Probably the last grad school application for Fall 2010

I just "completed" an application for UNO's Master's in Romance Languages. It seems to be a pretty low-competition program, I surmised, as indicated by the lack of application requirements (only GPA minimum, transcripts, and GRE scores; no need for letters of recommendation or essays). At UNO, you choose either a Spanish or French concentration; I am, of course, choosing Spanish. But, you may take classes in the other of the two languages. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Portuguese or Italian are offered (like they are at Tulane), but I think I'll have my hands full with my Spanish classes as well as the French electives I plan to take. Though your major is one of the two languages, you specialize even further and either focus on "literature" or "language, culture and civilization," and from what I gather upon receiving your M.A., you are qualified to teach said language from elementary school through junior college. Though the admissions standards aren't as high as some of the schools I applied to earlier this spring (and didn't get into), I think the faculty have pretty interesting research and publications. Worst case scenario, I don't like it, and I transfer to Tulane or another school. Now that I'm serious about school (or at least had been my final two years of undergrad), I am not worried about dilly dallying around and screwing up without studying and without a care for my GPA.

I hope I get in, and I think I have a good chance of doing so. I'm still waiting to hear back from the program director though because my enrollment is dependent on whether I get some kind of financial aid or a "graduate assistantship," in which I work in some capacity (e.g. teaching) for UNO while attending. That would afford me a tuition and a stipend. I'm not sure on the size of the stipend so I don't know if I can live off of it. But, even if I don't receive either of these things, I still want to consider going part time in the evenings while working at McGehee. After going to Loyola, the tuition is quite manageable. For 12 hours a semester, it's under $2,000 and for 9, it's under $1,500. Not that I want to have that kind of financial commitment so I'm hoping to get some kind of financial aid, or I'll have to pay it in installments. I am not taking out more student loans, especially now that I'm paying the ones I accrued in undergrad.

Of course, I'm still just turning ideas over in my head right now. Once I'm in UNO and if I get a contract from McGehee, I'll better know how to anticipate my fall schedule. I need to talk to people who work and attend grad school so I can really get an idea of how many hours they take. I'm thinking I'll take 6 a semester. If I do that, I believe I can finish my [first] Master's in 2 years (including summers). Jesse works full-time and and generally takes 12 hours a semester in law school. I don't know if this is normal or translates for grad schoool, too, though. I still want to get a Master's and Ph.D. in Latin American Studies or Anthropology, but I think an M.A. in Spanish will provide me a firmer foundation and a stepping stone into my future academic endeavors. And professional, which I hope are academic. Plus, I'll always be able to get a job teaching Spanish in grade school if I want it.

I know that this will be difficult, going to school and working, but I just have to weigh the pros and cons and try it out! I do need and want plenty of advice though. I'll be asking lot of more experienced people than I. At least, I'm not attempting this being married with kids, or unmarried with kids! If I had a family to take care of, I think this would be 100x more difficult. I'll keep you updated on this, but like all ideas I get, I am initially very excited and hopeful, and when things don't turn out how I hoped, I am strongly disappointed. I hope this doesn't turn out like some of the others.