It Must Be Easier to Get Into the C.I.A. Than It Is to Get Into Grad School

Sorry, my last two blogs were so long that I thought I'd split it up a bit and provide you with some pretty pictures of my spiritual home, Rome (prior post) and a quick glimpse into how incredibly time-consuming it is to get into grad school.

It is kind of funny that I am applying to grad school since, when I graduated from college- ugh 4-!? years ago I never wanted to pursue higher education again. My thesis had officially fried my will to live or learn ever again.

But then plans to implement my undergrad degree didn't work out as hoped and I discovered urban planning and I had to get in on the action! Unfortunately, I didn't know as a high schooler that urban planning even existed, so here I am applying to grad school, which is infinitely more complicated than applying to undergrad was.
Of course, I opted for the undergrad school that didn't require a portfolio review and and as long as your SAT score was higher than that of a toaster oven, you were pretty much guaranteed admission.

It's terribly, terribly ironic that if I know I have something huge that will require a LOT of time and effort, I try to map it out to the last detail. Grad school is no cake walk and can't just be done on a whim. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unexpected twists and turns in this road as well.

You have to know where you want to apply to.
You have to take the GRE several months in advance cuz you need your scores for your application package.
You have to study for the GRE, including a LOT of remedial math, which I had conveniently forgotten.
You have to write to all those nice people who will be writing you letters of recommendation (LOR)and refresh their memories why you are awesome and should go to X school.
Allow plenty of time for this so that they have plenty of time to sit down and write you those glowing letters. Badgering them at the last minute is highly underadvised.
You need to procure lots of monies for application fees. Ick.
You need to request your transcripts, something that considering I gave my alma mater over $100K and probably 4 oz. of my soul I should get those transcripts for free. Haha. No.
You need to check the school's deadlines if you want to be considered for scholarships. Always a plus.
You then need to freak out when you realize that one school's deadline is a full month earlier than the other schools and you really need those LORs. Now!
Subsequently, you need to freak out, having not perused the school's application Web site with a fine-tooth comb, you did not realize that the LOR needs to be accompanied by the school's specific cover letter-like thing, which of course you didn't send to the writers. Immediately fill out, print, and mail while simultaneously banging out rapid-fire e-mails alerting your letter writers of this impending and extremely important piece of mail.
Later, you need to send your very nice LOR back to its writer because it wasn't in a sealed envelope and the school will not take it.
You need to stare at your computer screen until drops of blood spontaneously form on your forehead due to such intense stress that the capillaries burst as you try to write a heartfelt statement of purpose that does not make you come off sounding like a pompous ass or arrogant blowhard, but a sincere and genuine student of learning without sounding like a total suck-up either.
When this is all over you need to buy yourself the best single-malt scotch you can afford while you wait to hear back from the schools who have your destiny in their hands. Avoid consuming the contents of the entire bottle in one sitting, unless it came from a mini-bar.

To know what it's really like to try to get into the real C.I.A. read Blowing My Cover: my Life as a C.I.A. Spy by Lindsay Moran. Pretty good stuff. Not mind-blowing great. But good.