The Road to a PhD Program: Update 1

All right, just a quick progress report: moving along on steps one and two. I've gotten the latest Cracking the GRE from the Princeton Review and have begun reading it. I also downloaded the program CueCard, which is a program that allows you to make computerized flash-cards. I'll be using it to study vocabulary, as that's a big part of the verbal test.

I took the online practice test today to get a baseline score, which I'm not going to share with you. Suffice it to say I didn't realize what I was supposed to be doing (the directions weren't displayed, which I think was a program error) and was trying to associate words rather than find their antonyms. First question (the most heavily weighted one) was therefore wrong! I also suck at basic math even though I can do calculus, apparently. So I'll be studying up on all that and now have minimum score goals in mind to work towards.

I've also already talked to a professor about Chicago. He suggested asking the admissions depts. there if there's a PhD student I could talk to. I should ask him/her about the experience there, then consider talking to my possible future professors as well. He also had some personal opinions about the schools, but I'll be keeping those to myself.

In sum: I've been making progress.

Next step: make an appointment to take the GRE in mid June.

Also: starting to fish around for a thesis adviser and make serious thoughts about my proposal, which must be turned in by July.

That's all for now. Glad to have a plan with goals and steps along the way!

Goodnight!

Soon to come: thinking about entries on Iran's nuclear program (already started a draft on that) and on East Jerusalem (Israel's facts on the ground). Stay tuned!

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