Thursday, March 31, 2011

Registration

Well, it's that time again. I just got done registering for my first semester of DPT school today! :)

Of course my classes are planned out for me, but I can't believe I actually registered!
My schedule looks like this:
Human Anatomy (6 credits)
Human Physiology (3 credits)
Introduction to Clinical Skills (2 credits)
Principles of Practice I: Intro to PT Practice (3 credits)
Total: 14 credits

That 6 credit Anatomy scares me, I'm not going to lie about that... plus the Phys on top of it... I hated Human Physiology the first time... I'm really not interested in how things work on the cellular level and my professor was really boring... Hopefully I'll have a better time with it the second time through and with a different professor.

The only choice I got to make was if I wanted to do my anatomy lab on Tuesday or Thursday. I chose Tuesday so that I'm done for the week on Thursdays at 11. No class on Fridays! Although, who knows when all the open labs/potential other requirements will be... But, it'll be nice to be done with classes on Thursday and have the rest of the weekend for studying, relaxing, house cleaning, etc. :)

It's so interesting how different every PT program is... I have a friend who's been regularly taking 17+ credits per semester... I think that I have less overall credit hours because of the modified Problem Based Learning program; a lot of courses are combined, so instead of having four 3-credit courses, I have one 11-credit course. That will be interesting... Hopefully, I made the right judgement call that I feel I can succeed in that type of learning environment when it comes around in Spring 2012.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Loans! Loans! Loans!

I got my financial aid package today. This is exciting and also a little scary, only because I can't believe I am signing myself up for debt. Eek!!

I've never done this student loan thing before, so all of the paperwork/visiting the website is really scary. It's not that the websites/information is hard to understand, it's just hard for me to sign myself up for 7.8% interest rate on around $70k... that's a lot of money and a lot of interest.

I didn't receive enough money to go unsubsidized all the way, but I received almost the max amount allowed for unsubsidized, so I have very little in subsidized.

What's the difference? Unsubsized means that no interest collects until you are done with school/are not enrolled full-time. Subsized means that interest starts accruing immediately. So, I will be making interest payments on my loans while I attend school. If you don't make payments on subsidized loans then the interest "capitalizes" and you end up paying even more back when you are out of school.

I got approved for just a little bit more than what I need for the school year tuition/fees wise, so I accepted it. I figured I can use the extra hundred for books or I can just put it right back on the subsidized loan as payment for the interest. We'll see when it actually happens...

What alarmed me when I got my letter was in big, bold, red letters the amount of +$40,000 as my estimated school+cost of living!!! I thought that I was only approved for 1/4 of that amount and didn't know what I was going to do! Then I realized that they estimated my cost of living to be around $20k... Um, I don't think so! I can live much poorer than that! Actually, the truth of my personal situation is that I am dating a very supportive person who has agreed that he will support me while I go through school. Without this, I honestly don't know how it would be possible for me to go to school. My parents supported my entire undergraduate degree (what wasn't covered by grants) and living costs (because even though I lived close enough to commute to school I wanted to be "grown up" and live near campus) as well as when I went back for my prerequisites and I really can't ask anymore from them. They have been nothing but amazingly supportive of my decision (once they got over the disappointment of me not wanting to teach.)

So, since my rent/utilities will be paid for by my boyfriend, I can count on my parents to support me here and there for gas money and whatnot. I'll also be losing the job I have currently when they downsize, so I am hoping that I will be able to collect unemployment for awhile, and that will definitely help.

As far as getting a job while in school? I get overwhelmed easily and don't always accept change the best, so I want to get settled into my new "home" (wherever that may end up being), figuring out how to get places from there and get settled into my new school environment and the coursework. If I feel that I can handle something part-time eventually, then I'll deal with that then, but for now I want to remain unemployed.

But, anyway... I was a big girl today and signed myself up for a massive amount of debt that will follow me around for the next 13 years (the 2.5 while I'm in school and then the 10 afterwards of paying it back... I hope that I can pay it off quicker, though...)