April's Off Campus Adventures

Well May is almost here and since I spent probably a good week this past month not on campus and instead, traveling, I should probably let you know what I've been up to.

If I thought juggling academics, clubs, and a social life was complicated, I hadn't realized what applying and deciding on a graduate school would do to my calendar. As I've talked about earlier this school year, I applied to four graduate programs across the United States. I am planning on obtaining a masters in library and information science, aka be a librarian when I grow up. As the second semester began, I started hearing back from colleges. All positive. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into all four and then had the hard choice of deciding where I would want to go.

My search for graduate school sort of resembled my college search process. I believed in visiting campus, sitting in on a class, and meeting with at least one professor. I had to know in my gut that I could go there for two years and build meaningful relationships. Coe set the bar high and after my experience in Admissions, I was expecting a lot.

Visiting began over my Spring Break when I drove 30 minutes from my house to University of Madison. Then, the visiting continued in April and I had a two week chunk where I spent more time off campus than on campus. My travels took me into the sky and into the clouds:

I had the opportunity to then visit Simmons College, located in the heart of Boston (right near Fenway Park). After a full day of visiting, my dad and I got to tour the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It was beautiful and I wished I could have spent more time there! This house built to be a museum contains a wide variety of art from all sorts of different time periods. 

I came back to Coe for a few days, helped out with Admitted Student Weekend and then it was back to airplanes. I went in the opposite direction and arrived in Seattle to visit University of Washington. 

I was fortunate enough to visit for two breathtaking days (no rain!). It gave me this "perfect" vision of being a Huskie.

The nice weather allowed me to explore the city, from the Capitol Hill area (the hip and upcoming neighborhood), to the Seattle Public Library, and to Pike Place Market. 

I flew back to Wisconsin and was able to spend a weekend with my dad and sister in Wisconsin. Then on a Monday morning, my dad and I drove down to my final school, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. We had a great visit there and as my dad drove me back to Coe, I was able to think about my decision. 

After much deliberation and thought, I am happy to announce that I have decided to attend University of Illinois Urbana Champaign this fall. While all four schools are outstanding (I can't make a wrong choice), University of Illinois had the best fit and the program I could most see myself being at. I am excited for this new opportunity and am so fortunate to have gone on these various visits to help make my decision.