Back to the Classroom

Have I thought a lot about applying to graduate school? Not really.

Was it the economic crisis or tough job market that influenced me? Nope, sure wasn’t.

Did I think before I leapt? Actually, no. (Granted I’m not there quite yet!)

My thought process was surprisingly short and painless. Why? Because, it just feels right. After nearly two decades in school, why wouldn’t going back to classrooms and notebooks be something that comes naturally to me?

School was always my thing. My sister had sports, I had textbooks. I wasn’t necessarily exceptional at math or science, I was exceptional at school. I spent those 17 years being good at homework, tests, attendance and the bare minimum of class participation.

And the sad thing? After those 17 years of being an exemplary student, I realized I’ve never really felt like I’ve learned as much as I could. I always had an end goal, an A in the class, graduation, etc. My full-time work experience has been invaluable – I have a much better understanding of what I want to do with my life, and what I don’t.

Most people react the same way when I say I’m applying to school. “Already?” or “Why now?” My parents had their own distinct reaction, “how are you going to pay for it?” Over the past six months, I’ve watched Carla decide to go to grad school and then examine her choice more closely a few weeks in. I have to agree with her when she wrote, “…I realized that each professional decision is a personal decision. Professionals, colleagues, parents and friends may advise you – but you make the right decision for you.”

So, I want to go back. And I want to mean it. It’s only now after being chained to a (school) desk for the better part of my life do I really feel like I have the freedom, and the desire, to learn more.

-Rachel

I Shouldn’t Be in Grad School

I shouldn’t be in grad school.

Ok, technically I am in school. And I thought long and hard about my decision. The fact is, I never wanted to go.  I wanted to dive into the workforce from undergrad.  I wanted to head straight to New York City, into a corporate office, and work my way up to the top.

I have always been a hard-working, practical person. I was always the “planner” in my group of friends-organized and keenly aware of the people’s needs around me.

So I had a plan: New York. And no one gets in the way of a twenty something heading to New York.

Casually looking online during the summer of 2007, I found my current grad program. I couldn’t believe there was a curriculum that fit all of my needs for furthering my education- a hands-on program focusing on the global marketplace.

But I didn’t want to let it interfere with THE plan. New York. Big office. My vision of early twenty-something life.

But I couldn’t help it; I was drawn to the program web page every couple of days. I started to develop a passion for the program and for the opportunities, places and people I would meet. So, I worked really hard- I took the GREs twice, revised my resume countless times and spoke to every quasi professional about my options. Despite the attempts I made at convincing myself,  I was still scared about straying from my plan.

Then I realized-

Life is not a plan.

You make your own opportunities.

Do what you want to do.

Under one rule: Live with passion.

So, I shouldn’t be in grad school- according to my plan. But it’s ok, because I am loving it. I am learning so much, branding myself, my work, making contacts and lifelong friendships from people all around the world in a city that I would have never explored.

Plans are only in pencil, it’s ok to erase.

-Carla

Why I’m Going to Grad School

Why am I going to grad school right after undergrad? Because it’s the right decision for me.

I know that grad school is not a get-rich-quick scheme. In fact, that has nothing to do with why I am going.

I believe that the graduate program I am attending will challenge me in ways that undergrad didn’t. I realize that a job would do this as well, but they would do so in different ways.

Graduate school is a personal decision that must be thought through extensively. The program, people and practical experience accompanied with the program are what drew me. While deciding between work and grad school, I thought through many questions. Here are a sample of the questions I asked myself when I applied:

• What and where is the program?
• How long does the program take?
• What are the benefits of the program versus the benefits of working?
• What are the costs? How will I cover them?
• What would be the difference if I went to graduate school now versus after working for a couple years?

I only applied to one grad program. I was fully prepared to enter the working world until the end of the summer before my senior year when I stumbled upon my program online. The summer before my senior year I started networking for potential jobs at my internship, throughout the city and at school. After visiting the school of my program, I fell in love with the program’s one-year intensive class structure, the professors and the students from all over the world. The program combines theory and practical application from marketing, public relations and advertising into a curriculum. It matched everything I wanted to get my hands in.

I see this program as more of an experience than another year of schooling. Just as getting a job or creating a start-up would be an experience, I believe that this graduate program will build different but just as valuable professional skills. And I am fully aware and prepared that this experience comes with a price tag.

After much thought, discussion, and reading (mostly in the blogosphere grad school debate), I realized that each professional decision is a personal decision. Professionals, colleagues, parents and friends may advise you- but you make the right decision for you. For me, it’s moving to a city where I don’t know anyone and giving my best shot at grad school.

-Carla