As usual, the friendly weatherman on the morning news was trying to scare me… today we’ve had predictions of a winter storm. It seems kind of ridiculous to me, really—in my Washington hometown, a foot of snow in a day didn’t prevent us from strapping the chains on the buses, kicking the trucks into 4 wheel drive, and heading off to school and work. Here, we’re looking at TWO INCHES of accumulation, which created a huge rush on the Kroger grocery store last night (but it was also senior citizen night, which may have had something to do with it). When I went to Target, they had huge winter shovels and salt prominently displayed for sale at the front of the store.

But you know what they didn’t have, what every good denizen of Leavenworth, Washington considers a winter essential?? Sandbags! I had to buy 80 pounds of stupid cat litter to keep the back end of the ‘Stang on the road—and I don’t even own a cat! Oh, the irony of it all. But Target was selling Aplets and Cotlets in its holiday candy section, and you should all buy some this holiday season. They’re made in the town next to my hometown, so even I buy a $5 box this time of year.

My eminently practical significant other has reminded me that we haven’t had a “how-to” blog post in quite some time. So today, I’m going to say a few words about grad school applications. This was an area where, frankly, I felt that I had little guidance when I was in college. Professors were telling me that I should go to grad school, but then not supplying me with practical strategies to do so.

Yet in some ways, selecting a grad school is like selecting a college—you just have to have a better idea of what you want. My friend Casey and I were discussing last night whether she should enter a Master of Arts program or a Master of Public Policy program. The difference, you ask? Where you think your career path will take you. If you hope to get a PhD and teach in the academy, the MA will probably best serve your purposes. But if Casey, for instance, wants to be a policy guru in Washington, DC, then she should try the MPP. Master of Public Policy, Master of Divinity, Master of Business Administration… these are all professional degrees meant to give you specialized skills for practical application in a chosen field. A Master of Arts requires specialization, too, but in an academic discipline.

If you’re thinking of grad school for this year, then you should already be on the bandwagon in the application process (sorry). If grad school is a few years off, though, you can start thinking about a couple of things now—do you want to enter grad school right out of college, or would some practical work experience benefit you in clarifying your professional goals? What programs sound interesting to you?

I won’t say too much about the nuts and bolts of how to apply, because it really is similar to the process you went through to apply for undergrad… you take the GREs (see April 19’s blog for an account of my epic battle with the Graduate Record Exam), solicit recommendations from professors, send copies of your transcripts, and sell yourself through the application and the personal statement. Just make sure it isn’t half-baked, because the competition for some programs can be stiff. If you are applying for grad school this year, you should be assembling these materials now. Some programs I’ve seen have application deadlines as early as January 10 for the fall term.

And what should you be thinking about when you select a school? Well, I’ve asked my colleagues and recent seminary grads Molly and Bridgett about this one. Molly suggests that if you’re having trouble picking (especially if your plans are more of a vague leading of the Holy Spirit rather than a detailed life syllabus), look at the faculty. Who among them are studying things of interest to you? Who would you like to learn from? Because if you like the faculty, chances are you’re going to find your niche within the program. It doesn’t matter how highly regarded the program is if you hate it and drop out after a year, after all.

Hopefully you found some of that helpful, but now I have to go—it is the semi-annual “Will You Stay With Your Job If We Give You Food?” day, aka the National Ministries Division Christmas Breakfast. This year, we’re following it up with the Women’s Ministries Christmas Lunch. I will report back tomorrow on NMD’s annual Christmas gift. So if I do get snowed in at PresbyLand today, at least I’ll be well fed.

“From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.” --Job 38:29-30

Kelsey

Umm...you can always buy sandbags at Home Depot or any other home improvement store.