Options (edited 11:03 EST)

[danaeris]

Option 1:
Apply to Ryerson.

Option 1A:
If I happen to get the ball rolling on my writing by the time I get a decision from them and feel I don't need the program, I can turn it down then. Otherwise, hope for a yes and accept!

Option 1B:
Try to finish a continuing ed course before I have to accept (if I'm admitted) so that I can see if I need the whole degree after all. If I decide I do need the degree, I spent an extra $500 on the course. If I decide I don't need the degree, I will have spent an extra $170 on applying to Ryerson. The earliest I would hear back from them is in March. The latest I would need to get back to them is the last Friday in July (that's when tuition is due), but my decision deadline might be earlier.

Option 2:
Don't apply to Ryerson, saving myself the $65 remaining of my application fee, or apply to keep my options open. Next take one of the following options:

Option 2A:
Continue soul-searching with the hope that I'll figure out for sure what I want next (be it journalism, going back into physics, becoming a hermit, or being a figure skating coach for the rest of my life), and don't waste any money on further education until I'm absolutely sure I want to do that with my life.

Option 2B:
Take some kind of continuing education courses in Journalism. If the course doesn't give me the knowledge I need to write and I still want to write, I can apply to Ryerson for the next year, and maybe by then the Masters program which is apparently in the works will be up and running! Of course, it will be much more competitive than the Bachelors program I'm applying to which it is replacing, but the Masters degree will also likely be more valuable. In the meantime, make as much money possible by teaching etc., and see what happens.

Under options B, there are several places I could go to receive the education I desire.

1. Ryerson: Feature Writing for the Freelance Market, 3 h/wk, 1/10-4/11 (can I weasel my way into this course late?), $474, 42 hours and 14 sessions (4 of which I've missed)
   
2. Ryerson: Freelancing the Future, 3 h/wk, 5/4-6/15, $255, 21 hours in 7 sessions
   
3. MediaBistro: Boot Camp for Journalists, online 8 week course, $475 3/28-5/16
   
4. MediaBistro: Boot Camp for Journalists, 8 week course in NYC (24 hours in 8 sessions), $475 4/6-5/25

The latter would be fuck expensive, but would provide the opportunity to network with the huge amount of media which is based in NYC. A friend of mine has taken the media bistro boot camp course in SF, and thought it was very good.

Bah humbug! Decisions are hard.

Comments

[sunspiral.livejournal.com]

2A permits soul-searching to continue, and seems to me to be the best option. Given the choice between more and less intensive courses, I'd go for more intensive. Given the choice between online and real-time classroom, if the online permits replays I'd go with that. The high-intensity classroom approach tends to have a lot of blink-and-you-missed-it potential. (On my Patent Agent training I opted for ~40 audio tapes instead of a week of classroom hell, and I've never regretted it. I could replay the tricky bits as many times as needed.)

[deedeebythebay.livejournal.com]

May I suggest a combination of 2A and 2B. Don't apply, save yourself the money for now. Take a class and see if it stirs your heart and soul, not just your head and your dreams for your pocketbook. In addition, continue working to earn some money and explore more and more of who you are and what you really want to do with your life.

Good luck.