Getting Ready

I thought I'd do a post about how I'm getting ready for my interview...

I have gathered all of the correspondence between me and the school into one tidy folder, including: the interview letter, my essay, my cv (an academic version of a resume), the maps and directions they sent to help me navigate the campus, relevant email messages (with the names and phone numbers of students to call if I get lost), and the bio. of my interviewer so I can know a little about her and possibly ask her a question about her research. In that same folder is my hotel reservation information, airline confirmation information, and limo transportation reservation to get me from the airport to the school. In case you're wondering, a limo service was less expensive than cab service and, in this case, less expensive than shuttle services. It would have been cheaper to take the local train service, but it did not have a Sunday schedule.

On the airplane I will read over my essay and cv because I expect the interviewer to ask me about whatever I wrote, and because I participate in so many activities and have so many goals, I really do need to refresh my own memory...

I have also practiced answering common interview questions that I gathered from the internet.

One of the most important questions I anticipate is "WHY do you want do be a midwife?" It seems like a really simple and straight-forward question, but in actuality it is a very hard question for me. Not because I don't know why, but because there are so many reasons, and also because I have simply always wanted to be a midwife - it's a feeling, something that is very hard to put into words other to say the very cliche "it's my calling." I could easily say that it is my "purpose" as I was recently asked what is my purpose (for being on this planet) but I really don't think someone's "purpose" is directly tied to a specific career, so I hesitate to say that my purpose in life is to be a midwife. However, I would venture to say that if I were not serving women in one capacity or another, I would seriously have to consider whether my life's work was, in fact, aligned with my purpose. Does that make sense? I know I left you hanging without saying what my purpose is, but that's because I can not yet articulate it...

Anyway, back to the interview, I am wearing a black suit with my favorite soft pink blouse (pink looks good on me) and a bare face. I mention "bare face" because I usually "put on my best face" (meaning flawless makeup) for an interview, but lately when I look in the mirror, my "best face" is my "bare face," and that is a good thing...

I've been checking the weather in my arrival city, and the rest of my wardrobe is being selected accordingly.

NOW, up until this point, everything has been pretty neutral and relevant to everyone who may read my blog, but here is something that relates specifically to minority nursing applicants & those of the majority who care...

I have researched the school's mission statement on diversity. I have compared what they say they value to the programs/events/activities/ & statistics that would show that they really do have a solid commitment to diversity. I plan to ask about mentoring opportunities in my interview. I have also read the somewhat limited body of research available about minority students in nursing school to anticipate the difficulties I might experience (there are some issues that have been recorded by many minority nursing students, including the way they handled/survived/& succeeded despite these issues) and to see how the school has dealt with these issues in the past, if they recognize them at all.

I hope this helps all of you future applicants get it together!

The cost of applying...

Ivy3 called, yet again. This time, they asked for clarification regarding my nutrition class. They want me to send a syllabus. I wish Ivy1 and Ivy2 would pay half as much attention as Ivy3 does... I also received a financial aid packet from Ivy3 - how discouraging. It read something like this..."no teaching assistantships"..."no graduate assistantships"..."no work study"...
ooooooooooo kay. Let's hope things go better with 1 & 2...

As for Ivy1, here is how much this process is costing me so far for this particular school:

Application fee: $65
Airfare for required interview: $225
Hotel accommodations for interview: $176
Transportation from airport to campus: $95 (campus is 1.5 hours away from airport)
Spending money: let's guess at $75.00 (I have to pay to eat for 3 days)

Grand Total: $636.00

I expect the same fees for Ivy2, less than a month from now. All I can suggest to you future applicants is to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE ahead of time. If you can't get the money together, call and ask for a phone interview - I know someone who was recently granted one, and the scheduler said that it was not an uncommon request.

Yesterday

was my first day of spring classes and what a long first day it was! It was weird to start out A&P with considerably fewer students than last semester, I guess they didn't pass. Seeing my study group was comforting. A friend asked me for some study group tips, and here is what I told her:

-One weekly meeting where everyone could attend (it wasn't mandatory, but people rarely - if ever - missed)

-Everyone has the same grade goals. We all aim for A's (we don't always get them, but aim for them nonetheless) funny, the people who didn't care to get an A, dropped fairly quickly...

-We all have different styles, which has proved to be very helpful:
*** is supreme note-taker (no one else takes class notes in our group)
*** is the detail person (she has to know "why" and "how" b4 we move on)
*** was the person who took the lab tests first (she knew what we needed 2 study)
I am the one who actually reads the textbook, and I do mnemonics

-We had detailed study schedules for the week leading up to the test (and a schedule for two weeks leading up to the final) which meant *less cramming*

-Someone who is the "back to work" time keeper, it is o-so-hard to stay focused and on task!

-And, there is always someone who is better at one thing than another person...the one who gets it teaches the one(s) who don't, and we usually don't move on until everyone gets it...when it comes to the studying from old notes and tests, we first check all the answers against the book to make sure they are correct, and so we have to divide up the work...therefore, lazy people would not make it in our group ;o)

In other news, SHAKESPEARE is going to be ridiculous. One play *every* week. 1 paper. 2 "midterms" and 1 cumulative final. Did I mention that papers are my thing and objective tests are NOT???

APPLIED LINGUISTICS is going to be easy and I can make it fun, but the content sounds like it's going to be problematic - already we're talking about "Ebonics" and "Spanglish" and getting into heated "THEY" & "WE" debates. And (surprise, surprise) I am the only black student in the class and there are no Latino/Chicano/Mexican/Puerto Rican students. Did I mention I hate my undergraduate institution for making this norm of my undergraduate career?

I also have a senior seminar class, but I haven't been to it yet...

As for tonight, I am off to read Shakespearean sonnets, chapter 17 in A&P, and drag myself to take a bath tonight because the apartment complex is turning off the water early in the morning so that the water company can service the pipes...no shower in the morning...ugh.

And yet another two weeks...

has gone by and now, finally, I have news...

I have been offered an interview! Ivy1 has sent a letter asking me to come to the school for an interview. I accepted (of course) and will interview this month!

Winter break is over on Monday and I am trying to enjoy my final few days of blissful freedom before classes start. Included in those classes is Anatomy and Physiology II and Shakespeare. I'm in no hurry to start, other than the fact that it's my last undergraduate semester. And, I am excited for my A&P study group to get started again.

Things should get a little more exciting next week when school starts...