Thoughts of an Early Student Affairs Professional

If there is one thing about applying to college that hasn’t changed, it’s the difficulty of the “waiting game”. As a high school senior, I remember constantly checking the university websites to see if my status had changed, if there was any news. Friends would constantly ask each other despite knowing the exact date decisions would come out.

For the last few days I’ve been on my email and checking my phone to make sure that I haven’t missed anything. In this way, the waiting game is very similar. The process of admissions, however, is not quite the same experience. What’s interesting is that yesterday I had an informational interview with our Director of Undergraduate Admissions. She talked about her history and her current role in the university. Basically, she’s an access advocate and a gatekeeper at the same time. She wants to outreach to high school students and JC students to encourage them to apply for the UC. She’s also the person who sometimes has to say “sorry, we just couldn’t accept you at this time.” Through the talk I developed a better understanding of how the university makes these decisions, such as how people estimate the number of students that the university needs to admit in order to ensure that a certain number of students actually enroll.

As I mentioned, my graduate admissions experience is not quite the same as before. Applicants must pass the academic screening through paper application, just like in undergrad. The difference is that with some grad programs requiring each admit to have an internship placement, there is more power on the internship sites. Some programs setup a queue where a first group of students is offered and if they decline, the next student will be offered. If one student is offered a position that you want, then you’re at his/her mercy as well (assuming that you’re next in the queue). It seems that there are LOTS of gatekeepers here. Not to say that there are more than in the undergrad admissions process, but I find that the “steps” in my current processes are much more visible.

It’s been fascinating to compare institutions and processes. I felt like the Colorado State process was spelled out explicitly, I’d know what would happen and have an idea of when. With NYU, I feel a bit lost, unsure of how far the process has gone thus far.

At this point, I’m unsure if I should seriously consider my current options or continue to wait for all of the options to become clear. Grad programs know this and I can only imagine how difficult it is for them as well. They are investing in the students to make the program better as well. They want to create a well-rounded and diverse cohort. Yesterday I was told that there is a science to admissions. It is truly a science, but a science dabbled with personal choices and stories.

And so I tread the muddy waters of being a young professional trying to transition.

So after getting back from NYU for interviews I realized something: I want to attend a two year program for my Master’s degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs. No rush, more professional training in my assistantship/internship, more chances to interact with faculty, a good balance between learning theoretical framework of higher education and practical learning and I’m sure many more advantages. This started to really come to me while I was sitting in on the faculty panel last Thursday and then came another realization: my choice is really between Colorado State and NYU.

My family doesn’t really understand what I want to do. I could probably do a better job of explaining it, but I’m pretty sure that they know that I want to work in Higher Ed. They’ve realized that I’m not teaching but I’m still doing something to help students. The fact that I’m going to grad school eases their anxiety, especially hearing schools like UCLA, NYU and Columbia (Teacher’s College). ESPECIALLY COLUMBIA. I’ve tried to tell my parents and aunts/uncles that name recognition doesn’t work in every field, that surprisingly Colorado State might be the most “prestigious” program out of the lot. Well, it usually falls on deaf hears and I’m just told “you should go to Columbia!”. It makes sense to me, it really does. It’s not their fault.

Actually choosing which programs to apply to was difficult. How do I really know which programs are good? It seemed like asking around and checking name recognition was the best way. Checking websites and program descriptions helped a little. In the end I think I ended up with a decent and diverse group of schools: Colorado State, Columbia, NYU, UCLA and Boston College. Seasoned professionals assured me that I made some good choices.

While I was at Colorado State for interviews, people were asking about the other schools that people had applied to. They were mentioning Oregon State, Bowling Green, tOSU and other more well-known Student Affairs programs along with smaller programs that apparently were strong as well. When one of the other interviewees heard my list she responded, “wow, I’m out of my league.” It was really surprising because their schools were better in the realm of Student Affairs. Suddenly I’m a “genius” because I’m applying to schools with “better” academic reputations. In Student Affairs though, these programs might not even be accredited. Goodness gracious.

I told my parents today that I was accepted to Columbia/Teacher’s College. I know that they are happy and I know that they want me to go there because of the prestige. I feel like “prestige” will never die once it’s attained (is it even attained? granted?). So where does that leave smaller or lesser known schools? Who’s to say that one education is more valid than another? An elite can only exist within a hierarchy where there are subordinate institutions. I know, I’m asking big questions that I can’t answer but I feel that they are important. Perhaps these are answers that I should seek in the future…

I’m currently reading Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” by Beverly Daniel Tatum. She’s an African-American professor and her book discusses racial identity development. It’s been a really interesting read so far, especially in that it mixes the tones of sociological study with self-help. She’s often using her own life experiences with her children to show how we can best educate youth (and ourselves) about the importance of developing our racial or ethnic identity.

I’m now on a chapter discussing Asian Americans, Latino/Hispanics and American Indians. In the Latino/Hispanic section, she mentions language as a major component to an ethnic identity. In reading this section, I remembered how Spanish came more naturally to me since I felt very strong in my English skills. Knowing parts of speech, tenses and sentence composition in English made doing the same in Spanish a bit easier. Tatum went on to describe the importance of bilingual education as opposed to ESL. Doing away with the native language would not help students learn English faster.

I was then reminded about my own ESL experience. I came out eventually being fluent in English, and I’d say mastering it to some degree. But a lot was lost as well. English learners deserve more creative programs to master their new language without sacrificing the native tongue.

As I enter this new edublog space, I find myself at a crossroads, ready to enter a new part of my life. Graduate school – it seems within sight, but a lot of events and decisions still await before I can start thinking about that. Yes, I am a new professional. Still fresh out of undergrad (graduated in May 2007), but ready dive back into the life of being a student. Going into Student Affairs in higher education will make it an interesting mesh of scholarly life and professional development. I truly feel that this is what I need – a change of scenery, a chance to be both a professional and a student. Or maybe a student training to be a professional…who wants to work with other students.

Next week – I fly from the Bay Area in California to New York City. I’ve lived in California all my life and have studied in the public school system as well. I’m hoping to find a fit with NYU and Columbia (Teacher’s College). I’m hoping to have some questions answered and some hard choices to make. I’m hoping that I can focus on my interview at NYU, knowing that Colorado State might call me to inform me about admissions or that Columbia probably sent my decision envelope back to the apartment. It’s a test of focus. I should be getting back into testing mode anyways right?

This is where I am now. Soon enough, I’ll explain where I’m headed, where I’ve been, what I want to do. Not quite as chronological as most stories, but some of my favorite stories aren’t like that.