Greetings from Megan

Hi Everyone!

Happy New Year  (a little late)!  I hope everyone had a fabulous winter break and I hope the fall applicants were able to organize and successfully send off all or most of your grad school applications. I know from experience that when I put my last “supplemental” material in the mail, I had a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders!  As Risa and Nick will surely explain in future posts, the process continues, a little less stressful but there are definitely steps you should be taking. Here are two tasks I suggest doing promptly!

1. If you plan on applying for housing and have not done so yet, you can go to this website and pay the $35 fee to apply. http://www.tc.columbia.edu/housing/
2. If you plan on taking out government loans, fill out your 2008 FAFSA. http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

As I mentioned in my last e-mail…. I am no longer the Graduate Assistant for the Office of Admissions, as I was presented with an amazing opportunity to work full time in the Institute of International Education as an International Student Advisor. I started a week ago and it is a lot of work but it is all work I enjoy doing and with every new job, I am sure it will get easier ever day as I learn more about the company, the programs, and my responsibilities!  I work with Chileans, Indonesians, and Africans. It’s fabulous!

I had quit a busy winter break including stops in Philadelphia to visit family, San Diego to visit more family, Miami, Mexico, and Dallas to visit some friends, but my most memorable experience over the break was a class I took through Teachers College!  Yep.. I studied over the break… but not in the cold (but wonderful) city of New York. I was studying in Antigua, Guatemala on what Teachers College refers to as a “Study Tour.” 

Ever year the Center for Outreach and Innovation offer a variety of classes that can be taken as non-credit or for credit. Some examples of the classes offered are: daylong seminars on Internet use in the Classroom, Conferences on Counseling Techniques, and classes that are taken internationally called Study Tours.  I went with 16 other students and Professor Bruce Vogeli from the Mathematics Department to a quaint little pueblo an hour outside of Guatemala City called Antigua.  It was amazing. I had 6 hours of intensive one-on-one Spanish every day with Lily Gonzalez, my wonderful teacher.  During the afternoon sessions we were able to use the community around us and have our Spanish class while we could visit such places as a fruit market, a jade factory, a coffee farm, and a macadamia nut farm.  Having a curriculum designed specifically for my level was very beneficial. I speak Spanish daily in my current job and know that my Spanish level definitely improved over the two weeks.  Some of my other classmates are going on another Study Tour over Spring break to Europe and others will be participating in the Study Tour to South East Asia in May.  Taking classes though The Center for Outreach and Innovation is just one of the many opportunities students can take part in while attending Teachers College.

I got back last Tuesday and started work and class on Wednesday! I definitely jumped right into things! I am very happy that Risa has found a wonderful Graduate Assistant, Nick to continue Blogging and helping with application questions, and  giving you a student perspective on TC and NYC!  I have switched “roles” going from a full time TC student with an internship to a part time  TC student with a full time job. Both situations have their benefits and challenges.  I look forward to sharing these with you through monthly updates and advice!

Till next month!

Megan

PS. Good luck New Applicants!