Sunrise Tantalize

Three more days until I move. Ahh! It’s exciting but also somewhat terrifying. I have a million and one things to do before then. And I would rather just sit around and watch TV and knit. It’s my only free time I’ll have for the next two years or so. I did manage to finish packing today - phew. Now I’m wondering if all of my boxes will fit into J’s car. I considered taking pictures of my giant mound of boxes and emailing the photos to him for his opinion. I suppose I can always ship anything that doesn’t fit.

I am so glad that I will no longer be in a long long distance relationship! Well, I’ll still be two hours away from him, but that’s better than 12 hours. And hopefully that means we’ll see each other on the weekends. Long distance relationships are awful, but they’re worth it if you’re with the right person. I just wish we could get married already. Last year I was hoping to get married this summer - especially since I’m moving across the country for this boy. But we ended up compromising and now I’m expecting a ring this summer. I’ll shoot for a wedding date of Aug. 2009. The commitment has been there for a long time, but J says that he’s committed to me even if we’re not married or engaged. But being married is so much more permanent! The whole engagement thing is his arena though. So I just have to wait. Which drives me crazy. Did I mention that I like to be in control of these types of things? Sorry if I’m rambling and whining.

Anyhow, I feel like I’m starting a new chapter of my life. I’ll finally be (almost) completely independent from my parents. I’ve already graduated from college, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get another bachelors degree. I’ll know what to expect. The depression is mostly under control so I won’t have to grapple with that again. I’ll live in this great, big city with lots of things to do and lots of people my age. I’ll make new friends. I’ll probably be engaged soon, then married. Then comes the new job and moving again (for J’s schooling). Then being a mother (hopefully) - and I think that will be the start of another chapter.

And now for something completely different! Today’s post is on getting admitted to a school after your grades have suffered due to a long-term illness.

When I was applying for my second degree, I searched the web for something that would help me deal with the extreme dip in my grades due to my chronic illness. There are lots of resources for those who had dealt with a short-term dip due to incidents like accidents, short and severe illness, death of a loved one, being immature and drinking too much. But almost nothing for people in my situation. I want to offer my experience to anyone who is in a similar situation where a long-term illness, family/ relationship issue, etc. has damaged your grades.

I’ll tell you the whole story of dealing with depression in college some other time. Let’s focus on admissions. So here’s what helped me.

• Stop worrying about your current GPA! It’s in the past and there’s nothing you can change in the past. Move on. (FYI - I got had a 2.7 GPA when I applied to schools. But I did very well in my nursing classes and classes for my major.)
• Get awesome recommendations from profs and employers who know you well. Be sure that they will write wonderful things about you before giving them the forms though.
• Focus on getting good grades (A’s and B’s) for your remaining semesters. Remember, what they are looking for is improvement.
• If you did horribly in one of your prerequisite classes then consider retaking the course.
• Write excellent application essays - this is a game of telling them what they want to hear but still coming off authentic. Get someone(s) to proofread your essays before you send them out.
• Research where you are applying. Make sure you have 1 or 2 schools that accept less typical students and who seem receptive to helping students succeed despite their past circumstances. The school I decided to attend clearly wanted to attract less traditional students and valued them for their life experiences and insights.
• Consider writing a letter to the admissions committee explaining why your grades dropped due to your condition. I did this after I got rejected from two schools. I figured they probably looked at my transcript and figured I partied my sophomore and junior years. In the letter I briefly explained what my illness was and said that it effected my grades significantly. I told them that I was now receiving treatment and I knew that I could be successful in their program. I also pointed out my recently improved grades.
• Hope, wish, pray and wait. Continue to work on your grades in case things don’t work out. If possible have a friend like Kay who told me, “So what if you don’t get in? What’s the worst that could happen. You’re smart and determined. Just reapply for the next round of deadlines. You’ll be fine.” Somehow I find Kay’s comments more comforting that those that say, “What? Of course you’ll get in! Who wouldn’t want you?”

Questions, comments, concerns? I’d be glad to address them. And good luck to those of you who are in the application process!