University of Dayton - MyLife

The Ups and Downs of Planning for the Future

This whole application process is insane. I understand that the programs I am applying to want to know more about me so that they can decide if I am right for this job but it has become so time consuming! My roommate Melissa has been applying to doctoral programs for clinical psychology and a few of my other friends are applying for law school, so it's crazy to see how much time and effort they've had to put into this. I've had to put a lot of time into my applications for service programs as well, but some grad programs are even more intense. The problem with being a senior and figuring out our future plans is that it's so difficult to find time for it all! On top of all prior commitments, homework, etc, piling on stacks of applications doesn't help the matter. Whenever I have free time, one thing I always have to remember to do is work on applications. It has become such a time consuming process especially because with service programs, each application has very different questions. Even though I've finished one application, I will still have to start from scratch for the next application and so on...

Despite how busy it's been, i did manage to get my first application submitted a few weeks ago! I have even already scheduled an interview out to Phoenix for it. When I bought my plane ticket it felt so real! As much as I have trying to post-pone anything post-college, it has been fun finally making more concrete plans. I still have a long way to go, though. Right now I am trying to figure out financial situations (4 years of worth of college debt....ahhh!). That's right, on top of applications and interviews, I need to figure out how I will actually PAY for the past four years of the amazing education I've had here at UD. Freshmen year loans didn't seem like a big deal..."oh, I'll have FOREVER until I need to pay them off," I used to think. Well, that time has come and my debt has become much more realistic. As I spend years paying it off, I just need to keep in mind that those four amazing years were definitely worth it!

Alright, time to work on more applications! Wish me luck!

Jan 25, 2009 11:54 PM Permalink