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This is the view from the building that I work in. That blue building there, just past the El tracks could be your new home. Welcome to 33 East Congress! 33 East Congress is the building where all of the Nonfiction Courses are housed, as well as the English Department classes,  which are comprised of the Writing and Rhetoric courses that we teach as GSIs. So again, welcome!

Now of course there is a lot to think about before accepting any Graduate Program’s offer. I think the first and most important consideration for most is funding and how to make enough money to pay for school and, ya know, feed yourself while in school. You’re not alone in this concern. If you’ve been following the blog, you know that along with being the Graduate Ambassador for the Nonfiction Program, I also work for the Office of Academic Affairs and am a Graduate Student Instructor in the English Department. So, though none of the jobs are 9-5 or jobs in which I am in a traditional office, retail, or customer service position, it is quite a load to carry when you consider full-time class loads, reading, writing (you’re here to write, after all!), grading, developing assignments and, ya know, feeding yourself and remembering to shower. These things get a little hectic toward the middle and end of the semester. It’s just a part of grad school life, and eventually you find the balance that you need to push through. Mine just happens to be Febreze, Coffee, Orange Juice, String Cheese, and Doritos. To each their own.

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But I digress. Back to funding and jobs and paying for grad school. First things first, review your acceptance letters and see what you are being offered. You start there. See what’s on the table, what the program is offering you. Once you’ve figured that out, see what could potentially be available if you apply for scholarships once you’ve accepted. Columbia offers some generous scholarships and funding opportunities that graduate students can apply for once they have been admitted and/or in their second semester of attendance. Check out the Student Financial Services website for additional information. Also, if you haven’t done so already, fill out a FAFSA to see what kind of loans you are eligible for. This is government funded money, and it is available. There are several different options, and someone from Student Financial Services would certainly be able to help you with any additional information. Here is the FAFSA website to get started, if you haven’t already.

Once you’ve secured funding that you’ve been offered and searched for loans and scholarships, then you should consider employment opportunities. One of the questions that is often asked is whether or not you can work a full-time job while attending a graduate program. This of course depends on the program and the type of student that you are. Typically students accepted into Columbia’s Nonfiction program work between 12-30 hours a week. This is an estimate. I, personally, work 12-15 hours a week, which is my actual “in office time,” not counting grading papers or prepping for the class that I teach, which can vary from week to week. Classes are offered during the day and the night, though day classes are somewhat limited so holding down a full-time job could potentially be overwhelming, at least at first. But a part-time job is certainly doable and the majority of students in the program work at least part-time.

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So how do you find a job? I’ve had a tremendous amount of success with ColumbiaWorks, Columbia’s online job search resource. ColumbiaWorks lists jobs both on-campus and off, and it’s how I found out about the Graduate Ambassador Job and Academic Affairs jobs. You can’t access the software until you have accepted Columbia’s offer, but it’s an excellent resource and has proven to be successful for myself and for those of my classmates who have used it. And, even as you look into other programs, it’s a good idea to inquire about what potential jobs might be available and if there is a job finding resource, such as ColumbiaWorks that will help make the job finding process smoother for you.

This is the first in a two (possibly three) part post that I will be working on over the next few weeks to help answer any questions you might have during the overwhelming (but oh so exciting!) process of deciding which program that you would like to attend. Stay tuned!