congratulations: pending

i can't remember the last week of my life.

well, i can, but there isn't much to remember besides me and a stack of papers, books and binders.

i've gotten a few questions from friends about what it is i've been studying, so i'll elaborate here a little bit. the exam was 5 consecutive essays on 6 topic areas. we had about 1.5 hrs for each essay, but it was really a matter of how we chose to use the time. in a nutshell, all of the essays were situational tests where we had to describe the exisiting theories, issues, problems, as well as come up with a plan and recommendations for the implementation and evaluation of that plan. the topic areas were:

1. Selection
2. Performance Appraisal
3. Leadership and Decision Making
4. Organizational Culture, Climate and Justice
5. Training
6. Research Methods (this was integrated into the 5 essays)

i can't say it was fun. i was surprised at how fast time moves when you are concentrating. by the end of the day, however, my brain was fried. i'm not sure how i did on the last two exams ... we'll see. of course, i am so much more interested in the leadership and culture/justice work than any of the HR-related topics (yuk!), so i also think i probably performed better on those exams.

There are now three possibilities:
1. I pass and am done forever!
2. I fail and have to do a thesis to get my degree
3. I pass contingently and they have me come back and defend my answers and add any information they feel was missing.

I am hoping for the first possibility, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is more that i have to do on the last 2 exams. i really don't know though. I am confident i didn't outright fail anything, i was too prepared for that.

anyway, the experience has killed my desire to write, so that's all for today. in another three weeks grad school will be over for good and then i'll ... well, i'll figure out what's next!

i'm excited and at the same time it hasn't sunk in at all yet.