Stupid Question

[lettered]

I'm thinking again about applying to grad school, but there are several things I need to do first. One of them is figure out who the hell I can get to write recommendation letters. Most of my profs from undergrad won't remember me. The one prof I was very to died. I have another prof who could write a letter, and I my bosses at work could do one too. But I know it's good to have letters from school experience rather than work experience.

One thing I've thought about doing is taking a couple night courses. I could take a course in writing, which I'd like to work on anyway. At the same time I could try to cultivate a relationship with the professor, if that is possible at all, and maybe they will turn out to be someone who can write me a letter. But again, that's not the only reason I want to do the night course; I want to do something that will get me writing (more precisely, something that will get me finishing writing) anyway. If I did a night course in English it would be nice to get some essays written, too.

Anyway, my very stupid question is: . . . uh, what IS night school, anyway? I don't want to enroll at a school yet. But aren't there courses you can take at community colleges and universities in which you don't actually haven't to be a student? Aren't there some classes you can just sign up to take? And if so, how do you find them? Are they what is called "continuing education"? Can't you sign up for just one course without enrolling? And will you be with other people who ARE enrolled, or will you be with a bunch of other people just signed up to take that one course? And if the latter is true, will the course be crappy? Will it still be taught by a professor? Can you take a course in English or Creative Writing that isn't taught at a university or community college? Are those courses reliable? Does it depend on the course and the program, whether it's reliable or not? Why am I so clueless?

Comments

[makd.livejournal.com]

Grad schools in the U.S. prefer that rec letters be written by profs who are from the same department as the department to which a prospective student is applying. Your work experience letter should emphasize your abilities in the area to which you are applying, along with your abilities as a self-starter, an innovator, someone who "meshes well" with others.

I don't know anyone who uses the term, "night school" anymore, and I've been teaching at the college level since 1972. The terms we use are, "part-time" and "full-time". Most students pursue a degree full-time, though many pursue a degree part-time. Colleges and universities offer classes during the day, during the night, and online as well. Some students pursue their degrees during the day, some at night. The idea is to serve both part-time and full-time students.

In the U.S., there are two kinds of college students: matriculants and non-matriculants. Matriculants are pursuing degrees; non-matriculants are not pursuing degrees. Both kinds of students take college courses. Some matriculants attend classes part-time; most matriculants attend full-time. Most non-matriculants attend part-time; a small percentage attend full-time. Non-matriculant students who attend full-time are generally doing so because they haven't yet chosen a major and/or because they need to be full-time students for health insurance eligibility under their parents' health insurance coverage.

There are two kinds of college classes in the U.S.:
1. credit-bearing - as in, a creative writing course that's worth 3 credits.
2. noncredit-bearing - as in, a "for fun" creative writing course that doesn't earn you any credits on a transcript/record.

Generally, the same professors that teach "day classes" teach "night classes". I taught a 3 credit course, Sociology in the Movies, at night for five years because it was the only way my Dean would guarantee me a three-hour class so that students could view a movie in one sitting. The course is a junior-level course, and the students were all juniors and seniors in college. None of the students were non-matriculants, primarily because of the strict course prerequisites. (I got tired of teaching nights, so I am now teaching the course twice/week, during the day and it's killing the course. [Good pedagogy is a function of time, it seems.])

If you want to get into graduate school, I suggest one of the following, especially #2:
1. Taking 2 credit-bearing courses in the area you want to study more or an ancillary area. For example, if you wanted to major in sociology, you might take 2 credit-bearing courses in anthropology or geography or poli. sci. to beef up your grades.
2. Taking 1 or 2 graduate credit-bearing courses in the area you want to pursue, to demonstrate that you are "up to" graduate-level courses. Needless to say, you are working for an "A" in each course. This would also help you in your pursuit of the dreaded recommendation letter, as you would impress the professor with your ability to do graduate level work before you're even in grad school.

If you are pursuing grad school, and you have already earned a baccalaureate degree, do NOT, under any circumstances, take courses at a community college. It will not provide the impression you want.

It's not always wise to take courses in your area of interest unless you need to show a rack of A's to counterbalance a bunch of B's. The reason for this is that many grad schools don't want students coming in with too many undergrad credits in the area of expertise. You should consult your prospective grad school departments to find out their particular policy on that.

[makd.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd run out of space, but I wanted to include this:

Good Luck. If I can be of help, just e-mail me: kirbydiaz at gmail dot com.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Right, so by night school I meant that's what I've heard a lot of people say when they were taking classes as non-matriculants. I didn't know the term non-matriculant; that's really what I was looking for. I was looking at college websites and having a hard time finding courses you could take if you weren't (necessarily) pursuing a degree, and how to go about taking said courses if you weren't pursuing said degree. I couldn't think of the terminology with which to even search for it. Now I know! So, thanks.

I don't really need to take courses at night; again, that's just what I hear people say when they are taking courses even though they are not pursuing a degree. My plan was to take a course or two before applying to grad school, then apply to grad school as a part-time student, so that I can work and take classes at the same time. I've applied to grad school before, so I know what they want from recommendation letters and know that I don't really have good prospects in the letter-field just now. So anyway, it sounds like if I take some classes as a non-matriculant I can get what I had hoped for (if things work out with the profs involved). Thanks very much for the information.

It's not always wise to take courses in your area of interest unless you need to show a rack of A's to counterbalance a bunch of B's. The reason for this is that many grad schools don't want students coming in with too many undergrad credits in the area of expertise.

Okay, you're not talking about taking graduate level courses in reference to this, right? So if you take undergrad classes, you should study in the ancillary area, and if you take grad classes, you should study in your area of choice? And you're saying the only reason you'd take undergrad classes in your area of choice is if you had a bunch of B's, and need to get A's instead? I got all A's in my area of choice in undergrad, so what I should really do is look at your option #2, which is graduate level courses in my area of choice, correct?

Thanks also for the advice about community college. I was seriously thinking about that as it would be much cheaper. Taking one non-matriculant course at the graduate level at the school I'm looking at looks like it costs as much as being a part time grad student, which is ridiculous since the latter encompasses more credit hours. But I think taking the non-matriculant classes may be important to whether I get in or not, considering the recommendation letters etc.

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate your advice.

[makd.livejournal.com]

Caveat: Some grad programs do not allow part-time pursuit of a grad degree; some do. Best to check on what your desired program(s) allow before setting your sight on a program that won't permit you to study as you'd prefer.

So if you take undergrad classes, you should study in the ancillary area, and if you take grad classes, you should study in your area of choice? absolutely.

And you're saying the only reason you'd take undergrad classes in your area of choice is if you had a bunch of B's, and need to get A's instead? Exactly.

I got all A's in my area of choice in undergrad, so what I should really do is look at your option #2, which is graduate level courses in my area of choice, correct? Yes.

And, note icon. :-)