Choices:
I got a total of 6 on-campus offers to interview, plus one that I had already signed up for months in advance. How was I going to choose? Anyone else would have taken the chance at all six, but I had a budget. Also, between two jobs, and school, there was a limited window for me to travel. On top of that, everyone wanted to be done with interviews by the end of March and have decisions made on their staffs. Since OPE was the first weekend of March, that left me three weeks to fit everything in.
First thing was first. Which interviews do I attend? Some choices were difficult, some were no brainers. One university I realized I wasn't even qualified for the Master's program I was looking at. My fault. Boom. Five more to choose from.
The next one was so far up north, and after this terrible winter (for me), I realized it would be too difficult for me to handle if I stayed there for two years. Plus, the entire Master's program was online. I don't know about you, but I like to Know my professors. So, sad to say, as much as I enjoyed the people, I had to knock it off the list. Okay, still 4 more to choose from.
Remember how I said I didn't want to go out west? Well, the next institution was out west, and in the middle of freakin' nowhere. I also, didn't like the vibe of operations I got during my interview with them at OPE. It wasn't what I was looking for for my first professional experience. As much as I got along with those folks, and they were close friends with the people of Whitewater, I couldn't do it.
Scheduling:
Boom. Down to three, plus the one extra. Here's where it became difficult for me. I had three weeks now to choose from for four of the interviews. No class Monday and Friday, so all I needed to do was switch my work schedule around. No big deal, but... Tuesdays and Thursdays were my most important classes and one of them the most difficult. and one of those weeks I was not allowed to miss classes for. Then there was Spring Break. Not a lot of room to make choices.
I could fit three of my on-campuses into my schedule easily, one per week, without losing anything valuable school-wise. But, that was only the case if I didn't have my pre-scheduled interviews. This one, was a school that I knew nothing about outside of their website and job descriptions. The program wasn't entirely fitting to what I was looking for, and I had no relationships with the people. Option two was a school I met at OPE - as school that I originally was weary of applying to. But, after interviewing and socializing with them, I Really wanted to check it out, and they wanted me, so I had to go. I had to. So, I cancelled option one. I thought that was going to be the most difficult thing I would need to do.
Let's Call This School A:
Like I said, I originally didn't want to even Apply for this school. You know how I don't like the things that everyone else likes? This school was one of those things. THREE of my past supervisors are alums there and raved about it constantly. What if I didn't like it there? What if it wasn't for me? But then I interviewed, and enjoyed it a lot. Then I went to the campus. It was beautiful. The people were nice, but I seemed to only get along with the higher ups and not really the current GAs, or candidates at that. I liked the school, but after leaving, I hoped my other two choices were better.
School B:
Located in a state I had never wanted to live in before, lied a university where I highly enjoyed the campus, got along well with the staff, made friends with the other candidates, who by the way were competing for the same job as me, and I Loved the Master's program. It wasn't the typical higher education route, instead it was Educational Leadership. Flexible, interesting, and new. Also, the position was different from all the rest. I remember thinking, "It couldn't get any better than this." Yet, through all of the time that had passed, school C had been on my back burner and I absolutely could not wait to visit.
School C:
The time had finally arrived. My final on-campus interview had made it's appearance on the calendar and I was ecstatic. Campus: Gorgeous. State: Amazing. People: Wonderful. Staff: Hilarious and relatable. Program: What I was looking for. Job: Right up my alley. Food: Quite tasty. Town: Small but not too small.
The whole place was perfect. Until then, I had no idea I could fall in love with a school as much as I did there. I was ready to buy spirit-wear right then and there! I was so confident I knew that that was the place where I would end up for graduate school. I had so much fun while I was there and I already felt like I was a part of the crew. They even told me to my face that I was at the top of their list. I made multiple friends with the candidates and everything just fell into place.
I had it all figured out.
Until Next Time...
(Because some people don't like, "To be continued.")
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