Take Two!

So a couple of weeks ago I took the GRE for a second time. I took at the end of August, so it was the new and "improved" (and improved means not as good) test. I did however save 80 dollars since the GRE was trying to get people to take the new test by offering a sale on it. That's is the biggest improvement I noticed, since now I have paid a total of $240 on tests alone (so that doesn't even include other costs of driving, study books and opportunity costs, check your econ 101 textbook for that one).

My test was at 4pm and I was told to expect it to take 5 hours meaning that I could expect to get out of the test around 9pm! I had to leave my house at 2 because the closest testing center is all the way up in Puyallup (I'm currently in Olympia) and the traffic around Ft. Lewis sucks and I didn't want to be late like I was for the first test.

I got there about half an hour early and they let me start the pre-test rituals right away. I had to right out this statement saying that I won't cheat or share any of the test questions with anyone... in CURSIVE! The last time I used cursive to right anything besides my signature was probably in the  fourth grade when my teacher made us right in cursive. No one uses cursive anymore! So that took a while since I was out of practice. After that I noticed changes to the test right away. Before I could enter the testing room I had to be scanned by a metal detector (to make sure I don't cheat or something) and the locker system was different. You can't take anything in with you besides your locker key and your photo ID.

Then I got to start the test. I started with the writing sections and then unlike the old test I didn't get a break after writing two essays. I had to take the first math section. At least it wasn't more words. Then I got a ten minute break. I tried to use up as much of it as possible by walking around, getting a snack, getting water, anything to get me out of the room. Then I went back and had to take four more sections with only a minute break in between each one. And one of those non-writing sections doesn't even count but they never told my which one it was. I think it was a math one because I had three of those.

Finally it was tine to send off my scores. I sent them to the same schools that I did last time. UW, UCSB, Georgetown, and Northwestern. then after all of that I finally got to see my scores. Now the new test is on a new scale, but since the scales are supposed to be based of percentiles the new scale isn't in place yet. So they gave me a range of scores on the old scale which my test fell into. For the verbal my range was 650-720 and my math section was 720-800. So I definitely improved my verbal which is good, I was disappointed  with my score last time (530), and I didn't do any worse on the math section. Then as I was leaving I was informed that my scores will be sent out on November 8th, my birthday. So now I have to wait and hope that these scores are good enough to get me into a good school with funding, because again with the new test the rules have changed once again. Before with the old test you could take it once a month and no more than 5 times a year. With the new test you still can only take it 5 times a year but now you have to wait 60 days in between tests. So if I wanted to take the test again my scores wouldn't be sent in time to make it for this application cycle and I wouldn't be attending school in the fall of 2011. So this will have to do.

Officially a bachelor,
Kit


To Do List: 1. Find a Job
2. Look for schools
3. Start Applying for schools
4. Blog about it 

Your Reward:
From Economists Do it with Models; from Modified Rapture
The Top Ten Lines for Hitting on an Economist
1. You’ve got the curves to supply my demand!
2. Let’s go to bed and try to disprove the law of diminishing marginal utility.
3. You’re my very favorite kind of moral hazard.
4. I have a feeling you really understand the “nature of the firm.”
5. Baby, I love you so much I’m willing to forgo my exit option.
6. Wanna talk about our private goods?
7. You’re an economist. I’m an economist. How about a little horizontal integration?
8. Now those are some tangible assets!
9. I’ll reveal my preferences if you will.

August

So it is now the 4th day of August which is not a good thing in my opinion. For several reasons actually. There is one good thing though. It means I go to change the calendar to August on my sweet American Economics Association calendar and this month is Milton Friedman (I know I'm a dork but what can I say I like econ). Though he is not my favorite economist it is still fun to see who it is going to be every month. Maybe he is just another sign of the unfortunate change from July to August.

I feel like after the last time I wrote about having a slow week I was able to make up for it and the next week and catch back up and was actually starting to feel comfortable with where I was in this process. Last week was another slow week for me (I was working in both the morning and the evenings again for two different jobs) but unlike last time I did, this I have yet to bounce back.

I had hinted at it at the end of my last post on the "To Do List" that I had wanted to take the GRE... before August 1st. But I had waited too long to register for the test and all of the dates before the change of the month were filled. That was my goal because beginning August 1st the GRE changed its format and the type of questions that would be on the test, which according to the GRE this is a good thing. I am not so sure however because I have been studying on my sister's old GRE book from 2004 and the test hasn't changed up until now. Also when I had been describing the test in my last post my sister made aware to me more information on the new version of the test. Now thanks to my sister I am having more doubts about my abilities. Now I really wish I could have done the test before the 1st.

I also wanted to be able to take it multiple times before finally getting a good score if I needed to because I can only take the test once per month. I wanted to take it in July and then again in August if I needed to so that way I could have my scores reported to schools by the proper time. Now I need to hope that they will get there in time if I take the test in September.

August also means that I and getting closer to soccer season. Now don't get me wrong; I love soccer and I am greatly looking forward to soccer season (just not the fitness test), it just means that I won't have as much time to devote to grad school stuff. Two weeks from today I will be at training camp and doing mainly soccer things and won't have time to study, time to research schools, or time to write about that stuff. And once soccer season starts up it means that school is practically here and then I will have soccer and school as my top two priorities and then trying to find a way to fit in the stuff I need to do to get ready for grad school stuffs. I may need to take some "sick" days from classes this semester. And we all know that start of school also means the end of summer.

Maybe Slate is right and we should just do away with August.

Going strong since 1988
Kit

To Do List:

1. Schedule test
2. Take test
3. Look up Schools
4. Write a blog

Your reward: