Graduate School Update

I officially submitted my application for the M.Ed Student Affairs program last month.

It's a great story about how I came to decide on this program, so gather around!

Back in 2010, I was deciding on my post undergraduate plans. I had just submitted my application for the MS in Political Science Program, and was ready for a life in the world of Politics.

However, I was not admitted into the program and headed to DC to do an internship instead. As much as I enjoyed the work experience, it wasn't the type of lifestyle I was ready to live.

Anyway, flash forward 2yrs. I'm working in University College at the U as a receptionist, and realizing that I really loved the idea of having a career in the academic advising field. After doing a bit of research, I realized that in order to have a good shot at a career in anything having to do with college students, the M.Ed program for Educational Leadership and Policy was something to look into.

I began my preparation in July, while I was trying to determine who would write me an academic reference letter, I ran into a few dead ends with my former professors. I ended up taking a course in the program as a non-matriculated student and asking my instructor to write my letter. I needed two more letters, so I asked the Associate Dean from Humanities to write my second letter (she had overseen the Humanities House while I lived there), and the Associate Dead of University College (I needed an employer to endorse me as well).

Letters done. Next up was writing my personal statement.

I asked a colleague in my office to assist me in writing my statement, and we spent a good six weeks writing and four drafts later we had the finished product.

Then it was time for the writing samples. There were two essays that needed to be written answering two separate questions. I wrote my drafts meticulously, and asked another colleague to look them over. She gave me a lot of feedback and I worked on my next drafts. I emailed them over to Bryce and he gave me some more feedback. Finally, one more colleague gave me some feedback, and they essays were ready.

Last month, I finalized my online application, submitted all my documents, and paid the application fee. I was pretty excited to have completed every piece on my end, and all that was left was to find out about the timeline. I called the department and asked how long after the application deadline before the selection committee decided on the new cohort. I was informed that the decision would be made by the end of February.

So, now you're all up to speed on my graduate school shenanigans. I also started another course this semester to further prepare me for the content of the program, a course being taught by my boss. Wish me luck, keep your fingers crossed, etc.