Saturday, August 21, 2010

Over committed?

I created this blog to keep track of my progress, push myself, share whatever knowledge I have and see what comes from it. In my attempt to make progress I've neglected this blog. A couple of times this week I've attempted to schedule in a post but just never got around to it. It's amazing how quickly time passes as I start to put my head down. Here's a quick recap of what I've been up to and where I stand.

Math class - yup, it's back to high school. Even though I crossed the 80th percentile in the quant section, the feedback from Tuck was to demonstrate my quant abilities once again. I see the validity here, I took accounting, econ and stat (C+) in college. That C+ is a huge red flag which I understand. Unfortunately, it was because the professor put me to sleep if I were there and most classes I just didn't go...oh well. Anyway, I'm getting close the end of the online course which is quite a relief. I'm excited to not be doing math homework a couple mornings each week.

Resume - this is one of the first pieces I tackled because it was only a matter of updating the version I sent last year, or so I thought. Right now, I'm on version 5. The quick and easy piece has become a grind. Even though I think I could have stopped at version 3 and been satisfied, each version is better than that last and in the end, I am really happy I continue to push on this one.

Goals essay - I have a solid version but no where close to final. I'm lucky to have a pro editing all my stuff this year (incredibly helpful from a psychological and results perspective). This weekend I'm taking a break from the goals section as I just completed the newest version this year which leads me to...

Remaining essays - the outlines need to be converted to full drafts this weekend. It sounds like a lot but I think it should be manageable given the completeness of the drafts.

Data forms - a couple of my target programs have their applications live now so I have started to put my information in while I'm "relaxing". Right, there's nothing better than watching John Lester get shellacked and filling in contact info.

Networking/Interviews - scheduled one on campus interview and reached out to a handful of students at my target programs. Last year I connected with what I considered a lot of people so I think I'm ahead of the game on this one but I know I'll want to know more and have stories prepared for the Why XX School and interviews so I'm off and running on this one. I'll post separately on this later.

So I think that's it for my progress but there are a handful of tips I want to highlight from the last month or so of application work:

1. Utilize ever minute. Even if you only have 20 or 30 minutes and don't feel like you'll be able to get into the flow, do it! I'm getting better at this which leads into....
2. Nothing is final until you hit submit. These two points mean spend those few minutes even if you're only added two or three sentences to an essay, that's a little less you'll have to do next time PLUS you've captured those thoughts somewhere and will continue to think about it throughout the day. This second point will also allow you to feel more comfortable/confident that the slow progress will amount to something
3. Take time off. You have to find ways to "do you". Whether that's going out one night a week, cooking, a movie, gym 5 days a week, do something to get out of the groove
4. It's still August!!!! If you've made progress already, you're well on your way. Last year, I kept thinking and thinking and thinking but never really amounted to much until the very end of September. Then it was a full on sprint to the October deadlines of 5 schools. This year, I'm taking little steps and breaking things into chunks and making sure I accomplish a few pieces each week. By doing it this way, my anxiety is (relatively) under control so far and I feel confident that the 5 applications will be complete well in advance of the deadlines this year. Of course, it helps that I'm a reapplicant and have done this once before...


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