Schooled!

Here’s how much it cost me to get into school

I have some very exciting news: I’ve been accepted into the teaching credential program at SDSU for Fall 2021. That’s right: your ol’ pal Ryan is going to be a teacher! 

Frankly, I’m stoked. Like most people, the past year has given me a lot of time to slow down and reflect, and I realized I needed something new. Honestly, I’ve wanted to be a teacher for many years, I just didn’t have the time or money to take the first step until now. The decision to take the plunge came last October when I was working as an election site manager—part of my job entailed teaching a classroom full of adults how to run a polling site. Despite my inherent Awkwardness™, it ended up being my favorite part of the job. I’ve rarely felt as capable as when I was in front of the classroom. It seemed like a good fit. 

So, for the past five months, I’ve worked my ass off with filling out applications, attending Zoom orientations, taking prerequisite courses, and studying for expensive tests. Two weeks ago, I got the official acceptance. I’ve been so focused on the smaller hurdles that it feels strange to say “I’ve been accepted.” It still doesn’t feel real. 

I don’t know if anyone has ever said this online (surely I must be the first), but school is expensive! And I want to share with you exactly how much it has cost me just to get in. This is not some condemnation of SDSU because I’m truly excited and honored to be accepted—and “college is expensive” is not necessarily a hot take—but I had no idea how much it cost just to get in, so maybe this could be enlightening for others. 

Cal State Application: $70.00 

SDSU fee: $25.00

Ah, the application fee, history’s most insidious gatekeeper. I can’t imagine it’s easy to sift through all the applications that roll in. In fact, I bet it’s pretty madness-inducing to read variations on the same bright-eyed “here’s why I’m great” verbiage year after year, and application fees prevent that pool from becoming a deluge. But still: $70 bones to apply to the CalState system. I don’t even remember what the SDSU fee is for. Maybe a processing fee. 

However, one of the application requirements is to make a video stating your purpose, and I actually think SDSU should be paying me for the one that I made. 

Prerequisite courses: $1,230.00

Textbooks: $130.00

SDSU’s teacher credentialing program requires three prerequisite courses: Mainstreaming the Special Child, Culture and Inclusion, and Health Education for the Teacher. [Brushes dirt off shoulder] I’m just gonna drop my report card here. 

I’m quite proud of these A’s because I’ve always wished I could do undergrad again knowing what I know now. Back then, I was an okay student, a solid 3.3 GPA-type, but I was definitely more drawn to parties than academics. I often think back and regret not being as engaged with the courses as I could’ve been. In the years since graduating and writing about things critically, I’ve realized how much I love to think, deconstruct, and analyze. In undergrad, I took for granted the opportunities I had at my fingertips for critical thinking. 

So, I went hard on these prerequisite courses. It was a shit-ton of reading and writing (I was pretty much holed up for the month of April [I mean, even more so than usual pandemic-style holed-up]), but I emerged a grade-A nerd. 

This reminded me of the one (1) time I got all A’s in sixth grade and was invited to attend the prestigious 4.0 Club party, where each kid got ice cream. In honor of that, I bought myself a bottle of whiskey and a pizza. Grown-up 4.0 Club rules. 

CSET: $297

CBEST: $41.00

CSET Prep book: $31.50

You have to take two tests to get into the credential program: the CSET and the CBEST. CBEST is a basic skills test, which is sort of like the SATs, and I basically had to relearn algebra for it. You know how math teachers in high school were always like, “You’re going to need this in the real world”? Totally false, unless future math tests count as the “real world.”  

CSET is more focused on your area of interest, so as a prospective English teacher, I took the English CSET. It’s a whopping six-hour beast broken up into four subtests (two multiple choice tests; two essay portions) that reminded me of the AP English tests I took in high school. I made the mistake of eating a light breakfast that day, so when I got out, I looked like I was detoxing. Just a sweaty, shaking mess. 

Also, the center that conducted these tests (located in a nondescript office building in Mission Valley) has levels of security I have not seen outside of an airport. I had to lock away all my possessions, empty my pockets and pat myself down in front of the proctor every time I entered the testing room, even if I took a bathroom break. I also had to show them I had nothing behind my ears. 

Fingerprints: $76.00

Certificate of Clearance: $52.50

To be a teacher, you obviously need to pass a background check to get your certificate of clearance, and not to brag or nothin’ but [brushes dirt off shoulder again] I passed. However, it costs $52.50 to apply for your COC, which requires you to get fingerprinted, and that costs $76.00. I found a Farmer’s Insurance office on El Cajon Blvd. which, in addition to selling insurance, also offered fingerprinting? Strange, but okay. 

While I was in that tiny office, a guy walked in off the street and started inquiring about a new insurance plan for his condo, but he didn’t know how much he was currently paying, or who his current insurance provider was. I mean, who among us really knows who their insurance provider is at the drop of a hat, but I guess I never imagined insurance agencies being a walk-in sort of operation.

Transcript transfer: $13.00

Getting my official University of Utah transcript reminded me of the time that I simply forgot to do the final project in my Human Development class, which was like 40% of the grade. Very embarrassing. I swear I’m a better rememberer now. 

SDSU Intent to Enroll fee: $400.00

After my acceptance, they threw this fee at me. I don’t even know what this final fee is for, or why it’s so much. I guess that’s how they get you, because who’s not going to pay after doing all this work? But I guess it’s a small price to push my pro-pop-punk-and-horror-movie agenda on young minds for years to come.  

Grand total = $2,366

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THE WEEKLY GOODS

Get tix to this

I know I’ve highlighted a few live performances in the past few weeks, but I couldn’t really believe live music was coming back until Soda Bar started booking shows. That may sound biased, but Soda Bar is my personal safe space—an intimate place that books great touring bands, but also regularly gives local acts an opportunity to headline. So when Soda Bar announced their grand reopening show with Mrs. Magician and Blacks Beach Boys, I breathed like I’d been holding it in for 15 months. The end of this dark, music-less tunnel is in sight, people. 

Donate to this

NBC reporter Wendy Fry has been essential to San Diego journalism for as long as I’ve lived here, and her cross-border reporting goes above and beyond. So, it breaks my heart to learn that Wendy Fry recently lost her teenage daughter. I can’t imagine the pain she must be going through right now. There’s now a GoFundMe set up to help her cover her expenses during this extremely difficult time. If you have the means, please donate. I’m so sorry, Wendy. <3

Listen to this

ALX PRATT is unstoppable. The multi-talented San Diego artist has been involved with numerous projects throughout the pandemic, and she’s just put out a great four-song EP called O.D.A.T. (which stands for One Day At a Time). According to ALX’s facebook, each song is named after a color, based on the emotion that color elicits. Each song is a winner, but my favorite track is “Green,” which has a bleak, post-apocalyptic dance vibe that reminds me of Handsome Furs, but turns into a smooth banger when the chorus kicks in.   

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Got a tip or wanna say hi? Email me at ryancraigbradford@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @theryanbradford. And if you like what you’ve just read, please hit that little heart icon at the end of the post.

Julia Dixon Evans edited this post. Thanks, Julia. Go follow her on Twitter.