Now with the clarity and confidence that this program was the right fit for me – and I’m the right fit for the program – I needed to move forward with the formal application process. Much like any higher-education application process, I had several documents to prepare.
I needed to:
- Update my resume to highlight the relevant knowledge and skills I possess, and to feature the projects I’ve worked on
- Gather letters of support from supervisors who can attest to my academic and professional experience
- Write a personal statement addressing the specific prompts provided by the university
- Request a formal transcript from my previous university
- Work with the program coordinator to set up a preliminary program schedule based on my selected program completion pathway (e.g., course-based, paper-based, or thesis-based)
The last two tasks were perhaps the hardest – just in very different ways.
For the transcript, I had to submit a request through my previous university – a university I hadn’t attended in 17 years and for which I no longer had access to the student portal (the portal where I was directed to make this request). Ultimately, I had to get tech support to reactive my account using verifying information which included my student id number – a number I no longer had a record of. I searched through old files, both paper and electronic, until I stumbled across one of my old tax records that just happened to have a number beside the line item referencing student tax credits – bingo! After a bit of back-and-forth, I was in and could request an official transcript and download an unofficial copy for my records.
The program schedule was difficult mainly because I couldn’t quite decide on the best pathway for degree completion. In my program research, I had ranked each elective based on my interest and wound up with a fairly long list. With a thesis-based completion, I wouldn’t have a lot of space to take many of the courses that interested me. With a course-based completion, I wouldn’t have a dedicate summative piece of work integrating my learning which I desired to have. As such, the paper-based option seemed to be the best of both worlds – more space for electives and the opportunity for a dedicated piece of work.
So, with everything in order, I paid the fee and waited for the application portal access to be granted so I could start uploading documents.
I uploaded my documents – my resume, my unofficial transcript, my program schedule – and waited some more. I waited for these documents to shift from “submitted” to “received.”
I sent the requests for my references to upload their letters – and, once more, I waited. I waited for them to move from “invited” to “received.”
Then, I waited some more – for my application status to change from “pending” to “admitted.” I kept checking that portal daily. I knew full well that they’d send me a notification when the time comes, but I couldn’t help it. I kept refreshing.
All that confidence and clarity shifted right back to nervous uncertainty. No tips here. Just time to wait, to think, to worry.
~ You left me no choice but to stay here forever, T. Swift, Right Where You Left Me
Did You Know?
Beyond our career coaching/counselling services to individuals and career-focused resources, Life Strategies has been supporting the career development sector through research, e-learning, and custom solutions for career development agencies, associations, or other community groups for more than 30 years.
You can see several of our research endeavors and partnerships profiled at Projects.
2 thoughts on “The Waiting Game”
So exciting Cassie! I relate very much 🙂 Job searches and uni applications feel like jumping through a lot of hoops at times, but it’s worth it if this is something you really want to do!
Thanks, Farheen. Yes, lots of hoop jumping. It does help to have that big picture in mind – that “why” to guide you through