Orientation

Orientation?  Why would you be at an orientation?  Well, as a new graduate student, I felt like I needed to check it all out.  Even though I’m enrolled in a completely online program, I live relatively close enough to the University of Arkansas that I could attend the New Graduate Student Orientation.  I figured it might be a good idea since I haven’t stepped foot in a classroom in 19 years.  I’d like to know what I’m up against.  I’m sure things had changed a bit, so I thought this would be a good idea.

Yeah…I totally felt like Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School… the old guy surrounded by college students.

It was informative, but man did I feel out of place.  After lunch, they brought in about 6 current graduate students (1 Ph D. candidate) to field questions about what graduate school was like.  A lot of questions were asking about parking, living situations around campus, what bus to take and do you feel safe on the bus.  One person even asked, “Would you think it’s possible to be a graduate student, have an assistantship, and a part time job?”  To which the entire panel said, “No.”  And I’m over here thinking, “Granted…I’m only a part time student, but I have a full time job, family, mortgage, car payments, 2 side businesses, etc.  How the heck am I ever going to make it?”

As long as I qualify for the student discount for football tickets…it’ll be worth it.