The Vote is In!

 I've been doing some thinking, and some talking, and some more thinking, and I've decided to do it. I AM going back to school. I'll be studying Dance Therapy and Mental Health Counseling hopefully at Lesley University in MA. I've known about this program for a while and have wanted to go there for a while, but the timing was never right. I think the time might be now.

I have a friend who is in the program now and has told me a great deal about it. After my post about having second thoughts, this friend called me and eased my worries quite a bit about the expectations, the homework, the faculty, etc. After that phone call alone, I feel more confident.

I have another friend who knows a lot about what accommodations can be made for someone like me; Bipolar, ADD, Anxiety... to make sure I can get through school despite my issues. Oh, yeah! There are offices specifically for students like me that will help me request those accommodations and hold the professors to them. Although, according to the friend already in the program, the faculty makes those accommodations even without the office. Also a confidence booster.

So, now, the only 2 concerns left is getting accepted to the program, and paying for the program. I feel pretty confident in getting accepted to the program. My resume is full of applicable experience. I have a paper that I'm going to send that I'm extremely proud of and that is also applicable to the stuff I'll be learning as part of the Masters. I'm a little concerned about sending them a video of my dancing ability... since it's been a while since I've performed. But since I have time to practice improvisation around the house, I feel like I can get that skill back by the time I should send in my application.

That brings me to my final concern: how to pay for it all. See, I've already missed the deadline for grants and scholarships for this year. We have absolutely NO budget to get me through school... I need to find someway to pay for the full $70,000 tuition and fees. If any of you know of a good scholarship or grant, please let me know. I did find a list of grants to look into specifically for Dance Therapy, so I'm hoping that can give me something. Our school district just sent out a call for substitute teachers recently. I've got experience working will all age groups- Elementary through high school... and I'm experienced in using dance in any subject. Unfortunately, with the increase of COVID cases pretty much everywhere... the schools are going remote, and I'm not sure if they want substitutes for that. I'll apply, but I'm not sure they'll use me enough. I make wallets and purses now, but that won't bring in enough money, either.

I'll figure it out. I really want this- have for a while. I can't let this stop me. I'm open to any ideas, if you have any, to earn enough money to pay for a Masters Degree.