Grad Studies

Phew. I was accepted, finally, into the Brockport graduate program for English at the start of this semester. In the Spring, I was taking classes as a non-matriculated student (simply meaning I wasn't formally admitted into the program yet) because I didn't want to take a semester off between my undergraduate work and graduate work. Non-matriculation is tricky though, let me tell you! I couldn't take on a graduate assistantship or receive financial aid, except from a private bank. It was frustrating, but worth the wait to gain admission into the program. Now I'm working towards my Master's with nine credits tucked under my belt. Hopefully I'll keep up the good momentum I've started - nine credits per semester is ambitious. The only trouble I'm having now is trying to decide what to focus on. I'm leaning towards Medieval British Literature or at least Linguistics. However, because I plan on moving to Alaska (crazy, I know) at the beginning of 2011, I want to finish my Master's before then. This means I need to choose a focus quickly and take all of the courses necessary as soon as possible. The crazyness never ends.

While this is my personal graduate studies story, other people have been going through similar things in their own fields. I'm finding that the best way to learn how to navigate the graduate program here at Brockport is to ask other grad students who have already made these decisions. They have so many pointers! Just chatting before class is really helping me. It's scary to think that these people will be my professional colleagues in just a few years, but I'm happy to be networking with them now when I have the chance.

What about the decisions you have to make BEFORE coming to graduate school? Which program do you choose? What school do you choose? How do you finance it? There's an easy way to find these things out: the Graduate School Fair. On Wednesday, October 21st Career Services has scheduled representatives from about 75 graduate schools to meet in the Union Ballroom. They'll be there to answer questions about their colleges, graduate programs, etc. It'll give you a chance to compare 75 colleges at once! This is a great start for students early in the planning process, but it's also a great opportunity for students who already know which graduate school they want to attend. Find out what applicants need to stand out. If you have any questions, call 395-2159 to learn more about the event. Or, stop by to pick up a list of prospective graduate schools that will be attending!