THE PLAN

I have created The Plan. What plan? The Advanced Degree Plan, of course.

It was honestly an easy decision. What is one thing that I love, that I never get tired of? That I've dreamed of being involved in, that I find fascinating?

FORENSIC SCIENCE!

I mean, not enough to move out of the state, but Boston University has a Master's program in Biomedical Forensic Science. I've always been interested in the program; it's been bookmarked in Firefox on my computer for a couple years now. But I finally took the time to read their course descriptions, and I had a forensicsgasm. It's something I very much want to do, and it's the only thing that I can't imagine not liking. With medical school, I'm pretty sure that it's going to result in me being miserable for eight years, and only happy once I finish my residency. With public health, I probably won't find a job I like, and I'll be stressed all the time. And I've already decided that while I like my job now, I can't see myself doing it for more than a couple years.

Therefore, The Plan:

Fall '09 - Spring '10: Study for the GRE
Spring '10: Take the GRE
Fall '10: Take the first semester of Organic Chemistry at Harvard Extension (not required for the program if I majored in bio, but since it's required otherwise, admissions probably wants it; it's also important in case I apply to medical school)
Spring '11: Take the second semester of Organic Chemistry, and in February, apply to the BU program for the fall (at which point I will have worked at the Institute long enough to have fulfilled my hiring conditions).

If I don't get in, then I need to apply to all of the other programs I have on my list, and finish my med school requirements:
Fall '11: First semester of Physics
Spring '12: Second semester of Physics
Fall '12: Apply to the rest of the programs

Yay, plan. I bought a bunch of GRE materials off of amazon, so in a week or two, I'm going to plan out a study calendar, and then schedule the test. Yay.