The Application Game

In the past three years, I have gone from completely undecided on my future direction, considering paths in law, business, and education research, to applying to law school, and finally applying to business school.

I'm finally settling on a decision to go to business school, and I'll be in sunny Durham, North Carolina next fall attending Duke's Fuqua School of Business! It's a great relief to finally be done with all the tests, the essays, the waiting... and also all the nervous, pretentious, and often patronizing chat among applicants.

It's funny because if you ask someone where they were admitted, they might say, Columbia. But if they're not too proud of where they were admitted, they'll say something like, oh, a top 10 school. Or a top 15 school. Usually that means #9/10 or #14/15.

I'm one of the unlucky people who don't have a clear idea of what they want to do long-term. This has led me astray, including a year-long quest to go to law school, including taking the LSAT (twice), applying, and finally turning down offers after my gut told me I wouldn't be happy in law school. I wish I had known all that prior to starting, but I was blinded by pure ambition and the desire to impress (myself, mostly). I've believe it's worth it to really spend time exploring and thinking about what makes life meaningful, and striving to do something that fulfills that ideal. This is something I've paid for with a lot of money, time, and disappointment.

But now, relief. Excitement. Hope. I'm definitely looking forward to doing something cool.