I attended and completed the year-long Alderleaf Certification program in the 2009-2010 year. I treated Alderleaf much like I treated my first semester of traditional college; The year-long program provides the opportunity to work on a wide variety of topics and allows students to find which of those topics are worth pursuing in the future. Working closely with the instructors during office hours and spending lots of time out of class with books and in study groups along with copious amounts of field time is necessary for those looking to take home marketable skills from the program.
I highly recommend applying for on-site housing, I waited too long and I regretted not being on site.
I will emphasize that the value of this program lies in presenting potential opportunities in different fields rather than changing a city dweller into master scout Geronimo.
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