▪

world a few years, you're at an
advantage.
Having a job should give you a
reference point: You know what the
working world is all about, so you
know what you need to thrive there.
"You need to analyze what's work-
ing for you, and what's not," advises
Sharon Vaughters, coordinator of
career counseling and advising at the
University of Michigan.
"I used that time to get out, put
on a suit and pretend I was a grown-
up," Lowell Friedman, 26, says of
the two years he spent working in
advertising before enrolling in law
school at the University of Detroit-
Mercy. "I knew what I wanted when
it was time to go back to school."
Try to pin down your learning

If you can pass a multiple choice
exam, you know the most correct
answer to the above question is "c."
Each year people just a few years
into their careers trade paychecks for
book bags, in search of a different
field, a new set of skills or some
intellectual exercise. And just as there
are different reasons for going back
qo school, there are different ways to
do it.
Part-time or full-time? How about
choosing a school — a nationwide
search, or the local university satellite
office? And what sort of program?
What do you want it to do for you?
If it existed, a graduate degree that
teaches you how to pick the right
„graduate degree would be great. But
'if you've been out in the nine-to-five

•.
Ne?

a .!

ow that you ve decided to
head back to school, you
face another question:
Where will you find the
money for tuition?
Of course, the best way to go
back to school is to convince your
boss to pay for it as part of your
professional development. But if
they don't buy it, its no problem ---
there's millions in scholarship dollars
out there, j ust waiting for your
application.
"There are a lot more ways to
finance a graduate education than
undergraduate," says Sharon Vaugh
ters, coordinator of career counsel-
ing and advising at the University of
Michigan. She recommends starting
in your school's academic offices,
then hitting the Internet.
Leigh Woods faced $22,000 in
tuition for a master's in journalism
at American University. After
countless application essays, she
pulled in $15,000 in scholarships,
mostly in small chunks. \Woods
applied for more than 30 scholar-
ships, and found some hidden trea-
sures in her office of graduate pro-
grams.
"There was one I found that no

•

sin
who wanted;
On the Net, a
should point you
help you hunt down tuition money,
If you've got a jones for cyber-shop-
. try these sites:
ping,
• FastWE13: A searchable data-
base of private scholarships, loans
and other sources of aid. Find it at
http://www.fastweb.com .
• Scholarship Resource Network
Express: Most scholarships listed
here do not consider financial hard-
ships Find it at htq)://www.rams
.cornisrnisearch.htm.
• Fin-Aid: A good resource
, asic information on hosch 1-
out basic
rshirs and school financin work ° s .
des links to major schog larsh
* r ip
Provides
sources. Find it at
http://wvvw.finaid.com .,,
• 'U.S. News and World Report:
offers a tax guide for education
breaks. Also a good place to find out
how schools rank on the prestige
scale. Find it at http://www
.usnews.com/usnews/edu.
— Matt it/foss-Man

style. Grad degrees come two ways:
The traditional approach gives
you loads of theory and rumination
on the meaning of life, for those who
enjoy learning for learning's sake.
Then there's the skills-oriented
degree, designed to get you out and
employable in a short time. These
programs match future career paths,
says Matt Seeger, assistant dean of
graduate schools at Wayne State Uni-
versity. A master's in public policy,
for example, fits for aspiring govern-
ment bureaucrats.
Once you've picked a course of
study, find the right place to do it.
Again, two ways to go about it. If
you're targeting a job with a specific
company or organization when
you're done, base your school choice
on where your dream employer sends
its headhunters.
"Look at where the job recruiters
go," says Rob Kalman, 29, who
earned an MBA at Michigan State
University. "IBM hires a lot of
Michigan State grads, if that's what
you're out for."
But if you haven't got a path laid
out, consider the program, the pro-
fessors or the campus life.
"There's a lot more to school than
traditional academics," says Randall
Fogelman, 24, who's working on a
master's in urban planning at the
University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor. "There's always something
interesting going on here."
Once you return to school, try to
remember a few things. Like, if
you're lucky, you'll have some time
between study sessions to sit at the
campus pub. Whatever you do, plan
on lots of homework. And if you
decide to balance work and a part-
time degree, you'll need strong time
management skills.
"It's very difficult to work and go
to school," says Mindy Kolender, 25,
who's juggling a career and an MBA
at Wayne State. "I have to schedule
my days very economically. I never
watch TV anymore."
Certainly a lot to think about. If
you're not ready to make a decision,
try some part-time courses first.
Kalman, who now runs the Detroit
offices of Computer Training Labs,
took a few MBA classes at Wayne
State before taking the full-time
plunge at MSU.
So there you have it. Planning for
grad school is like accounting for
every minute of the next few years of
your life. It takes time, but the pay-
off is worth it, says Kalman. ❑

RAM=

Say farewell to Seinfeld at

the first Scene party!

Wednesday, May 6, at
JD's Key Club in Pontiac.
8 p.m., $1 cover, $1 off
drinks. For information,
call (248) 354-6060, Ext.
307.

Sunday, April 19

Young adults, bring your sib 2
lings, nieces/nephews, children
to Fun With Plaster, with Feder-
ation's Young Adult Division. 11
a.m.-1:30 p.m. Marc Berke,
(248) 203-1458.

Wednesdays April 22

Information meeting for 1998
mission

UjAsuni
u tm
Y te h 8r- e lsF i9ngies
e' dseinragtlie:in
m s

411° t dcl
cost : $1,999 per
ke, (248) 203-
issi°n

wine
id rien s.Kosher wine and t44.
od tasting with the Rekindling
abbat Young Adult (ages 25-
ce. 7 p.m. At the
sie Schlus--
(248)

A\%

In the April 3 issue of The
Scene, Miriam Gaba's name
was misspelled. We sincerely ,
regret the error.

4/17
1998

79