Qualify me!

Oh, frabjous day... I have a qualifying exam tomorrow (calloo callay). "What's that!?", you say, "A qualifying exam already? But you're just a delicate little thing... Haven't even been there a whole year yet." Yes, I know. But believe me, it's for the better.

You see, in my program, qualifying exams are administered after the completion of coursework, which generally happens at about the 2 year mark. And they're oral. I just know I'll do terribly! I'm hopeless with oral things like presentations. I get so nervous that I shake, and I'm positive that it's visible. On top of that, I tend to rock back and forth. Just one of those nervous things, kind of like a twitch, I guess. So yeah, not looking forward to that. But at least it's still a while off. So I'm not going to think about it!

They, in their benevolence, however, let you substitute the Principles of Ecology oral with a written test that's given in the spring of each year. This pretty much seems to be a win-win situation. (1) It's written! (2) It's right after you've completed the 2 ecology core classes they require you take and which the test is based off of, so everything's still relatively fresh. (3) It reduces the amount of knowledge you have to cram into your brain and have at instant recall for your remaining quals. The only potential downside is that your oral quals will be the same amount of time, just now they cover 4 instead of 5 topics. So sadistic examiners could ask more in depth, nitpicky questions about those remaining topics... But I'm willing to accept that.

And I think I'm ready. I declared myself done with studying yesterday. I've read through the notes from the 2 classes 4 or 5 times; I've answered all of the discussion questions on my own, and discussed them even with my study group; I've actually taken 2 of the old exams, and read over 5 or 6 others, though these last ones aren't super relevant because they were given by a different professor and covered different material. So I think I've done all I can do. Plus, it doesn't seem like too scary of a test. They give you substantial choice in questions (1 of 2 long, 5 of 8 or 9 short). With that many to choose from, it seems you'd have to be a total screw-up to not be able to bs your way through the required number. Plus, last year nobody failed the written test. I like those odds. Can't beat 100%! And all that you need to do is pass. And if you don't, you get at least one 2nd chance. No worries!

Wish me luck =).