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Farewell Blog
Greetings fearless readers!
‘Tis time for me be bid thee all farewell (at least for now). But never fear, grasshoppers! I will try to post a couple of blog entries after I am settled a bit in LA to let you know how the move goes and what it’s like to work for a creative corporation. When I finished working for SI Career Services, I posted a “farewell blog” for the students here to share with them a step-by-step resume guide, filled with all the major tips that I had encountered while providing advising help and resume reviews during my time there. And here I shall do something similar, except I’m going to give my advice if you’re a prospective student and also some advice for new students.
The Prospective Student checklist:
1. Yes, you need to submit ALL items on the admissions package list! You can find this list here: http://www.si.umich.edu/applying/applying.htm. If you see it listed, then you need to submit it.
2. The SI website has everything you need to know. Really! It’s totally brilliant, although sometimes things are put in rather odd places (but that’s just my unauthorized opinion). :o) Go to: http://www.si.umich.edu. Want to know about jobs and financial aid? It’s on the website. Want to know a student perspective? It’s on the website. Want to know about course offerings? Yup, that’s right—it’s on the website. Housing, student projects, internships, research news—these basically round out the big topics I’ve been asked about the most and I always end up pointing folks to the website for the general information.
3. Be passionate in your admissions essay. Everyone has something that they’re totally geeked about and you do too! SI needs to know how your time in the program will help you reach your goals. Your essay is the best way for you to show your personality to the admissions committee, despite the fact that you are on paper.
4. Be sure that your letters of recommendation are great. Carefully choose who you want to write letters for you. They should know you as a person as well as things like your learning style, working style, and your ability to pursue your goals. Make it easy on them too—provide pre-addressed and stamped envelopes or collect the envelopes from them and send them to SI all at once. Also remember to give them plenty of time to write the letter with a firm deadline attached.
5. Numbers aren’t everything. Yes, your GPA is important and so are your GRE scores (and TOEFL scores for our international friends). However, SI sees you as more than just a few numbered scores. Ergo, #3 and #4 are very important to help give the committee a well-rounded picture of who you are.
6. Come to the open houses. You’ll never truly know if a program is a good fit if you don’t actually visit the place. Sometimes this isn’t possible, which is why SI provides so many resources like the video content on the website and student blogs. However, if you are able to make it to an open house I highly recommend it! If you prefer an individual visit, then that is also a great option and you can arrange those through the admissions office by emailing si.admissions@umich.edu.
7. Know how the MSI program is structured and differences between the MSI and PhD programs. The best way to do this is to start reading up on the different specializations (MSI) here: http://www.si.umich.edu/msi/specs.htm. Be sure to click on the specializations themselves so that you can see what kind of curriculum requirements go along with each one. If you’re confused or curious about the difference with the PhD program, then you’ll want to also read about the doctoral side here: http://www.si.umich.edu/phd/default.htm.
8. Remember that the MSI program is a professional degree. The emphasis is on practical engagement and skill development to help you get a bigger steppingstone in your professional career. Think in a goal oriented fashion and you will find your time here much more directed.
9. Ask questions! You can always email the SI Admissions office at si.admissions@umich.edu to be put in touch the right person to answer your questions. Very often the right person will be a current student, like I have been, and you don’t have to worry about bugging us. Don’t be bashful—better to know the answer than to wonder what the answer might be.
10. Be patient. Applying for grad school can be frustrating and waiting for questions to be answered sometimes can also be frustrating. Just know that here at SI we do our best to answer things as quickly as possible. Sometimes things might slow down (i.e. you don’t hear from us within a week) because of academic calendar holidays, SI major events, or other factors. Something to help speed up your application is to make sure that everything gets sent in on time and as much in one piece as possible. If you can collect your items that need to be mailed in and put them all into one large envelope, it will make things much easier for the Admissions Office. It will be easier for you too because you'll have peace of mind knowing that everything has truly been submitted on time.
The newly admitted student checklist:
1. Everything listed above for the prospective checklist applies to you too. :o)
2. Everything will work out and be just fine! That is your motto. :o) Trust me when I say: enjoy your last summer before graduate school.
3. Financial aid will happen, but sometimes that means having to work a few more hours, trying harder for other/outside scholarships, or take out loans when you might not want to. If you’re planning to go through graduate school, there’s a certain amount of sacrifice that you have to accept. Budgets are wonderful. :o) Be a black-belt grasshopper and embrace it for all it’s worth!
4. You will have absolutely no problem finding a good job that pays you decently while giving you good practical experience—and you will probably find said job during your first week of classes, so don’t fret! You can get familiar with resources early, however; do this by looking at the financial aid page here: http://www.si.umich.edu/applying/fin-aid.htm. Now, when I say “look at” I mean really look at everything. Click on all of the links, read all of the content, learn about your options.
5. You will also find housing, and you can definitely live in Ann Arbor without pledging your first-born and giving the clothes off your back. :o) If you need a roommate, you can see who else is looking for a roommate when SI launches the online newly admitted student forum on Course Tools (usually around mid-May of each spring). Start with the SI housing page here: http://www.si.umich.edu/stulife/housing.htm. I found my apartment by using http://www.apartments.com and http://www.rent.com. Some people have used http://www.craigslist.com as well. If possible, you will probably want to come visit a few places before you sign a lease—just make a day full of appointments and go to your top 5-10 choices and then make a decision. You can search for housing until the next Big Bang, so at some point you’ll just have to make a decision and go with it. Trust me, I understand—I’m getting my own housing set in LA right now. Finding housing is all about persistence, so be persistent and good luck!
6. Let go of the specialization labels. To a certain degree, your specialization might matter, but in the end your own personal direction will be what defines you, not a specialization title. Each specialization is very flexible as it is, so you really don’t need to feel like you’re locked in to something. Out in the professional world, they don’t care so much about what specialization you are but more about what you can tell them that you are capable of doing. Which leads me into my next point…
7. Focus on doing! Can you explain what you know through practical examples? This is your goal: to illustrate what you know in theory through practical projects, either individual or group, and definitely client projects. Libraries, archives, corporations… it doesn’t matter who they are, they understand working for clients and working with other people (i.e. group work) and they appreciate it when you can illustrate your knowledge through real examples.
8. Infuse your projects with your personal interests. Got a final project to do? Well, what are you interested in? Try to create a project that addresses your issue of interest and you’ll find that not only do you enjoy your project more, but you have a nicely focused experience as well. Professors here will be more than happy if you show self-direction. People thought I was a little batty for being so entertainment focused while I was here, but all of my entertainment-focused projects got me the job I wanted in the end.
9. Find your niche during your time at school. Maybe you excel at academic work or maybe you are a pro at practical projects and working with clients. Either way, you have to know that you can’t be everything and do everything all at the same time. I was in the latter category and so I made sure to make the most of it and used it to my advantage in my job search. There is a lot of responsibility on your own end to make your grad student career rewarding and successful—use all the resources you can find to your advantage and for good advice.
10. In the end, everything is up to you. The beauty and difficulty with graduate education is the autonomy that comes with it; and SI gives you a lot of it by providing as much flexibility as possible. This means you have to take charge of your destiny. No one else can hit the pavement for you and get you your job except you. There are tons of resources to help you along the way but you must work on your resume and cover letters, do excellent networking, and learn how to showcase your talents so that you become the #1 candidate wherever you go.
So, there end my words of (maybe) wisdom for you. For prospective students, I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors! To the newly admitted students, I congratulate you and also feel free to look me up in the student-alumni network database when you start your first semester. I’ve had a really great time in my two years at SI, UM, and Ann Arbor. I came from having to go through a total 180-degree career change and from a super boring job that just about killed me. And now I am getting the opportunity to put my stamp on the world of electronic records management as the Digital Archivist for the Disney Internet Group. It's been a lot of hard work for me with all the highs and lows that come with it. But dreams really do come true and I am ever thankful to SI for helping me with that.
I must give special thanks to the following people:
- Laura Elgas who is not only a fantastic person to work for, but also a totally amazing MSI admissions manager.
- Marsha and Heidi in the admissions office who are so very helpful and kind, even when SI events are putting them through the wringer.
- Joanna Kroll in career services who is getting fresh baked cookies for life because that’s what I promised if I got my dream job at Disney. :o)
- Kelly in career services who is totally fabulous and knows a lot about relocating and moving (which I have needed as of late).
- Xiao-wen, advisor extraordinaire! Thank you for counting my credits and making sure I did, in fact, graduate. :o)
- Judy Lawson, for doing more work than I can imagine and keeping SI running smoothly and sanely.
- And last, but not least, my faculty advisor Michael Cohen for truly “getting” what it is I wanted to do. I got some great advice about courses and help with my transition into graduate school courses.
And for the last official time, I will sign off. Thanks for being such great readers! I'll see you under the palms... (or a big mouse-eared hat :o)
-maw
Posted by maryaw at May 4, 2007 12:08 PM
