Posted by Sharon Cece on January 5th, 2009
I got some great advice not long ago and it was this: “The hardest part about cutting your lawn is not actually cutting your lawn. The hardest part is deciding to put your hands on the handle of the mower”. It sounds simplistic, but I realized that’s true about most things in life; deciding to do something is the most difficult part of any process. Once you make a decision, either way it’s pretty much a done deal.
My college application process was a breeze compared to my back-and-forth justifications for not returning to school at this time or that time. Excuses are easy to formulate and I’m as good at making them as anyone else. That’s not to say they weren’t valid. But I was more surprised than anyone, when finally deciding okay this is it I’m going back to school, how seamlessly and effortlessly everything fell into place. I dropped off my application at Florida State while we happened to be driving in the region on vacation. I mailed in my transcripts, provided the additional necessary paperwork, got the acceptance, filled out my financial aid forms and the next thing you know I was a college student again.
As you’re reading this you’re probably thinking nothing is ever that easy, but it’s astounding to me how much can get done when you, excuse the banality and oft-used Nike reference, just do it. Just put your hands on the handle. Just start climbing the mountain. Just fill out the first form, then the next form. From a distance it seems overwhelming but up close and in parts it’s wholly doable. Almost anything in this world, especially those copious application demands, can and will get done when achieved in small parts.
My advice for college applicants is this: once you decide, despite the wide expanse of overgrown lawn, to put your hands on that handle, once you decide to confront the formidable crag, once you decide to tackle the application process step by intricate step–after you take a deep breath–then plunge in with all your heart. That means whatever roadblocks come your way, whether it be rocky patches or jagged edges or a multitude of paperwork, transcripts, emails and financial aid forms, just get ‘er done. Don’t look too far ahead and don’t be dissuaded by the effort needed to start you on the road to graduation. The decision is the hardest part. The rest is just a walk on the lawn.
Posted by Sharon Cece on December 23rd, 2008
The $64,000 question (or perhaps the $64 million by the time my kids finally go to college) is “What college should I choose to attend“? It is an extremely important question, since your alma mater will be part and parcel of your life forevermore. This blog is case in point: even though I’ve graduated from FSU I’m still representing FSU in this forum and a number of other ways. Which I know has you begging the question, Why FSU?
As it happens, I applied to a number of colleges both when I was starting out at 17 and again when I decided to finish my degree at 38. Now, admittedly I chose a county college 25 years ago primarily because I was broke and, well, it was cheap. Good, cheap education– by and by something no 17-year old can turn down. A few years later I transferred to FSU out of sheer adventurous spirit, the Sacagawea of the Educative Expedition.
And, as I’ve pointed out in previous articles, left with 96 credits under my belt sans degree.
Okay, fast forward, oh, fourteen years or so. I’m ready to take the plunge and finally finish that degree. Back to the $64,000 question.
Number one in the list of my “choosing” criteria was locality. Since I now live in the Academic Mecca (Duke, UNC, NC State, Campbell University, East Carolina… just to name a few) I was fairly sure I would pick a program from the local zone to finish my degree. I sought information from three of those and had sticker shock from two; the third, NC State, was conveniently located and cost effective, but did not offer the program I was seeking.
Concurrently, I inquired about FSU programs, never believing I would end up back there but did so out of sheer sentimentality; as well I considered two other “online” schools, one a well-known online university that is in fact featured on this website. So all told, I requested information from six college programs– three brick and mortar, three online.
Looking back, all of the information I received was very helpful in making a choice (in other words, the costs of some colleges alone were enough to help me make a decision, that being a whopping YEAH RIGHT). It’s easy to eliminate a college simply because you can’t afford it! Which left three finalists. Well, really one finalist. FSU was probably my only choice deep down, and I requested information from the other schools simply because I felt it’s what a practical person should do, which is to consider many options. I felt six was a good round number for inquiry and I’m glad in retrospect that I did entertain other options, if for no other reason than simply to be able to remark with aplomb, “Why, naturally I considered many other schools and after careful consideration decided on…..”
Good luck!
Posted by Sharon Cece on December 15th, 2008
Candidly speaking, when I decided to return to college to complete my degree I did not initially consider online options. I believed that returning to Florida State was out of the question for obvious reasons (the main being a super long commute), and so I looked at local colleges to finish what I started. Since I was used to being a traditional student, I assumed I would return on-campus.
My plans changed, however, when I was clicking through the FSU site out of sheer wishful thinking. Somehow I stumbled on their distance learning FSU Online program, but was dismayed to find a very limited number of degrees offered with none pertaining to my major (unless I wanted to suddenly switch from Business Administration to Nursing, which was unlikely). Yet, the more I thought about it, the more the idea of studying and matriculating online appealed to me. Having small children was my biggest push toward an online curriculum, as well as the appealing thought of taking tests right from home when I wanted or from wherever I happened to be at the moment.
And so began my search for online degrees. Since I had never attended college online I wasn’t quite sure at first what I was looking for in an online program. First and foremost I wanted to apply the credits I already had toward my returning degree. Convenience and flexibility was a criteria, yet pretty much default with most online programs. Cost was another consideration and I did find a wide spectrum of fees with local schools as most affordable. However, I admit that I kept gravitating back to FSU, thinking this was my chance to finish my degree where I wanted, though their online program was more money than most of the local colleges I was considering. As well, I wasn’t sure how I would apply my credits to the online degrees that were offered there. But I suddenly felt determined and, through this new distance learning option I was presented, I saw a chance to get my degree exactly how I wanted (online: the antidote for long commutes) and where I wanted (FSU: my #1 choice).
Fortunately, persistence pays. I snail-mailed, e-mailed and called a number of helpful representatives and assistants and finally reached a wonderful advisor who informed me that most of my Business Admin courses could be applied or converted toward an Interdisciplinary Social Science degree, which was offered through the FSU Online program. Another advantage: even though their online course fees were higher than local online programs, all of my existing credits would be applied to my continuing degree since my prior credits were from FSU to begin with. This would save me both time and money in the long run. That clinched it. Now my course was set, and the rest was easy– just a matter of applying and paying for it. Okay maybe not so easy….but once you decide what you want and how you want it, the rest somehow falls into place.
