Well, the general response from people is that Beam Reach sounds like quite the opportunity! I definitely agree. It is. I get excited thinking about it. Sooo.... this weekend will be spent working on the application. Granted, the application is only my contact info and a paragraph as to why I want to participate, but I feel like it has to be one damn good paragraph for them to accept me!
This of course does raise other questions. I need to figure out the financial side of this. Questions such as "how long will I stay at Concordia?" and "will my loans go back into deferment?" and "who will give me another loan to pay for it?" are all going to come into play. Money is something that really makes me nervous... and a bit excited. I like trying to figure out my finances and how to save my money, but at the same time, it freaks me out because I have so many loans to pay back. Thank you Concordia. You have taught me many things, not the least of which is how expensive a private education is!
I wouldn't take it back. For all you Concordians reading this, I'm not complaining about my time there. I'm just complaining about my money (or lack thereof).
Hopefully, with completing the Beam Reach program, I will have a better idea of what I want to do. I'm assuming that one of two things will come out of it.
1) I will love it, and love research (or tolerate research), and will make enough connections with the UW campus that I can find a professor to supervise me for a MS or PhD.
2) I will discover I don't like research, but can still use this for my resume and hopefully network enough to get a job in the field.
I shall keep everyone updated!
29 December 2010
13 December 2010
A Potential Solution
So if you read my last post, you'll know that I had a big decision to make about whether or not to go forward with grad school. While I haven't really made a decision, I think I've found something that will help me decide!
Back in October, I went to a fundraiser for Killer Whale Tales, this non-profit group in Seattle. They. Are. AWESOME. I want to work for them one day, and they are seriously some of the nicest people I've ever met. I am SO glad that I went to it! One of the girls I was introduced to, Libby, told me about a program called Beam Reach, offered through University of Washington. It is a 10-week program up in the San Juan Islands that gives me college credit, allows me to live on a sailboat and learn to sail, and gives me firsthand experience in a research setting. I believe that Beam Reach would give me a good idea of whether or not I could commit to a research program. Plus, I would hope that it would have the added benefit of networking me with some of researchers, professors, and students that would be necessary for picking a grad program. Libby had nothing but great things to say about it, and mentioned that this program helped guide her in what she wanted to do.
If I participated, I would go for the Fall 2011 session, which would run from roughly August 22nd - October 28th. This would be great because it would allow me to continue to work at Concordia for a bit over the summer to continue to save money, as well as finish in time to apply for graduate schools to start Fall 2012.
It does cost a bit of money, so I'd probably have to take out another loan. But let's face it. I'm going to be paying back loans until I die anyway, so I may as well invest in a program that is going to help me make a decision, give me experience, and give me networking tools.
The more people I talk to about it, the more affirmation I get that this is a good decision. Thoughts from you guys?
Back in October, I went to a fundraiser for Killer Whale Tales, this non-profit group in Seattle. They. Are. AWESOME. I want to work for them one day, and they are seriously some of the nicest people I've ever met. I am SO glad that I went to it! One of the girls I was introduced to, Libby, told me about a program called Beam Reach, offered through University of Washington. It is a 10-week program up in the San Juan Islands that gives me college credit, allows me to live on a sailboat and learn to sail, and gives me firsthand experience in a research setting. I believe that Beam Reach would give me a good idea of whether or not I could commit to a research program. Plus, I would hope that it would have the added benefit of networking me with some of researchers, professors, and students that would be necessary for picking a grad program. Libby had nothing but great things to say about it, and mentioned that this program helped guide her in what she wanted to do.
If I participated, I would go for the Fall 2011 session, which would run from roughly August 22nd - October 28th. This would be great because it would allow me to continue to work at Concordia for a bit over the summer to continue to save money, as well as finish in time to apply for graduate schools to start Fall 2012.
It does cost a bit of money, so I'd probably have to take out another loan. But let's face it. I'm going to be paying back loans until I die anyway, so I may as well invest in a program that is going to help me make a decision, give me experience, and give me networking tools.
The more people I talk to about it, the more affirmation I get that this is a good decision. Thoughts from you guys?
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