Emails were supposed to go out yesterday afternoon if we were presented to one of the schools that requires an extra step (phone interview, letters of recommendation, etc.). I did not receive one, which means that I won't be attending Oregon State University for my clinical year. Which means that my only hope of seeing my husband on anything approaching a regular basis (he lives 6 hours away from OSU) has been shot down.
I always acknowledged it as a possibility, but I thought I had a strong special consideration to get one of those spots. But I was still realistic and so while this was disappointing, I wasn't crushed or anything. My husband, on the other hand, had a very strong reaction that kind of took me by surprise. He wanted me to fight for a spot, call someone, email someone, demand to make my case heard. He was angry that I seemed to be giving up. The degree of his reaction honestly shocked me and I tried for five minutes on Skype to convince him that this is out of my hands. They've been very clear with us, once those placements are made they are ironclad. There is no fighting it and if I tried I'd just make an ass of myself.
I'm airing this dirty laundry here because the goal of this blog has always been to portray the reality of being a Ross student. I talk about the hard stuff so that people can get an accurate understanding of the trials and challenges you'll face as a Rossie.
So my husband and I had our first "fight" in a long time because of Ross. It wasn't a major one and we resolved things quickly, but it hurt me that he thought I wasn't as invested in seeing one another as he was. It hurt me that he was hurting because we'll spend another year apart. And it sucked that it was completely outside of my control and Ross let me down in such a personal way.
A lot of spouses/couples fight down here. The stress of living in a foreign country, the fact that students don't have time for their significant others, and the fact that VIPs (what we call our partners) can't get work because they aren't Kittitian citizens, combines into a state of boredom and helplessness that makes them feel very frustrated. It's ended a few marriages.
Just another thing to consider if you're reading this as a future Rossie.
It sucks...
ReplyDeleteWell, I am sad that you did not get OSU:( But I know you will do well wherever you go!!! Love, Aunt Janet
ReplyDeleteWhat were your grades like prior to this? What was your GPA?
ReplyDeleteExcuse me? Who are you and how is that any of your business. My GPA was well above the 2.75 cut off for Oregon State, thank you.
DeleteSorry, I didn't mean this in an offensive way. I applied to Ross for January 2014 and I'm curious about the placement process for clinicals since they were kind of vague in the seminar I went to last week. I've been running through your blog since I found it and reading as much as I can in preparation and just recently discovered that I could comment.
DeleteOkay, sorry if I was snappish, but it's kind of a personal thing to just show up out of the blue with no context and demand to know someone's GPA.
DeleteWhat they told us is that GPA "matters and doesn't matter." It matters in two ways. Each school has a minimum GPA that they'll accept, and only some schools will take 1 time repeaters or 2 time repeaters. Also, they try not to place all the 4.0s at one school, all the 3.0s at another school, etc. They like an even mix.
Otherwise, it's all about trying to pair the most people up with one of their three choices. Our class had a 92% success rate in getting one of their three picks.
Thanks for your answer! I've heard some kids in stateside schools saying they don't care about grades and they just need a C to get through and then some courses are just pass or fail. I'm assuming you're not like that, seeing your success in your first semester with all those perfect marks on some of your exams, but would you say some Rossies are like that?
DeleteSorry for all the questions, I really have a ton so just tell me if I'm annoying!
A lot of students are like that. "C equals DVM!" is a common saying around here. To be perfectly honest, GPA really doesn't matter in the sense that it mattered in undergrad and you were applying for vet school. You're already in, and they have to place you at a clinical school if you make it through all seven semesters. So if all you can do to keep your sanity is pull Cs, don't worry. I will say that going into finals with strong As or Bs makes the stress of worrying whether you passed significantly less.
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