Well I did it! I''m starting the G.G. program with GIA!

[Beacon]

How fun and exciting AG! I have taken some GIA courses and I am sure you will enjoy it. Very cool!

 

[asscher_girl]

Thanks Choyoyo, I would like to get into the jewelry/diamond business at some point. I''m not sure exactly what I want to do but while the economy is slow right now (I''m in sales) I thought I''d go ahead and start the program in my free time

Thanks Vesper!

Hi AN! Thank you, I can''t wait to get started. Yes everything is online and I''ll only have to go to 3 lab classes. The last class I may have to either take at a campus or purchase a microscope but I''m not sure I want to shell out $2K - $3k on one (I''d rather buy a diamond, lol) Once I get started I''ll be sure to post updates on here.

Thanks Sparkly and Snlee!!!

No worries Kaleigh, let''s both celebrate on this tread!

Talk to you soon study buddy

Thanks Whitby!

Thanks Beacon, I''m super excited!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Congratulations! Wishing you the best of success!!

 

[Ali]

Good for you asscher_girl!

Don''t forget to keep us updated on your progress.

 

[isaku5]

You go, girls!!! Best of luck and keep us updated on your progress and comments, please.

 

[princessplease]

Yay congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[asscher_girl]

Thanks Madam B!

Thanks Ali! I''ll be sure to keep you all updated

Thanks Isaku and PrincessP!!!

 

[iheartscience]

I''m late to the party, but this is awesome! Good luck!

 

[3Rocks]

Hey....this is great!!! How long is the program? Where can I go to find out? Kinda thinking of doing the same thing myself. FI said he wants to do it too.

 

[TravelingGal]

Very cool, keep us posted for sure!

 

[coati]

I'm very excited for you asscher_girl! I did the full time on-campus program, and it was fantastic. If you have any questions, please post! I'd love to hear about your progress.

Good Luck!!

 

[asscher_girl]

Thanks Thing2of2!!!

Hi 3Rocks, thanks! If you do the distance education program you have up to 5 yrs to complete, but the average person takes 2.5 yrs. I''m hoping I can get it done sooner. You can only take one class at a time and for the GG there''s a total of 8 courses (3 of which are labs and you have to take those at a campus). You can find all of the info and pricing on classes at https://www.gia.edu/

Thanks will do TGal!

Thanks Coati! How long ago did you work on your GG? And what campus did you go to? I''m so glad Kaleigh''s taking it at the same time as me, we''ll be able to study together

Are you working in the field? And if so, what are you doing? I''m sure I''ll be asking plenty of questions

 

[Cind11]

Congratulations! I think taking gemology courses would be so interesting. I have thought about it as well but I will probably never get around to doing it.

 

[dragonfly411]

asscher - I just wanted to say congrats, I''m sure you''ll have a blast!

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 6/12/2009 10:13:34 PM
Author:asscher_girl
Hey PS''ers!

I''m sooooo excited! I decided to pursue my love of bling to the next level and I''m now enrolled with the GIA! My book is in the mail for my first course so hopefully I''ll start within the next week. I''m going to be doing the distance education program, however I will need to take the lab classes at one of their campuses (which will be at least a year from now).

And to celebrate

(even though I didn''t really plan this timing, LOL) my little OEC arrived safely at Brain Gavin''s today to be set into a bezel pendant!

Wish me luck!

Congratulations asscher_girl! I''m very excited for you! The most important thing is to treat this seriously even though you are studying at home. Set aside definite times of the day/hours to devote to your studies, make lots of side notes for yourself and become acquainted with your student advisor. They can be so helpful when you get stuck on subject matter or feel crunched for time. Good luck! Let us know how you''re doing!

 

[Harriet]

Good on you!

 

[decodelighted]

Congrats Asschergirl & Kaleigh! Can''t wait to hear about your experiences!

Coati, do you work for Pricescope now? Did I miss something big?

 

[Mara]

yay ladies! i took the first class a few years ago but PS taught me so much more quickly, that i got bored and didn't continue. i figured at that point the structured learning was not for me, and that i could live vicariously through PS for FREE. hehee.

congrats to both of you and i hope you make it to the end and get to work in some fabulous store selling your way!

 

[coati]

Date: 6/14/2009 5:42:19 PM
Author: asscher_girl
Thanks Coati! How long ago did you work on your GG? And what campus did you go to? I'm so glad Kaleigh's taking it at the same time as me, we'll be able to study together

Are you working in the field? And if so, what are you doing? I'm sure I'll be asking plenty of questions

I'm so excited for Miss Kaleigh too!

Hi Asscher_girl,
I graduated last November. I studied full time at the Los Angeles campus, which is now closed. It was an intensive 6 months of predominately lab work. You'll find the bulk of the G.G. is in colored stones. I spent most of my time identifying a minimum of 1,700 unknown colored gems--I ended up doing about 2,300 stones. You will have so much fun in the gem identification lab. In lab, you work independently. An instructor is there if you have questions, but you set your own pace.

The diamond portion was about 7 weeks long for us. They start you with a simple course called, "Diamond Essentials," which you will do in your sleep after spending so much time on PS! Then you get into the substantial portion--formation, mining, light theory, market history, and exploration. Then, diamond grading lab--the majority of the diamonds portion.

I really enjoy the systematic process of colored gem identification, and I have a great time working with the microscope. I also loved the coursework at GIA--learning about each colored stone in depth. So...get ready to embrace your polariscope, dichroscope, spectroscope, and microscope! haha--You'll have a great time!

Do you have more of an interest in diamonds or colored stones?

Hi deco,
I'm currently doing some educational/gemological writing for PS.

 

[UCLABelle]

Congrats Asscher and Kaleigh!!! I really want to do it to, but I cannot afford it right now...

 

[asscher_girl]

Thanks Cind and Dragonfly!

Thanks Gemgirl! I''m definitely going to take it seriously, I graduated w/ honors from my B of FA so I hope I can continue the passion I had while studing interior design. I haven''t started yet but I plan on setting up a schedule to keep me structured, thanks for the tips

Thanks Harriet!!

Thank you Deco!!!

Thanks Mara! I''m really hoping to make it through. I really want to get into the profession (I''m currently in sales and like it so I''ll probably stay in that area of focus). I can''t wiat to get started!

Hi Coati! Thank you so much for all of that info. I know I have a lot to learn. That is a TON of stones to study, wow! Are you still in LA? We are starting w/ Diamond Essentials too. I''m going to save the labs for last since I will do those all in one trip back in Atlanta (my parents live there). I''m in NorCal so I could go to the main campus but I figure I''ll be able to visit the folks too

all in one stop

My main passion is diamonds but I''m looking forward to learning about colored stones. I think I like diamonds more in my personal life because they go with everything! lol


Thanks UCLAbella! When I signed up last week the admissions lady told me they have payment plans per course w/ no interest. And once you start you have 5 yrs to complete so you could spread it out and do payment plans if you really wanted too.

 

[Dancing Fire]

AG
congrats,sounds like fun !!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 6/12/2009 10:39:47 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Congrats!! I can''t wait to hear all about it. I just started my distance program with GIA too. I am going for the Gemologist diploma program. I started today and took my first test and passed. I''d love to compare notes with you!!

hey,no cheating !!

 

[Rosa]

Asscher_girl and Kaleigh, that is great and I wanted to wish you both all the best in your studies! I''ve also thought it would be interesting to do the course, so I join everyone else in asking you to keep us updated on how it goes.

In terms of the expense of buying a microscope, I know that friends of mine in graduate and medical school have rented microscopes before for a nominal fee - a couple hundred per year if I recall correctly. Maybe that is an option for gemological microscopes, too?

Good luck!

 

[hoofbeats95]

Oh wow! This sounds like something that I would love to do! I could totally see myself doing this. I said I never wanted to go back to school! A lot of my friends are getting their master's. For me that would a master's in computer science or math. ugh! But I could totally "go back to school" and do this! I so want to! My concern would be what would I do with it when I'm done? It's too pricey not to do something with it. I think I may know someone that did these courses. She's a "horse trainer" and has all the certificates hung up in her house. It's been years since I've been there but I remember thinking how cool it was, but she wasn't doing anything with it. Hmm. . .

 

[asscher_girl]

Thanks DF, haha of course we wouldn''t cheat!!

Thanks Rosa and that''s a good idea for the tip on the microscope. I probably have a year or more before I need to buy/rent one but I''ll def. look into that option!

Thanks Hoofbeat! Yeah I didn''t plan on going back to school but I really have a passion for diamonds/jewelry so I decided to go for it. I''m loving it!

Update for everyone! -------

I finally started this morning (I didn''t receive my book until yesterday). For the 1st course (Diamond Essentials) there are 7 Assignments or chapters and each has a quiz. You can take the quizzes online and instantly get your score. If you get a few wrong you can go back and take it over (they''ll tell you where you can find the correct answer.

Each quiz has 15 questions and each quiz is worth 15 points. You have to have 12 out of 15 to pass. My first 2 quizzes I got a 15 out of 15 and the 3rd I got a 13/15 so even though that''s passing, I still took it over and figured out the right answers.

I''ll be sure to keep everyone up to date along the way!

BTW - Kaleigh - feel free to update on this thread too! It can be a dual GIA thread

PS - Kaleigh''s doing awesome and flying through the 1st course!

 

[AmberGretchen]

That''s so AWESOME AG - I''m thrilled for you, it will be so much fun!!

 

[asscher_girl]

Thanks AG!!! I''m really excited about it too. It''s been fun working through the assignments and learning new things about diamonds

 

[Kaleigh]

Isn't it fun. So happy for you Asscher giirl.

I am taking the final tomorrow...

I want to get a perfect score....

Keep your fingers crossed...

 

[Kelli]

That is awesome! I''m jealous!