Anyone in school?

[MichelleRenee]

I got my LSAT score Friday. It was not great. I was extremely disappointed when I got it but I have had some time to review where my mistakes were and it gave me a really clear picture of how I need to study differently to do better on my re-take.

I am planning to re-take in December.

School-wise I had to deal with ANOTHER registration issue and I am FED UP. I went to register for my final class and up pops a notice that there is a pre-req. Well the pre-req is NOT a required class so how in the hell are people supposed to know they need it? I e-mailed the prof, who I happen to have a class with right now, and he exempted me from the pre-req. I hate to ask for what seems like "special treatment" but for Pete's sake - I am registering for my final class after 10 years of undergrad. I just want to be finished and every time I turn around it's like there is something else I need to complete!

[AmandaLeigh]

I officially submitted my application today. I am looking to go back for a second BS degree. Th big plus is that this program leads to professional certification. Wish me luck.

[jennylou]

I just finished two classes, they were eight week classes and am still maintaining my 4.0. I have 3 classes (English, A&P I and Algebra) plus a gym class for the rest of this semester. I'm glad the two classes ended, they had a lot of busy work - now I can concentrate on my other classes - especially A&P, I have an A now and plan on maintaining it.

michelle - sorry that you didn't do as well as you were hoping to.

[Kiki]

Kiki -- What does Organizational Leadership entail? I'm getting my Master's in Organizational Development and I'm wondering if they are similar.

Thanks!

Hi Kendriln!

Umm, I'm not really sure? Ha ha! I'll try and find a description on the college website and let you know. The department I work in is called "Learning and Leadership Development." It used to be called "Learning and Organization Development." We are the corporate education center for all employees; meaning we offer free classes in Computer Education (Microsoft Office Applications), Leadership Development, Professional Development, and, of course, all sorts of Clinical classes since it's a healthcare system. We're considered to be part of Human Resources.

Because of the kind of work I do and the name of my dept., that's one reason I chose this degree. That, and it's one of the degrees designed for people with Associate degrees like mine.

[MichelleRenee]

Got my registration issued worked out so I will, for sure, no matter what be graduating this spring. Finally.

I'm set for the December LSAT. My practice scores are once again considerably higher than my actual September test score was so I am guessing part of the problem was test day anxiety. Hopefully now that I have BTDT I will get past the anxiety so I can just get a good score and be done with all this studying. Technically my score was high enough to get me accepted to the schools I am applying to but I am aiming for scholarships so I need to score as high as possible. So I guess I should quit slacking and get back to it......

[Chimichanga]

I get to return to school!!!

I took this semester off after DD2 was born. Definitely the right thing to do. But, I'm getting the itch to get back to school.

I am planning to take a January class - 4/wk - two days a week in class, two online. It will be a bitch I'm sure, but I'm looking forward to it.

DH wasn't 100% sure if I should go back to school this spring or wait until fall. But, our sitter feels she can handle things, so we'll give it a go. Plus, it's only for three weeks... we can find another option if necessary.

I'll also be taking one class this spring. This puts me one semester behind to get my masters.

[MichelleRenee]

Has anyone ever had to write a personal statement before? I am assuming pretty much everyone who has attended grad school had to write one as part of their application?

I thought writing my PS would be the easiest part of this whole application process and here I sit with 8 *completely different* rough drafts feeling like none of them are even close to being good enough. Here is where I am struggling:

1. I am so very average. I didn't come from a disadvantaged childhood, I didn't have an abusive parent or have a sibling die or have some severe illness or disability. It seems like all of the really good sample essays I read have one of these major elements.

2. I struggle to come up with a topic. I have tried using things that I consider to be my weaknesses and how I have overcome them but my weaknesses seem silly. I have tried writing about what drew me to study environmental management and why I want to go into environmental law. I have even gone into the cliche "Being a mom has taught me......." It all seems to come off as sounding very forced, if that makes sense.

3. When I do seem to get off to a good start the whole thing seems to quickly turn into a summary of my resume. ....and then I...... and then I...... and then I.......

So I guess I am just venting here. I feel like I need to just drop all of my drafts into the recycle bin and start with something new. Maybe a PS on how difficult I found it to write a PS. haha.

If one more friend or family member tells me to "do a video essay like Elle Woods did!" I might just lose it! This is the real world, people!!

[jennylou]

Michelle - we had to write something like that for our intro to college class. It was awful. It sounds super easy, but....it's not.

[Ummm]

MichelleRenee - if you have time, I recommend reading this book - Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges---And Find Themselves by David L. Marcus. Granted, this is about high school kids getting into college, but I think the writing principles still applied. This is not a how-to-write-your-essay book, but more about how the guidance counselor and English teacher help the kids find a topic that is sincere but show off their strengths. So it's more than just showing the "best essays".

[MichelleRenee]

MichelleRenee - if you have time, I recommend reading this book - Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges---And Find Themselves by David L. Marcus. Granted, this is about high school kids getting into college, but I think the writing principles still applied. This is not a how-to-write-your-essay book, but more about how the guidance counselor and English teacher help the kids find a topic that is sincere but show off their strengths. So it's more than just showing the "best essays".

Thanks for the rec! I think the books that are just full of essays are not very helpful. I *think* I might have come up with my topic last night. I wrote a first draft so now I just need to give myself a 24-hour waiting period before I read through it again and decide if it is a keeper.

I don't think I mentioned this yet - I went on a tour of one of the local law schools last week and I really loved it. Their program seems to have the flexibility I need and they have a lot of great resources. This week I tour one of the other local school with DH. I am very lucky to actually live so close to 3 different law schools. I don't know if I will even tour the third. Their tuition is outrageous.