Ok so, change of plans....

Let me start from the beginning. A very, very long time ago, I applied to OU’s 1-year Master Programme. If you qualify for this programme, you skip all of the coursework and only complete a thesis project. Basically the people in charge would have determined that you took enough undergrad courses, and did well enough in them, that you only have to do the research component of your MS. Also you can start in Feb or July, so I wanted to start in July 2010 (2 months after graduating from CMU). I was told I was not accepted to this programme, but was accepted to the 2-year programme (first year courses, second year research). However, I could not begin until Feb 2011 (which is like August in NZ). After much debating, etc, I eventually decided to go ahead and get my Masters here anyway.


I mentioned in my previous ‘Dunedin’ post that I went to Course Approval a couple Fridays ago (Feb 18), but needed to take care of some details before finalizing my courses. Essentially, I had to contact my PI (FYI his name is Cliff) and see if he had any specific courses in mind that he wanted me to take based on the research I would be doing with him. So I emailed him that Saturday. The following Monday (a week ago yesterday), I received an email from the director of the Neuroscience Programme (Megan). Cliff had forwarded her my email inquiring which papers I should take. (Another note: ‘papers’ is synonymous with ‘classes.’ I may occasionally sprinkle NZ-talk into my posts, so I apologize if I forget to clarify something.) Megan’s email stated that everyone was under the impression that I was doing the 1-year programme, not the 2-year.


After my initial confusion, I was pretty irate. For months now I have been preparing to come to NZ for 2 years: setting up my classes online, doing all the student visa requirements, collecting a 2-year supply of whatever I might need. But the worst part was that I had been accepted to the 1-year programme all along! My life would have been SO much easier had I been told this from the beginning. Loans, living situation, work, finances. So many problems that would have never had to have been resolved because they never would have existed! I’m still not too happy, if you can’t tell.


It might seem stupid for me to have gotten upset about this. But you have to keep in mind that I had been planning a 2-year stay for so long. Even though I initially wanted to do the 1-year programme, 1 year no longer sounded like enough time to spend in NZ. Also, crazy as it may seem, I was looking forward to taking classes again. I feel I still have a lot to learn. I’ve always learned more from the hands-on stuff, granted, but classes still provide a good foundation. So I suppose the main reason I was upset was because I was now forced to make a snap decision about precisely how long I wanted to stay in NZ, and exactly what I wanted to get out of my education here. (I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my mom for putting up with my unreasonable, chaotic behavior yet again, this time via skype.)


Thanks to my mom, my dear friend Kendra, and my PI Cliff, I was able to weigh the pros and cons of 1-yr vs 2-yr and also MS vs PhD. 1-year won out for several reasons, main two being that 1) I’ll have my MS in just one year, and 2) it’s easier to transition to a PhD from the 1-year programme. That’s only if I decide to go that route. I still haven’t decided. I’m just keeping my options open is all. If and when I decide to get a PhD, I’ll let everyone know. But for now the plan is the same -- get my MS. The only difference is that now I’ll receive it much faster and without taking classes. But there’s still no guaranteeing I’ll come back to the U.S. in one year either. I imagine I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do in a few months, but it’s no rush. I like having no idea what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be in the next couple years :) For the time being, I’m just going to enjoy what’s happening now and worry about the future when it arrives.