mygradschooljourney - Tumblr blog

[mygradschooljourney]

I am so excited about this journey to grad school. Last night, I discovered the wonderful mbaMission through an amazing webinar hosted by Manhattan Prep in partnership with mbaMission. I learned so much about college sessions, how to figure out a school’s culture even if I can’t visit, and how to stand out with my personal statement. I cannot boast enough about how amazing this webinar was. Shout out to Whitney from Manhattan Prep and Jessica from mbaMission, you guys were amazing! They have more free webinars happening and to anyone out there that’s considering grad school I highly recommend you sign up for them.

[mygradschooljourney]

Thank you so much @gradschoolgo for this infographic! This is incredibly helpful! Reposting to use as reference for later.

[mygradschooljourney]

Make Time To Relax

TLDR: Today’s crisis is a reminder that there will always be something. Despite the demands on ourselves, take the time to relax and enjoy fleeting moments.

With the coronavirus pandemic, I have been trying to do my part to help. I have become a Crisis Text Line trainee, diligently completing my training. I have acquired a position with a college prep program and am working hard to start a free week of virtual workshops for 6 - 12 grade students, to teach them critical online learning skills and guide them towards preparing for college. As we continue to face this unprecedented lockdown, I have been trying my best to keep my family informed about local resources, sane despite the paranoia, and overall happy and content being home with loved ones. Despite all this, I am still in the process of applying to graduate school. I began a program called Fully Funded to learn more about the graduate application process. As I dive deeper and deeper into the course I am starting to feel relieved. I knew most of the information already, but I have never heard the content presented so concisely. With the program’s help I am identifying colleges ideal for me to apply to and funding opportunities to go along with them. With all these responsibilities, I realize I am just as busy; while stuck at home, as I was when I was in my final semester of college when I worked a part-time job, was project engineer of my university’s Engineers Without Borders chapter, volunteered at the local children’s hospital, and performed and presented my cancer research.  Everything that I am doing and have done can be quite overwhelming.  

Yet with years of overwhelming myself, I have gained a gem of wisdom. Take the time to relax. There will always be a crisis  - whether at home, at work, or in society. There will always be a deadline. There will always be an opportunity one can’t miss out on. There will always be other people doing more. But there is only one life. In order to fully enjoy that life, take time to relax and enjoy fleeting moments. 

[mygradschooljourney]

Destressing as I look into MBA programs. Learned my GRE scores are above average and the schools I intend on applying to will accept the scores. No need to pay $280 to take the GMAT.

[mygradschooljourney]

Goals & Progress Update

Last Fall I had retaken my GRE, attended numerous online grad school info sessions, and have started the process of pinning down which colleges I want to apply to.

As I was learning about deadlines and funding opportunities I started to experience my first two panic attacks.

After that I stopped...

I got sick. I stayed at home, couldn’t do anything except sleep, watch tv, and talk to my mom. Talking to my friends seemed exhausting. Going online tedious. All I wanted was tea and chocolate.

Months passed. My parents got concerned about me and I was pushed to go to the hospital. The doctor prescribed me this harsh medicine that practically immobilized me, yet made me feel much better afterward. I now have some motivation to get out of bed and a drive to get back to work. I am still sick and have tired spells ever so often. I’m still going to the hospital so someone can figure out what is going on inside my body. So though I have the motivation to get my butt in gear and apply to grad school. I know that I can’t push myself as hard as I was once able too. 

Goals

Reevaluate which degree program to apply for

With a B.S in BME, I was thinking a master in mechanical engineering or in biomedical engineering, maybe even an MBA concentrated in finance. But as I reflect on how unhappy I was during the first two years of my career and how my original intent for my career was to make an impact and help people. I’m unsure if I want to continue down the path of arrogant engineers and stressed out business people in the medical device industry, that is more concerned about money and weaseling out of the hands of the FDA as they sell products to the hospitals. Maybe I will look into the careers in the healthcare industry that have a more direct and broad impact on the population. Nurse seems cool but too low on the number of people I can impact. Doctor seems like a hard and fun challenge, but again not sure of the impact I can have on a mass of people. So I will keep you posted on what I decide to do.

Retake the GRE possibly take the GMAT

Many of the schools that I have been looking into have GRE score of 160′s for V and Q and a 4.5 for writing. I am incredibly proud of my last scores GRE test scores of 157 V and 155 Q. With more practice I know I can increase those scores, especially that quantitative score.

If I do decide to go for the MBA, I will need to have the GMAT to apply to more schools.

Learn about funding opportunities

I am a first generation college student from a low income family. The likelihood of me being able to pay for graduate school is minimal. The fear of having loans is high. The method of finding scholarships to pay for grad school is odd. Financial aid doesn’t seem to be the same for grad school as it was for undergrad. The school doesn’t provide scholarships and tuition differentials to a grad student the way they did for an undergrad. So grants and fellowships seem to be the way. The idea of applying to fellowships seems overwhelming to me. This might be another phase of imposter syndrome that I have to come to face and overcome. I am good enough for these opportunities and I need to show others that I am as well.

Keep Calm and Charter On

I am in it for the long haul. Applying is just the first step. If I do get accepted into grad school, then for a year I will be completing an MBA or an MSE along with other dedicated and determined grad students. I might even be in school for 4+ years if I become hell bent on being a doctor or even a Ph.D. candidate. Either way the first step is applying and there is no need to become overwhelmed with just an application. I got things to do and my body to take care of. I just have to remember many people apply and get accepted. Many more people apply and get rejected. Determined people apply get rejected, apply get accepted, then enter grad school and dominate their entire time there. Rest assured I will dominate. Right now, I’m just keeping calm and mapping out what I plan to achieve.

[mygradschooljourney]

Read for later...

How to Land a Fellowship at Any Stage in Your Career

[mygradschooljourney]

People sometimes assume it’s all about the “numbers” like former grades and test scores, when in fact, it’s really about your ability to show your potential for future success in your written application, using specific examples of your accomplishments, perseverance and drive.

“5 Myths That Are Holding You Back from Pursuing a Graduate Degree” Profellow