Thursday, October 14, 2010

Possible Courses

From the current list at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/classes/coursedesc.htm, I think these sound interesting.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Application Time!

Application filing for Fall 2011 at SJSU opened October 1st. I glanced through the registration materials and quickly realized that I'd need a separate calendar just for school stuff.

Some notes for now:

*Oct 1 - Mar 31st Application for Graduate School Program
*Jan 1 - Mar 2nd FAFSA 2011-2012
*Jan 31 deadline to receive W-2 (needed for FAFSA)

LIBR 200 Information and Society
(3 units)
LIBR 202 Information Retrieval (3 units)
LIBR 203: Online Social Networking: Technology and Tools (1 unit)
LIBR 204 Information Organizations and Management (3 units)


I think my first term should have 203 (required in first 4 weeks of the first semester) and 200. That would be 4 units to ease me in. After that, 202 and 204 -- and probably another course (an elective?) if my first term was really easy. I really do want to try a full-time course load even though I'm working. I think I will take courses year-round (summer term, too). I have started to reduce outside obligations so that I will have more free study time.

I have to apply under Special Session because I do not live in San Jose. There are different fees for Special Session: a flat rate of $474/unit. The MLIS degree requires completion of 43 units, so that's a total tuition cost of $20,382 (not allowing for any changes in fees, which -- considering the economic climate in California's educational system -- are likely), probably spread over about two and a half years.

I don't know if I'll qualify for much federal financial aid, because I have steady full-time income and no dependents. Special Session students are not eligible for state financial aid. There are many scholarships from SJSU, and I may qualify for some of them, but not until my second year (must have completed at least 8 courses). Some sources say "minimum of 4 course units" for scholarship eligibility, and some say "full-time", which is more than 6 units according to the Regular Session fee schedule. That might not be a problem if I stay busy, but might matter if I needed to take one part-time/light term. I should also look at FASTWeb for national scholarships and grants. And as soon as my undergraduate loan is paid off (end of 2010), I should apply the same monthly payment to savings for my first term or two.

For now, I have filled out most of the online application form and saved it. I need to request a transcript from my alma mater and also confirm how many units I completed there, my GPA, and my date of graduation; then I can submit my application, mail the transcript, and pay a $55 application fee.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Oyfmishn

-verb, Yiddish
to open (a book)

I'm opening a new chapter in my life: that of an embryonic librarian.

I've always loved books, and the words and stories found in them. I expect I'll be sharing my words here: my experiences with the grad school process, my recollections of childhood favorites, my opinions of books recently read. My annoyance at grammatical offenders. My passion for organizing and accessing information. My love of puns and other wordplay, and my excitement over new words, or old ones phrased in just the right way. Reminders to myself, and sometimes to anyone who's reading, about just how awesome the written word is.

Oh, and my moniker here is a childhood nickname bestowed on me by my loving father, who never seemed to worry -- many, MANY worried inquiries from others aside -- about whether I'd run into a pole. "Peripheral vision," he said. I keep that in mind.