woohoo! So excited

[bee*]

Hey all-hope you all had a good fourth of July. I found out great news that I have been accepted into veterinary college-I am so happy! Also this day next year we will be on our way to New York to get the ring

. I am so excited about everything and D is thrilled that I am going back to college to do what I''ve always wanted to do.
On a side note, can I ask any of you attending college, how do you balance it with working part-time? I will have to work as well even a couple of nights and weekends, as I dont want to drop my plans with D and leave him aside for five years either.

 

[Cailet]

congrats Bee!!

I had a friend who went through vet program at our university - not sure if that is the same thing? It was pretty intense and she didn''t have time to work besides doing a couple of internships that counted toward her studies.

I worked all through college and it is all about time management. Don''t procrastinate - be flexible and creative with spending free time (I had a lot of study dates - since I didn''t really have too much time to do anything else on my "free time") and if you get too stressed out take a day off. The best job I ever had was a front desk/receptionist for one of the dorms. you get to sit at the desk your whole shift and study (well in between sorting mail and answering the phone) - the hours kind of sucked but the ability to study during "work" really helped out a lot!

Good luck!!

 

[Mannequin]

Congratulations Bee! Good luck with your studies!

I worked part time throughout much of my college years, and the key for me was to find places that were flexible with my class schedule. I went to a commuter campus as well, so it was a thirty mile trip one way. I worked in a bookstore near the college that would schedule me as much as possible on the same days I had classes, so that I did not have to drive the extra miles. I also did customer service for a catalog company and they would have me come in during the evening after classes to man the phones. I worked for a grocery store for a while too, and they did the same thing - schedule around the classes. I was always up front with my managers about what my class schedule was like and notified them way in advance before a semester change if I was not going to be able to work the same hours. As long as I stayed on top of my coursework, working was not a problem.

 

[sk8rjen]

Congrats bee! I worked during college as well, almost full-time, and it was difficult at first, but I scheduled study times and didn''t get behind on my work. My relationship at the time suffered a bit b/c we couldn''t spend as much time together, but part of that was the weird hours *he* worked. Since your bf is supporting you on this decision, I am sure he will make the most of any time you 2 have together and all will be fine. Good luck!
jen

 

[bee*]

thanks for the tips. Ive been looking around all day and there seems to be lots of receptionist positions so I might go for one of those cos I could study at the desk!

 

[Fancy605]

My biggest suggestion to help balance work with school would be this: always always attend class and to skip as few times as humanly possible. I know so many people who did poorly in classes simply because they never attended. If you go to class every session, it really cuts down on your study time because you will pick up information in class, and then you will simply have to review it later rather than learn it for the very first time. Sure, you''ll still have to do some reading and some studying, but it is so much easier if you just haul yourself out of bed and get to class. I mean, if you''re going to pay for it you may as well go, right? AND there have been psychological studies suggesting that if you take a test in the classroom where you learned the information, you will recall more answers. So--even if you don''t manage to work in as much study time as you want to, you may still be able to remember things you didn''t know you had stored in your mind because the environment will stimulate your memory.

 

[kcoursolle]

Wow, congratulations this is really an accomplishment with how hard it is to get in these days!!! Go out and celebrate this weekend before all of the work begins next year.

As a grad student currently, I''ll be honest that it''s not going to be easy to balance work, school and your man...but it is possible. I agree with the suggestion of getting a job that you can work at the same time with. Also, an alternative would be jobs that help further your career such as internships, research positions, etc. These will earn you money and help you advance at the same time. Also, keep a perspective on grades, don''t let them stress you out too much...they are not as important in grad school as they are in undergrad. You can''t do poorly of course, but you really don''t need all A''s either. It''s about the degree and the experience, not perfection. If you are like me, this was hard to accept. I always wanted to do perfectly all of the time until I finally realized it''s just not possible in grad school. Just keep it all in stride and think about the end goal rather than the fact that you might not be the best.

Good luck and congrats!