Okay, so it wasn't really very extreme, just awfully early in the morning.
Saturday morning, I dragged myself out of bed at an hour no decent person should be forced to face, and got ready for my trip to the business school's 'evaluation day'. Once there, everyone stood around slightly uncomfortably and snacked off of the buffet that was spread out. They clutched their purple folders and fidgeted with applying their name tags to their too-dressed-up-for-a-Saturday clothes.
We were eventually herded into the auditorium, and I attempted to count how many people were there. At the end, we were told that 88 out of 120 were invited, and 55 will be selected, so the odds are definitely over 50%. I don't think all 88 showed up, either, and you have to show up to get in.
After the introduction, we went off to our little groups, where we spent most of the rest of the day. First on the list was a personal introduction, of no more than five minutes. I'd anticipated this, and had some things to say prepared -- okay, so I prepared them by talking to myself in the car on the way there, but still, better than nothing, right? People seemed interested in what I had to say, and I got many questions from the other applicants afterwards, so I figure that's a good sign.
Next up was a case discussion, where we all sat around and discussed a case and what should be done. With ten people, all wanting to make a good impression, it was a little hard to get a word in edgewise, but I think that went fine as well.
After that, we split up into two groups of five, and had to do a group consensus project. It was about surviving a plane crash in a desert, and we all had to agree on what order of importance the items we were able to salvage should be. There were no fistfights, but a couple of funny discussions about if the flashlight or the knife would be more important.
The end of the day was back in the auditorium, where it was Q&A time. Then it was over. I thought that the website had said that decisions would be mailed no later than June 3rd, but he said June 15th on Saturday, so a final answer is still about three weeks away.
I thought that in this program, the ratio of women to men would be a little higher than the computer science program, but there were still very few women there. I'd guess about 20%, overall. Last year's class profile says that 26% of the class is female.
After I got home, I collapsed into bed, where I pretty much stayed for the rest of the day. Abby went to a party, and Katrina and I picked up a frozen pizza for lunch, which she very kindly cooked while I laid in bed and mostly managed to push the fast-forward button on the remote control.
I felt much better yesterday, almost like a person who is alert and somewhat aware of her surroundings! We went clean-sweep on Katrina's desk, pulling everything out and sorting it into keep, give away, trash piles. There's still some work to do, but it's looking a lot better so far.
Today is exactly T-minus 31 days from when we take off for vacation. I am starting to feel like there is much to do and little time to do it in. And I still have to fill out my financial aid form before I leave! The kids are gone with their dad to St. Louis over Memorial Day weekend, though, so I will be able to get a bunch of stuff done then. Hopefully, more than just pushing the fast-forward button on the remote control.
Posted by Rachel at May 24, 2004 03:28 PM