or is studying the hardest thing to do these days?
I may have mentioned once, twice or thrice (but no more than thrice!) that I may or may not have been thinking about some thoughts about wanting to decide to go to business school. Maybe. Well, around early October, I cut out all that middle crap and decided that I would begin the application process. At first, I was caught in a bind because I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to attend school part time or full time. For the longest time, part time seemed liked the only option; I really wanted to continue saving up money and building up my professional experience while getting an MBA. However, there was a moment in my life where full time seemed like my destiny. That moment was pretty brief and now I’m back to desiring the part time path.
Right now, I only have two programs in mind. However, I would like to squeeze in an info-session at one last school before I wrap up any decisions. There truly is only one program I would like to go to. It is a highly ranked Part Time program at a Top 20 B-School, so really, I can’t go wrong with that. I checked out the application for my dream school. I already filled out most of it and have outlines for all three essays. The only things missing are Recs and the GMAT. I need to have two Recommendations and one from my current manager. Seeing as I have never had the “What am I planning on doing with my life?” conversation with my boss, I’m going to have to approach this request pretty delicately. I’ve already set up a timeline that allows me ample time to freak out before asking him and provides me with a cushion to frantically find another Recommender in the event that he denies my request. I really hope that he doesn’t deny the request because 1) that would be totally awkward to work with him after the fact and 2) I would have to write an optional 4th essay explaining why I couldn’t get my current managers signature. DO NOT MAKE ME DO MORE WORK, please?
And the GMAT. The sweet-ass GMAT. That test has got me wrapped around it’s proverbial pinky finger. Actually it is only the Quant section that has got me in quite the tizzy. Verbal has always been my forte, but Math, not so much. I am sweating bullets at the thought of doing a Math problem and trust me, my book is nowhere near me. I guess this stems from me doing so-so in Math classes throughout my life. I never did really well, or really poorly; just so-so. But for this test, I want to do really well. I want to do super well, so that I can get the score I want: you know, an 800. (SIKE!) But I know I’m not doing too well when I’ve actually “learned” something from the Math Refresher section. Like, I somehow went through all those years of Math not knowing a key factor relating to isosceles right triangles. Yup, I’m totally getting off to a great start.
But I haven’t found the right swing/environment/mood to study. I started by lugging my huge study guide around with me and I would try to read on the 48 minute train ride to work. But I soon realized that I was at the will of whatever evangelical/angry homeless man/scorned woman that decided to ride the same train car as me. And once any one of those characters begins their rant, it really takes an act of God to focus on Sentence Correction question stems. I tried waking up early to study. I would go to bed at 10 and wake up at 5. Good 7 hours of sleep. But winter is the worst time to even try to play those games. Another act of God is required to open your eyes when it is that dark outside and not hit snooze 4 or 10 times. Another option I’ve considered is staying late at work to study. The bulk of the craziness that happens at work occurs between the hours of 7AM and 4:30 PM. Any time outside of those hours, the floor is as tranquil as a sleeping baby. During those hours, the baby has awoken and needs a bottle, STAT! So after 5, I would pull out my book and begin studying. Every time I have managed to do that, someone would come by and say, “Burning the midnight oil, huh?” As I mentioned above, I still haven’t had that career path convo with my boss, so I’m always at a loss for an answer and usually just end up laughing and profusely nodding my head until the interrogator has felt uncomfortable enough to move on. Yup, just building my rep as the office weirdo.
You know how they always say to never do work in bed? Just leave bed for sleep and you know, other stuff in bed? Well, I think my whole house has fallen victim to that. As soon as I get home, I feel like taking a shower, then plopping down on a couch to check FaceBook, read blogs, think of a blog post, maybe write one, iChat and watch tv. I sometimes look over at my GMAT book, and it coyly looks back at me, hinting that maybe, just maybe I should try to pick it up and thumb through a page or two. But just thinking about studying at home makes me cringe, so I just try to avoid it all together. So what is a gal to do? How can I study for this test so I can get that 800?
Well, for starters, I’ve signed up for a class. It starts in February and only meets on Sunday. I’m glad I picked Sunday-only sessions because I will never be in a rush to get to class and I can stay late and not have to worry about getting home too late. Another thing I’ve done is set up checkpoints for myself. Every month, I take a practice test. My next practice test is this Sunday. I didn’t do so hot on my first or second practice test, but for the past month, given all the obstacles I’ve listed above, I’ve been pretty good about studying when and where I can, so I’m hoping I can at least post a 50 point gain. Lastly, I continue to lug around that GMAT book. Even though there are crazies on the train, overly inquisitive co-workers, and just a general malaise about studying, you never know when the stars will align and I will find myself in the perfect study space.
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