Anything that's worth anything takes work

Soo I've dropped off the face of the blogging earth. I'll be back. Soon. I hope. If I ever make it through the grad school application process.

I've narrowed the list down to 5-6 schools. My future area of residence starting next summer and continuing for a year, perhaps longer, will most likely be one of the following: western PA, Philly or nearby areas, Lancaster, or Newark Delaware.

I've been studying my little tushy off for the GRE, and am making it a goal to take it NO LATER than November 11th. Ugh. I've seriously gone through my book and feel like there's not much more I can learn from it, other than 284789872692 vocabulary words, but when I go through the GRE drills, I'm terrible. Like really, really terrible. I think I'm doomed. On the bright side, they literally just finished major changes to the test and how it's scored (and I mean MAJOR...it used to be like the SAT, now scores range from 2-7), starting a month or 2 ago, so maybe even if I do really bad, schools won't know what to do with the new scoring system and they won't care as much about it, HA. I can only hope.

I haven't begun my 2-3 page letter of intent/personal statement...I mean, really? This stuff is so tedious and stupid. Why do you want to apply to our program? Because I want to be a school psychologist, and your program has the one year Master's degree prior to the 2-year certification that I'm looking for to do so. Why do you want to be a school psychologist? Because I enjoy working with children and families and have worked as a TSS in a school setting for 2 years. The end. Why do I have to drag that out?

I've thought about who to ask to write letters of recommendation, but haven't made a definite decision yet. And need to, stat, to give each person plenty of time. I'm seriously beginning to think this is the hardest part of the whole process, even over the stupid GRE. Who do I ask? College professors I haven't seen or talked to in 3 years? Supervisors who barely know anything about me? Friends and/or fellow church leaders who know me really well but don't know anything about school psychology and why I should be accepted into a program?

Oh, and then there's the filling out of online applications, paying to send my transcripts everywhere, and paying the stupid $50 app fee just to apply. Once again, really? As if everything else weren't tedious enough, and the cost per credit hour to attend your school wasn't enough, let me first deplete my bank account just applying to places.

This degree better be freakin' worth it, I'm just sayin'.

And when I'm finally, FINALLY a school psychologist I better be dancing around my office every single day yelling "I LOVE MY JOB THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIIIIIFE".

Or maybe not. But please God let me at least like it most days and have super-cool kids to hang out with?

So that's why I haven't been around much. My nose has been in a GRE prep book. Couldn't be more thrilled.

If anyone reading this has gone through this before...advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ok, venting = done.