Graduation is in 2 week and 2 days...what?!

One of my friends from my cohort, Susan, posted the following status on Facebook a few days ago, and I thought it was very indicative of what we're all experiencing right now:  "All of my work to finish grad school is due on or before May 9th. May 9th is now in the 10 day weather forecast. This causes me to have a lot of feelings."

I have two final papers left to write; each about 15-20 pages, which is certainly scary.  I also spend my study breaks and free time applying for jobs and checking my email to see if I've heard back from said jobs, so my life has been less than exciting these past few weeks.  In the spirit of looking ahead to the three weeks I will spend in Philly post-finals, I've come up with a "Bucket List" of things I still want to do before I leave.  This is similar to my last post, which focused on places I want to go.  Again, I plan to come back to Philly, but it all depends on what the Higher Education employment gods have in store for me ;)

1)  Walk around Penn's campus on a sunny day and take pictures.  It's so beautiful, and there are plenty of areas I haven't explored yet!
2)  Go swimming at the Pottruck Fitness Center.
3)  Climb the rock wall at Pottruck.
4)  Go to Federal Donuts (it's a place that serves donuts and fried chicken, they just opened one near campus, and everyone is talking about how delicious it is).
5)  Go to happy hour at Pod and Doc Magrogan's (these are more expensive restaurants near Penn's campus, but apparently they have really great happy hour menus).
6)  Go for a run on Kelly Drive.  Or maybe a walk.  Probably a walk.
7)  Explore the Italian Market area in South Philly.
8)  Go to one of the museums that offers a student discount before my ID expires.
9)  Go to a Phillies game (the only one I've been to was during 100+ degree weather a few years ago, so that was not fun).
10)  Go back to the Philadelphia zoo!

Things I want to do before my lease ends

At first I was going to make the title of this post "Things I want to do before I leave Philadelphia," but that is something I really don't want to do (leave Philly, that is).  I have a job interview for a position at a school in Philly on Thursday, so I'm trying to remain optimistic about that!  I'm really interested in this position and I hope everything goes well.  I've only interviewed for a handful of jobs before, only one of them being a professional position.  I ended up getting hired, which is why I don't have a lot of interview experience.  And the last thing I want to do during the next few months is become a professional interviewer!

Anyway, I realized that I really need to make the most of the next 5 weeks since they could be the last I have in Philadelphia.  Although this might seem like the most random list of activities that ever existed, I decided to share it for those of you who are currently in Philly or planning to move here at some point!

1)  Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival:  May 3rd, 2014, 18th Street and Walnut Street
http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/rittenhouse-row-spring-festival/

I'm probably displaying some extreme wishful thinking as I look into attending this since it's right before my final exams are due, but it could be a fun way to get out of the apartment for a few hours!  Rittenhouse is a really nice area of Philadelphia, and this spring festival includes food, fashion, arts, and entertainment.  I love all of those things, and in that exact order.

2)  Flavors of the Avenue:  April 26th, 2014, Passyunk
http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/flavors-of-the-avenue/ 

I've actually never been to Passyunk, which is a neighborhood slightly outside of Philadelphia.  This event includes samples from 28 restaurants in the neighborhood.  Admission to the food tent is $30, but I'm assuming that includes unlimited samples.  It reminds me of going to the sample booths at Costco and SAM's Club and BJ's all in one Saturday, which is very appealing.  Plus the food is probably better since it's from local restaurants and breweries.

3)  Spring Blooms at Longwood Gardens:  April 5th-April 23rd, Kennett Square, PA
http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/spring-blooms-at-longwood-gardens/

It looks like this specific event ends tomorrow, but Longwood Gardens in general is beautiful.  I went in the winter to see the Christmas lights, but I'm sure it's even more enjoyable in the spring.  It's about a 50-minute drive from Philadelphia and it's very peaceful.  Just make sure you bring your allergy medicine!  Seasonal allergies are the only downside of spring.

4)  BRUNCH!:  Weekend mornings, everywhere
http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/best-brunch-spots-in-philadelphia

I've been to some of these places, although not necessarily for brunch, and I'm getting hungry just reading about their menus.  Brunch is the best meal of the weekend, and it tends to be even better when you can sit outside.  And it's a much better reason to wake up early on the weekends than having to write papers and study.

5)  Rooftop Happy Hour(s):  After 5 PM on weekdays, rooftops
http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-rooftop-bars-in-philadelphia/

I usually choose happy hour locations for the food and not the drink, but the opportunity to sit on a rooftop and chat with friends outdoors is even better.  I'd recommend looking at the menus at these places and choosing accordingly! 

I also just realized that all of these activities involve being outdoors.  So, fingers crossed that we do not have a rainy spring!

Weekend trip to Washington, D.C.

It seems like spring has finally come to Philadelphia.  Today it is sunny and temperatures are in the mid-60s!  This is a drastic change from the single-digit temperatures that we experienced this past winter.  Despite the stress of upcoming final exams and job applications, the pleasant weather has put me in a great mood today.  

First of all, I just wanted to remind you all that our last Web Chat of the semester will be taking place tomorrow (Friday, April 11th) from 7-8PM EST.  Whether you're still deciding to enroll at Penn for the upcoming year or are just looking to learn more about GSE, I highly recommend that you attend.  Myself and many of our other graduate assistants will be online to chat with you, as well as our Associate Director of Admissions and Financial aid.  Just use this link to RSVP: 
https://www.gse.upenn.edu/admissions_financial/events#online

This past weekend I took a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit one of my best friends from college who lives and works there.  Our other best friend who is in med school in New Jersey was there with us as well.  It was so nice to see them--we only see each other a few times a year, but we always have a lot of fun when we reunite.  It was also the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. and there was a lot going on.  I took a bunch of pictures, so I'll use those to illustrate the rest of my post!

On Saturday morning we went to an area of D.C. called Eastern Market.  There were a ton of vendors selling clothing, handmade jewelry and soaps, purses, and fresh fruit and veggies.

This is the Smithsonian Castle, the main building on the Washington Mall, which is where most of the Smithsonian museums are.  I've been to most of the museums before, but it was still great to walk around and see the beginnings of some of the cherry blossoms.

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I really like this picture!  I took it just as the sun was setting.  My friend said that Washington D.C. has some of the prettiest sunsets she's ever seen. 

After dinner we went to watch fireworks over the Potomac River.  This was also in honor of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  It was difficult to take pictures of the fireworks with my phone, but they were so beautiful in person.

During the day, we explored an area behind the Smithsonian Castle called Moongate Garden.  There were a lot of dogwood trees in bloom, as well as a pond and some sculptures.  This picture is of myself (left) and my friends Vicki and Grace.

This weekend was the first of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Washington, D.C. has cherry trees planted all around the Washington Mall area, and they have festivities every spring when the trees bloom.  Only one of the trees had bloomed when we were there, so we took a ton of pictures with it.  Apparently the trees are in full bloom now though.  You can actually monitor them with this link: Cherry Blossom Web Cam

Finally, this is us in front of the Washington Monument!  It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to see them again.  They're hopefully going to come to Philadelphia to visit me in a few weeks.

It's already April?!

Happy Thursday!  I've heard so many people say this over the past few days, but seriously, how is it already April?  Being in a one-year Master's program makes the semesters fly by extra quickly (although it doesn't always feel that way around finals time).  GSE's graduation is on May 17th, so we have about a month and a half left.  I really want to stay in Philadelphia for a job, but that all depends on how fruitful my job search is.  My apartment lease ends on May 31st, and my parents live in New Jersey, so I'll likely have to go home for a few weeks in between.  Right now all I can do is send out as many job applications as possible and hope for the best!

This past week we had the Preview Days for accepted Master's students in all of GSE, as well as one that was specifically for the Higher Ed program.  This year I attended both, but I planned the GSE-wide Preview Day that was held on Friday, 3/28.  We were very excited that so many people attended the event, many of whom are coming to GSE next year!  I also went to some of the events during the Higher Ed Preview Days, since I remember attending these last year as a prospective student.  I flew in from Miami for this weekend last year.  I highly recommend attending since seeing Penn's campus and meeting current students and faculty made me even more sure that I wanted to be at GSE.

This weekend I'm going to Washington D.C. to spend time with my two best friends from college.  I'm really excited!  I haven't seen either of them in a while, and it will be fun to explore D.C. together.  I'll post some pictures once I get back =)

Busy season

Hi everyone!  Right now we are at the peak of Admissions season for the spring semester.  That means that acceptance letters are going out and we are hosting events for both prospective and accepted students.  Our events take place on-campus, off-campus, and online.  A full list of our upcoming Admissions events can be viewed here. 

This past Saturday we had an Open House for anyone interested in Penn GSE, both now and in the future.  Since my graduate assistantship focuses on events, I worked very closely with this project.  Even though it was stressful to plan at times, the event was successful and I really enjoyed meeting prospective students.  We had presentations from GSE Dean Andy Porter, program managers, faculty, students, Student Financial Services, Admissions and Financial Aid, and campus resources.  I'll post more tomorrow about this event and others!

Spring break countdown

Spring break starts tomorrow, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really excited to have a few days off.  I don't have any plans to go somewhere warm and tropical; the most adventurous thing I'm doing during break is going outlet shopping in Atlantic City with my mom.  I haven't been home all semester since work and my comps exam took up most weekends, so I've missed my family a lot!

These past few weeks have been filled with coursework, applying for jobs, and trying to make the most of the time I have left at Penn.  I'm hoping to stay in the area after graduating (maybe even at Penn, if I'm lucky enough to find a position here), but I know that being a student and being a working professional are very different lifestyles.  I worked for a year in between college and enrolling at Penn, and while I miss receiving a salary, I'm really going to miss taking classes.  I don't think I'll ever stop wanting to be in school, which is one of the benefits of working in higher education.  You're constantly part of a community of people who consider themselves lifelong learners (plus, a lot of institutions offer tuition benefits for employees).

I'm going to wrap this up since I have a lot of work to do around the office before leaving for break (I'm planning two major events for the end of March--our Open House on 3/22, and our Admitted Master's Student Preview Day on 3/28).  Both will be a lot of fun, so check them out on our website if you have a chance!
https://www.gse.upenn.edu/rsvp

Advice for the job search

Before I begin this post, I want to clarify that I did not come up with these bits of advice myself; rather, this is a collection of words of wisdom that I have received from professors/mentors/coworkers over the past few months.  Recording these tips here is just as beneficial for me as it is for potential readers =)

1)  Start early.
Although we do not graduate until May, nearly everyone I've spoken to about careers in higher education emphasizes that beginning one's search early is the key to securing a job not too long after graduation.  To avoid confusion, I have been stating in the beginning of my cover letter that I will not be available to start working until late May.  However, a common start date for jobs in higher education is July 1st, the start of the new fiscal year.

2)  Be flexible.
One mentor told me that for your first job after graduate school, "You can choose the location, or you can choose the exact type of job, but it's difficult to choose both."  Given my experience and current education level, I think it's important to just get some professional experience at this point.  I really want to stay in the Philadelphia area though, so I've been seeking out specific schools and looking at jobs in both admissions and event-coordination.

3)  Don't be afraid to negotiate a salary.
One of my professors talked to us about this earlier today.  She said that the concept of negotiating a salary may seem taboo, even though many jobs provide a salary range rather than a set dollar amount.  My professor encouraged us to leverage our skills and education to try to negotiate the best possible situation.  A classmate who works in the Career Services office at Penn added that referencing data about average starting salaries in a certain field is also helpful.  

4)  Networking is key.
Another professor shared with my class that 80% of today's hires are a result of some form of networking.  Especially for recent graduates, networking seems very intimidating.  I enjoy talking with people, but navigating how to work in the fact that you are looking for a job can be difficult.  One thing that I have realized is that networking does not have to be akin to "schmoozing"; it can just be mentioning that you are on the job market and maybe contacting the person a few weeks later to ask about potential openings at their institution/department.  

I hope these tips are helpful!  I'll add some more as I receive/think of them.  Have a great week, everyone!

Comps, job-seeking, and Ed.D. weekend

Happy Friday!  Hope everyone enjoyed their snow day yesterday (which was most of the East Coast, it seems).  It was nice to catch up on some reading and apply for jobs.  It's difficult to know exactly when to start applying considering we wouldn't be able to start until the end of May, but there are some positions that are looking for a later start date.  It would be amazing to have a job lined up at graduation, but I don't think that's feasible considering the hiring timeline for most Higher Ed jobs (people who are leaving tend to do so at the end of the school year, so a lot of job openings are posted in the summer).  This year went by SO quickly.  This time last year, I came to visit Penn during my spring break from teaching in Miami, and I remember the current students saying that the Higher Ed program flies by since it's only two semesters.  I believed them, but this takes on a whole new meaning when you experience it for yourself!

Speaking of graduation, next weekend is our comprehensive exam for Higher Ed Master's students.  Eeeekk.  What this means is that at 9AM on Friday, we get an email with two essay questions, and then we have the weekend to write a 2,000-word response.  Even though the actual paper is short, this exam is high-stakes since passing it is required for graduation.  We are also allowed to draw upon materials from our courses, but we have to do some outside research as well.  Needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to this being over!

This weekend is our second doctoral weekend, but this time for Ed.D. applicants.  The events will be the same as those that I blogged about last week.  I'm looking forward to meeting some new people and eating delicious food! =)

Ph.D. weekend

This past weekend was extremely busy but also a lot of fun.  It was Ph.D. weekend, where GSE brings its top applicants to campus to find out more about the school and its programs.  We had applicants fly from as far away as Asia to visit Penn, so we wanted to make sure that they had the best time possible.  There were a lot of dinners, programs, and activities over the weekend, and myself and the other GAs had the opportunity to help with all of these.  Rather than describing everything, I decided to use pictures to illustrate the weekend.  

This is the Penn Museum, an on-campus venue where we held a dinner and reception on Saturday night.  The Ph.D. applicants as well as GSE faculty and staff had a busy day, so we wanted to plan a relaxing and enjoyable evening for them.

This is the room in which we held the dinner and reception.  Since the Penn Museum focuses on Archaeology and Anthropology, this room had an Egyptian theme and featured artifacts and paintings around the space where we had dinner.  It was really interesting!

A hallway of paintings in the Penn Museum.

The string quartet who performed at the event.  They played both modern and classical music, which was really cool!

 I shamelessly took pictures of my food the whole time.  Our first course was Caesar salad.

I ordered the filet for dinner...it's not often that us grad students get to eat steak!

Dessert!!

Myself (middle) with Amanda and Wesley, my co-GAs in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.

Myself, Amanda, and Joe (also a GA) at dinner.

The lighting was dim in the room where we held the reception, but this was a group picture of our table!  From left to right:  Jesse (GA), Monica (GA), Natalie (Director of Admissions and Financial Aid), Lauren (Assistant Director of Admissions and Financial Aid), Joe (GA), Amanda (GA), and myself.  Wesley took this photo (thanks Wesley!).

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast at a restaurant downtown that was attached to the hotel where the applicants were staying.  At this point I was feeling a little under the weather due to lack of sleep, so this was my morning "cocktail" (Emergen-C Vitamin C powder mixed with water)!

At breakfast we had 4 current Ph.D. students form a "New to Philly" panel, during which they answered questions about moving to and living in Philadelphia.  They did an amazing job!  They all made us laugh as well as provided so much helpful information (I've only lived here since August, so I learned a lot from them too!).  From right to left:  Demetri, Cecilia, Kelsey, and Jinsol.

After breakfast, we took the applicants on a tour of historic Philadelphia.  Our tour guide was wonderful--he used to be an 8th grade U.S. History teacher and is also a native Philadelphian, so he had a wealth of knowledge about Philadelphia history.  This photo in front of the Liberty Bell is of myself, Andrea, and Jesse, two of our GAs.

So those pictures pretty accurately sum up the weekend!  Last but not least, I wanted to give a huge shout-out to Lauren, our Assistant Director, for planning the whole weekend so successfully.  Everything went very smoothly due to her diligence and careful planning!  

"3-5 years of relevant experience required"

Happy Thursday, everyone =] This week was technically the first full week of the semester, considering that last week we had MLK day and a snow day, and the week before classes didn't begin until Wednesday.  While my classes this semester require slightly less reading and assignments than the last, I have a 6th class this semester--job hunting.  I say that because of the time and effort it will take to find a job.  Luckily both Penn and GSE have a lot of available resources, and even just being here offers so many networking opportunities for careers in higher education.  Penn itself is huge, and there are a ton of colleges and universities in and around Philadelphia.  Since my family is in New Jersey, I'd really like to stay in the area.  That being said, I know that jobs are scarce, so I'm planning to start looking as soon as possible.  

I'd like to start my career in higher education by working in Admissions (this is starting to sound like my cover letter).  I would prefer graduate admissions, but I'm flexible.  I realize that I likely won't be able to choose both the region and the exact area in which I work.  To be honest, I'm really nervous about beginning my job search.  I graduated from college in 2012 and taught high school for a year before enrolling at Penn in Fall 2013.  My program is only a year, so I'll be looking for jobs with only 1 year of full-time professional experience and 10 months at my graduate assistantship.  I just got my resume critiqued at the Career Center this morning, and the woman told me that I have a good variety of experience.  She told me that I am "in a good place" to begin the job hunt (I wonder if a lot of career advisers have counseling degrees?) I'm just concerned about my amount of previous experience.  I worry that with a Master's degree at age 24, I'm overqualified and underexperienced.  Let's just say that those job descriptions that want at least 3-5 years of experience are keeping me awake at night!

Returning from Winter Break

Well, classes started again after a wonderful three and a half weeks of vacation.  I know this sounds crazy, but I am terrible at having time off.  I'm so used to being busy that when I do have time off I actually don't know what to do with myself.  I end up sleeping late and watching way too many shows on Netflix for a few days, and then I have to do something productive.  I actually went back to work a week early since the Admissions office was really busy.  I also ended up having to get my wisdom teeth removed, so that took up some time as well and allowed me to watch more Netflix, guilt-free.  Also, my family went to Disney World for Christmas which was a lot of fun, and I spent New Year's in Philly with my best friends.  Aside from the wisdom teeth, it was a pretty awesome break!  

This week has been amazing since we had off on Monday for MLK day and then had a snow day yesterday.  I know I was just "complaining" about having time off, but surprise snow days are always nice.  I got ahead in some of my classes, made dinner, cleaned my apartment, and even baked banana bread which is very uncharacteristic of me (I'm not great at cooking or baking, but I'm getting better).  I also updated my resume and started to work on a cover letter...ahhh, the job hunt is starting!  I'll write more about that in the next few weeks.  I also have some pictures to post from winter break!

Holiday happenings in Philadelphia

Good afternoon. I'm in a much better state of mind this week since (most of) my finals are done.  I'm not yet ready to post the "I'm finished with finals!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Facebook status, but I'll get there eventually.  Tonight is the holiday party for the Higher Ed department, so I'm excited for that.  I'm also really happy that the place is 3 blocks from my apartment...when I was walking to work this morning, it seemed that there was some sort of "wintery mix" on the horizon.  

In honor of the winter/holiday season, I decided to post some links to events going on in the Philadelphia area.  

Ice skating at Penn's Landing
Philadelphia's version of ice skating at Rockefeller Center.  They convert a large parking lot at Penn's Landing into an ice skating rink.  Penn's Landing is right on the waterfront with gorgeous views of the city.  It'll be chilly, so bring your gloves, scarves, and earmuffs.

http://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/places/blue-cross-riverrink

The Christmas Village in Philadelphia
From what I've heard and can tell from their website, this is set up like a traditional German Christmas market.  It takes place at Love Park (where the famous "LOVE" statue is, on 15th and Arch Streets in Center City).  Vendors from all over the world come to sell food, beverages, and crafts, and they also have live music and performances on some nights.

http://www.visitphilly.com/shopping/philadelphia/christmas-village-in-philadelphia/

Holiday lights!
Regardless of which (if any) winter holiday you celebrate, viewing holiday lights is sure to bring cheer to even the Grinchiest of Grinches (I just made that up).  Here is a link to the top places to view holiday lights both in and around Philadelphia.  

http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-holiday-lights-attractions-in-philadelphia/

Fireworks on New Year's Eve
Speaking of viewing brightly colored things, here is a list of the top places to watch fireworks on New Year's Eve!
http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/where-to-watch-new-years-fireworks/

Mummers Parade
The Mummers Parade is an annual tradition that takes place in Philadelphia on New Year's Day.  Since I don't know much about it, I copied and pasted some text from their website.  It sounds like a lot of fun:  An annual tradition, the Mummers Parade features 10,000 men and women dressed in colorfully lavish costumes as they twirl, sashay, pirouette and strut up one of the city’s main streets. An unforgettably wild ritual, the parade and subsequent performances are all family-friendly and fun for everyone.

http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/the-mummers-parade/

A note about dining/going out in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve:
If you're planning to spend New Year's Eve in the city and this is your first time doing so (like me), I wanted to share some advice I got from friends who have lived here for a while.  

They recommended figuring out what you and your family/friends want to do ahead of time, and then buy tickets/make reservations ASAP.  Many of the fancier restaurants will have "prix fixe" menus on New Year's Eve, which means that they charge a flat rate of about $50-$75 and you can choose from a selection of entrees.  There are some places that don't do this, but regardless of where you choose to eat, everywhere will be crowded so it's best to book in advance.  In terms of places to go out after dinner, most bars and clubs will charge a cover fee, so my friends have recommended doing research ahead of time and finding a place to commit to.  

Hope this helps!  I'll write more over break :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Finals are here!  Needless to say, I'm less than thrilled that I have to write about 40 pages in the next ten days.  However, the fact that winter break is SO CLOSE is what is getting me through all of this.  Oh, and coffee.  Lots of caffeine.  I have to start my paper-writing really early and make a schedule for myself because I can't handle all-nighters or marathon writing sessions.  It's also tough because this is the season for holiday parties and celebrations, so I'm trying to finish my work somewhat early so I can actually participate in some of those things!  Grad school is definitely a lot tougher than undergrad in terms of having free time.  It might also be that the Higher Ed program is only 1 year, so we have 5 classes and then work 20 hours per week.  It saves a lot of money, but it's an intense year!  At this point I'm really ready to start working full-time, but I'm trying not to let my grades slip.  Next semester's course load will be a little bit easier though.  So now to power through the next 10 days!  Here are some cute pictures that I'm using to motivate myself:

Will anyone be in the Chicago area on Tuesday, 12/10 or NYC area Thursday, 12/12?!?

Hello everyone!  Hope you are enjoying the start of the holiday season (if I were on my iPhone right now I would add the snowman and snowflake emojis).  I wanted to share some information about two very exciting events that we have coming up next week for prospective students!

The Dean of GSE, Andy Porter, our Vice Dean, Alexis Wolson, and our new Director of Admissions, Natalie Herring will be traveling next week, so we are planning to have Holiday Reception/Meet the Dean events in both Chicago and NYC.  It will be a great opportunity to meet leaders from GSE, find out more about our degrees and programs, network, and enjoy some delicious food.  As a graduate student, I know that winter break is a popular time to work on applications, so this is the perfect time to celebrate the holidays and fall in love with Penn GSE =)  You can register/RSVP for these events by visiting our events page:  http://www.gse.upenn.edu/admissions_financial/events#off_campus

Here are the details for each event:

Chicago
Tuesday, December 10th, 6-8PM
Gleacher Center at the University of Chicago
450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive
Room 420 (South Lounge)

New York City
Thursday, December 12th, 6-8PM
Grand Hyatt New York
Park Avenue at Grand Central
Uris Room

I've been working on planning these events and I definitely recommend going.  I'm putting together the catering menus right now and getting hungry just thinking about it!

Teacher Education Program Information Session!

Interested in becoming a teacher? Join us for an on-campus information session!

Whether you want to teach pre-kindergarteners or 12th graders, our Teacher Education Program (TEP) can get you on track to certification. 

Through a commitment to social justice and urban education, TEP prepares prospective teachers to transform students and schools. You can read more about the program on their extensive website: http://www2.gse.upenn.edu/tep/.

Read through the website and want to learn more in-person?

Join the Urban Teacher Education program for an on-campus information session on Saturday, December 7 from 10am-noon ET. RSVP here. (Please note only the Teacher Education program will be represented and discussed at this event.)

Hope to see you there!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good morning!  I am very excited for the upcoming Thanksgiving break, as I'm sure many of you are.  A lot of my fellow Higher Ed cohort members are traveling for Thanksgiving, so I'm a bit worried about them considering this inclement weather we seem to be having today/tomorrow.  My parents live in New Jersey only an hour away from Philadelphia, but I'm not going home until Thursday morning because I want to stay here and get some work done.  Finals begin as soon as we get back to school on December 2nd.  Eeeek.

I know this is going to sound cheesy and may even seem like a shameless plug for Penn GSE, but I assure you that it is genuine:  in the spirit of being thankful, I wanted to say that I am so thankful for the opportunity to study at Penn GSE this year.  Last year I was working in Miami, but teaching wasn't for me and I was so far away from my family and friends, so I was very unhappy.  I can't even express how happy I am to be in the northeast this year and able to have this short break from school to catch up with everyone back home =)

Meeting people in a new city

This week I've been doing a lot of thinking about my plans for next year.  Since people from my cohort are from all over the country (and the world, for that matter), our "next steps" vary among those who wish to start working, those who are applying to Ph.D. programs, and those who are unsure of what they want to do.  Location is also a deciding factor, as some of us want to stay in/around Philly, and others want to move back to where they are from originally, or even explore new areas/countries.  

Right now I'm definitely going to work for a few years before thinking about more schooling.  I also want to stay in the area since my whole family and most of my friends are in New Jersey, or at least the northeast area.  However, that all depends on the job search, and I know that I may need to move and/or adjust my preferences depending on what happens after graduation.  

Anyway, I was thinking about the difficulty adjusting to a new city in general, since even if I stay in Philly, most of the people who I've met will no longer be here.  And, even though I've been living here since August, the time commitment of school and work have kept me from making many friends outside of the GSE community.  I've heard of a few different ways to meet new people that could be helpful.  I've never really tried any of them, but I wanted to post their websites and a bit of info about each of the three.

Meetup

Meetup is a collection of networking groups present in most major cities.  "Meetups" are social outings that people sign up for and attend to meet new friends with similar interests.  It is divided into different interest groups--for example, they have ones for fitness, politics, sports, outdoorsy things, etc.  

Grouper  

The way I would describe Grouper is online dating for groups of people.  They match up 3 girls and 3 guys based on questions that you answer.  You meet at a bar or restaurant and Grouper takes care of the reservation and the first round of drinks (each person pays $20 to sign up, so that includes the first drink and a service charge).  I could see how Grouper would be a good way to meet friends, maybe something more.  But it does seem like it could be awkward, depending on the group yours is matched up with.  It's also very easy for plans to fall through, since you're working off of 6 different schedules.  

Philly Sport and Social Club

I included this link because I have friends who have joined kickball leagues and other sports teams in various cities.  I'm not especially good at team sports, but it would be a fun way to get exercise and meet people.  This is something that I would try after reviewing the rules of kickball (bad memories from elementary school).

Study Tips for Grad School

Happy belated Hump Day!  I'm slowly emerging from the dark caverns of paper-writing.  I've had 6 papers due within the last week, one of which was a 20-page research paper worth 35% of our grade.  As of now, I have written and submitted 4 of the 6 (including the research paper) so I'm feeling a little better. After this week's struggles, I decided to make this blog post about grad school study tips.  I don't consider myself an expert in this area by any means, but I have decent study habits and I worked at the tutoring center at my undergrad so this was something that we taught the students.  I will say that grad school study habits are very different from undergrad, the biggest difference being that in grad school, procrastination is a luxury that is to be enjoyed with much caution.

Study Tip #1:  Look at your syllabuses (syllabi?) as soon as you receive them and make a calendar of your assignments.  Sometimes professors change due dates, but at least you can plan ahead.  That way during the weeks where 6 assignments are due, you can start some of them during weeks when your workload is lighter. 

Study Tip #2:  Don't pull all-nighters!  Maybe I'm just a baby, but I cannot function after getting no sleep.  In undergrad it may have been possible to do this before a big exam or paper and then sleep all day, but with my GA and other classes, I can't afford to be groggy any day of the week.  Regardless of your schedule, all-nighters in grad school are not a good idea.  None of us are 18 years old anymore and can get by on 2 hours of sleeping on a library table followed by chugging sugar-free Red Bull (I never could do this, but props to those who can).  

Study Tip #3:  Plan out your writing and set page goals for each day.  Again, this might be a personal thing, but I cannot sit down and write 20 pages in one day.  I'd drive myself insane and the pages would all contain terrible writing, with a mini-panic attack occurring between pages 10 and 12.  Especially for long papers, it's much less stressful to start earlier and write a few pages each day.  Ideally, I like to reserve the night before for proofreading and no additional writing, but that's not always possible.

That's all I've got!  I know that all of us have different schedules, lifestyles, and preferences, but these tips really help me.  Now I'll get back to work...I have a short paper due tomorrow and then a midterm for my law class due at the end of the weekend.

Reminder for Ph.D. applicants!

REMINDER!

The deadline to apply for all Ph.D. programs for Fall 2014 enrollment is SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2013!

This means ALL materials must be received by the admissions office by that date.

All applications received by that date are guaranteed a faculty review of all materials.

If you have not yet taken the GRE, you must do so no later than NOVEMBER 22, 2013 or your test scores will not make it to us in time.

We always recommend that you submit your application and materials earlier rather than waiting until the absolute last day!

Any questions? Please email admissions@gse.upenn.eduor give us a call at (215)898-6415.

Haunted Houses, Cohort Bonding, and Paper-Writing

Happy Monday, everyone.  While celebrating it being the middle of the semester, I realized that I have six papers due within the next 9-10 days.  Yay!  Needless to say, I won't be doing anything too exciting over the next week and a half, so I decided to post some pictures from this past weekend.

Friday night I went to a haunted house in Plymouth Meeting, which is a small town about 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia.  I was pretty nervous since I get scared easily, and the haunted house was in the middle of nowhere and ended up being very well-done in terms of scariness.  The scariest part was that all of the actors were at least 70 years old.  One had emphysema and talked through a stoma in his neck, so that was even creepier.  Here is the link to their website!  I recommend going next Halloween:  LuLu's House of Horrors

On Saturday night one of my friends from the Higher Ed cohort had a "Daylight Savings Party" at her apartment.  It was a lot of fun to catch up with people from my cohort, especially those who I don't see too often.  We took a cute "family photo" that I posted below:

After the party, I went back to my apartment to spend some quality time with my books, catching up on readings for class!  Below is a picture of my sweet iPad pillow case.  It's from the As Seen on TV store, and it's awesome.  Makes studying a little bit more exciting.

Finally, I did work all day on Sunday (and Saturday afternoon too...and Friday night when I got home from the haunted house).  But I also made dinner!  Weird but delicious combination:  roasted butternut squash and buffalo chicken pizza.

That's it for now!  Have a great week =)