Grad School

Alright well it's about time that I start writing in this again to document this particular time in my life...lots of changes. I meant to start again earlier but I was so busy around the holidays since both of my workplaces were swamped, and then graduate applications, and then potential job, and then research for moving...and it just keeps going. There's always something so I just need to buckle down and write this thing =).

Let's start with grad school. I applied to three museum studies graduate programs: University of Washington-Seattle, Western Illinois University, and Johns Hopkins University. When I applied to them, I had no first choice or any particular order because they were all so evenly matched. It became even more difficult to choose when I was admitted to all three programs.

The Quad at UW is famous for the blossoms in the spring. There are rows upon rows of these lovely trees - stunning!

Two years ago, University of Washington-Seattle was my top choice. D and I actually spent spring break there at the time: there was an orientation for the program that we attended after an all-night drive and it was perfect timing to explore the city. D proposed to me that week as well as we walked back to our hotel from the Space Needle; he waited for the trip to do so because he wanted the proposal to symbolize he'd move wherever we needed to for me to go to grad school, to make my career in museums, that he was supportive all the way =). We loved the area and that we could live in a suburb outside the city for cheaper cost of living while being able to transfer and work at BJ's. Having a job after relocating would be a big help, especially with paying for grad school and needing loans. However, my commute to school would be at least half an hour, and that's with no rain or traffic (difficult to come by in the Pacific Northwest and major city of Seattle). And I'm a rather lazy person =( and that plus dreary rain equals me maybe not making it to class all the time.  But museums in the area are world-class and the program is well-established and I met great people at the orientation.

Western Illinois University is located in Quad Cities, encompassing land in Iowa and Illinois as it is on the border marked by the Mississippi River. The university is in Moline, Illinois and the renowned Figge Art Museum, where classes are held, is in Davenport, Iowa (maybe 20 min between them with traffic). The area is home to about 300,000 people, with each of the towns within Quad Cities much smaller than that so it contributes to a small town feel but with bigger town amenities (and lower cost of living). Also, there are so many museums within a few hours any which way you go (especially with Chicago a mere 2.5 hr drive east). The program director keeps an updated Facebook on events and workshops going on, and keeps in contact with me, which was a really nice personal touch. She has even offered her help in our search for good housing locations, put me in contact with someone in the restaurant industry so we aren't going in completely blind, etc. I can't imagine any of the other directors of the museum studies programs I applied for going that extra mile (100 miles even!) to help a newcomer. All the classes are actually held at the museum, so I like that hands-on factor. It's near Chicago and a completely different part of the country I'm not used to so it'd be a great experience even if I didn't want to end up settling there. There was an opportunity to apply for a graduate assistantship which would place the student in an area relevant to their field of study, provide a monthly stipend, and a tuition waiver. Tuition was at least $10,000 cheaper than the other two schools so that was enticing (especially if I didn't get the GA) and the GA was such a big draw for me too. What better combo than tuition waiver and getting experience in the museum field???

Johns Hopkins University offers an online museum studies MA program. That intrigued me because I could continue making the money I am at the restaurant, we wouldn't have to move, and I would get to take a two week intensive seminar to get hands on experience at a museum (favorite option: London!). Also having the name "Johns Hopkins University" on my diploma would be awesome. The staff and faculty teaching the online courses could be from anywhere, from Singapore to France, since the Internet was our classroom. The money we have saved up to move we were considering using as a down payment on a house here in town. I felt the Johns Hopkins option allowed us to still live our routine and near our families with a couple exciting options to travel, really neat variety of courses to choose from, and was highly considered when I was in the running for a job in Santa Fe, New Mexico (more on that in another post). However, it was really pricey, wouldn't give me much experience since it's all online, and I didn't like the format of the online orientation (I'd hate that to be my entire grad school experience). Also, it was difficult to get in touch with anyone there with questions I had...um, it's not like I could go knock on the office door!

Lots of things to think about and it seemed like every hour I changed my mind. It got worse when I was admitted to all three! I was super proud of myself and happy but got more confused about where to go. It was down to the financial aid packages then to help my decision. WIU got back to me first (very prompt in admissions, financial aid, questions, etc....great quality) and to my disappointment, I didn't qualify for any grants, just loans. UW gave me both. JHU just gave me loans as well. I was feeling pulled to the WIU program but was still worried if it was the right decision. Then I found out I got the assistantship! That just was the icing on the cake, cherry on top kind of thing (yeah I'm mixing my sayings, oh well lol). How could I pass that up?

The assistantship allowed for a tuition waiver Fall 2011, Spring 2012, and Summer 2012. I would be working 13 hours a week for a monthly stipend of $607, which is nice to have some flow of money when moving to a brand new place with no jobs. The position? Assisting the curator of education at the Figge Art Museum! Cool! What great experience this will be for me...I'm so excited to get started =).

Things to document in future posts: the Santa Fe job, our hopes and efforts for moving to the Midwest, our honeymoon, continuing with the excitement for our Asia trip. I think that's a good list for now =). Write to you soon!