Last week I had my first test since going back to school, I was definitely nervous and I spent a lot of time studying (and not a lot of time blogging or running!). When I spoke with a few of the Doctorate Physical Therapy programs that I am hoping to apply to after I am done with my pre-requisites they basically said the programs are very competitive and I really would need to have all A’s to get in…I mean not like I’d be trying to get anything less than an A, but still, I feel like it’s a lot of pressure!
The whole being back in school thing is a little weird, and I have to admit the second week of classes I had a bit of a freakout wondering if I had made the right decision. Now here’s a bit of a blog confession, because I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here before – this is not the first time I have done this…I am a going back to school repeat offender (and failure).
Since graduating from college 10 years ago (yikes!) I’ve attempted to go back to school and change careers not once, but twice! The first time it was actually also for physical therapy, but after taking one semester of pre-requisite classes I just was not feeling the whole going back to school thing and really didn’t think I could manage 5 years of it at the time (I had only been out of college a couple of years).
The second time I started a graduate program for elementary education. I am the first person to admit I was doing this for all the wrong reasons…or reason – summers off. My husband has all of his time off during the summers, so this seemed like a great idea. Again I took a semester of classes and was working full time in a school during the day while doing my very best to convince myself that I could show up to a school and impart wisdom on small children for the rest of my career…but oh my goodness was I miserable!
God bless all the teachers out there because I could not do it! It’s not that I don’t like kids…I just prefer them in smaller quantities. Strike 2 on going back to school, and back to working in professional sports.
So, here I am, up at bat for strike 3 and maybe now you can understand why my little meltdown about being back in school a couple of weeks ago really rattled me…
But I think (hope), this time I’m ready.
Why now? Well, not only has running really renewed my interest in Physical Therapy and given me more of a connection to the field, but running in general has really made me feel like I can accomplish anything. 6 years ago during my last failed back to school attempt I would never have imagined I could train for and run a marathon, but now I know what it feels like to stick to a plan, work hard and accomplish something you never thought you could do.
If 8 months of work to finish 26.2 miles felt good, I can’t image what 5 years of work to finally find a career I’m passionate about will feel like!
Fingers crossed third time’s a charm!
Live, Run, Grow 
That first test is always the hardest. I was out of undergrad three years when I started grad school, and I remember feeling like I’d completely forgotten how to study and write papers. It does get better though. And it took me three tries to find the right grad program for me (well, I went through the application process three times. Only enrolled once). Hope this time it clicks for you!
Thanks Maureen! My biggest fear is spending the next year doing pre-requisites and then NOT getting onto one of the DPT programs! I think that’s why I feel so much pressure with all of these pre-req classes! Once I get through this I think it’ll be better!
I totally understand how all of that feels. I got my master’s degree several years after finishing undergrad, and I had a bunch of ideas in mind. I think we’ve talked about the whole teaching thing. 🙂
You’ll do well! And it’s okay if you change your mind…just see how it goes, and have a back up plan just in case.
I don’t think it would bother me so much if I was already in a masters or doctorate program…I think it’s most frustrating that I’m in all undergrad classes while I take the pre-reqs…just need to get through these!
You can do it! It can seem daunting and overwhelming at first, so just take it one quarter or semester at a time and pretty soon the time will fly by! Hard to believe I have less than a year to go to finish my masters, seemed like I started just yesterday… One thing that helped me get through all the science intensive courses as an undergrad were free tutoring classes that my university provided. Helped me pass O-chem! That is my weakest subject….oh lord was I happy to be done!
Thanks! I should look in to the resources my school has as far as tutoring and stuff…right now I’m fine since I’m actually re-taking the same 2 classes I took 8 years ago the first time I attempted to go back for PT so a lot of the stuff is familiar, but after this I may need some help!
If it makes you feel any better, I wan in grad school (what I thought to be my dream one) for early childhood and special Ed only to end up dropping out of that, tried to go to law school, never made that happen and then thought about going to grad school for something completely different and years later I still haven’t applied. At least you had the guts to go for it and not be discouraged by your past and you should be very proud of that! Good job and good luck!
Oh my goodness, don’t take this the wrong way, because I am so sorry you’ve struggled with this too…but I am SO glad to hear I’m not the only one!
lol no worries! No offense taken! You are definitely not the only one 🙂
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Ha!! Summers off is one of the main reasons I keep thinking maybe I should look back into becoming a teacher. I always thought I would eventually go back to school (law school specifically) but I just haven’t found motivation to do it. But I think it’s great that you have the passion to go back and follow your dream. I’m sure there will be ups and downs but you know what you want and what it’ll take to get there.
Yeah, I think that’s why I struggled the first two times, I really just wasn’t motivated at the time to be there. It’s a hard decision and a lot of work for something you’re not really sure about!