March is a cruel month...

For Shauna, March is Major Thesis Writing Month. Her data-collection is complete and now she just has to buckle down and conquer (write) the beast.

For me, March is the month for deciding. I've applied to interactive multimedia programs at Holland College (Charlottetown), Algonquin College (Ottawa), Sheridan College (Oakville), Centennial College (Toronto) and Canadore College (North Bay). By the end of this month, or hopefully earlier, I should know where I stand in terms of acceptance with all of these places, and I should be able to start planning my future, i.e. where the heck I'm gonna live. Some acceptances have actually started to trickle in...

Holland College - Wildlife Conservation Technology: This was my original aim in applying to college, as I thought I would like an outdoorsy job, which I still might. But then I realized how much I've enjoyed the digital/web design components of my job at MVCA, and thought interactive multimedia might be more my ticket. Anyway, I've been accepted to the wildlife program, which is two-years long. However, I haven't heard back about HC's multimedia program. I'm pretty keen on moving back to PEI and so I'm anxious to hear about this one. The one problem: tuition. This program costs $8000 for nine months. That's pretty rich for my blood, and it doesn't include books/materials. Whether this can be offset by a lower cost of living on the Island, I don't know.

Algonquin College - Interactive Multimedia Developer: I've been accepted into this two-year entry level program. However, I'm still waiting to hear about their one-year, more advanced Interactive Multimedia post-degree program, which I'd prefer. Algonquin looks like a very good school, and I like the Ottawa area, despite its cold winters. Also not too far from Montreal, and Aur and Bry live there. They're not the cheapest for fees, coming in at just under $5000, but they're more reasonable than Holland College.

Sheridan College - My application to their Interactive Multimedia program is still under consideration, but the college that was originally my frontrunner has kind of fallen by the wayside in my opinion. It's expensive to go there, Oakville sucks, and while their program has a good reputation, I think a lot of the other schools will be just as good.

Centennial College - Despite being in downtown Toronto, this is the least-costly option, with tuition around $3000 for their 12-month New Media program. Centennial also seems to want me the most; a requirement of their application process is a one-on-one information session with the program coordinator. I sent my portfolio in, but then lost interest in the school and didn't set up the information session. They called me twice, said they were impressed with the portfolio, and this week I got my letter of acceptance---without ever having the information session. There is an open house there this coming weekend, and I think I'll give the place a chance and go see what it's like. My one sticking point with Centennial is that it's in Toronto. While I'm partly open to living in a giant city, our recent experience with the car break-in (see Shauna's blog) has soured us on Toronto a bit. It's also expensive as all get out to rent there. The other option might be for me to commute from Kitchener, preferably via the train. Shauna could get a good job here in KW. But commuting would be kind of hellish, and I'm not sure how well it could work with my school schedule.

Canadore College - I've been accepted to their one-year Interactive Multimedia program, and it costs about the same as Centennial, so money shouldn't be an inhibitor. North Bay looks like a pretty place, and I suspect it would be more like Charlottetown than Toronto. However, I don't know much about the quality of the program. It could be good, it could be bad, it could be average. All these programs have similar-sounding course titles, and most have some sample student work and graduate testimonies on their webpages, but it's still hard to judge. Assuming rent in North Bay is a little lower than Toronto, it may be feasible for me to move up there while Shauna finds a good job here in KW, and visits on weekends. It's about 3-4 hours north of here, I think.

So this is what I'm looking at right now. I almost want one or two rejections just to narrow the field a bit. If only Holland College's program didn't cost so much, it would make the choice much easier. There's still more research to do...