I need your help/advice please

[canadajen]

Hey everyone :) It's Jen here. After much contemplation I decided to start this thread to ask for your help & advice (be warned - long post ahead) ...

As some of you may know, I finally graduated (yay!) with my bachelors degree just over three weeks ago (May 28th), after travelling by train across North America during the month of May. I cannot tell you how happy I was to finally be experiencing two of the things that I've dreamed of for so many years!! :D The problem is the aftermath ...

Essentially, I do not quite know what to do now :( At present I have moved back in with my parents in part to help them to get ready to sell our house & part to save money & try to figure out what to do with the rest of my life ...

Right now, grad school is not an option, both money-wise & also because my college GPA is not high enough. My goal is to attend grad school in about three years, after I have been able to make a dent in my current student loans and also to get my grades up somewhat through part-time classes. One option that I might have is to apply to our local tech school (quite highly regarded) for direct entry into the second year of a two-year accounting diploma (I just found out that I qualify), or I can also apply to a school back east for a 12 month post-grad diploma in sports management, which I may or may not qualify for. The thing is, I don't know if accounting is what I actually want to do, or if is something to do just to delay the inevitable & facing the task of entering the real world of the job market, etc.

Money is incredibly tight and I've had difficulty finding a temp job, let alone anything else. My student loans payments (big ones! - $500/month CDN) become due beginning November 1st. In the meantime I am living off the little savings that I have, and realizing that I may have to go back to work in either retail or fast food until I can find something else :( I have done both of these in the past, and know that it will be tough to deal with ...

I apologize for rambling on for so long, but I honestly do not know what to do, and find myself getting increasingly worried about this. Even though I don't post very frequently please know that I am an avid reader & follower of this site & especially the AGD forum. I admire & respect you all and what you have been able to achieve and accomplish in your lifes - from law & grad school to deans list to rewarding careers. I know that you have each worked hard to get to where you are now. I am ready to work hard - I just don't know at what :confused:

I do not know if this post makes any sense whatsoever, but in any case, I would very much appreciate any & all advice, suggestions, criticisms, etc. that you can offer to me. Please feel free to respond to this thread or to email me: ocanadajen@aol.com.

I thank you all for your consideration & will look forward to your replies.

liEP,
Jen

[GreekGuide]

Jen,
I just PM'd you with some advice. I've been out of school for four years and just went through the whole grad school process last fall.

I also am a PLSLD (Person Living with Student Loan Debt). hahaha.

Let me know if you have any questions after you read my PM.

LiEP,
Keri

[UMgirl]

Ha Ha I am a PLSLD too! Jen I am kinda in the same boat that your in. I am a recent Grad (In Aug it'll be a year *sniffle*) and I want to go back but because of my not to great of a GPA, I am trying to get some real life experience to make my applications so when I hopefully do go back, look good. I am still trying to get into a law firm for something, but no luck yet. But I refuse to give up and am looking for other ways around it, plus exploring other options. The job situation is the same too. I have a full time but I need a little extra, so I am either going to try to get a bartending or waitressing job.
My only advice is the same that I give myself. Continue to strive for what you want and dont give up. Good things will happen. Sometimes you gotta go thru lots of downs to get an up :D

[GreekGuide]

UMgirl,
Here is my PM to Jen. I didn't post it because it is so long....

Hope this helps you both and provides some inspiration.

Jen,
Chin up, girl! I just went through what you are going through.

I graduated four years ago and went right into working in Advertising. I had tons of student loans and tons of credit card debt.

Last year, I decided I was really unhappy with what I was doing in advertising and did a lot of soul searching.

I ended up deciding to pursue my Master's in Higher Ed with an emphasis in Student Affairs. It was my way of giving back while still being able to use my advertising/marketing background.

I was a little hesitant at first because my undergrad GPA is not stellar. I had an overall GPA of 2.68/4.0 and my last 60 hours was 3.0/4.0.

But never fear...what I did was talk to a lot faculty and staff in the programs that I was interested. It ended up that I scored really well on the GRE and since I had fours years of real world experience, they felt that maturity and experience far out weighed my undergrad GPA.

I was told by top instructors that GPA is becoming more and more a very small part of the admissions decision process. They really try to look at the whole picture. This is across the board...1st Tier schools, 2nd Tier, etc.

Here's what I would suggest to you.

1) Student Loans and debt
--- Yes, put a dent in them first. See about getting on income sensitive payment plan...not income contingent, but income sensitive. There is a difference between the two. I MIGHT HAVE THESE BACKWARDS, CHECK INTO THAT!!

Then pay down any credit cards you've got first. They carry the higher interest rate. Also, if your student loans are not consolidated, get them consolidated. I think you can do this through sallie Mae....not sure about the Canadian differences.

2) If an MBA is what you are after, then I suggest taking some math courses at a local community college or university. You will want to have a proficiency to the calculus and statistics level. Make sure you get "A's" in these classes.

3) When you've been out for two-three years, I would start the application process. Gather materials from the schools, determine which programs best meet your needs and then apply for say 3-5 schools. Apply to 1 or 2 that you think you have no shot at, apply to 1-2 that you'd be happy at and apply to 1-2 that you know you could get into, but are not maybe the most prominent of programs. Be picky, though, applying can be expensive.

4) Also, if an MBA is what you want, I would suggest from now until application time working for that accounting firm. It will show that you have good experience and hopefully progressively increased responsibility. Or, if not accounting, some other area of interest.

5) Other things that can help are volunteerism. You can volunteer to do the ledgers for a non-profit or just volunteer plain and simple.

6) Make sure you build your network of friends and colleagues. They will be important as references.

Another source for the MBA route is www.businessweek.com. Look at the b-schools forum.

Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to chat. I brought up MBA because I was very very close to pursuing my MBA before I decided to go into Student Affairs.

Just an FYI, it was about a 10 month process for me from decision to go, application, interviews, GRE, getting an assistantship and now ending my real job to go to school.

By the way, for my program I have a Graduate Assistantship in Greek Life. It pays ALL of my tuition plus a stipend of $12,000 USD and $500 professional development fund.

I was able to pay off my credit cards, but I will have in-school deferment on my student loans and I am taking out a little more to cover living expenses.

Take care and LiEP,
Keri

OH BY THE WAY, IF You ARE GOING TO MOONLIGHT....THE BEST WAY IS TO WAIT TABLES AT A 5-STAR RESTAURANT. I DID THAT AT A NICE STEAK HOUSE IN KC AND MADE MINIMUM OF $150 PER NIGHT. DURING THE HOLIDAYS, IT WAS ABOUT $250. It's the easiest way to make the most money in the least amount of time.

[greeklawgirl]

Keri's response is absolutely correct and I couldn't agree more.

Jen, you're not the only person in the world to graduate and not feel sure about what you want to do with yourself. It is very normal!

I went through it myself after law school. I just knew in my heart that doing the traditional law firm or clerkship thing wasn't for me, but imagine the arguments I would get from my family about it. ("You mean to tell me that you went to law school for 3 years and you don't want to be a lawyer?!?!") The first year after law school was an extremely difficult and anxious time for me.

But after I worked up the courage to say, NO, this is MY life and I am going to do what I think is best for ME...things started to go more smoothly for me. Now, I'm ridiculously happy with my job AND using my legal background without practicing law.

A few more quick points:
1. This sounds like such a cliche, but if you do what you love, the money will follow.

2. Figure out what your true calling is--one excellent book that can help you on the way is "What Color is Your Parachute?"

3. Worry about your student loans, but don't worry about them so much that your fear of how to repay gets in the way of you pursuing your dreams. Refer back to point #1.

Go get 'em!

[GreekGuide]

Great advice...Another good book is the irreverent "Who Moved my Cheese?"

Always ask yourself, "WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN'T AFRAID?"

[canadajen]

Hi again everyone :) I just dug up this old post so that I could reflect back on where I was two months ago compared to today, and to update it too ...

Well, I went ahead and formally applied to both the local tech school for that accounting program (direct entry into the 2nd year of the two-year financial mgmt diploma) and also for that 12 month post-grad sport mgmt diploma back east (in Ottawa). Over the past two months I have completed the two required courses I needed for admission to the tech school program and, and also completed the formal eligibility pkg for the Ottawa program (letter of ref, intention essay, CV). It has just been in the past 10 days that I have received formal notification of my acceptance into both programs (yay!), with the tech school beginning on September 3rd, and the Ottawa program beginning in a few days - the 26th. These past 10 days have been some of the most intense of life as I go back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. I have received a loan for $10.5K for the tech school program, and have discovered that I will get about $14.5 K for the Ottawa program (tuition/fees/books=$12 K). If I found a job right away in Ottawa, I would probably be able to make it for the 12 months in Ottawa - VERY minimalistically mind you. After much debate with friends, family and in my head, I decided earlier today that I would go to Ottawa, leaving on Sat night or Sun morning. Problem is, a snag came up with my loan stuff that will require at least 4-7 weeks to fix and receive the money. The ticket that I booked is still on hold, as are the arrangements to ship my car (it wouldn't make it driving there). I was all set to pack up my life and leave tomorrow/Sunday, but, the contact at their registrars office did not call me back as she was supposed to, which means that the financial details have not been worked out, leaving me in no-man's-land & unable to pay my tuition for several weeks.:(

That leaves me sitting here, with my life on hold, as I try to figure out what to do now. I just received an email from the program coordinator saying ...

"Jennifer,
As much as I would love to say just show up ... don't board that plane until you get confirmation of your registration.
Hopefully things will work out." :rolleyes:

I always say that I am a believer that things happen for a reason. Not sure whether or not to take this latest twist as a sign that it wasn't meant to be, or rather as a challenge, and something to fight for ??? :eek: ... AHHHHHHHHHHH :confused:

Though I would miss the first 1.5 days, I could try to work things out on Monday & then fly out on the red-eye Monday night, or I could just decide not to go and proceed from there. I am completely at a loss here, and do not know what to do :( ...:confused:

It is quite widely known that I don't like it here, but also that going to Ottawa will be a big stress financially (and will result in total student loan debt of $51-52K CDN). FYI- my dad thinks I should go if that's what I want, my mom isn't so sure, two of my close friends think I should go while the third has remained neutral (and is not sure it would be good for me to go).

Your advice to me earlier in this thread was a BIG help to me, and so I am hoping that you may be able to offer your insights at this stage of the game.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this post. As always, any and all advice/guidance/wisdom/opinions that you can offer and share would be VERY MUCH appreciated!!

LiEP,
Jen