A Quick Update

It has been quite some time since my last post. Something I hope to do some work on that has happened recently is the confirmation hearings of Judge Sotomayor. I think they pose some interesting questions on the subject of jurisprudence and the legal system. All that aside, however, I felt that about four months of inactivity on this blog was too long. Life has progressed steadily on. We are in a new apartment, our son is growing at an incredible rate, and we are doing a lot of thinking and praying on the subject of graduate school and various related career questions. Now is too soon a time for an extended post on the various options and their relative merit, but I promise to provide one sometime soon. In the meantime, check out my wife's blog for a more detailed account of our daily lives.

Grad School Update: No Go

I just wanted to give a quick update on the graduate school situation. As of this past week, I have heard back from all seven schools, and the answer has been a unanimous thanks but no thanks. As a result, we will be here in Minnesota for another year. This does not mean that we are giving up on grad school. We will be applying to a lot of the same schools again next year. It simply means that we are going to have more time to make some money before we go and get used to the whole parenting gig.

I also want to reassure Katie that I have not forgotten about my Faith vs. Reason series I promised earlier. They are coming soon.

5 down, 2 to go!

Saturday we got the no-go letter from University of Chicago, so we're down to Texas-Austin and Ohio State. Today is the 9^th, I really feel if we go a week without getting rejected by both of them there might be a chance.

It's an interesting situation to be in, not knowing where your life will take you. We all share that experience to some degree I suppose. One can never tell 5, 10 years from now where you'll be. This is different. The next two weeks literally will determine where my family and I will be for at least the next year, potentially the next five. And I have no idea where that will be. It's such an exercise in faith. I keep bouncing back one minute from the next, hope and despair, I'll get in I won't get in. When I say despair it's not as if I'm actually despairing in an emotional sense, it's more just despairing of getting in this year and trying to make the best of the options open to me here in Minnesota for the coming year.

Ultimately what will be will be, and honestly, I'm really ok with that. I'm just looking forward to being done with the next two weeks. :-)

Graduate School Update

Just a quick update on my grad school applications: Out of the seven schools I originally applied to, four have deemed me unworthy to pursue higher education at their institutions at this time. These include the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Arizona, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We have yet to hear back from the University of Chicago, the University of Texas-Austin, or Ohio State University.

In case you have no idea how this all works, most of the schools go through several rounds of consideration. After the initial "no's" are sent out, the remaining applications are assigned to faculty for close review. After the review process, the faculty board goes through and decides which applicants should be offered a spot in the program (Keep in mind, most of the programs have maybe 5-7 positions open, with an average applicant pool of close to 200). For most schools, if you last to mid-March there is a very good chance that you're in the final considerations. This by no means acts as any kind of a guaranty that you will be accepted into the program, but it means you have a shot.

My hope, seeing as today is March 6^th, is that I've made it to that final round of consideration. If I can make it to around March 15-17 and still not be rejected by all 3 remaining schools, I feel that there is a reasonable chance that I could be accepted this term. If I hear anything more from any of the remaining schools, I'll be sure to post it. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated!