Things They Don't Tell You...

If you're a girl who's pretty involved at WPI, you probably know what WIN is. If you're not...well, you still might know. For those who that don't, Women's Industry Network is WPI's very own women's networking organization that holds hundreds of female WPI students as members. It holds dinner events once a term where students get clubbed into sections based on their majors with two professionals that are in the same field as them- for example, I sat at a table with biology majros at school and professionals in the field of bio/biotech. It's a very helpful event that sets you up with people that can give a lot of advice and guidance on what to do in school, out of school how to get a job- that sort of thing.

Last night's event was super helpful- we had professionals talking about things such as exempt vs. non-exempt employment, taxes, work insurance, health care plans, savings plans, time off, renting vs. buying homes, paying off student loans, etc. Now I know it all sounds super boring, but amazingly enough, it is now that I begin to realize these are all things I'm going to have to think about like...now! Whether or not we want, time takes it toll and we have to make real-life decisions. Once we're in the real world, it really is surprising how many options there are and all that can be overwhelming. This was all advice that people don't tell us- all real life situations that we have to face by ourselves.

I'm glad WPI holds events like this that can be so helpful to students in their future when they enter the work force.One such event is "Life After College" that will be hosted by the CDC in the Odeum today, 5-6pm. If you see this post before then- you should definitely try to stop by!

Back From Break

As this 'lovely' weather rolls around (fallen on ice anyone? I have...of course), I can't believe this is the last winter break I just spent at WPI. Good thing I took a much needed vacation. But I was also, fortunately, back a couple of weeks early to do some MQP work, and graduate school applications. The first one is hopefully going to be sent out tomorrow-so glad I finally wrote those essays.
I realised that I didn't have the time to get all my essays reviewed, but since I'll be applying to some schools with later deadlines, I have time to make appointments at the CDC to get the later ones reviewed. Also, I plan on getting some help to apply to jobs now that spring is not far away. The spring career fair is actually coming up on Feb4th and 5th. The first day is for internships, but the second day is more vital for me, with internships and full time jobs being looked for.
The next thing is to get more organized and start putting deadlines for myself so I can send out all the application materials, get my MQP in line, and start a thorough a job hunting process.
Last C-Term ever....almost done :P

Things I Didn't know...

In my mad search for wanting to travel/work/study abroad, I finally checked out some of the CDC resources...and I was pretty taken aback at some of their guides. For people like me interested in the envrionment and biotechnology, there are career guides listing types of jobs and locations and companies. There's even quite a large guide called "Living and Working Overseas". For some people I know who are looking to travel as well, there are smaller guides on volunteer programs that are an alternative to peace corps, which may be not exactly what will make you find your way, but would be a wonderful starting point. I've actually talked to a lot of international people who would like to be working for companies from their country but in the US, and there is rather large directory of such foreign firms in the US as well.

When it comes to finding jobs outside the country, it's difficult at a school like WPI, where most engineering majors tend to stay pretty local after graduation. It's also difficult for life science majors, where Boston seems to be the meccah of biotechnology and bioengineering. Many other options exist for me though- even within the US, if that's what it comes down to. And that is good to know. If I want to travel, I recently found out that San Diego is also a big bio-science hub, so California (which, let's face it, might as well be a whole new country) is definitely an option.

But as far as living and traveling and working abroad goes, it's great to have a good starting point. Luckily life science majors have some time before they can start job hunting, and hopefully that time will give me the leverage I need to get where I want.

Remember how I said I started writing a few weeks ago? that's all I got so far....I don't know why I have no time to do this. On the other hand, I keep meeting people who have written like ten personal statements already and are almost all set with their applications...whatever will I do...


But I did find out today that the CDC can even evaluate your personal statement- I definitely did not know that. I mean, I'm going to have them check out my resumes and things before I include material from that into my applications, but I certainly didn't think they would read my essays too...that's great news. Because I'm going to need a ton of feed back!

It seems like since applications for grad school are due for most US schools, people are scrambling to get theirs done. Good thing I have some time...things to do this week are:
-Finish writing personal statement (FOR REAL!)
-Ask Registrar's office for multiple copies of transcript
-Reminder emails to professors I asked for recommendations (believe me, professors are worse than students and more often than not also wait until the last minute to get papers in on time...especially busy ones, like the ones doing biology research...)
-Make appointment with counselor as soon as I finish personal statement for advice and feedback

Yay! Maybe setting goals will get the ball rolling for me :)

Starting to Write...

SO last weekend, I decided I needed to get a start on writing my personal statement...take a guess where I went to start that...in Harvard. Probably the most random decision of my life- I went into Boston just for a change with no specific purpose in mind, and I wandered around Harvard Square with a cup of coffee hand, and then..well, I decided why not go into Harvard, find a quiet spot and get to work. Definitely got some good work done, and it was pretty relaxing. Writing about yourself can get tedious though, which it did....so I quite after a while.

Haven't really looked at it otherwise, but I have looked at the rest of my application yay! I'll be applying to the Cambridge Gates Scholarship. Cambridge apparently has the most funds to give away so if you ever want to apply there, make sure to apply to this program- it covers all their trusts and funds through one application and all you have to do that's extra is a personal statement and a couple of write-ups about your exracurricaulars and all that jazz. I'll be applying for a Masters, so I'll have some time to write these things up, because the deadlines are later than for a PhD. SO I guess that's what Thanksgiving break is for...and here I was thinking it would be about enjoying my tofurkey (yes I know it's wrong not to eat a turkey on Thanskgiving-I'm spending it at a vegetarian house, so please don't judge)....

Talking about yourself is weird....

So I've given out reference letter forms to my three referees...hope to get them back in time. I've given them over a month to write them, which is pretty good timing I hear.

Started working on my personal statement- this is the weirdest thing I've ever had to do. Talking about myself to complete strangers, my dreams and aspirations and past experiences...yes, different from a blog because I'm talking myself up a little, trying to convince someone why I'm worth it. So I looked back at some past journal entries, essays and looked up some tips on how to write these essays. It's a step toward getting started right? I also realised my application is going to go nowhere sitting on my desk in the office I work in- so I've finally got ahold of them, looked through them and started filling them out, even though it's incredibly intimidating.

Apart from all of that, MQP is eating my life- there are so many mistakes to be made in labs, so no wonder Bio students take at least a year or more to complete their MQPs. Good thing I'll be taking off from here soon....

I definitely need to look for jobs though. I'm going to update my resume and look through JobFinder this weekend...let's jope I find something :)

If anyone ever says to me senior year is a breeze...um, they're LYING. I've been living in lab for so long now...yes, living, becuase I might as well be...I have had barely any time for anything else. Thankfully I managed to get some research done on schools and will be getting my reference letters out to professors this week. Good thing most of those school deadlines are later for Europe and Australia...yay!
The next thing I need to work on is my personal statement...like asap. I got a lot of good suggestions from friends. One said write down your thoughts every morning or night for a few weeks, and look for the most consistent pattern. Another said just write-everything...it doesn't have to be a statement, just write about yourself and aspirations and stuff. Then narrow it down from there...pretty good ideas. Now if only I could get started on them...