17 Days

The world is a very strange place. Just a few weeks ago I spent most days alone, hiking through sagebrush or winding between dense stands of ponderosa pine. I would wake early, work, return home in late afternoon, and spend the remainder of the day leisurely, searching for schools, writing emails, reading... Yet somehow, even though I was working overtime and fit the other bits and pieces in elsewhere, I never felt as if I had all that much going on.

Since I've moved to Nearby Town, though, it's as if there aren't enough hours in the day. I get up only moderately later every morning. Most days I go immediately to feed the horses, then the dogs, then the cats. Afterwards there are hosts of other things that need to be taken care of. My "roommate" will have some question about the complexities of technology (Why can't I take pictures anymore with my camera? Because your SD card is full.), my across-the-street neighbors (my pseudo-employers) will ask for the completion of some task, an errand to run or a horse to exercise or an animal to feed or a subject to tutor. And then, after all the stuff that happens at the whims of others is completed (an absolute necessity in order to keep myself afloat without a job), I have my own bits to take care of.

Grad school applications.

I know, it must be getting old for you all to read every week now for months. Grad school applications, grad school applications, grad school applications. Perhaps you didn't realize just how involved and extensive the application process can be. I took the GREs in April, started researching schools in June, contacting prospective advisers in July and early August. I maintained contact with promising leads throughout September, worked on finding fellowships through the end of October, and I've just now started working on the actual applications. Which just happen to be due starting the 1st of December. Which is only 17 days from now.

The applications themselves, of course, are no joke. Each school wants answers to its own questions, essays formatted to its own specifications. 1-3 pp., 2500 words or less, 4000 characters including spaces. Each school wants copies of GRE scores, transcripts, recommendation letters, all at different times and in different numbers and sent to different places. Keeping it all straight is enough of a mess. The hardest part? Trying to make myself stand out.

I'm not great at selling myself, at identifying characteristics that might make an admissions panel take a second look. Many of the students applying likely have similarly strong academic backgrounds and research experiences. Many students will likely have more research experience, perhaps some have already been published. What do I tell the admissions committee there? I'm working on it, okay? And some schools leave no room for explanations.

Ivy League School, for example, which has been my school of choice since I began the whole process, is cutthroat. With ILS, there is only one essay. 1000 words to explain why I want to go to ILS, who I want to work with, what I'd like to work on, and how my academic background and research experiences make me a suitable candidate for admission.

Schools like ILS, Yet Another UC, U Big City (all schools to which I'm applying) accept, on average, only 5 to 7 students a year to their ecology programs.

Yeah.

I'm screwed.

Dear Ivy League School,

I'm so adjective, I verb nouns.

Sincerely,
Jax