Archives for Non-Traditional Students category
Hooray, I am done with school for the year!
Finals are over, grades are in, and now I can relax. Well, I can start working my patooti off to save money for next school year, anyway.
The last month of school was incredibly stressful. I don’t think I’ve ever studied so hard, but it paid off with straight A pluses in upper division science classes. Sorry, CSU vet school, but I just can’t do any better than that… I hope it’s good enough!
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May 23, 2009 | | Getting In, Non-Traditional Students
This post is really about two things:
1) the “old age” aspect of returning to school, and
2) the money aspect of returning to school, and
3) (I lied) the intersection of the two.
For anybody that’s thinking of taking the plunge and who just can’t get over the age thing (it took me about three years to get over it… three years that I could’ve been in school!), I offer you this:
The best piece of advice I got was from someone who was doing exactly what I wanted to do. She went back to school in her late thirties, and she is now a well-known holistic vet. Here’s what she said:
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Apr 20, 2009 | | Non-Traditional Students, Paying for School
So, I received my official rejection letter from CSU’s vet school a couple months ago, and am just now getting around blogging about it. Why? Because I wanted to see what they had to say in my “file review,” i.e., my post-rejection interview.
It’s pretty cool that they even do this: basically, I got a one-on-one conversation with an admissions committee member to go over strengths and weaknesses in my application.
Now, some of you out there may be thinking, “Holy crap! She got a 1540 on the GRE and didn’t get into vet school?! I’m screwed…” Not so fast.
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Mar 26, 2009 | | Getting In, Non-Traditional Students
I got my grades today, and I am thrilled to report that I got straight A’s. I think the last time that happened was in 1992. So why, you might ask, am I whining?
Because there’s no standard as to whether professors award plus and/or minus grades. In two of my classes, there were no pluses or minuses. In another, there were pluses but not minuses. In yet another, there were traditional pluses and minuses, and in the last one, there were some pluses and some minuses, but no A pluses. HUH?! Read the rest of this entry »
Dec 23, 2008 | | Non-Traditional Students
Well, kids, I did it. The vet school application is in with less than 24 hours to spare. I really MEANT to get it done much sooner. *sigh* And I thought the GRE was bad. This application process has reduced me to a driveling mess!
About a year or so ago, I started recording some of my experiences in narrative format, thinking I might be using them someday on my vet school application. Turns out nothing in my application came from those early efforts, but I do think it was a useful exercise, because I’m pretty pleased with the way my essays turned out. (And some of those early essays have turned into this blog.)
So, here are my tips for those of you who are crazy enough to want to go through this process sometime in the future: Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 01, 2008 | | Getting In, Non-Traditional Students
Well, the first week of school has come and gone, and already I’ve discovered things that do and don’t work for me. Doesn’t work: the trusty backpack I’ve had since the first time I was in college – it’s too small for my ginormous notebook. 
Does work: sneaking in the exit doors to get a better seat in the lecture hall.
Here are my top ten observations for the week as a back-to-undergrad thirty something:
1. Cell phones are ubiquitous!
When I went to school, cell phones were non-existent. Now they are glued to the ears of half the students you pass. For me, it’s a bit disconcerting, especially in the restroom! What’s up with that?! There is no one I need to speak with so badly that I need to call them up while I’m sitting on the toilet…
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Aug 30, 2008 | | Non-Traditional Students
