grad school

i'm gonna elaborate on this later
but as of now............


i just wanna sleep and never wake up.
good night

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11.1.11
ok back.
so my dilemma was (and still is) whether i should consider applying/attending a school that is out of state.
if you know me, i'm a very stay-in-my-own-little-bubble kinda person. or i was, before i went to korea.
now that i'm all korea-ed out (my "skuinkorea" blog is evidence that i was put into many situations where i was clearly outside my comfort zone), i'm more willing to venture out and experience a new environment.

so this past week, as i was just thinking about grad school, i started researching for schools that don't require GRE. and these are what caught my eye and gave me some kinda hope in terms of eligibility.
for now:
1. New York University
pros:
-during my 4-day trip to NY, i often felt like i was in the American version of Seoul. dirtier subways/subway stations, dirtier streets, but nonetheless tall buildings, taxis, horrible traffic, convenient public transportation system, lots of shopping opps, blah blah blah.
-there are so many things to do and eat and see and go. my trip was wayyy too short.
-my (favorite) cousin is living in brooklyn <3
-jeanne might live there for a year!
-only 2 letters of recommendation needed
-no set volunteering hours listed. it just says it's "vital"
-2-year program

cons:
-the weather is also like korea. it SUCKS.
-tuition + living expenses = $66K+/year --> loan payment for 203984 years
-i don't feel comfortable with my mom driving my car while i'm gone....... and who's gonna pay for it. not me. (jk i have to...... :/)
-i won't get to see my little nephews grow up :(
-NY is just expense (<-- my version of "expensive")

due date: jan 6

2. Columbia University
pros:
-it's columbia
-2-year program
-[same pros as NYU in terms of NY in general]

cons:
-tuition is about the same as NYU
-requires me to get CPR certification
-physics is listed as a prereq. i took physics in sophomore year of college and i did HORRIBLY. i hate thinking back on freshman/sophomore year. i was HORRIBLE.
-same for stats and humanities. ugh. whyyyyy didn't i study. WHY. i shake my fist at whoever told me to "just play freshman year because you'll have 3 years to make it up." ARE YOU STUPID?!
-3 letters of recommendation (not 2). not sure where i should get my third one.

due date: jan 2 for app/app fee/essay, jan 31 for transcript/letters of recommendation [another "pro"]

3. Loma Linda University (not out-of-state, i know)
pros:
-cheaper than out-of-state
-supposedly a good school. haven't heard too much about it myself though.
-riverside county is clean and cheap
-can get a letter of rec from a pastor!
-minimum 40 hours of volunteering experience [i have 60+ from SD and am planning on doing more]

cons:
-it's riverside county.
-waddahail am i gonna do there?
-1.5 hour commute every week for church/home
-still $35K+ for JUST tuition. living expenses: cheaper, but don't know too much
-it's a seventh-day adventist school. yippee
-priority deadline was today........
-i have to go to SD to get my volunteer observation/evaluation form filled out by my supervising therapist. her schedule does NOT match mine. freak.
-3-year program

due date: jan 15


so.... what's the dilemma?
1. my #1 preference is CSU Dominguez Hills because it's cheapest and closest to home. but.... due date is in september. if i get into any one of the 3, do i... accept it and go? or do i wait to apply to CSUDH and see if i could get in before resorting to other schools?
2. do i take advantage of my youth and experience life in a new environment while piling up future debt? or save money and travel later?


ugh too much to think about.
time to exercise.

sorry for the boring post. (but at least writing it out helped me see the pros and cons more clearly.) (whatever, it's my blog. why am i apologizing.)