I recently discovered I'm too dumb to go to graduate school. So what am I going to do now? I'm going to satiate myself with mint desserts and vampire stories (I wish I could say I'm going to Disneyland as I still have my annual pass, but soon enough. And yes I'm into the Twilight series too. It's my guilty pleasure). I took the GRE test Tuesday morning - that could have been my first mistake, my brain is slow in the morning. I thought I was doing quite well until I got to the math section and then an additional verbal section that threw me for a loop. The test nazis always throw in an unscored section just to play with your mind and you don't know which one it will be. I'm pretty sure the section I felt I nailed was the unscored one and the section I did the worst on was the scored. Isn't that the way it goes? It's like the selected vocabulary words they chose to test me on were the ones I just didn't have in the bible-thick stack of flashcards I've been studying with for the past month. And it's not like these are words you even use. Anyone know what soporific means? (Hint: sometimes going to a long meeting at church can make you feel this way.) Needless to say I didn't score as high as I'd hoped and probably below many schools cut-off requirements. After I left the student services building and shoved the rest of my granola bar in my mouth since we're not allowed to eat or drink during the four hour test, I decided I felt a little angry. I don't think a standardized test is a fair assessment of what I know and what I can do. Maybe I've just been out of school too long. I think they should have a life experience part of the test too, for example: If you order a hot dog from a street vendor in New York and ask for the works how many toppings are on your hot dog? Or, how about what kind of shoes hold up best when trekking around Europe for a month?
All I need to decide now is whether or not I should retake the test to try and get a better score, or take it as a sign that I'm not cut out for grad school and eliminate another possibility for my future (process of elimination as a means to eventually figure out what you want to do. I seem to be there now.) What's a beatnik gypsy to do?
Some good news - I got a Queen bed set and comforter for only $25. My mom and sister-in-law definitely love shopping and its' thrill of bargains more than I do but they inducted me in to their club of getting highs off amazing deals when we went to Mervyns for a 75% off sale plus bonuses. I have to admit, I felt a substantial buzz from the experience and liked it.
I've also been reminiscing about where I was at this time last year. Getting ready for my trip to Europe. I will never forget it and am so glad I could do it. Next time, I'm taking someone with me though.
5 comments:
I say try again! You're so smart enough for grad school.
Chacos!!!! Unfortunately I have never ordered the works on a New York hot dog. You will always be cooler than I am.
Standardized tests are lame. I say just apply and they should see your amazing life experiences and then will want you desperately.
Oh the GRE...it can't tell you everything. You will always be A material to me. I hear you are coming to visit soon. I hope you will stop by.
Amen Sista!!! I hated the GRE. I'm a smart girl and I did terribly. I think standardized tests are a horrible indicator of your intelligence or ability to do well in grad school. I say, apply anyway (sometimes if you write a killer essay that can put you over the edge) or take it again...if that's really what you want to do. Otherwise, this could be like when you do eenie meenie miney mo and you chose one and then realize that you really want to do the other...does that make any sense at all?
Agreed... retake, do not let it win. (your score was still decent though, you make it sound like you bombed.) Ahh, I can still get hot thinking about our deals... 75% off, plus 15% off, plus another 20%!! Excuse me, I need to go smoke...
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