I'm Studying...Do I Need This?

I was checking my Yahoo email this evening. It has been about 5 days since I have looked at it and I am thinking that I should look at it more often because I got a very important email that I should have replied to by now. But my inattentiveness is not the purpose of this post. I writing this post because of the content in that email and I don't know what to say when I respond.

The email was an official invitation to do a seminar and interview for a faculty position at the university where I got my bachelor's degree. I would love to be back in my home state and working at that wonderful university. There is a problem though. This is a portion of the first sentence of the email: "...we understand that you are completing a PhD in Botany and the Department of ... would like to hear about your research." Do you see what the problem is now?

Heaven help me. How did this happen? I was in touch with one of the faculty a little over a year ago and thoroughly (or so I thought) discussed the nature of the doctoral program that I am in. I was told that they would be looking for someone that studies anything having to do with plants and that I would be the first one they thought of when they could fund the position. Somehow their need has morphed into botany.

They do not have a single female faculty member in the department and I suspect that they desperately need one to increase their diversity. They also do not have anyone doing any research on plants and desperately need to fill that gap as well. But I don't do research; I diagnose and manage plant health problems. That is what I told them a year ago and they said that was great.

Their preferred date for the seminar is March 1. So what am I going to say to them? I don't know. Any ideas?

Good News

I did a partial re-take of the disastrous exam and I passed!!! So I now have to take only one more written exam and the oral. I am happy, but mostly feel relieved. I am very grateful that the test coordinator and other professors realized that the testing conditions were unacceptable and therefore allowed me to re-do the part of the final that I tried to do near the end of the day but could not do because of the distracting noise level.

So now I can move forward and prepare for my last semester in this program. I have a lot of studying to do. The written final will be on plant pathology including some history, but mainly diagnosis and management of viral, bacterial and fungal plant diseases. The oral will be on plant pathology, sustainable agriculture, pesticides and herbicides, and integrated pest management.

I've already incorporated yoga and working out at the gym into my life and the studying starts this weekend.

Moving Forward

It sure doesn’t feel like it has been a little over a month since I have posted here. I have been both working and relaxing. The spring semester has started and I am moving forward and preparing to have a successful outcome this time.

A few days after I got the test results, I met with the exam coordinator of the disastrous exam. I requested and was allowed to re-take a small portion of his section of the final. That brought my score up to 79%. The coordinator suggested that I request to re-take a small portion of another section given by another professor. I have requested a meeting with this other professor, but have not heard back. This is something that I have to pursue this week.

I feel justified in making requests to re-take portions of the final that I tried to do at the end of the day when my brain was too fried from all of the noise in the adjoining rooms. However I have no excuse for the failure of the other exam. I just wasn’t ready for it. I was working so much that I did not have time to study for both exams. So I chose to put more emphasis on studying for the harder exam and spent very little time studying for the so-called easier one, which I then failed. Hopefully, I will have only one written exam and the oral to study for this semester.

What am I doing to ensure success this time? I have a list; it is as follows:

1. I quit my nematology job, so I am working only one job. This will eliminate the running back and forth between jobs.

2. I will not work full-time. I will not work more than 32 hours per week.

3. I have made out a study schedule and I will stick to it.

4. I have started doing yoga to reduce stress and improve my mental clarity.

5. I have made out a schedule to work out at the gym and I will stick to it.

6. I have reduced the amount of time I spend on Facebook by eliminating some of the games that I was playing.

So the semester has started and I am off and running. Will do my best to keep you posted.

Failed

I finally got my scores today and I did not pass either exam. I knew I was taking a risk. I've been working full-time, taking a 4 credit course, and trying to study for the blasted finals. It was too much. Sorry, but I'm too disappointed to post more tonight.

Still Waiting

It's been almost 3 weeks since I took that disastrous exam and 2.5 weeks since I took the exam that wasn't too bad. I still have not heard what my results are. My oral is next Wednesday and is not supposed to take place until all of the written exams have been passed. Since I haven't heard whether I passed or not, how can I know whether to take the oral or not?

I've done what I could to find out the results. I sent emails, made phone calls, and knocked on doors. I think the most reasonable way to handle this is to proceed with studying and preparing for the oral. So that is what I will be doing during this holiday weekend.

I hope that you have a good Thanksgiving!

Three Down (Maybe) and One to Go

I hope it's three down. I had a final today and one last Friday. The one today wasn't bad. I think it was a very fair exam. It took me about 8.5 hours to complete it.

The final on Friday was a disaster. That one has a reputation for being the most difficult final for our program. Usually the exam is held in a building up near the center of campus in a quiet classroom. This time it was held in a conference room that is close to our program study room. For those of you who know where this is, we were in the center conference room. The whole conference room area can be one big room or divided up into three rooms with dividers separating each room. I don't know what those dividers are made out of, but they are not soundproof.

So on Friday, a colleague and I had been taking the exam for about 1.5 hours when we heard preparations starting in one of the rooms for the monthly Friday morning coffee break. They had a new coffee pot and for about 20 minutes were talking loudly about their new toy. Then people starting showing up for the break and it really got noisy. My colleague and I could not work on the exam. So I went in to join the coffee break. It only lasts for about 30 minutes, so after it was over, we got back to work on the exam.

We had only 30 minutes of peace. Someone in the other conference starting setting up for a seminar. The seminar lasted from 11:00 - 12:15. Again, we had peace. It only lasted until 1:00. A lady came into our room even though there was a sign on the door that said "Exam in Progress Do Not Enter". She took chairs out of the room and into the room where the coffee break had been. That room started filling with people and it got noisy. I think they were having a combination lab party and lab meeting. Then we could hear preparations starting in the other room for something. So from 1:00 until 5:00, we had loud talking, laughter and clapping going on from both adjoining rooms.

The test was scheduled to end at 5:00, but I wasn't finished. Because of the extenuating circumstances, our proctor let us go longer. By 7:00, I was not done, but I was so done. I did not finish the herbicide calibration calculations; I forgot that photosynthesis has a Photosystem II and Photosystem I; I forgot how many feet are in 1 mile and who knows how many other things I blanked on.

The noise level had a serious impact on my ability to concentrate and to take my exit exam. I don't know what my score is yet, but I know that I did not make it to 80%. There was no way I could have. The question is, will they pass me anyway because of the extenuating circumstances or will I have to take that final again next semester. I guess I'll find out in a few days.

Three More Days

This Friday, I will take my second final and next Monday, I will take the third one. I am not ready. There is so much material to cover; it's impossible for me to get through all of it. I hope that by the time I get to each final, the amount that I have studied will be enough to get me to 80%, which is the minimum for a passing grade.

I'm taking this week off from work; I should have taken last week off as well. But it's too late for the should haves, or the could haves. It is what it is and I will do the best that I can. It's not the end of the world if I have to stay in school another semester.

I probably will not do another post until after Monday's final. Wish me luck. I need it.