...in which I've started an extremely preliminary investigation.
Well, I’m investigating grad schools for the first time EVER. How exciting! There are surprisingly few universities in this great big country of ours that offer an MLS program. I knew already that I couldn’t go home, since neither VCU nor UR has one (and neither has William & Mary, which distressed me greatly; I would love to return there in triumph!), but my choices are even more limited than I expected. Tulane has no program, and I was really hoping for them. San Francisco doesn’t, either. You can’t go home again, I guess.
Still, there are a few in places I would be willing to live for a couple of years. There are considerations outside of my own wishes that have to be factored in, because I hope and believe that someone else will be coming with me, but on my own I do have certain designs. I want to be in the city, because rural (and even suburban) settings frighten me. I want to be warm and I want to be close to the ocean, but a quick perusal of the list has demonstrated that there are VERY few options open to me if I insist upon this (have they no libraries in warm cities? Maybe folks in warm places have better things to do than read), so I’m loosening that criteria a little bit. In a couple of years I’ll be stricter about that when looking for a job, but right now I’m gonna have to just take what I can get. And a couple of the inland/cold-weather spots are pretty cool.
So here it is, my first-ever list of possible grad schools, which will interest no one but me, but this is my first time and even though I don’t really know what I’m doing I think it’s fascinating. This list is being compiled before I find out whether any of these schools will accept me (though I’m planning a perfect GRE score, which should help) or whether I’ll be able to afford to attend (so really more of a pipe-dream list), but here it is:
UCLA: California!!! I want more than anything to go back to California, as my long-time readers know very well. And although I have had a love/hate relationship with LA over the years, it would be nice to be able, someday, to say, “Yeah, I used to live in LA…” You know, in kind of the same way that being able to say you’ve read Moby Dick is more fun than actually reading it. The town is warm and near enough the Pacific to keep me happy. I have no idea how I could afford to live in Los Angeles, but I’m willing to take a chance and figure it out when I get there.
Also, and really far more important, is that I could do film studies there as well as my MLS, which is a powerful lure; I have a nebulous idea of becoming a film historian (which would still require an MLS) rather than a librarian. So UCLA has to be at the top of the list from the “doing what I want to with my life” standpoint, which is supposed to be the big idea, right?
Plus which, a guy who used to work with my mom, a guy I knew well when I was young, is now on the staff out there and is willing to…I don’t know, to mentor me or whatever. And attending UCLA would be an in to the California State University system, the finest on the planet. So, even though San Jose State also has a program, and San Jose is really more my kinda town, I’m thinking UCLA would be better for me. Keep your fingers crossed. But, if UCLA doesn't work out, there's always...
Arizona: Well, I’ve been there, of course; when Bonnie and I were engaged, her dad lived in Bisbee. That’s something like an hour from the Arizona campus, not that close, but I’ve got a good warm feeling about the whole state, as does my (best-case) traveling companion. Plus which, being me, I’d love to attend a good basketball school.
University of British Columbia: This is just ‘cause I’ve never been out of the country. I don’t know, really, whether Canada counts as “out of the country,” but if they’ll take me I’m interested. Also along these lines, Dalhousie in Nova Scotia (although it sounds like it should be in Australia) has an ALA-accredited program as well, as does McGill in Montreal, which would give me a chance to use my French (bonus!).
Maryland: I’ve got friends there, so there’s an instant support structure and social group, besides which I’ve spent a lot of time in Baltimore, not too far away. It’s a cool area and a familiar one, and given the pressures of grad school, familiarity might prove to be important.
Catholic University of America: Okay, don’t freak out about the Catholic part. It’s in D.C., a town I love. I know the area, I know the campus, and this is one of the schools my mother attended. Also, it is not outrageously expensive.
UNC (Chapel Hill and Greensboro): Again, I have friends (and family) in the area. It would be weird to actually cheer for the Tar Heels, but I’ve always REALLY hated Duke, so I think I could manage. Duke, incidentally, does not offer an MLS. I’m sorry for that, because it means I can’t apply and then turn them down once they accept me.
Pittsburgh: I like the city, though I’ve recently been informed that it isn’t as nice to live there as it is to visit. Still, I’d be close to Mama and Teddy and the Biscuits, so that’s something. Are they still a Big East school? I’ve been confused lately. It’s a bit cold for me, but it’s a possibility. On a related note, there’s Simmons College in Boston, another town I really love that’s maybe a bit colder than I’d like.
St. John’s: Now, this is the real dream school (just on an emotional level; UCLA is still a better option for me, but my heart says New York). This would be wonderful, a chance to spend a few years in the capital of the world, but I think the odds are pretty well stacked against it. Still, you gotta have dreams.
CUNY and LIU would be perfectcly acceptable runners-up here, and there’s another Manhattan school called Pratt, which I’m not familiar with, but I’m willing to learn. Somewhat less interesting is Syracuse, which I understand is so much colder than the city that they might as well be on different planets. Let’s hope that, should New York suddenly become a realistic option, we’ll be able to stay in the city, shall we?
University of Puerto Rico: I don’t speak Spanish. But really, even given that, does this choice require an explanation?
Wisconsin (Madison and Milwaukee): I hate the Midwest in general, but I’ll admit to a fondness for Wisconsin. If they’ll take me I’ll temporarily forgo my love of the ocean and go for it. The University of Michigan, of course, has a program (while we’re in the Midwest), but I’ve been to Ann Arbor and there’s just no way I can live there.
So, there’s my list. What do you think? Anyone have any experience with any of these schools? Clue a brother, alright?