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

[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. :-)