i was in sixth grade when i told my mother that i wanted to study hard and skip a grade of school. my mother told me that some people are born smart and others have to struggle to get by- she then told me i was one of those who had to struggle to get by. yesterday i received an acceptance letter from columbia university. it seems that those that struggle can get their masters degrees from ivy league schools.

if you need ivy league sweaters...i can help.

Woo hoo! Congrats!

Yeah, that's really cool, bell_jar. What will you be studying?

Congrats. I never had to work at school, it just came naturally. I never went to any Ivy League Schools. I was accepted to all I applied at, but the money never came thru. I just went to a J.C. nicknamed Harvard on the Lake. Again, congratualtions!

apparently there's a nasty pink eye outbreak in the ivy league schools at the moment. the CDC says that spring break could result in a massive nation wide pink eye epidemic.

pink eye? you mean pinko! everbody knows them ivy league college is where all them commie pinko liberals come from. i never had to to work in school 'cause my momma told me i'd never learn. good luck, bell jar.

Congratulations, bell jar. Columbia's awesome. I also got accepted to college. I'm going Middlebury College next year (not an ivy, but still a good school). I'm really excited. I love Vermont, even if my friends think i'm crazy. They mostly want to be in cities. I want to be in mountains.

You rock, girl. I'm sending a proudness vibe your way- can you feel it?

The pressing question is: is she going to get decent financial aid?

that is a good question.

Great and wonderful gradual school awaits you, for certain, Bell Jar. And what will you be studying? And for the Middlebury Bound Ophelia, you shall revel in Frost and Fire and Ice. Grad or undergrad? I was there at Bread Loaf in the seventies under Sandy Martin and Bob Pack, poet extraordinaire, with the most wonderful guys Marvin Bell, Donald Justice, John Gardner, and of course John Irving, and gals including Tony Morrison and Diane Frost and Nancy Williard. (whimper) sometimes I miss being young... I always miss Vermont...

oh yeah, and I had great financial aid for six years of grad school but didn't work very hard and experienced peak experiences with nearly every assignment. Get a grad asst or fellowship or something so you can have fun while They gradually drain all sense from you. They gradually edukate cha til dumb but degreed.

I'm an undergrad. It's my first time living away from home. I can't wait.

Some of the little coffee shops and bars along the little creek -- as I recall -- were the best. I spent three or four summers in Middlebury and at Bread Loaf, definitely in my drinking years. Have fun there. Can't say that I recall much: the state liquor store, Sandy's house with the unfinished shower, and refrigerator covered with the childrens' art, and colored egg shells hanging from a skeleton tree limb horizontal to their otherwise very formal dining room ceiling. A camp ground or two in the area, Frost's cottage, my friend and mentor Jack Bridgeman's new monster house in the mountains, Treman Cottage at Bread Loaf where I lived, some very exciting times muchroom hunting with Maxine Kumin. William Meredith and Jack and I would drink way too many bloody marys, or vodka martinis before evening lectures. What a hoot to remember. Bread Loaf was very exciting in those days. May it be for you as well.

everyone always wants to know where i'm going to school. i say i'm not and they always act surprised. *grins* maxine kumin.... that name sounds familiar.... does she write poetry....?

Yes, and she's a hell of a mushroom hunter. She'd point 'em out; we'd pick and wash 'em; she'd tell us how to flour and fry 'em; we'd eat 'em. Never picked enough. (and these were edible not psychedelic 'shrooms)... Did you do another zine Pez? or did you leave me off your mailing list?

Yay, Bell_Jar! Columbia's a great school -- you're going to have a lot of fun. What will you study? Ophelia, both of my parents went to Middlebury for their master's degrees, and they were very happy with their programs. (They both studied Spanish). Congratulations on your acceptance!

Thanks Spider. Everyone asks if I'm going to study languages when I say Middlebury. Actually, I want to study physics, but I love the writing programs too. Don't get me started...I can go on forever about this school.

i think i have one of her books upstairs.... nevermind. it was maxine scates. i've prolly got one of maxine kumin's poems in a textbook i have, tho. on the issue of zines. no i have not done anymore, i ran out and then i lost half my materials to complete the copies i do have as i intended. i think i have yer addy somewhere, but email me to be sure.

congratulations bell_jar. ROCK ON!!!! come back and tell us what you think you want to major in.

I'm proud of you Bell_jar,and I know your mom would be too:)

thanks everyone. i'm going to get my masters in social work. i got into the advanced program, so it will only take me one year. sadly, the financial aid is going to play a gigantic part in whether or not i go there. it took me many letters, emails, and phone calls to convince financial aid that i don't have any parents to provide financial information on. i keep thinking i'll only have to pay for one year, so it is okay that it is so expensive... right? congratulations ophelia! i have heard amazing things about middlebury.

You go Amanda! As one who holds among other titles "Licensed Clinical Social Worker," I recommend another profession. I'm thankful that although I'm licensed this way, I never ever had to take a social work course. I taught one once and only once, and I supervise field experience ... but because my masters is not in social work, I can't be an ACSW, and because of that, no one really ever takes my "social work" seriously. Take lit and art history and you'll make a better social worker or counselor. I have yet to find a single thing taught in MSW classes to be valid and or true to the real world. Just my opinion. Whatever you do, keep going to school so you don't have to begin repaying loans. That's key! Glad to see you're doing better than a year or two ago. Hang in there.

My dad's an MSW. He said the only thing he got from school was some letters to put after his name on his business card. But he said those letters are very important. The more letters, the better.

Say, Johnny Temple, bass player in Girls Against Boys, and head of Akashic Books publishing co., got his MSW at Columbia. What kind of social work will you be pursuing?

Congrads bell_jar!!!! You done yourself proud! And, kudos to you,sweet Ophelia!

My mom is a Ph.d SW, i think. I'd have to ask. I know she's an MSW.

Get a load of these: Daniel L. SSSS, MA ABD LCSW NCGC CCGC e-i-e-i-o

grr arrr use whateva ya want

my business card says Kelsey I. Smith- SIUYA, MF

i don't know what that was about [speaking of myself of course] i don't have business cards my left eye is crying. i think it's because of my sister's cats. she just bought a house it is very cute. kinda boring. but very 1909 cute.

Thanks bell-jar and czarina. Sorry about your eye, heather. Cats do that to me too.

social work seems like it would be a very frustrating career path. too much bureaucracy to be able to provide too little help. not that i have anything against the idea of social work or social workers. it's a noble pursuit. only the process of it seems largely ineffectual.

yes, but a master's in social work might put her in a position to make more changes than your average social worker. which would be satisfying. my title addendum above was unclear, i'm afraid. it stood for "shove it up your ass, motherfucker." i thought it was funny at the time, anyhow.

A good friend of mine from college has a masters in social work. He's now in the Army working on computer networks and electronics.

I don't have a MSW...mine is in English and American Literature, and French. I never used any of the French. But I am a licensed social worker. I do very little to no social work. They call me a counselor. I think I am more like a spiritual midwife. I call myself a recovering therapist because I believe that most of what therapists do is bunk, baloney, counterp[roductive, ego enhancing bullshit. I am recovering from being a therapist. But we've discussed that word here before. THe factoid is that with an MSW one can do more things than with an MA or MS in counseling. Currently. Not so ten years ago: an LPC and masters were very hot items then. Of any career path, once you've got a Masters or PhD (Piled high and Deep), you can always get a job sifting potting soil at a nursery. I don't think there's much admirable about the entire field of social work. Some might say the same about counseling. Certainly about therapists. But who ever complains about the little rocks sticks and other foreign objects left in potting soil? I've never heard a complaint. Unless it was from a social worker, coounselor or therapist.

bell-jar, the best thing about columbia is that after you graduate, you get this cool e-mail forwarding address,...for life!

Wanting money huh? A.S.U. does this too,like you didn't pay enough to go there.