toasterazzi

So I have a bunch of GRE apps on my phone and I started doing a math one... yeah...

Oh how new. Not like we never heard that before. Also, Testicle Tech, Balls Taint, etc. We have shirts that say "I'd rather Ball U than IU" . At any rate, Aqeeli, I'm not sure about how much credit will or won't transfer, but it looks like Dr. Christman is the person you'd probably want to ask. I never had her as a prof, but she's really nice and I bet she can help you out.

Hello! I don't know anything about Kent State, and I don't much detail about the graduate program at Ball State. However, I did get my Bachelor's Degree in English Education at Ball State, and I can say that the English department is pretty cool. They always had a great mix classes available each semester and the profs were, by and large, approachable and helpful. The campus is pretty nice as well, and they're always in a state of updating some building or another. And student life is quite active with several campus groups and various free athletic events, so there's always something to do. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Heh so here's one of my favorite places to get gifs: http://giphy.com/ Haha well at least that's something. Haha my fiancee is willing to move anywhere I go, but he'd probably cry if I tried to move to Arizona or something lol.

So what schools are you all (tentatively) considering applying to? I know I've been working on building a list for a while now, and I imagine other people have been doing that as well.

Ya know, I've never submitted anything before, mostly because I didn't know how before I started my Master's program. But now I have this list of calls I'm going to submit to over the next few months and hopefully, at least a couple come through hehe. My theory prof is actually making us do a conference paper for our class (though it's up to us whether we try to submit) so that's handy. Gave me a nice little motivational push lol.

I can't get out of teaching two classes in the fall, but luckily my other job has been very cool about me only working during breaks. I'll be taking three classes, but I think I should be able to manage ok. I plan on getting a lot of work done over the summer though.

Oh God, I might have to bookmark that Tumblr... I haven't decided which paper I'm going to use for the writing sample just yet, but I have a few papers due at the end of this semester that I think will probably be useful. Both will be incorporating at least some of my interests. I don't have anything from undergrad that I would really want to use except maybe my Honors Thesis, but it wasn't the best it could be and I don't know that I especially feel like retooling that one. I've considered adding on some cultural studies and/or American studies programs since those tend to align with my interests fairly well, but I don't want to spread myself to thin with getting all this stuff done.

First, I love Gilmore Girls! Second, I think nearly every school I've looked at has wanted both, so yeah I imagine we'll be doing quite a bit of writing. And then there's that whole choosing the writing sample bit...

Haha and that's just the conundrum I was about. Some of the programs explicitly state what they want in each, but some are super vague.

I've seen so much conflicting information regarding whether or not to include personal info in the SOP that I'm not even sure myself. And it doesn't help that I've seen schools that want an SOP and a personal statement, an SOP or a personal statement, an SOP plus a personal statement plus a statement of intent and an SOP/personal statement...O_______O... That being said, what you've described seems reasonable to be and doesn't seem like the sort of thing that would bore readers.

The funny thing is that I'm good at percentages, but not fractions. And I know they're essentially the same thing, but my brain says a big ol' nope to fractions.

LOL. And here's my problem. Besides geometry, high school math wasn't actually that easy for me. I mean, I didn't fail, but the lowest overall grades I ever got in high school were in math or math based classes. Algebra II, in particular, nearly destroyed me one year. And this is the part that I know is going to be a problem for me. My brain doesn't work through math very fast at all. I have to be able to see what's going on in the problem and that usually takes time for me. I definitely plan on going over equations and such, and I've already looked at some of the types of math questions they ask. A fair amount seems to be stuff I know I can work out, but the time will probably trip me up. If the math testing stopped at like division, I would be a time champ. I was great at those timed addition/subtraction/multiplication/division tests they made us take in elementary school. Then they threw in fractions. And everything went awry... ...

Incidentally, geometry is the one level of high school math that I was actually good at. It made so much more sense to me than everything else. Exactly. Most of the time, if I get it wrong, it's because I got one of the right words and one wrong word. I never get both wrong. It's so annoying lol.

Yes.

Yeah I probably won't do too much prep, but it's going still going to bug me I'm sure hehe. I signed up for the Kaplan thing where they send you a question to your email each day, and I've been doing fairly well with most of it. Incidentally, I seem to be better at the reading comp than the choose the right word thing, which seems weird to be based on what I've heard about the reading comp, but I'll roll with it .

I would be much less stressed if there was no math involved. I know I'm capable of doing most of the math if I study a bit, but it takes me a long time to work through mathematical problems. I'm fairly certain I'll run out of time on that section.

The money situation for me isn't likely to change for me. I already have a job, which I'll likely be working full time in the summer. Between a car payment, rent, and all the other regular bills, I'll already be stretched pretty thin. And that doesn't even include the whole paying for a wedding thing that's gonna be going down over the course of the next year. I definitely believe in applying to more than just a few schools to better your chances, but I can't see myself applying to say 25 schools because while there might be long term benefits, that would really negatively impact my life in the short term. Sounds like a good plan

Yeah unless I win the lottery, I can't see how I could apply to more than 10 (and even that's pushing the wallet) and pay for the tests and pay my bills. I do plan to apply for any available fee waivers, but even then, it'll still be a lot of money for me.

First, sorry about that. Second, welcome to the party! Have you thought about what you plan to change for the next round?

Haha I understand the sentiment. It's definitely likely that it'll be more like 10 for me than 7 because I'll probably have a nervous freak out if I do anything less than that.

Why? Again, why? Who says? If something is "good" and/or resonates, then why wouldn't it become canonical regardless of how new it is?

I think I'm aiming to apply to around 7-10 schools. That sounds like a decent amount that won't destroy my bank account or make me want to throw my computer from having to fill in the same information over and over again on various applications.

Ugh the cost to send the scores to each school is the part that gets me the most. I don't plan to apply to like 20 schools, but I do want to hit a decent amount. Guess I know what a good portion of my financial aid for the fall will be going toward.

I feel like chewing your arm off might be a bad life choice as an English student .