Friday, October 30, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Grad School Fair At OU-October 21,2009
There was a Graduate School Fair in the Memorial Union at the University of Oklahoma this past Wednesday. This event was hosted by Career Services and featured a number of graduate programs from schools all across the nation. Tyeshia Waters a junior Petroleum Engineering major from Houston Texas says "I was kind of hesitant about graduate school before I attended the fair, but now I am considering it more seriously now."
Bette Scott, Director of Career Services, says that the graduate school fair is held once a year in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, and that it has been going on for at least the past 10 years. About 60 graduate schools attend the fair on average according to Scott. Graduate schools from the University of Oklahoma participate in the Graduate School Fair as well.
When asked about the student turnout Bette replied "Now that really varies!" The student turnout for the Graduate School Fair is usually around 250-300 Scott says.
According to Scott, the graduate schools that do attend the fair wish they had a more accessible venue to work in. The grad fair is usually held on the third floor of the union in the ballroom. The graduate school representatives feel they would have a higher turn-out of students if they were on the ground floor of the student union where the food court is Scott says.
"There is just not a large enough open space for there to be students and tables other than in the ballroom," Scott says. Scott feels as though enough students are familiar with the union for it not to be such an inconvenience for them to go the third floor ballroom.
For those graduate school representatives that were concerned about the fair not being in a more visible venue, there were signs posted around the student union informing students where the Graduate School Fair was being held. There were specific signs with arrows directing students to the fair.
When you arrive at the fair, there is a sign-in sheet, and Career Services volunteers give you bags in which to place information received from the different schools. From there the students walk in the ballroom where they are able to stop at tables and visit with the friendly graduate school representatives.
Theresa Foster, Program Director for the Saint Francis Hospital, School of Medical Technology, thinks that the Graduate School Fair is a beneficial event and was pleased to be involved with it. Foster says "I think this is a wonderful event for juniors, seniors and maybe even sophomores to participate in, not to just see what my program offers, but to get exposure to what other graduate programs offer as well!"
Foster says that some students do not feel as though graduate school is for them because a certain school may not offer a program that they may be interested in. This is when the graduate school fair makes a difference, as students may find a program that will help them in future careers.
Scott says in terms of having representatives from all the schools physically there makes graduate schools less intimidating for the students. "Having someone that they ask questions right in front of them is really helpful for students- asking questions to a real person that they can't get from the application."
Waters said that having someone to talk to from the schools helped ease some of the worries she had about graduate schools. Foster says that it is important for students to be able to talk face to face with school representatives or to "Put a face with a school or institution."
Scott says questions that are usually directed at grad school representatives include; “When do I need to start applying?” and “Are there classes now that will help me with grad school acceptances?”
When asked about the environment of the grad school fair Scott replied "This is a more laid back environment, we want the students and the representatives to be comfortable, no stress!"
According to Scott, no interviews were going to be scheduled at this time. The purpose of the fair is mainly to get information packets from the school and talk face to face with representatives, and to clear up any misconceptions or confusions that students may have about graduate school admissions and requirements.
Career Services keeps a working data base of the different graduate schools that offer a vast array of graduate programs. Scott says hundreds of physical invitations go out to the various graduate school programs across the country. The invitations are usually sent out between July and August, according to Scott. Scott says the graduate schools can register online if they want to participate in the grad school fair.
Bette Scott, Director of Career Services, says that the graduate school fair is held once a year in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, and that it has been going on for at least the past 10 years. About 60 graduate schools attend the fair on average according to Scott. Graduate schools from the University of Oklahoma participate in the Graduate School Fair as well.
When asked about the student turnout Bette replied "Now that really varies!" The student turnout for the Graduate School Fair is usually around 250-300 Scott says.
According to Scott, the graduate schools that do attend the fair wish they had a more accessible venue to work in. The grad fair is usually held on the third floor of the union in the ballroom. The graduate school representatives feel they would have a higher turn-out of students if they were on the ground floor of the student union where the food court is Scott says.
"There is just not a large enough open space for there to be students and tables other than in the ballroom," Scott says. Scott feels as though enough students are familiar with the union for it not to be such an inconvenience for them to go the third floor ballroom.
For those graduate school representatives that were concerned about the fair not being in a more visible venue, there were signs posted around the student union informing students where the Graduate School Fair was being held. There were specific signs with arrows directing students to the fair.
When you arrive at the fair, there is a sign-in sheet, and Career Services volunteers give you bags in which to place information received from the different schools. From there the students walk in the ballroom where they are able to stop at tables and visit with the friendly graduate school representatives.
Theresa Foster, Program Director for the Saint Francis Hospital, School of Medical Technology, thinks that the Graduate School Fair is a beneficial event and was pleased to be involved with it. Foster says "I think this is a wonderful event for juniors, seniors and maybe even sophomores to participate in, not to just see what my program offers, but to get exposure to what other graduate programs offer as well!"
Foster says that some students do not feel as though graduate school is for them because a certain school may not offer a program that they may be interested in. This is when the graduate school fair makes a difference, as students may find a program that will help them in future careers.
Scott says in terms of having representatives from all the schools physically there makes graduate schools less intimidating for the students. "Having someone that they ask questions right in front of them is really helpful for students- asking questions to a real person that they can't get from the application."
Waters said that having someone to talk to from the schools helped ease some of the worries she had about graduate schools. Foster says that it is important for students to be able to talk face to face with school representatives or to "Put a face with a school or institution."
Scott says questions that are usually directed at grad school representatives include; “When do I need to start applying?” and “Are there classes now that will help me with grad school acceptances?”
When asked about the environment of the grad school fair Scott replied "This is a more laid back environment, we want the students and the representatives to be comfortable, no stress!"
According to Scott, no interviews were going to be scheduled at this time. The purpose of the fair is mainly to get information packets from the school and talk face to face with representatives, and to clear up any misconceptions or confusions that students may have about graduate school admissions and requirements.
Career Services keeps a working data base of the different graduate schools that offer a vast array of graduate programs. Scott says hundreds of physical invitations go out to the various graduate school programs across the country. The invitations are usually sent out between July and August, according to Scott. Scott says the graduate schools can register online if they want to participate in the grad school fair.
Monday, October 12, 2009
My Soundslide Story
My Soundslide story is about the process that the HU (Hampton University) Sail team
goes through when they return from sailing around in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Sail team has to come into the bay, pull the sail boats up on the dock,
bring the sails down, and fold them completely, then wash the salt off the boats,
and finally cover them for the next outing. It seems as though it is a hard process
to put the sail boats away, but the HU sail team makes it look fast and easy!
goes through when they return from sailing around in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Sail team has to come into the bay, pull the sail boats up on the dock,
bring the sails down, and fold them completely, then wash the salt off the boats,
and finally cover them for the next outing. It seems as though it is a hard process
to put the sail boats away, but the HU sail team makes it look fast and easy!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Midterm Project
On Wednesday, October 21, 2009 there will be a Grad School Fair.
The fair is going to be held in the Oklahoma Memorial Union Ball Room.
This fair will have representatives from grad schools all across the nation.
The representatives will come from a large array of disciplines.
The representatives from the schools will provide information as to what it will take to be accepted into grad school and what it takes to be successful in graduate school.
I think that it would be interesting to get their professional opinions about undergraduate students who wish to enter grad school and to get students' take on the requirements of grad school and do they feel like they are up to the challenge.
The fair is going to be held in the Oklahoma Memorial Union Ball Room.
This fair will have representatives from grad schools all across the nation.
The representatives will come from a large array of disciplines.
The representatives from the schools will provide information as to what it will take to be accepted into grad school and what it takes to be successful in graduate school.
I think that it would be interesting to get their professional opinions about undergraduate students who wish to enter grad school and to get students' take on the requirements of grad school and do they feel like they are up to the challenge.
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