By thePatrick
I'm alive!
So, this blog post will be a long, drawn out post to explain not really where I've been, but where I'm going to be and why. However, to explain where I'm going to be, I have to explain where I was planning on being.
Make sense? Good.
So, last anyone heard, I was applying to Graduate School. I applied to four schools: Indiana University, SUNY-Albany, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and University of Arizona. Through sheer luck and determination (and awesome letters from the professors who wrote on my behalf) I was accepted to all four schools. After talking about it with my wife, we determined that Indiana was the best place for us to go.
And we were going to go, too.
All we had to do was sell our house. We put it on the market in March. However, still no signs of selling. Bummer. But that's not the only reason that we're not going.
You see, I work at the library on campus at Utah State University. Which means I get benefits. And around April, we found out that we were going to be having another baby. This baby is due in January. So, since I have awesome benefits, we called up Indiana University and deferred school for a year.
But that's not all.
See, I was going to be in a dual Master's program and receiving a History M.A. and a Master's in Library Science. It is a three year program. Plus we were going to take a year off, so I would be done in four years.
But then, one day early this month, I was riding the bus to work and thinking. You see, Utah State doesn't have a Library Science program, but they do have a History program. And remember how I mentioned that I work for the university? Well, not only do I get health benefits for the family, but they offer half-price tuition. Which I wasn't able to take advantage of during my undergraduate years.
So, I emailed back and forth between the Graduate School and the History Department's Grad Studies director, rushed an application, got in touch with those professors who wrote letters for me in the past (no small accomplishment. One is still at USU, one is teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, and one is starting at George Mason University in Virginia), and applied.
Begging a million different people, emailing and phoning back and forth, it all ended in a new situation. Beginning Monday, I will be an enrolled Graduate Student in the History program here at USU. Amazing how plans can change.
So, we still haven't sold our place. We're not moving to Indiana. But I am going to school. We are having another baby. And we get to stay around friends and family. So if you all would take a moment and pray for my wife's sanity while dealing with a two year old, being pregnant/having a baby, and having a husband in Grad school.
Oh, and keep on keepin' on.
By thePatrick
So, as you may or may not know, I am preparing to take the GRE at the end of the summer. This means that while I am not enrolled in any classes, my brain is still mush. Also, on top of studying every time I can tear myself away from the Playstation, I am also researching grad schools.
I'm cool like that.
But the thing is, there are a few options. Let me explain. For those of you who are unaware, I am wanting to go to school after a dual master's degree in History and Library Science. That way, I can work at some archives or at a university library somewhere and hide away from sunlight and human interaction. After having talked it over, C. and I decided that we should apply to four grad schools, just to cover our bases. My first choice, and one that I am definetly applying to, is Indiana University. Cost of living is similar to Logan, both programs are ranked in the top 25 nationwide, and my Advisor just sent another kid from USU there, and is willing to help me get into the program, too.
Second choice is the University of Maryland. Both programs there are also nationally ranked, plus, they have a lot of internship opportunities in Washington at the Library of Congress and the National History Museum. I'm a nerd like that.
However, the next two choices are fuzzy. There are only a few different Universities that offer the dual master's, so we narrowed it down. Cost wise, the other three are about the same. Cost of living is a bit different, but we figure we will be living on student loans anyway. So now, I turn it over to you. Your first question:
But even with one of those, it only leaves us with three applications. For our last one, since I really want the Library Science degree, it made it easier than trying to narrow down a history program. We also thought, well, if we're not doing the dual program, we can stay a bit closer to home and family. So, we looked at all the programs that were in the west. There were only seven. So now, assuming that I can get into all of these, where should I apply for just the Library Science program?
Thanks. Now, tell your friends. Tell them to tell their friends. I need opinions. And feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you voted for and why.
By thePatrick
But I am doing it to myself. So, now I'll remind you all just why I'm crazy.
This coming fall is my last semester of school. I am done in December. I have turned in my graduation packet. I only need to pass 9 credits and I am done. Finished. Never have to go to school again.
But that's too easy.
You see, I am graduating with a B.A. in History. Thrilling, I know. Want to know what you can do with a B.A. in History? Go to grad school. Honestly, that's about the best option. So, like so many other sheep, I'm going to take the plunge and apply. Thing is, you can't just apply. You have to take the G.R.E. (cue ominous music).
Are you scared yet?
And, like any good test, you have to pay to take it. Hooray! Oh, and, since whether or not I get admitted to the programs that I'm interested in all hinge on these test scores, much like Ron Burgundy, it's kind of a big deal.
Since it's fairly important, I bet you can guess how the rest of my summer vacation is going to be spent. Yup, totally bought a test prep book. It will be my new bible. I will take as many practice tests as I can, and then in August, I will take the most important test of my life. Just so I can keep going to school.
So much for being done.
By thePatrick
So, lately I have seen a bunch of friends and family that I hadn't for a while. During the usual catching up, they all ask about how school is going, and then ask what it is I'm studying. When I tell them I'm a History major with a Philosophy minor, obviously they ask me about job prospects. Let's face it, it's not like during these economic times people are begging for historians and philosophers to come and save the world.
Believe it or not, lately the plan has been to punish myself even further by going on to Grad School. Originally I had toyed with the idea of going on to get my PhD in History and becoming a professor. At least until recently when I met with my adviser.
My adviser just happens to be a History professor. He told me that being a History might not be the smartest idea ever. Again, it's not like people are pining for the days when historians were more readily available. But, he gave me a suggestion, and the more I thought about it, the better it sounded. He had recently written a letter of recommendation for a past student who just started Grad School this fall. He is getting a joint Master's degree in History and Library Science. With that degree you could work in the archives of a library, or as a curator in a museum, or something else of that nature, which fits along well with my nerd-ness.
So, the more I looked into it, the more I liked it. I searched the internet and I could find four universities that offer the joint M.A. in History and Library Science. Indiana University, University of Maryland, University of South Carolina, and Wayne State University (in Detroit).
Now, graduation is about a year off, and all my applications for Grad School would be due shortly before that, but that's not the important thing. The important thing is the poll at the top of the page, because I want to know what you think. Where should Patrick go? I'm interested to see what you say. Poll closes at the end of the month. And leave a comment here, too.
Long and drawn out enough for you?
