progress in life

I am in the process of finalizing my class schedule. It is not fun. The one economics section that worked for my class schedule is full. I am going to petition to get in, but on the off-chance that this fails, I had to sign up for a different class. This isn't so much the issue--the fact that I needed to find two different JTS classes is.

Like I said, not fun.

I am also trying to peg down jobs/internships for the semester. So far I have a fantastic freelance position worked out. Hopefully everything else will fall into place soon.

As far as grad schools go, I feel like my dad is trying to trick me. He's been all, "Why don't you try applying to Columbia's Journalism School?" "Are you sure you don't want to go to grad school for anthropology?" While he has always been relatively supportive of the whole j-school thing, he has not shared this enthusiasm with my interest in anthropology. This is all part of his, "I am confused/worried that you aren't actually passionate about arts administration when it's really just something I'm not 100% supportive of" campaign. While all of my friends would probably agree that I emote A LOT, the things I emote about aren't always at the forefront of my mind. For me, expressing intense emotion (exuberance, annoyance, etc.) is an easy way of relieving stress and anxiety, because I am a highly anxious person. The time I spent in Israel last summer? I wasn't super psyched about it beforehand. I'm not entirely sure how I can express to my dad that arts administration is something that I am very interested in. I mean, I've already devoted an ungodly amount of time to the Columbia Festival of Winds--shouldn't that be enough?! I have a hard time expressing interest/being involved in things that do not interest me, and I'm certainly not involved in CFW for the benefit of my sanity, so at this point, I'm not sure what I can do. (In contrast, my mom is extremely supportive of my academic pursuits for grad school. Woo!)

So yeah.

Ahhh, I'm planning my future!

I bought the Princeton Review's GRE prep book and am building a list of schools. I'm also preparing a list of "gap year" programs. However, I am definitely going to take the GRE, because I am almost definitely going to be enrolling in grad school in the next 5 years, which is how long the scores are good for. I am also in the process of finalizing work/internship opportunities. Maybe.

Woo, senior year!

Right now, I want to apply to grad school for arts administration. Here is a list of the schools that I am considering:

1. NYU

2. Columbia (TC, to be exact)

3. Indiana University

4. Ohio State University

5. University of Oregon

6. Claremont Graduate University

7. School at the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)

8. Columbia College

NYU, TC, and IU (that's how us Midwest folks abbreviate Indiana University...University of Illinois is U of I, Indiana University is IU, and Iowa is...Iowa) are my top choices and the programs that I am definitely applying to. OSU, University of Oregon, and Claremont Graduate University made the list because they look interesting. There is actually a list of schools that have arts administration grad programs (http://www.artsadministration.org/grad), which made my search a lot easier. As tempting as it would be to apply to a program in London or Australia (I mean, c'mon, how cool would that be?!), I doubt it's going to happen because I want to visit all of the schools that I am considering applying to. This is another reason why NYU, TC, and IU are at the top of my list...they're the easiest schools for me to visit. In fact, thanks to CUMB and Columbia Summer Winds, I have already spent a decent amount of time in TC. I have limited experience in the actual NYU buildings (except for the Hillel, woot woot!), but The Village really grew on me this past summer. IU is less accessible, but I could drive out there sometime when I am at home. OSU is also under consideration. I have a friend studying there, so visiting isn't infeasible. University of Oregon and Claremont Graduate University definitely aren't infeasible, it'll just be a lot more expensive to visit them.

This means that if I do not stay in NYC, I will most likely be returning to the Midwest for grad school...the Big Ten could have me yet! Granted, neither school is super super close to home, though IU is only a few hour's drive away. I'm not going to lie, part of me is a bit unhappy that there are no arts administration programs in Illinois/Chicago that I wanted to apply to. The School at the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and Columbia College both have programs, but I haven't decided yet if I want to apply to those programs, which is why they are toward the bottom of the list. If I decide to apply to either of these programs, they would be immediately moved up on the list, priority-wise.

"Gap Year" Programs:

1. Joint Distribution Committee: Jewish Service Corps

This would involve being placed in an organization within a Jewish community in a foreign country for a year. My first choice would be Israel, but I would be open to pretty much any opportunity.

2. American Jewish World Service: World Partners Fellowship

I would be placed in an (non-Jewish) organization in India for a year. Seeing a trend here?

3. AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps

I would be placed in an organization in either NYC, Chicago, Washington, DC, or New Orleans for a year.

The applications for the gap year programs have not yet been released, so I have been focusing my attention on the grad school applications (and *sigh* studying for the GRE) right now.

Fun!