Hands up if you saw THAT coming...
Well, I went. I schmoozed... I read the professor's work, I understood the material, I contributed important stuff, I said the right things and asked good questions. He was genuinely impressed with my comments and questions, implied that I'd be perfect for the position and that there would be a lot of learnin' goin' on.
And then he asked one little question... "So, what were your grades like?"
Yep. There ends the lesson, children... which is, of course, get good grades. Because it's more important to have good grades than it is to actually have any clue what the hell you're talking about.
{sigh}
I lament the system, but I understand it... being smart is certainly no assurance that you're bright, but it's a pretty good indiciation. And the faculty has it's reputation to uphold, of course. So unless I'm grossly confused (ha!), it's unlikely that I have an average anywhere near what they want for acceptance. You could say it was a waste of 2 and a half hours... but really, it got me away from work, and that's never a bad thing. So I still see it as a positive experience. And Dr. St. Lawrence was nice enough to not laugh out loud... and he seemed to understand that I knew what was going on (even if I don't have the grades to back up that claim).
Moral of this story: I'm a good physicist. It's a pity I hate it so much.
Anyway, whatever. My brother is coming into town on Saturday, and it'll be pretty awesome to see him (although he'll unintentionally make me feel like a total ass again... shoot, I should clean up the apartment tonight). Bought my father a small present (Einstein's short book on Special relativity... something my father isn't terribly good at), which is still more than he's gotten me... but that's okay. In fact, I didn't get any birthday presents this year... well, no tangible ones at least (Chantal came down and hung out with me the weekend before, as you may recall... but that was just hanging out... I didn't even get birthday-kisses!).
Ah well. C'est la vie, I suppose. One day I'll be rich and powerful enough that things like this won't bother me.
Oh, I've actually been on hold with McMaster's Registrar's office since slightly before I started this post... goin' on 15 minutes so far! But it's a busy time of year of them (grad), so I don't mind that much. I wish I weren't at work so I could just play on my DS or somethin', though... but whatever.
And then he asked one little question... "So, what were your grades like?"
Yep. There ends the lesson, children... which is, of course, get good grades. Because it's more important to have good grades than it is to actually have any clue what the hell you're talking about.
{sigh}
I lament the system, but I understand it... being smart is certainly no assurance that you're bright, but it's a pretty good indiciation. And the faculty has it's reputation to uphold, of course. So unless I'm grossly confused (ha!), it's unlikely that I have an average anywhere near what they want for acceptance. You could say it was a waste of 2 and a half hours... but really, it got me away from work, and that's never a bad thing. So I still see it as a positive experience. And Dr. St. Lawrence was nice enough to not laugh out loud... and he seemed to understand that I knew what was going on (even if I don't have the grades to back up that claim).
Moral of this story: I'm a good physicist. It's a pity I hate it so much.
Anyway, whatever. My brother is coming into town on Saturday, and it'll be pretty awesome to see him (although he'll unintentionally make me feel like a total ass again... shoot, I should clean up the apartment tonight). Bought my father a small present (Einstein's short book on Special relativity... something my father isn't terribly good at), which is still more than he's gotten me... but that's okay. In fact, I didn't get any birthday presents this year... well, no tangible ones at least (Chantal came down and hung out with me the weekend before, as you may recall... but that was just hanging out... I didn't even get birthday-kisses!).
Ah well. C'est la vie, I suppose. One day I'll be rich and powerful enough that things like this won't bother me.
Oh, I've actually been on hold with McMaster's Registrar's office since slightly before I started this post... goin' on 15 minutes so far! But it's a busy time of year of them (grad), so I don't mind that much. I wish I weren't at work so I could just play on my DS or somethin', though... but whatever.
posted by Marx at 11:41 AM
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