If you looked at my last blog entry, you’ll see it’s been exactly one month since I posted.  So, what have I been up to?  Basically, I’ve been applying to grad school.

As I’ve stated before, I left Korea after 6 years to return to Oregon and get my teaching certification.  What’s the benefit of a teaching certification?  You need it to teach at any public or private school in the U.S.  Many international schools also require this license.  Most schools nowadays require you to also have a master’s degree in addition to this license.  So, many universities have combined the two and offer a program that gives students a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree and a state teaching license upon completion.  If attending part-time, this program can be done in two years.  Or you can opt for the full-time, one year program, which I want to do.  Full-time means you’re committed from Monday-Friday, 8-5pm for a solid year, with 1-2 week breaks in-between terms.

All these programs start in June, so that students can learn and prepare before being placed in a public school in September, when the American school year starts.  To start studying in June, most applications for programs are due by January or February of the year you want to start.  So, when I arrived back in Oregon on February, 5th, the deadlines for most schools had already passed.  In addition, before an application can even be considered by a school, applicants must have taken and passed the CBEST or Praxis exam (basically, a teacher’s GRE test).  So, I had resigned myself to the fact that I’d be starting a program next summer.

In the beginning of March, I went to two different MAT information sessions.  And you know what they told me?  There weren’t enough applicants when their initial deadlines arrived.  Therefore, both schools were extending their deadlines to April 1st!  So, this gave me about one month to hustle in applications and get the following done:

1. Study for the computerized Praxis exam.  I chose this specific test because I could make an appointment for the computerized version, where the paper CBEST and Praxis test were only available every two months.  I bought this book from Amazon, and started cramming two days later.  I had scheduled my test for 10 days after that.  The test would cover reading, writing, and math.  Math is my worst subject, the the one I was most concerned about.
2. Take the Praxis.  Even though this was a computerized test, I was proctored at a testing center in Portland.  This means I couldn’t have taken this test online from Korea.
3. Pass the Praxis.  The study guide helped a LOT.  I was immediately given my reading and math scores (I passed!).  The writing section had an essay I needed to compose in 30 minutes, and then it was sent somewhere else to be graded.  I would get my results 2 weeks later (I passed!).
4. Contact people for recommendations.
5. Request transcripts – from two universities and a community college.
6. Write two essays – 1) What’s your philosophy on life and its ramifications on education? and 2) Why do you want to go to ___ University?, Why do you want to be a teacher?, and Where do you see yourself in five years (professionally and personally)?

I turned in my applications a few days ago, and I found out today that I passed the writing section of the Praxis.  So, it’s just a waiting game.  In all honesty, I won’t be too surprised if I don’t get in.   The schools probably picked all the best applicants during their first deadline, and now they’re just trying to fill up the last few spots.  I’m positive I’ll get accepted for something in 2010, but if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to squeeze in with the 2009 bunch.  So, cross your fingers for me and I’ll receive an answer in 2-3 weeks.

Since all the craziness is done, I can once again be a lady of leisure.