Week Three: The Whole

If you are lucky the group that you have just begun coursework will remain with you throughout your program.  In academia they call this a “cohort”.  According to Wikipedia just for support sake a cohort is “a cohort is a group of subjects who have shared a particular time together during a particular time span” (“Cohort”, 2011)*.  The first cohorts were all a part of the Roman military, as it was their way of dividing up the soldiers into smaller groups that could be easily identified.  This format also allowed for the small cohort groups to get very close to each other further assisting them in battle (“Cohort”, 2011).  While you are likely not headed into battle, this your cohort is likely to signify the beginning of a long journey with a few people who have a lot in common with you.  If you were to ask me, I think this is a great idea.  What better way to encourage students to learn from each other and their accumulated knowledge than to put them in a scenario to get to know each other very well.  There is a quote by Aristotle, pulled from his writings in metaphysics that goes like this, “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” (“The Complete Works”, 1984).  I am with Aristotle on this one, if you work with your cohort, the group of you will each become greater by being willing to learn from each other.

*Authors note: There is some debate over the merit of using Wikipedia as a document source.  Given the relative informality of this blog I chose to use it, but be sure to consult prior to using it in more academic writing.

Tactics:

• Continue to write a little bit each day.  Even if you are just writing pieces of papers that will come in handy later.  It is not uncommon to have ideas that relate to writings at random times.  For this I use GoogleDocs as a way to have a continuous document to record thoughts that relate to papers.  As a matter of fact this is being written right now in a GoogleDoc.
• Also consider starting to back up course materials on something additional too a jump drive or external hard drive.  This will give you a higher likelihood that materials will not be lost in a technology tragedy.  I use Dropbox, (available at www.dropbox.com) a free software online but feel free to check out other versions.

Tips so good that I cannot take credit for them.

• Divide and conquer.  If your cohort group is faced with a large amount of reading to keep track of considering dividing up the materials amongst the group evenly so that members of the group can outline materials and share them.  This way as each person surveys the reading material they will have a strong outline reference to refer back to later.  This will also help with comps and justifying why materials were assigned to begin with.
• Save all drafts of your writing, you never know when you might suddenly feel that what you wrote previously is better than the version you are working on now.

Quote that best represents the week.

• “The whole is more than the sum of the parts.” - Aristotle (“The Complete Works”, 1984)

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Resources:

Cohort. (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved, September 9, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohort.

The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. Ed. Jonathan Barnes. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1984

Week Two: The Marrow

Within the movie Dead Poets Society there is a line that I like “suck the marrow out of life” (Weir, 1989). I like to think that this means that there is a lot of great substance to life that cannot be seen by the eye. Graduate work is no different. It is important to make sure that each and every lecture and study material is examined and its relevance to your field of study uncovered. While some of the material that we study each day might not be a huge foundational support of our future work, that does not mean that it is not important. Just like the marrow within a bone does not itself support the body, it is still the life blood of the structure that supports the body. Every opportunity we have to learn something of relevance to our study is important. This week has helped me to realize this. Each of the lectures have been rich with content, and their material interesting but all very foundational. I really want to understand this material to make sure that the foundation of future study can have a foundation to be built on.

Tactics:

• Developing a stream of consciousness writing style to get drafts of papers started. This will be very rough around the edges at first but will help in development of ideas and reorganization as papers begin to develop.
• Be prepared to be challenged on your way of thinking. Each program is designed to challenge and push students toward a higher level of thinking. This at times means deconstructing and reconstructing ideas that once might have been important.

Tips so good that I cannot take credit for them.

• “Manage your freak outs.” There are going to be moments throughout the number of years that lie ahead that each us will “freak out” about the mass amount of things that lie ahead. It is important to try learn to develop a level head and roll with the punches that the program throws at you. This way when the time comes that something large does happen, and it is worth of a “freak out” you will not be so emotionally drained that the task can be taken in stride and the additional work that remains unfinished can still be undertaken.
• Schedule your “fun” time. There is enough work to do within graduate programs to keep someone busy during all hours that you might be awake. Now that the program has started it is time to defend territory that will help to insure your long term health. This means finding time that preserves both your physical and emotional health. This might mean scheduling time to make sure that you are getting a chance to remain fresh and on top of your personal health.
• Try to focus all of your writing assignments and projects around your potential research areas. This helps to start do develop competency in your areas of interest and start to identify potential voids of research that might help to identify areas of research for later. Making your job in the future even easier. “Think smarter, not harder” your brain will be plenty worn out later on in your academic career.
• Work a little bit each day. This breaks down the overall work load to make things more manageable.

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering using.

• Review the materials you are addressing for class a second time briefly prior to class starting. There is so much material to review for each week that it is very easy to lose site of materials that are critical for discussion in as little as a couple of days.
• Write a brief summary of the article or chapter on the cover page of the piece so there is an easy reference for later. This could be used in class, research comps and especially for the dissertation toward the end of your program.
• Keep an ongoing list of research interest areas to begin to investigate. This will give you quick access to ideas for potential research all throughout your program and make things a lot easier. Using google docs, or carrying a notepad in your work bag are methods I have used that have worked nicely.

Quote that best represents the week.

• “Sucking the marrow out of life doesn't mean choking on the bone. (Weir, 1989)”
• In other words, don’t take the advice above too far.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Resources:

Haft, S., Junger Witt, P., Tony, T. (Producers), & Weir, P. (Director). (1989). Dead poets society. [Motion picture]. United States: Silver Screen Partners IV.

Week One: Trial by Fire

There is no better way to start a new adventure than to jump right in. The cliche quote for this is “trial by fire”. This quote accurately describes the first week of a doc program. Orientation is over and it is time to get to work. The wonder of what the experience will feel like and what the work load will be is finally over. It is time to see what the reality that lies ahead really looks like, ready or not. Here were a few happenings that are helpful to note as the week passed by.

• Life is now written in APA format (Sixth ed). Notice from this point on each sentence now has two spaces between it rather than one. Get comfortable with the manual and ear mark the pages that are used most frequently. The sooner this adjustment is made, the better.

• Prepare to read, and then read some more. There is a lot of information to absorb when setting the foundation for future study.
• Ask yourself why each piece you are reading was assigned.
• What contextual value does each piece have to the course and to the study of the discipline globally?
• Find a way to take notes to quick reference later and stick to it.

Tips so good that I cannot take credit for them.

• If you know what time a day you work best plan to schedule time your other commitments around that. If you happen to be a morning person, make sure you are doing your academic work in the morning if possible. The same goes for the evening. Use you best time to commit to your purpose, learning and ultimately graduating.

• “Begin with the end in mind” (Covey, 1989, p. 95). If you know what your research interests are apply them to as many work assignments as possible to start to get exposure to areas of interest. This helps to narrow things down some and learn how future research might be further adapted to close in on a potential dissertation topic.
• To take this a step further a resource that was suggested to me was the following book to start the process of the dissertation from the first day.
• Single, P. B. (2010). Demystifying dissertation writing, a streamlined process from selecting a topic to the final text. Sterling, PA: Stylus

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering using.

• 20/10.
• Some of the materials that have to be read are rather heavy in content. To keep focus I broke down the reading into twenty minute lengths and then took a 10 minute break to rest and get something else small done. This kept my focus on the material for the time I was reading and was far more productive than trying to stay focused on a piece for hours at a time. This might sound a little elementary but it was helpful in being productive and maintaining focus amidst long study periods.

• Find quiet places to go that will keep you motivated to keep working and change up the environment in which you study. This might help to keep you fresh even when that is far from the truth.

Quote that best represents this week.

• "We must face tomorrow and whatever it may hold with determination, joy and bravery" (Helm, 2007).

That is all for week one. Stay tuned for further updates.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Resources:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American psychological association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York: Free Press.

Drake, J., Kahane, N., Miller, J. (Producers), & Helm, Z. (Director). (2007). Mr. Magorium’s wonder emporium [Motion picture]. United States: Mandate Pictures.

Single, P. B. (2010). Demystifying dissertation writing, a streamlined process from selecting a topic to the final text. Sterling, PA: Stylus

The Application Process

The following was published previously in the Upper Midwest Region Association of College and Housing Officers Perspectives magazine.  It provides a narrative about my application experience if anyone is about to partake in that adventure this fall.

Bronkema, R. (Summer 2011). ‘P’retty ‘h’ard ‘d’ecision. UMR ~ ACUHO News. P. 22.

‘P’retty ‘h’ard ‘D’ecision: A Practical Outline to a Doctoral Program Search

I have always known that I wanted to pursue doctoral study, and throughout the last year I realized that this there is not better time than now to start. I unfortunately did not know many people that have gone through a search to participate in a doctoral program that would involve relocating. Everyone that I know attended a program at the campus that they were working at, or one very close to them. This piece is designed as a guide to any of you who are considering further doctoral study and how you might begin that search process.

The truth is, seeking out a doctoral program has little in common with pursuing a masters. Most of us are used to getting courted and having our graduate and professional path laid out before us through outstanding conferences like OPE and TPE. Doctoral searches are a lot more complex and require more layers of research as you prepare for them. My hope is that the following thoughts will help you create a checklist and starting point for this process.

Even if you are not planning to pursue your doctorate in the near future, the following tips will be helpful as they are all things I have learned through my doctoral search that I did not know about prior to beginning. This information can help you use effective strategy and planning with your professional development so you are most aptly prepared if/when the day comes to apply to programs.

Searching for Programs

Begin with the end in mind. What is your goal for completing a doctorate? The two common reasons for pursuing a doctorate in student affairs are to continue administrative advancement or to receive qualifications to teach masters level students in graduate programs as faculty. Depending on what you are hoping to do, the programs you pursue might narrow.

As a great place to start there are program profiles provided by NASPA on their website. This site allows you to search for programs by interest and geography and gives program titles and links to the websites to get the ball rolling. Also, consider looking at the book Peterson’s Graduate Schools in the U.S, with specific reference to the degree titles Higher Education or Counselor Education depending on your interests. This should give you a strong list of where your options are and is a great place to start a list. If you are interested in program prestige consider looking at the U.S. News program rankings under Higher Education Administration. This will give you a listing of one organizations guesstimate of the 10 strongest programs in the country. All of these resources will get you a strong list of potential programs to consider applying to. This list might be long and intimidating but it is a great place to start.

Narrowing Your List

Now that you have a list of schools and programs to consider. It is time to start to narrow them down to a manageable list of schools to apply to. Below I mention the costs of applying, I would advise you use the guide of narrowing your search to four to six schools to apply to as an affordable search. (This will keep your total costs between $750 and $1000 including travel)

To start this narrowing process, consider what type of degree you would like to end up with. The PhD and EdD degrees are by far the most popular terminal degree options available that relate to the field of student affairs. Choosing between the two types of degrees will be a primary filter for your search and is important to consider. There is much debate and disagreement about the similarities and differences between a PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy) and an EdD (Doctorate of Education) and which of the two might be the best fit for particular interests. The primary perceived difference between the two types of degrees is how rigorous the research preparation. The truth upon digging is that the two degrees are far more similar than they are different. If take the time to compare the curriculum of two programs that you are interested in that might differ in title you will notice their similarities. The reason that I write about this is there is a stigma out there in some circles about the value of one degree over another.  This is all a matter of opinion, but is important to at least point out.  Another resource you can look into to gain further clarification on this is The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration.

The next areas to consider is, who are the faculty teaching in the program and what are their areas of research interest? The research interests of the faculty in the programs you are considering are important to consider. As you progress through your program you will be assigned a dissertation advisor and it is very helpful to have someone with similar research interests as you are pursuing in your corner. All that being said you might not have your research interests pin pointed down perfectly, or let’s be honest, they might change over the next two to three years of rigorous course work. This means you might want to consider the diversity of the specialties of the faculty in the programs you are considering and whether there might be several choices to cover your bases.

Next, consider your cognate area options at particular programs. A cognate area of study is much like a minor in undergraduate study. They are courses outside of the selected graduate program that you choose to support the research of your dissertation. Remember that a doctoral program is more like a choose your own adventure book and is designed just for you by you and your advisor. Why considering cognates is critical to your search process is you want to make sure that the schools you are looking at have graduate programs in your areas of interest for future study. For example, leadership or finance and development would be fine supplements to a student affairs degree but would be housed under different academic areas on campus. It is critical that you insure that programs you apply to have strong and appropriate supplemental areas of graduate study. Fortunately most campuses with doctoral programs have many graduate programs to choose from so this is not always that big of a challenge, it is just important to consider.

Nuts and Bolts Requirements for a Strong Application

If you have not taken the Graduate Record Exam and you are sure you want to go back to grad school it would serve you well to just get the GRE out of the way. Most schools are just looking for you to get about an 1100 score. That is not too difficult if you prepare for it. I warn you about this for two reasons. One, the exam scores expire after five years so you might have taken the exam and need to take it again as your scores have expired. Secondly, I was caught off guard by how much time it takes to submit GRE scores to programs and ended up having to take the exam with only two weeks of preparation. Keep in mind that it takes up to four weeks for GRE scores to reach campuses after you take the exam. Plan to take it at least six weeks ahead of your application deadlines to not have to worry about scores arriving in a timely fashion.

Most programs also require a professional writing sample. I would advise that you get some professional writing together to get published. This makes the selecting of a writing sample much easier. Submitting something to the UMR Perspectives Magazine or the ACUHO-I Talking Stick would be a great option to use as a writing sample. So if you have not written for them in the past, I would encourage you to do so. Taking this rout not only helps your local colleagues by sharing but it also will be far more recent than any graduate writing that you have available which shows your perspective faculty that you have the interest and experience in writing.

Update your resume/vitae. Make sure to highlight things that would be considered desirable in a graduate student. Your writing experience, professional presentations at conferences and any additional coursework you have volunteered to take in addition to your masters degree are helpful to list. Highlighting these areas insures that you show your extra initiative and your merit as a strong doctoral candidate. If you have yet to participate in writing or presenting it is in your best interest to start so you have some things to reference and get yourself back into an academic mind frame.

Contact your potential references. Most times at least one of them has to be a former faculty member who taught you as a student. Contacting people early to line them and letting them get started on their letters is a great idea.

Save money, applying costs more than you might expect. Between the application fee, the GRE fee, and sending two copies of your transcripts to schools the grand total cost of applying to programs begins to add up quickly. Also remember that you will likely have to visit one or two of them to make your final choice and these travel costs are not reimbursed. As mentioned earlier applying to five programs and visiting two could cost you between $750 and $1000 total.

Plan to turn in your applications seven days early. As they have to be sent across campus at times and need to meet a deadline. This will save you stress to their arrival. In this competitive time you want to make sure you have everything in for the priority consideration deadline.

Campus Visits

Prior to your campus visits be sure to ask detailed questions about how the assistantship process. Depending on what programs you apply to the assistantship and financial support process might be very different. If you are hoping to secure a full time assistantship this is an important process to consider. When you receive offers of acceptance from programs start to look into how the assistantship process and placement works so you can start that search immediately. Doctoral programs do not always play an active a role in this search process as you might think, so be ready for that additional work as the process unfolds.

Campus visits can happen in a couple of different ways. The first is that you could be accepted into a program prior to visiting and the visit is more of a campus orientation and sales pitch. Another is that you could be invited to campus to interview for admission into the program and your selection would come after your visit. Be ready to handle yourself according to how differently the programs plan to host you.

Making “Your” Choice

After you have visited all of the programs you have chosen to visit it is time to make a final decision. This is where you will find one thing about a doctoral search that is similar to any search you have gone through to date. It is still all about fit. If you have done a thorough search and stuck to the requirements that you were looking for your heart will be your best guide as to what program is best for you and your professional future. The key is doing your homework and applying to the right programs for you. At that point there are no wrong fits and you are in a win, win situation. You have found the program to set you up for a rigorous but prosperous education and professional career.

Stay in Touch

As you continue to ponder doctoral options I have found it to be incredibly helpful to have folks around that have gone through the process. Feel free to contact me at anytime to discuss your thoughts. I would love to be a resource to any of you down the road. Safe searching, and thank you for your commitment to student affairs. We are all in this together.

Resources

Graduate program directory. Retrieved from http://www.naspa.org/career/gradprograms/default.cfm

Peterson’s graduate schools. Retrieved from http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools.aspx

Howard-Hamilton, M. F., Hyman, R. E. Doctoral education and beyond. In McClellan, G. S., Stinger, J. and Associates. (Eds.), The handbook of student affairs administration (pp. 388-400). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

US news education grad schools. Retrieved from http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/higher-education-administration-rankings