Saturday, August 14, 2004
new beginnings
Whoa. Kind of let this blog grow some weeds, eh? Much has transpired since my last post. The process is pretty much done and over with--I took the GRE (which was the original point of this blog, right?) and applied to grad school. I jumped through all the hoops, paid my fees, and waited patiently. Well yo, what up. I got accepted to 2/3 of my applied programs, good ones at that. SWEET. Now, I've packed up and left my familiar life... I'm here in LA, awaiting a new semester of challenges at the University of Southern California, beginning in just over a week.
But what will be the future fate of this blog?
Saturday, April 24, 2004
just checking in
The grad school process is almost over. This means that we are both attending grad school in the fall. While I'm going to the school that I was initially interested in attending, I feel like I spent way too much money on the entire app process. I applied to four schools and sent my scores (meaning I paid to have my scores sent) to all 4 of them... twice (because it took too long). I should have just limited my apps to two schools and saved that money. When I was applying to undergrad, it was okay to apply to a bunch of schools. Over 8 years later, it just seems like a waste. ETS & admissions committees, I want my money back!
The grad school process is almost over. This means that we are both attending grad school in the fall. While I'm going to the school that I was initially interested in attending, I feel like I spent way too much money on the entire app process. I applied to four schools and sent my scores (meaning I paid to have my scores sent) to all 4 of them... twice (because it took too long). I should have just limited my apps to two schools and saved that money. When I was applying to undergrad, it was okay to apply to a bunch of schools. Over 8 years later, it just seems like a waste. ETS & admissions committees, I want my money back!
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
we're still alive!
Even though this blog is called Death By Standardized Testing, it's still our soap box to talk about the process of getting into graduate school. My update: I just heard back from all of the schools I applied to -- I was accepted into all of the programs. Now I'm going through the process of researching, visiting and deciding if grad school is where I should be next year. Who knows?
Minsoo -- give us your update!
Even though this blog is called Death By Standardized Testing, it's still our soap box to talk about the process of getting into graduate school. My update: I just heard back from all of the schools I applied to -- I was accepted into all of the programs. Now I'm going through the process of researching, visiting and deciding if grad school is where I should be next year. Who knows?
Minsoo -- give us your update!
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
scores
Hey guess what arrived last week? My GRE scores... the ones that were sent out before I called them and asked them to send it again. I'm not sure how and why they arrived after the second set was sent out. It's slightly disturbing. When I received them, the envelop was partially opened. Hm.
My application process is this month. Ugh.
Hey guess what arrived last week? My GRE scores... the ones that were sent out before I called them and asked them to send it again. I'm not sure how and why they arrived after the second set was sent out. It's slightly disturbing. When I received them, the envelop was partially opened. Hm.
My application process is this month. Ugh.
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
the process
Okay, it's been quite a while. The application has come and gone for me, for the most part. For some reason, all of my deadlines were December 10-15, which had me scrambling to get my crap together. Thankfully, I managed to crank out a readable personal statement, dust off an old writing sample from undergrad, and fill out all the necessary forms. In addition to making sure my test scores and transcripts made their way to the respective admissions offices.
Definitely not the way I wanted to go about this process. I had to send all my stuff in different components, which makes does not sit well with me. But there's not really much I can do about that. Filling out online applications was pretty convenient (which most schools stated as the method they preferred) but it definitely felt weird... it's been so long since my undergrad application years. I remember slaving over those things. This time it just seemed like I threw this and this together, filled out the application like I was ordering something on Amazon.com, and that was it. I wish I could have felt there was more care in it all.
Oh well. It's out of my hands now. The only real hurdle left is to apply for financial aid. And after that... the waiting.
Okay, it's been quite a while. The application has come and gone for me, for the most part. For some reason, all of my deadlines were December 10-15, which had me scrambling to get my crap together. Thankfully, I managed to crank out a readable personal statement, dust off an old writing sample from undergrad, and fill out all the necessary forms. In addition to making sure my test scores and transcripts made their way to the respective admissions offices.
Definitely not the way I wanted to go about this process. I had to send all my stuff in different components, which makes does not sit well with me. But there's not really much I can do about that. Filling out online applications was pretty convenient (which most schools stated as the method they preferred) but it definitely felt weird... it's been so long since my undergrad application years. I remember slaving over those things. This time it just seemed like I threw this and this together, filled out the application like I was ordering something on Amazon.com, and that was it. I wish I could have felt there was more care in it all.
Oh well. It's out of my hands now. The only real hurdle left is to apply for financial aid. And after that... the waiting.
Monday, December 08, 2003
I should have received my scores by now. I didn't. So I called the evil ETS and asked them why they were dragging their feet. It turns out they sent it like 3 weeks ago. Hm. I think I either threw them out with the pennysaver ads or it got lost in the mail. Either way, I'm still waiting for my stupid essay scores to come back.
Now that the test is over, do we change the name of our blog? Minsoo's application process will be ending in about a week so I guess I'll be on my own with this whole grad school thing. Is this blog on its last leg?
Now that the test is over, do we change the name of our blog? Minsoo's application process will be ending in about a week so I guess I'll be on my own with this whole grad school thing. Is this blog on its last leg?
Monday, November 17, 2003
recovery
It's been a week since I took the test, and I'm still getting used to the sudden spate of free time on my hands. Man, I dedicated way too much time for studying. Now I'm thinking, what should I do tonight? I just don't know! Of course, there are many many many things I need to be doing... namely, all of the hoops I still have to jump through for grad school applications.
The other thing I've noticed... GRE WORDS EVERYWHERE. All of the vocabulary I learned seems to be popping up all around me. I encountered umbrage in Rolling Stone the other day. And apposite on a NPR story. Wow, I feel smart.
Now: APPLICATIONS.
It's been a week since I took the test, and I'm still getting used to the sudden spate of free time on my hands. Man, I dedicated way too much time for studying. Now I'm thinking, what should I do tonight? I just don't know! Of course, there are many many many things I need to be doing... namely, all of the hoops I still have to jump through for grad school applications.
The other thing I've noticed... GRE WORDS EVERYWHERE. All of the vocabulary I learned seems to be popping up all around me. I encountered umbrage in Rolling Stone the other day. And apposite on a NPR story. Wow, I feel smart.
Now: APPLICATIONS.
