Hopping Back on the Horse

Wow! I don't even remember the last time I posted something. Well as you can imagine a lot has happened since I last posted something on August 4th 2010. I believe that last time I wrote I was telling you all about how I was trying to prepare to take the GRE and how I had immediate plans to do so before soccer started. Well that did not happen and has not happened yet. But hear me out first:

Soccer started about a week an a half after I last posted and I had practice three times a day and then school started along with soccer (only once a day now) and I just ran out of time to keep all of my dedicated readers (I'm up to 3 now I see) up to date with all of my grad school preparations.

First order of business. I am no longer going to grad school next year as was the plan when I started this blog, but don't worry your pretty little heads, I am still going. I just want to take a year off before I go so I can be even more prepared. I figured that I could use a little more work preparing to take the GRE and take a course so I can score really high like grad schools like. I also wanted to be sure that I could show off all of my coursework to my potential future schools. Courses like, capstone, linear algebra, and other things because I wouldn't have these on my transcripts due to the fact that most applications are due in December and January. Plus, I know I am looking like a huge softy here but, my girlfriend is a year behind me and I didn't want to leave her behind. Add all those factors together and it equals... putting off grad school.

Now lets look at what I am currently doing to make myself more attractive, schoolwise not looks because I already have that on lockdown. As I mentioned before I am taking linear algebra this year. It is hard. I am not a math major, I am an econ major, nor is this class required for econ majors, unless, like me, they have a goal of going to grad school then the grad schools highly recommend that you take it. People think I am crazy when I tell them this and for a while I thought I was too since I was not doing well in the class. I got a D on my first test which is not usually what I receive on tests so I got a little worried. I met with my professor and it turns out that I am at an even bigger disadvantage than I had thought because I hadn't taken any of the pre-reqs for the course and I shouldn't even be in the class (the only other math class I have taken at the collegiate level is calc 2). I stuck with it though and was able to make some of the missed points back on my test (yay grade inflation! (this was offered to everyone not just me)) and now it looks like I will pass the class and earn a P since I decided it was in my best interest to pass/fail the class.

Soccer has ended and I have more time now to keep everyone who may be out there updated with my quest to get into grad school. So I will be posting more frequently now than I have been. It's good to be back.

Ever getting older,
Kit

To Do List:
1. pass my classes

Your Reward:

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: