grad school applications

random advice:

• be sure to also develop relationships with professors. you may have some solid relationships with student affairs mentors but some applications require letters of recommendation from academic sources.
• be very aware of deadlines and take into account processing time of things like gre scores, transcript requests, and even giving people writing letters of recommendation ample time. you may be ready to turn all your things in, but you won't be able to control these outside things.
• be prepared to have important academic things like tests or papers come up around the same time applications are due and give yourself enough time to balance everything so you don't get overwhelmed the week applications are due.

GRE test done!

  just took the GRE. 

for weeks, that test was constantly in the back of my mind as something to be anxious about. so i just feel relieved! i had a moment in the middle of the test where the whole idea of my applying for grad school finally became very real.

about the test: i think that for most people it's honestly not that bad. my main problem is that as a business major, i literally have not done math in YEARS. so although the material was fair, i basically had to relearn everything. and even if you understand the concepts, you have to actually do everything right to get the right answer. 

advice: invest in getting the practice book. it's exactly like the test so you will know what to expect. oh and download the iphone app so you can always review the vocab words!

in 500 words or less...

"Write a brief statement, of at most 500 words, describing your background, work experience, plans for graduate study and professional career, qualifications that make you a strong candidate for this program, and other relevant information. The personal goal statement is an important part of the application review process, so you should take care to produce a carefully planned and written statement."

-Indiana University Higher Education & Student Affairs Personal Statement Instructions

// just sat down to really start thinking about my IU application. how do i even begin to articulate everything about who i am, what i've experienced, and how all of that culminates to my driving forces for applying for this graduate program and my professional goals?

big decisions

talked to alvin today

alvin was the coordinator of student development of the hall i was a resident advisor in during my second year. being an RA was one of the first milestones that inspired me to go into all of this and alvin was one of my first mentors that helped me figure out this is what i wanted to do with my life. it was crazy to have a short conversation with him on the phone today. two years later, so much has happened and i had a thousand things to update him on.

right now, i just feel really supported by a lot of different people to pursue all of this. thank you to everyone.