Queen's, First One Out of the Shoot

I sent in my completed application to Queen's University in Belfast this afternoon. By far, Prof. Peter Gray has been the most helpful of all the Universities I've been in contact with this week. The more I think about it, the more I'm excited for the possibility! By far, Queen's seems to have the best grad program for what I want to study. Prof. Gray did both is undergraduate and graduate work at Cambridge, where I'd love to study some day. The school's located in Belfast - which is great! The JBU study abroad team will be near by in the fall - which gives me a way to continue to invest in JBU, which I'm really excited about. Hadden & Betty Wilson are around, which brings bubbling happiness and excitment to my heart. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I get so excited!

I'm hoping this is where God wants me, but we'll have to see. Thankfully, I was able to get a hold of both Prof. Preston Jones and Dr. Rick Ostrander for recommendations. I was able to get a copy of my transcript within a day (thanks Melanie!) and had the entire application completed and sent two days after I started it. Up to this point, it seems like God has been opening doors and making connections easier then they should be, but we'll have to see. It may be that his plan involves me staying here in Siloam Springs or down in Little Rock next year, we'll just have to see...but N. Ireland sure would be grand. :-)

Also got my FAFSA taken care of today. I now know why that stupid (sorry, it's not really) form causes so much stress and frustration for our undergraduate student's and parents. It's so particular and detailed - to the point where it's frustrating to continually find yourself flipping back and forth through your tax return. Arg! At least it's done though.

I also found out that tuition at Queen's will be approx. $17,700 this next year. (Crazy how that's the same cost as JBU per year...hmmm). I've been told to atleast plan on $17-20,000 for living expenses. That brings it to roughly $35,000 to $40,000 that I need for next year and all the scholarship deadlines are passed, so it's likely resting on my laurels to pay for it. Through FAFSA and the Federal Gov't, I can get up to $20,000 in Stafford loans - woohoo!! Then from there I can use the PLUS loan to cover all the extra. So, the good news is that I know I can finance the year at a decent interest rate (6.5% and 8% respectively), but it's still a huge chunk of money. Granted, I'll be making $10-15,000 a year after it then I'm making now, but it's still a chunk of change. We'll see what God does - it'd be great if there was some financial help from a late scholarship or left over funds somewhere, but I'm not counting on it.

Anyways, this is ridiculously long. From here, I'll work on the application to the University of Edinburgh and University of Nottingham, but to be honest, I'm not super excited about either one. I think I've decided to not apply to Cambridge now. I might apply later for a research masters (after my taught masters at Queen's - the UK has two different masters, taught and research) or maybe for a doctorate down the road somewhere. Cambridge would still be a dream come true - but I don't feel like I'm at a point to make the most of it right now.

And the adventure goes on... :-)