Prematriculation Begins

Now that the admissions process is in full swing and I've officially accepted (although they will have to wait a while to receive my $1,000 tuition deposit -- good to know my tax return will go to a good cause this year!), the prematriculation process begins, and boy is it a process. Do you remember back in high school when teachers would assign summer reading, or projects to acquaint yourself with the fall's material. Well folks, it's baaack and in a big way.

Harvard is so organized (thankfully!) that they set up a customized prematriculation checklist with all ten bazillion things you have to get done before you can start school in the fall. It's everything from your financial aid application to the housing lottery to immunizations and -- get this -- a telephone answering machine that you have to leave the pronunciation of your name on so professors know how to address you on the first day (this of all things is a godsend after my name was mispronounced during both my high school and college graduations). The list goes on to outline all of the quantitative, accounting and finance tutorials that you must complete, the summer reading (read: textbooks) you have to do, the gym consent form, transcript requests...and I'm getting dizzy just looking at the list.

In all seriousness, my procrastination-loathing nature has me already diving into the checklist and I've completed almost everything that I physically can at this point. I passed out of the accounting tutorial (who knew I actually learned stuff from my Valencia course) and am about halfway through the quantitative tutorial, so it's all good.

In more exciting news, I've become a regular poster on the HBS Class of 2010 Bulletin Boards, on which I discovered a fellow admit from Orlando (we seem to be the only Florida admits so far, although I did receive a congratulatory phone call from a current student who went to UF as well). I've also discovered the classcards directory, which gives you basic information about all of your fellow admits -- work history, interests, hometowns, etc. I'm surprised by how many people are coming from the military and amazed at the array of international students (China, France, England, India!). I can't wait to learn about all the different cultures that will be represented.

And finally, before I sign off and get back to what I really should be doing (read: work), I wanted to announce that I'm officially going to Admitted Students Weekend! Okay, maybe that's not the most revolutionary news ever, but I'm proud of myself for choosing to go even though it means stretching my boundaries in several ways. Firstly, it means putting more than $500 on my already large credit card bill (the one I've been desperately trying to pay off for a year now to no avail) and it means taking off 1.5 days work. It also means putting myself out there in a giant social situation and hoping I find my way (not the easiest for a shy-when-you-first-meet-me kind of gal). Regardless, I think it's good to meet everyone sooner rather than later, and to go on the housing tour (I'm curious to see just how small a single dorm room can get). I'll be sure to update the blog when I return with all the nitty-gritties (and maybe a few photos). Until then, here's a picture of me standing in front of Dillon House the day before my interview last November (this same display of excitement could not have been shown post-interview as my nerves and over-analyzing brain had then kicked into high gear). Au Revoir!