change in plans

Autumn is the busiest time of year at my job. Probably the same is true for any university employee, but particularly so for the academic advisors who have to guide the new first-year students, teach the required "intro to college class", and also see the returning students who want to plan out the entire year. From just before the start of classes (i.e. this week) until at least after Thanksgiving if not finals week in December, it is a non-stop express.

I had plans to take a class this autumn. Last autumn, I took a fun class about science fiction literature. I loved the course. And I swore I'd never take an autumn class again. It was just too much. In the evenings when I wanted to relax, I had to keep up on my reading and assignments, which really were not too much for a literature course. Plus, with the class taking out part of my workday, I lost time that I could be doing my work and thus either skipped lunches or stayed late to get everything done. The craziness even affected my training for the Philadelphia half-marathon, I was too tired in the evenings after work to get in my weekday runs.

But then I got this idea in my head that I might want to apply to our MA program in women's studies. I talked with a professor in the program about it, and she looked over my undergrad and graduate transcripts and suggested I take this class to help me get stronger in theory. I also knew that I needed this class to help me answer one key question: do I like this subject enough to want to do a graduate degree in it? So in May, I signed up for the class with an eye to apply by Dec 31 for autumn 2009 admission.

Since that time, several things happened to make me rethink that strategy. In my office, the advisors are grouped into teams who are responsible for a specific set of majors. Due to people leaving and not yet being replaced, my team is currently down 3 people and soon possibly a 4th. Did I mention how crazy last autumn was when I tried to take a class? Yeah, we were at full staff at that time.

I also started thinking about the why of my interest in graduate work. So far, my best reason is why not? Which is really not a reason at all. I do not need another masters degree. I am not particularly interested in pursuing a Ph.D. I like my women's studies courses, but I can take them without working toward a degree, if only at the undergraduate level. So I had already started thinking that I would not apply to the program for 2009, but take the year to decide if I want to do it for real and figure out better reasons why if I do. And if I find those reasons and decide to go for it, I would apply for 2010.

I still did not want to quite give up on the class without a bit more information, even though I no longer needed to take it this autumn (I can take it in spring instead) and despite knowing that my quarter is going to be crazy. I e-mailed the professor to see if she would be willing to send me a draft of her syllabus before classes start this week. I received it on Thursday. Just as I suspected, it was going to be a lot of work, much more than my class last autumn. Lots of reading, a major paper, three exams, etc.

The deciding factor? The exams are take-home, where she emails the questions on Saturday and you turn them in on Monday. The first exam is the same weekend that I will be running my next half-marathon and having fun in general with friends in Grand Rapids, MI.

I dropped my class and will take it in the spring instead.