similar, I just kept turning it over in my head, I beat myself up pretty bad. Didn't fall asleep until around 12, woke up at 3:30, I was loosing it. $160 and I was also working at the time so I needed a Saturday test day, not too many of those. So I just decided to go with it and see what happens. I went there and you know what happened? Absolutely nothing, I got in just fine, even started the test early. After the flood of relief wore off though, I was exhausted. I only got through like half an hour before realizing I could barely focus. 3 hours of sleep and nothing but worry for an absolutely insane reason cost me big time. My score was dismal across the board. I was beside myself. I had to take it again or I wasn't going anywhere. I did it about 6 weeks later, I didn't study much, I figured I had done enough and I just wanted to get it over with. A few days before I had gotten back into it to refresh but that's it. Instead of going there terrified I went in like I owned the place. I took it at the same place at a later time of day. So I knew exactly what to expect which of course took some of the pressure off. I literally gave the computer a big "F You!" before I started and I ended up doing Ok enough for me to be satisfied that I'd get accepted somewhere. As in a 220 point combined increase and a whole point increase in the writing section. So it's very easy to say to not let the nerves get the best of you but I realized that you'll do better if you go in at least trying not to be nervous...in a sort of "show that test who's boss" kind of way.

What program are you going for? I'm in International Development and I asked about the skills courses but I was advised to not take more than 9 credits the first semester if I plan on working, which I will be. So I just registered for 3 classes including 2 that are required for the 1st semester.

Hi, not going into East European studies, but rather International Development Studies with a democracy and governance concentration at GWU this fall...but my regional area of interest is Russia/Eastern Europe. I was just curious about where exactly you are in Ukraine...I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dnepropetrovsk region for 2 years. At that time the political situation was very interesting, I mean generally speaking it's a very interesting country in terms of development...how long have you been there?

Do you think you could tell her, in the most polite way possible, that it would be best if she hung out somewhere else while you are in a meeting? I agree that it would be OK for her to be on campus tours with you since it's just a group of people walking around the campus, nothing really personal about that. But after if you have a meeting maybe she could go look around in the bookstore or read in a lounge/lobby...something like that. She should understand that it would be really odd for a professor to have a parent in a meeting with a prospective grad student talking about research. He or she might wonder if your independent enough to handle grad school. It's kind of like taking a parent with you on a job interview...just not a good idea.

Hmmm, that's interesting, not sure, does it conform to the keyboard at all? I mean you'd have to still be able to feel the keys. But I still just don't like that noise going constantly during classes...I haven't ever typed notes in class and the one time I thought about doing it I decided against it because I didn't want to be the one making that noise. I don't know I might start doing it though if everyone else is...don't want to be the only not cool kid class.

I get all of the pros to typing notes in class, but does anyone else find the noise of typing kind of annoying? I mean only a few students in my undergrad classes typed notes and the constant clacking on the keyboard was obnoxious. I can't imagine being in a class where everyone is typing at the same time throughout the entire lecture.

Hey Congrats!! sometimes all it takes is a little poking and prodding for information...best of luck!

This is essentially what I did when I got into my top choice off of the waitlist long after accepting another offer. You are the only one that will do what's best for you. I emailed the program coordinator and said "due to very personal reasons that have dramatically changed my plans I have had to make the difficult decision to not attend the program...I dropped my classes and have been in touch with the financial aid office to cancel my loans. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience." It was something to that effect and a few hours later she emailed back to say she was sorry I wasn't attending and best of luck. That was that, and I was on my way to a school I really wanted to be at.

Oh wow thanks! It's been a while for me too...hey best of luck to you at Georgetown!

It really comes down to what graduate school means to you and what it means to study at this particular school. Did you get in anywhere else? Do you feel like graduate school is something you need to do right now? I mean it seems awfully easy to say...eh, just wait a whole extra and go through the entire application process all over again so you don't have to take out loans. Who knows what will happen the next time around, the next outcome could be worse, as in no offer at all. You can't assume that because you got in this time around that you will next time, obviously I have no idea what your stats are, but very qualified applicants don't get in and it seems like every year more and more people apply and they are more competitive than ever before. If you have a chance to prove yourself at this school in order to end up with funding at some point, I'd say go for it. Lots of us don't ever see a penny of funding other than loans and still go and get the same degree as those who had it, our diplomas aren't worth any less. I didn't get any funding and didn't expect to, but I got into my dream school in my dream city and I'm going with student loans. Honestly, I'm grateful for them, they're allowing me to go to grad school which means everything to me. So this is going back to my first point, for someone who feels that way about it, giving up an offer of admission in hopes of getting money next year is just not an option. I was admitted off of the waitlist, who knows how many people had to decline in order to finally get down to me...but if they admitted me it means they know just as much as I do that I belong there, this school had no shortage of applicants. You shouldn't feel slighted, like others have said, be proud of yourself, figure out if you're willing to deal with student loans and a job or if you can really improve your application enough to get funding next time around. It's just a matter of what's worth more to you now.

It definitely is quite overwhelming and I really don't want to do it anymore. I too am moving out in mid-August and won't be able to look at anything before I get there. But I figure that I'm just going to have to put up with whatever I end up with for the 12 month lease because I'm so limited financially. But my 2 main priorities have been a rent price of around $1000 and as close to a metro stop as possible in Northern VA. That helps cut down on what I'm looking at by quite a bit. I find it helpful to call the places I'm really interested in because you get a better feel for by talking to someone that's over there rather than relying on what the website or these apartment sites say.

Yeah, we just booked our tickets on Southwest so that means between the 3 of we'll have 6 free bags, plus our carry-ons. Not too bad I guess.

I'm flying out, I've been living with my parents in Arizona for the past 2 years so I don't have quite the same chore ahead of me, although I have acquired a great many things and just have to get rid of them. But my parents are coming with me so I'll be able to cram some stuff into their bags as well, maybe I'll even pay to check another bag if I decide I just can't live it without something for however long it'll take for stuff to be shipped as inexpensively as possible. My parents moved here from NJ while I was abroad and took a lot of my things with them packed up in boxes so I'd have them when I arrived, but really I never touched most of it in 2 years and already I've gotten rid of whole boxes of things that I really liked at one time but couldn't care less about now, but some of it has been harder to part with. I feel like someone on that show "Hoarders, Buried Alive" like I'm picking through each item, mulling over it's sentimental value and then deciding that it would be far too devastating to part with it Seriously though, I've already given over a lot of clothes to Goodwill type places and dumped about a ton of books and DVDs in the donation bin of my library, I just can't throw those things out. I also started going through my things a while ago, not moving until August, so that I have time for a few rounds of picking. First round I got rid of things that I have absolutely no interest in anymore, you know, the "why did I buy this?" stuff. Then I went back and still managed to get things out of my house that I liked but realized it's just not practical and I have too much still. Now I'm at the point where I have to decide if things that I put in the "shipping" pile will be worth it. So I'm hoping that all of the time that I've given myself to do this will result in not spending a fortune to get stuff from one side of the country to the other. Despite the chore that this is though, I'm really excited about the move.

Accepted, and point taken.

Well, the initial post just struck me the wrong way and I was allowed to voice that just as you are free to decide which rants are more "plausible" than others. When I said "..you're not the one experiencing it" I meant that to someone who wasn't there at my place of business in the vicinity of the conversation that took place between me and my boss and also hasn't worked there for 9 months, it probably would not seem like such a big deal. I did not mean to insinuate that I know you've never had a similar experience. It might be helpful to consider that if I didn't feel like it was a big deal at the time then I wouldn't have had the need to rant about it. And the word "thankful," whether it was in jest or not, made me cringe....sorry, but that was my gut reaction to it and with tone of voice lacking it's all to easy to take things in a way that wasn't intended. So I guess it was a series of misinterpretations. I apologize.

Well, that's your take on it and I can't do anything about that especially after clearly stating several times that the point was just to get something off my chest..and yeah..rant a little. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first to do that here. Like I said, I wasn't asking to be lifted up from the dark depths of immaturity onto someone else's bright white moral high horse. I read your response, which included "useless" and "unproductive," as a trivialization and therefore not helpful or appreciated...that's my take on it, so let's leave it at that.

See the subtitle of the thread clearly states: "Purpose of thread: ranting" and I also clearly stated it at the very beginning of my OP...so it's not like I framed this as some sort of "please help me, I have a grave issue and I don't know what to do" thread. I also said over and over that I was mostly angry at myself for not being assertive, I don't need anyone else to tell me that. I appreciate people telling me it's not that big of deal in order to provide a touch of support, but the one thing I don't do in these forums is trivialize how others have internalized their experiences. If they share something here in the "chit-chat" section of the forum it's because they're looking for someone to relate to it, not to be told that their posts are useless and unproductive. I wasn't asking for a morality check, it was just to get something off my chest and see if anyone has dealt with something similar. I didn't think you were attacking me, it was just to clarify why I was so frustrated with my employer. There's a difference between throwing a tantrum over simply putting in a few extra days, which could certainly be taken as immature, and being upset about the reason I was asked to stay even 5 minutes longer. And she actually did hold a gun to my head, it was loaded with guilt instead of bullets....

It never does seem like a big deal if you're not the one experiencing it. I'm also not sure that I, or anyone else, should allow ourselves to be taken advantage of just because we're so grateful to be employed by anyone that will take us. Everyone has their line that they shouldn't have to cross and I've reached mine. I have felt fortunate that I've had a paycheck coming in for 9 months, but I'm choosing to be done now so I really don't have to be thankful that my boss has guilt-tripped me into staying longer due to her own lack of motivation to hire someone. Like I said, 3 days in the grand scheme of things is actually not a big deal, you're right about that, but that wasn't really the origin of my frustration.

Thanks for sharing! That sounds like exactly what happened to me today. I was guilt-tripped. I will most certainly be holding firm now, it's easier for me to say no when I feel like they're getting more than enough out of me. The only consolation is that I really like my coworkers. We all have the same complaints about her, but you know when you're working in your field I think you're more apt to put up with more in order to advance yourself or it's just not as much of an emotional burden because it's...well, your field. Early childhood education is absolutely not my field, it's been nothing more than a paycheck so all of the drama and nonsense, most of it caused by my boss and her executive director overlord demon sister, have burned me out and I have no more will or desire to perform as I should. Logically I know it's very important to her and the services this particular preschool provides to families and kids are actually quite good, but because I couldn't care less anymore it's all just shenanigans to me in regards to staff management. It hasn't been pleasant or even tolerable for a long time. I will never forget her and this preschool because it has been unlike any other job I've had but you're right that it'll get hazy and it'll just be a point of reference for when things get hard or frustrating in grad school...like "Well at least I still don't work at that preschool because that was worse than whatever I'm dealing with now."

Ha! I don't have a single thing there that I need to collect, it's a preschool, I walk in with my purse and that's what I leave with. I already gave her the letter a month ago, she has a habit of "loosing" resignation letters though and reacting immaturely to news of resignation. She's a master at the costumer service part of the job and a very likable person, but just not as professional when it comes to staff management as she should be. Anyway, lots of people have to put with crappy bosses, this is actually my first experience with one.

I never said she actually "coerced" me, you're taking the title of the thread a little too literally, that's what I had said throughout, that I was angry at myself for caving into pressure. What I'm also pissed about is her thought process and her mindset, that she doesn't have to get right to it and make hiring someone else a priority because she truly believes, and is actually true based on me allowing her to do so, that she can just tell me or whoever else that she needs us to do this, that or the other and it will be so regardless of how it upsets our day/routine/life. She thinks that she's this awesome boss and everyone just loves her so why wouldn't we want to do whatever she asks? That's annoying. Sure, I suppose she has the right to ask me and see if I'll just roll over and stay even though she knows I don't want to, which she did and as I said, I caved, which is my fault, but not being a robot that realization doesn't erase my feelings of irritation and annoyance by the whole thing. I don't blame her for doing it, I knew it was coming and she certainly had nothing to lose, all she had to do was say she needed me and if I said yes then that's it, she's out of a bind. I blame myself for caving and I'm irritated by her for not respecting my decision and need to be done. That's all.