Not To Be Trusted With Knives

Because Grade 23 Was Not Enough

July 22, 2011 by Beth

Alternative titles for this blog posting include, “I am a glutton for punishment” and “Are you $%^&ing insane?”

Why am I glutton for punishment, you ask? Maybe this photo will provide a clue:

That, my friends, is a study guide for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). A test that, as the name suggests, is required for admission to graduate programs in management – specifically, the Masters of Business Administration (MBA). A test that I am currently studying for and which I am scheduled to take at the end of August. And why would I do such a thing, you ask? (You sure ask a lot of questions for someone who is supposed to be just reading!)

Well, I’ve been sitting on a secret for a few weeks now. A secret that I wasn’t allowed to talk about until such time as I was told I could talk about it. And now I’ve been told I can talk about it!

I mentioned over on my other blog that I’d applied for funding from a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) program called the Science to Business (S2B) Program, which funds people with health sciences PhDs to do MBAs. Would you believe that I was successful in getting that funding?

Crazy, right? Well, don’t get too excited just yet. I still have to apply to – and get into – the MBA Program ((I was actually a bit hesitant to post about getting this funding, because I haven’t yet applied to the program, nor written the GMAT. I mean, what if I do terribly on the GMAT and don’t get into the program? That would be embarrassing! But I’m too excited not to share this! I’m nervous and excited and if it turns out that I tank the GMAT and don’t get into the program, please don’t laugh at me, k?)). Minor details. Applying requires, among a bunch of other things, that I write the GMAT. Hence the studying.

In the spirit of the GMAT, here is a multiple choice reading comprehension question for you:

Read the following passage and then answer the multiple choice question below.

Despite already having three university degrees (a B.Sc.(Hons.), an M.Sc., and a Ph.D.), Beth has decided to pursue an M.B.A. The program she is applying to is part-time, lasts 28 months, and is designed for people who work full-time.

Why is Beth doing this?

1. She feels that having 13 letters after her name is bad luck and thus needs to add three more.
2. She feels that there are an insufficient number of vowels in the letters after her name and wants to be able to spell something with those letters.
3. She wants to be able to say she was in school until grade 25.
4. She feels that her current amount of sleeping (~5 hrs per night) is far too much and she could fill that time with studying instead.
5. pi

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