ACT 2 – THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS: Less than 30 Days ‘Til the GMAT

I’ve always been a planner–literally addicted to times and dates. It’s the only way for a quasi-forgetful person like me to stay organized and on track.

I’m also a person who loves projects; a tendency that can have me jumping from one to explore the novelty of the next if I’m not careful. Calendaring keeps this trait in check.

Recently, the first few top b-schools began bringing their 2012-13 applications live on the web. Though one side of me can’t wait to get started on my apps–my multi-page pitch fest as to why I feel I deserve a spot at various schools–I can’t afford to focus on that right now.

In fact, I’m choosing to completely block them from my consciousness. I’ve got more prerequisite fish to fry.

I still remember the first time that I (arrogantly) took the GMAT (ACT 1 – we’ll talk about that later) back in January of this year. Each time I hit a dead end on a math problem or was stumped by a data sufficiency question I was haunted by a time that I was playing around, out with friends, on a date, playing God of War III, or doing something else with time that should have been devoted to studying.

Whenever I found myself lost on some nuance of an RC passage or being indecisive about which options could be excluded by POA on a sentence correction question, a sharp pain went up my spine, reminding me that I had never even bothered to crack a book to prepare for the verbal section.

I’m not letting that happen this time.

There’s a lot a stake. The outcome that I produce on June 25th could be the difference between attending “Prestigious U” and “WHO????”. There’s no room for ex-engineering student arrogance about how “easy” everything is supposed to be for business students. LIES. The difficulty in the b-school world is just not as literal as in an engineering program. Like an RC passage that points you in 5 different directions, it’s nuanced; small details that can push you over the top or dash your dreams until sometime in the future.

So, while I will continue to blog (an exercise that has proven to be unbelievably therapeutic), there is little other contact with the outside world that I will indulge in during these last days. If you know me, don’t bother me unless I bother you. If you have my number, forget that you have it until June 26th, 2012. If I neglect to return calls or emails, I’m not being shady with you; I just can’t be bothered until I get this GMAT monkey off my back.

*dramatically shuts off laptop; dims lights; fades into the shadows for 29 days of reclusive GMAT obsession…*

{{ CURTAIN }}

(to be continued on “the other side” of the GMAT on 6/26/2012…)