Friday, October 9, 2009

My Stats

Boring really, but just to get it out of the way, for anyone interested, below are some of my stats.

On the timeline through this point:

  • I was last in school summer of 2001.
  • I only decided to take this leap in spring of 2009.
  • In late August/early September I learned the GRE was a new requirement of one of the schools to which I am applying. None of the other schools require it, but I *really* would like the opportunity to study at the school that does require it.
  • One school requires a college research paper. I know I wrote at least one really good one, but due to the time I have been out of school, I have not been able to find it. I also haven't been able to locate the instructor I had for that class to see if he might have it.

On the schools:

  • I am applying for the M.Div program (Master of Divinity).
  • I am applying to four schools: two particularly "prestigious schools," one school for reason of denominational affiliation, and one school that is the oldest theological school in the nation (very historic!).
  • The two "prestigious schools" have an early January deadline for applications. The other two schools have a rolling admissions systems, but I plan to apply to all schools around the same time so that I can compare offers.
On my chances, from an academic standpoint:

  • I graduated as an undergraduate with a 4.0/4.0 GPA. I received a few academic awards along the way.
  • I went to a small university that isn't particularly well-known and isn't in any way prestigious. However, it was a private university rather than a public college.
  • For financial, communting, and other reasons, I did some of my coursework at two different community colleges (at one, I received a 3.8/4.0 one term due to a B in one class) and at a public university.
  • I don't have a language or humanities background, which will be a factor made in the considerations of at least two schools.
  • Most schools ask for two letters of academic reference, and I only have one. I believe it will be a very strong one, but full department turnover at my alma mater has made getting a second letter an insurmountable task (hunted and hunted, but failed to locate my other professors).
  • I have two (actually three for schools that require four total letters) professional letters of reference that I believe will be strong.
  • I have terrible test anxiety and don't do particularly well on standardized tests. That combined with lack of lead time for studying, I think adds up to poor GRE propsects (though I pray otherwise).
  • I really believe I would thrive and do best in a highly challenging academic setting, if that counts for anything.

A little on my life:

  • I am married.
  • I have two very young children.
  • I work full time and pick up side jobs to make my finances work out.
  • I am a night owl.

4 comments:

  1. Hi! I saw your blog from MDC. I have been out of school since 96, so I think I have an extra case of the crazy! I have *zero* letters of academic reference, so you are doing better with 1. I've been working on GRE prep for a couple weeks, impressed by my initial performance on the verbal portion, nervous about how much I forgot in the math portion. I have 3 littles and a part time job, not to mention a slight internet addiction. Shouldnt I be studying now? lol

    Good luck to us both!

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  2. Jenn, I am so glad you've come over. I think you should stay and be my study buddy :-). I am very unimpressed by my verbal scores so far. My mind just does not think in standardized test form LOL. The whole thing has me shakin' in my boots.

    Where are you applying and what are you going to study?

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  3. My 1st choice (I think lol) is GA State Univ and I am applying for the Masters in Communication Disorders with a goal of becoming an SLP. My undergrad is in business, so its a big change for me and will be a 3 yr program since I have gaps to fill.

    Hopefully tomorrow I will get some time to escape the fam and run through the PowerPrep pratice tests. I did the paper pratice tests. After I do PP, I will decide if I want to pay for an online service. Hoping to avoid the extra costs.

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  4. You are braver than I am. I took one of the free online practice tests and bombed, and vowed I wouldn't start any more practice tests until I'd gotten through the study guide and actually knew how to do all problems. I saved up and bought the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE study guide, which includes a CD that has four practice tests on it, so those are the ones I'll be focusing on before taking a final PowerPrep practice test.

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