Contingency Plans

I am very sorry that this has taken so long to update. I got seriously sidetracked and I never got around to updating this. I do have a post about Claremont in the works but this post is more important and it is important that I update you all on this before I tell you about my impressions of Claremont.

So plan A has been what you have been reading about up until now. Just a refresher, Plan A is take GRE, apply to schools, get into schools, go to school. Unfortunately Plan A did not work out. You will hear more about it later but the short version of the story is that Claremont is really expensive and I can't afford to go right now. The good news is that I can defer my acceptance until the fall of 2013, which is good and it plays into Plans B, and C.

So, Plan B is what comes next. Plan B consists of taking more math, which I currently am doing (differential equations at UW(again you will hear more about this)), retaking the GRE for a third time (oh joy), reapplying to some graduate schools, maybe not as reaching so high this time, and getting accepted with more funding than what I received at Claremont.

That may still not work out so I have also come up with a Plan C just in case. Plan C is for if I do not get accepted with better funding somewhere else. Plan C is to attend Claremont for a year and then transfer somewhere else in order to receive better funding, or stay at Claremont if they are able to make it more affordable.

So that is where I am at. I will give you more updates and start doing this more regularly again. Once again I apologize for the hiatus. It's good being back

Running in place,

Kit

To Do List:

1. Pass Diff EQs
2. Study for GRE
3. Do better on GRE 

Your Reward:

Missed Connections

Disclaimer: While most of you know that I have been accepted, this is not going to be that blog post. That would be going out of order. So for those of you who want to read about that, you will have to wait until the next blog post. Sorry, but if you want to read that one, you're going to have to wait and you can leave now. Without any further ado: "Missed Connections."

Amid all of the madness that I wrote about last week, I received another email which only added to the madness. I was staying up late and watching television, usually that means "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." While I was watching I got an email from the University of Washington. My heart started thumping, again, and then I opened it and it only started going faster.
The email was asking if I was still interested in the University of Washington or if I had other offers that dominated the potential offer from them when they make the decision. The only problem was that the email was addressed to somebody named Ibrahim...

I was still optimistic though. I thought that maybe I was in the right list and that they sent me Ibrahim's email and he got mine. So, I wrote back saying that I was still interested and I signed my name.

A couple of days later I got a response notifying me that there was an email mix up, but I was invited to meet the graduate program director (the author of these emails). I figured that I should take advantage of this and schedule a meeting with him. I sent a reply saying as much and got one back the same day asking if the following day at 3 pm was okay. I then told him that it was. This meant that I would have top find someone to cove both of my practices that day. Fortunately, I was able to.

The next day drove to Seattle to the UW campus. I found the building and his office no problem, and I was there with plenty of time for our 3 pm meeting. I went into the main office so that I could have them take me to his office though so that I could be officially announced instead of bargain in on the professor.

I shook his hand and sat down, and then the meeting started.Things started off well. He asked me why I wanted to pursue a PhD. And then things went downhill...

After that he told me that UW this year will probably only admit a class of 11-15 people and that I was behind on my math, and if I were admitted I would have a really hard time catching up with the rest of the students who had more math. I tried telling him that if I were given the chance that I wouldn't disappoint at which point I was told that everybody else was just as hardworking as me but that to get into a program like UW I would have needed to take more math while I was in school. At this point I was able to read the writing on the wall... I wasn't going to get in. I was then told to explore other other options besides a PhD in economics; that maybe I could find what I wanted in a policy school or health services, so I could use some economic tools and thinking but not need all of the math that I am apparently lacking.

I asked what I would need to do to get accepted into a PhD program and he said more math and when I asked what type of math he said just more math. We then discussed other avenues which would help me get accepted into a PhD. He mentioned again more math. Or maybe finding a good MA program like at the one at the University of Denver. But he warned me that I needed to be careful about master's programs because they may not be serious. Another option was to attend a not so good PhD program and then do really well there and look to transfer to a school where I would want to get my degree.

This meeting was not at all what I had wanted. The professor was very nice though, in fact, this was the nicest rejection I had ever received for anything. He also offered some advice and he said that I could email him if I needed more advice or help with anything in the future for my educational journey.

I was really disappointed. I had not gotten any good news yet and while it hasn't been made official yet this was another school that I didn't get into. At  my record for getting into schools is only getting worse. I'm 0-7. I was thinking that I wasn't going to get in anywhere.

Stay tuned for another blog which includes the good news.

Kit

To Do List:

1. Figure stuff out
2. Blog

Your Reward:

Early Birthday Present

Today is my birthday! Yay! Wahoo! Yippee! I'm now 23 aww....

    Now that's out of the way we can get down to business. Yesterday, my birthday eve if you will, I was walking out the door to go coach my team (you didn't know I was coaching? well I am) I flipped through the mail on the table just to see if there was anything there for me, and I found there, on the table, three bills for my student loans (yikes), which I felt I could leave for when I got home later. But also on the table was letter for me from ETS and the GRE. They were my scores. And they weren't supposed to be here until today. I got them a whole day early! So needless to say I opened the envelope right then even though it meant I was going to be pressed for time.

So here are the results:
    Verbal Reasoning: 163 (93rd percentile)
    Quantitative Reasoning: 157 (77th percentile)
    Analytical Writing: 5.0 (87th percentile)

     So basically I did really well. My scores in the verbal part jumped up the most, followed by writing and then math moved up a little bit. I feel really good about the verbal and the writing but I was hoping for more from the math side of things since that's more important to econ programs.

      I felt more confident today about my scores because I got an email from Harvard Business Economics PhD program (more birthday presents). So I think they may have jumped onto my list now. To be honest I am quite giddy about it, that Harvard might be interested in me.

Officially an older bachelor,
Kit

 To Do List:

1. Write my CV
2. Write my personal statement
3. Apply

No reward today. You guys can give me gifts.

The Last First Day(s)

So yesterday was the start of a brand new term. Spring 2011. My last one, my last first day. And let me tell you it feels weird. Knowing that I will graduate and that I won't have another first day in the fall is daunting and ominous, especially since I don't know what I am going to be doing yet for the following year. But, I know one of you out there is currently playing a sad song for me on the world's smallest violin, so lets get on with it.

I actually kinda, sorta, missed my first day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have my capstone class for economics and I thought that it started at 1:45 but in actuality it started at 11:50. Oops. I found out because a friend in the class texted me asking where I was which made me panic and check when the class actually was. Low and behold I was wrong and I missed class. At least I got to watch the 4-4 barn burner of a match between Newcastle and Arsenal. Once the class was over I met with the prof and found out what I missed and what I needed to do for Thursdays class. She understood and was fine with it. It pays to have already had her for class and we were friends there. It turns out that I need to figure out my topic and find my data by Thursday. Yay!

The good thing about college is that not all classes are on one day. I had two classes today. Didn't miss either of them. Good thing for second chances. Both math classes. One is multivariable calculus and the other intro to proofs. And yes both are prereqs, which I did not have for the math class from last semester. I'm more worried about the calculus one because I have not had calc since fall of 2007. Proofs should be kinda like linear in the fact that I had to do proofs in linear so I'm feeling better about that one. Plus I absolutely rocked a logic problem in class. I'll let you guys try it for fun.

The five Dukes of Earl are scheduled to arrive at the royal palace on each of the first five days of May. Duke One is scheduled to arrive on the first day of May, Duke Two on the 2nd, etc. Each Duke, upon arrival, can either kill the king or support the king. If he kills the King, he takes the king's place, becomes the new king, and awaits the next Duke's arrival. If he supports the King, all subsequent Dukes cancel their visits. A Duke's first priority is to remain alive, and his second priority is to become king. Who is king on May 6th?

Post your answers in the comments section and I will let you know the answer after some time has elapsed. Maybe next week.

So that's how this semester will be shaping up. It's only twelve credits but I will be plenty busy with those three classes.

Ever getting older; ever getting closer
Kit

To Do List
1. Graduate
2. Get Good Grades

Your Reward: