placement exams
Hi,
So I'm starting grad school for chemistry in...days that I don't want to count. I have a few questions.
1) There are days that I am totally excited for grad school--I get to spend 50 hours a week in the lab and get paid for it? Hooray! Aaand then there are days when I'm like, crap, what have I gotten myself into? I don't have original research ideas, are you kidding? And how in the heck am I going to balance class, TAing, research, and getting actively involved with InterVarsity (campus Christian fellowship. yes this is important. yes it is important to do something more with it than just go to meetings.)? (And I've already resigned myself to a major decrease in ice time--I'm a figure skater.) The worst days are when I read everything about how insane grad school is and how it's going to kill me and ways to prevent letting it kill you. Knowing the vast potential of it to kill me is killing me. Ah! Is this normal?
2) There probably isn't a whole lot people can say about this one, but I'm getting nervous for the placement exams. Any words of encouragement? I'm reading through my textbooks, trying to be thorough but efficient, working through some exercises, but I have a feeling that trying to finish half of my inorganic textbook, browsing my organic textbook, reading basic chapters of quantum, reviewing thermo, and tracking down a textbook and trying to learn analytical (I sold back my book; my professor was notoriously awful (good scientist, sucktastic teacher), which meant I feel like I spend a semester learning nothing despite all attempts. I think the whole class gave up by the end.)is not all going to happen by Monday. Thoughts?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Sorry if I rambled too much...
Thanks,
Rogue
So I'm starting grad school for chemistry in...days that I don't want to count. I have a few questions.
1) There are days that I am totally excited for grad school--I get to spend 50 hours a week in the lab and get paid for it? Hooray! Aaand then there are days when I'm like, crap, what have I gotten myself into? I don't have original research ideas, are you kidding? And how in the heck am I going to balance class, TAing, research, and getting actively involved with InterVarsity (campus Christian fellowship. yes this is important. yes it is important to do something more with it than just go to meetings.)? (And I've already resigned myself to a major decrease in ice time--I'm a figure skater.) The worst days are when I read everything about how insane grad school is and how it's going to kill me and ways to prevent letting it kill you. Knowing the vast potential of it to kill me is killing me. Ah! Is this normal?
2) There probably isn't a whole lot people can say about this one, but I'm getting nervous for the placement exams. Any words of encouragement? I'm reading through my textbooks, trying to be thorough but efficient, working through some exercises, but I have a feeling that trying to finish half of my inorganic textbook, browsing my organic textbook, reading basic chapters of quantum, reviewing thermo, and tracking down a textbook and trying to learn analytical (I sold back my book; my professor was notoriously awful (good scientist, sucktastic teacher), which meant I feel like I spend a semester learning nothing despite all attempts. I think the whole class gave up by the end.)is not all going to happen by Monday. Thoughts?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Sorry if I rambled too much...
Thanks,
Rogue