So...Now what?

[unknownscholar]

I saw a derivative of this topic in a program related forum, so I thought I'd start one in a general area.

My admissions cycle is officially over, and since deciding on which school I am to attend in early May, I've done the following:

-submitted my seat deposit

-about to turn in my acceptance of loans, since they've processed my financial aid app

-visited the school city to find an apartment, submitted application and security deposit and now just waiting for the lease to arrive in the mail to sign...so I essentially already have a place for the next 4 years.

-arranged to keep my research job here in NYC and will be working via VPN for the next few years while attending school

-and starting to organize here to plan out my move which will be sometime between tomorrow and july 15th (my lease starts tomorrow, so I have some flexibility on when I want to move)

...Now what?

I should also note that I've done some networking, mostly because I'm trying to do a lot of things, particularly: get into the school's law program next yr, get some scholarship money for subsequent years, and summer internship possibilities. I think law school is what I'm most worried about, because I've been met with a bunch of locked doors. I'd like to take a law school course this fall, and it stated on their website that this is possible with permission but that permission seems to come with a lot of seemingly misleading requirements. And, I haven't been signed an advisor yet (don't know when this is going to happen), so I've been trying to research profs, but they don't provide much info about them on the website, and I don't exactly know how to approach them.

The fact that I haven't really heard anything about scheduling classes or an advisor or the official "what-to-do-next package" makes me feel like I'm behind in this and so I've been somewhat aggressive (in my opinion) when I correspond with others by email, although my language in my correspondence doesn't appear that way. I don't have a whole lot of time before my law school app is due (November), so I'm really eager to make connections with people for recommendations, and I just don't get the sense that anyone is really following-up. Though I'm a bit on the impatient side.

Since I was a waitlist admit, I also feel like maybe I may not be someone that they necessarily are eager to hear from, although i don't know who "they" are. I'd like to actually have some feedback on who contributed to my getting the green light, but I'm doubtful there would be any way to find out. I figure they could be potentially interested in my goals or background, and a good starting network for me, but again, one can never tell. Anyone have any experience finding out this kind of information??

And finally, I know a lot about my school, particularly the kind of people I'm dealing with, both from personal experience and from word of mouth. Has anyone else heard that GU is known for its ability to bring in a lot of students with "cutthroat" mentalities? Is this everywhere at the graduate level? People have said similar things about the city of New York, but Ive been here for 2 years and wouldn't exactly make that argument, even given my very poignant experiences here.

K this post has a lot going on in it. Feel free to respond to any or all of the points I've mentioned here.

[luvalicious]

Compared to you I haven't done anything!

I don't think you're behind at all. I think most of us who are dealing with the lull between accepting an offer and actually being an incoming student feel like we're supposed to be doing all these things right now - doing pretty much anything right now -but from my previous experience/experience of friends there was no "what-to-do-next" package until orientation. About 80% of my information came from that and the first meeting I had with my advisor.

As far as networking, and again this is anecdotal, but I decided to apply for a fellowship for which the application was due in November and I asked professors who I'd only had for about a month and a half for recommendations, and they all gave me great recommendations.

Everywhere is not cutthroat on the grad level... my previous program had very few competitive students (probably because the program itself wasn't particularly demanding), something which I struggled with. When I visited UChicago we talked about the student atmosphere and observed it firsthand, and everyone seemed fairly supportive but it was also intense.

[Minnesotan]

I'm polishing up an article I want to submit, and thinking about getting fellowship apps ready for the fall. The summer is when we, as scholars, are supposed to be most productive (or so I'm constantly told), so I'm trying not to waste too much time staring at bikinis.

If I bring a book to the beach/park, I can divide my time fairly equally between being a bum and being productive.

[unknownscholar]

it's hard for me to spend time doing stuff like that when I know I need to get into another program next fall and to get some funding. I'm really all over the place. But I think my best bet is to continue studying for the LSAT because a good score will pretty much solve the rest of my issues.

[Minnesotan]

There you have it. In my field and situation, defending this thesis of mine and getting a pub is a summer well-spent. If you have a clear goal, then I would spend as much time as possible working toward it this summer. We're not manual laborers, so we can easily put in a 10-hour day; just remember to take one day a week completely off. No articles, no editing, no school-related errands -- nothing!

I plan to take a couple of weekend trips, but otherwise summer is my time to do the work I really want to do. (Oh, and find a damned place to live. Grr...)

[Philmajor]

I'm just finishing up my master's at UChicago so life has been hectic. Graduation is in 10 days and finals are next week. Luckily I only have one - YAY! I'm staying put for my PhD which makes life easier and I'm really looking forward to a relaxing summer. I'll be looking for a new apartment, heading home for a visit and basically just doing some reading and catching up on sleep

[erin85]

Right now: scheduled my classes earlier today after a brief conversation with my adviser, and will hopefully fill out and submit my financial aid form by Wednesday. The program is covering my full tuition and room and board expenses my first year...but books, transportation and misc fees are all on me... So I'm likely going to take out a small amount in subsidized federal loans if I can, and at least apply for the unsubsidized ones in case I take summer courses.

Upcoming: Will be in DC late next week and through the weekend. Going to look at areas where I'd like to live, although not specific apartments. Also will sit in a course at GWU, go on a tour, and meet with the program coordinator. Pretty much all the things I should have done had I gone to a visit day like a good prospective student. Mostly am curious if I can waive out of GWU's first stats/research methods course, as it looks to be almost all review from undergrad work I have done. Late july to early August I'll return to DC, with the mildly embarrassing company of my parents (first time moving out of state, so they want to make sure I get a "safe" apartment...), and find myself an apartment close to the metro. If I'm super lucky, I might even be able to finally get the kitty of my dreams from a local shelter, and life will be good...

And then on my birthday in late august... I'll start orientation early in the AM at GW. Ohhh boy...

[luvalicious]

My plans, as of today: right now, I'm working as much as I can trying to make money to actually move. Jobs being nonexistent around here, that means alot of freelancing. Good for my resume, but I can't say I'm enjoying it. I did a loan application that should come back this month, and I've looked at classes but few of the times are up yet so there's not much going on there. In June one of my work projects will end and I plan to replace it with some reading. I'm converting my aborted thesis into an article so I'll be doing a work on that and I have another writing project I'll be working on. In July I'll be going back out to Chicago to look at apartments and sign a lease.

[unknownscholar]

I saw a derivative of this topic in a program related forum, so I thought I'd start one in a general area.

My admissions cycle is officially over, and since deciding on which school I am to attend in early May, I've done the following:

-submitted my seat deposit

-about to turn in my acceptance of loans, since they've processed my financial aid app

-visited the school city to find an apartment, submitted application and security deposit and now just waiting for the lease to arrive in the mail to sign...so I essentially already have a place for the next 4 years.

-arranged to keep my research job here in NYC and will be working via VPN for the next few years while attending school

-and starting to organize here to plan out my move which will be sometime between tomorrow and july 15th (my lease starts tomorrow, so I have some flexibility on when I want to move)

...Now what?

I should also note that I've done some networking, mostly because I'm trying to do a lot of things, particularly: get into the school's law program next yr, get some scholarship money for subsequent years, and summer internship possibilities. I think law school is what I'm most worried about, because I've been met with a bunch of locked doors. I'd like to take a law school course this fall, and it stated on their website that this is possible with permission but that permission seems to come with a lot of seemingly misleading requirements. And, I haven't been signed an advisor yet (don't know when this is going to happen), so I've been trying to research profs, but they don't provide much info about them on the website, and I don't exactly know how to approach them.

The fact that I haven't really heard anything about scheduling classes or an advisor or the official "what-to-do-next package" makes me feel like I'm behind in this and so I've been somewhat aggressive (in my opinion) when I correspond with others by email, although my language in my correspondence doesn't appear that way. I don't have a whole lot of time before my law school app is due (November), so I'm really eager to make connections with people for recommendations, and I just don't get the sense that anyone is really following-up. Though I'm a bit on the impatient side.

Since I was a waitlist admit, I also feel like maybe I may not be someone that they necessarily are eager to hear from, although i don't know who "they" are. I'd like to actually have some feedback on who contributed to my getting the green light, but I'm doubtful there would be any way to find out. I figure they could be potentially interested in my goals or background, and a good starting network for me, but again, one can never tell. Anyone have any experience finding out this kind of information??

And finally, I know a lot about my school, particularly the kind of people I'm dealing with, both from personal experience and from word of mouth. Has anyone else heard that GU is known for its ability to bring in a lot of students with "cutthroat" mentalities? Is this everywhere at the graduate level? People have said similar things about the city of New York, but Ive been here for 2 years and wouldn't exactly make that argument, even given my very poignant experiences here.

K this post has a lot going on in it. Feel free to respond to any or all of the points I've mentioned here.

Well it's been a while since I started this post, but just want to followup for those who may be interested...getting through applications and trying to matriculate can be extremely cumbersome, so I'd like to shed as much light as I can for those who are all over the place, like I've been. Feel free to hit me up with questions.

I finally moved into my new apartment in DC, and I've got to say, paying that extra month of rent was well worth it because the influx of students looking for off campus housing in DC is ridiculous right now, and rents are going up. While there are a few little well kept secret opportunities you may run across when moving to a new area and getting to know your fellow classmates through facebook and the like, if you have to go out onyour own and find something, do it early! You'll see how invaluable this is.

I also met with me financial aid advisor and she was quite helpful in explaining the details about all these different loans and I felt very encouraged that gaining scholarship money after the second year was A LOT easier once you've matriculated and had a chance to produce and get to know faculty members. I don't feel so bad about this debt now.

I also met with some of the head administrators in my program, who gave me a lot of good info about profs to take and law school courses, and I also received information about who vouched for me to be accepted off the wait list. Is it unreasonable to think that building a professional relationship with that person is advantageous? I'm going to work on establishing that.

[luvalicious]

Glad to read you're doing well, unknownscholar.

I've also come back to update - so few people come back to talk about "what happens now?" between acceptance and matriculation...and if I knew then the things I have learned since going for my MA I would have been alot more informed If anyone has any questions feel free to message me as well, or post here.

Since my last post, I've:

Signed a lease for an apartment in Chicago. The most frustrating part was that alot of landlords wouldn't lease an apartment knowing it may sit empty for a month or two, but I got lucky. I ended up only applying to one place, and I got a great deal which I'm pretty happy about - I wasn't relishing stomping the pavement and paying endless application fees. I over-prepared a bit on the paperwork I took with me to apply but in the end I was able to view, apply, and be approved before I left Chicago 4 days later. I also had time to walk around my neighborhood, which is pretty far from the university, and start getting used to the (long) commute - which is another reason I'm glad I'm moving about a month before classes start so that I can really get settled in.

Accepted an additional fellowship in addition to my funding deal, which involves a pre-term class and some meetings with advanced grad students. Great opportunities to start networking, meeting people, and getting comfortable being at a new university. I'm looking forward to it, mostly. Grad school can be a very lonely place, with alot of emphasis on individual effort, and I'm a loner as it is. I'm definitely going to work on establishing some relationships during that two-week period.

Started preparing in other various ways like: finding out where I can get my blood tested to prove I've been immunized (a state requirement in IL, but something I haven't thought about since my first year of undergrad); looked at some practice language exams (test is in the first few weeks of classes); 75% finalized what classes I'll be taking in the first quarter; chose a mandatory (but included in my funding) health insurance plan; and other boring things.

Right now I'm just enjoying my last few weeks with my boyfriend (he'll be staying in MI) and picking my way through various books. I'm still freelancing, more for experience than the money, and I guess in a way I'm trying to prepare my brain for being back in school after a year off working.

Whew, that was kinda long. Sorry!