So anyone who has talked to me in the past month knows about what is coming up in my graduate school career. My oral prelim is officially scheduled for February 28th at 1pm! Really this prelim thing is really daunting and has a lot of different parts.
First at the end of next week I have to take an written exam on my research and the basics of my research. This part is not that bad, I just need to study and review what I already know. This is pretty much just another CUME.
A week after that I have to submit a proposal to my committee members. Before that it has to get through my boss, which is not going to be easy. He is a stickler for perfection and his expectation are very high. But it only has to be 7 to 10 page single spaced so maybe this is part is also not that bad.
Lastly I have to make a 50 minute presentation about what I plan on doing and what I have done research-wise. During this presentation my committee members can ask me any questions about any topics I bring up. This will not be simple questions, questions will be asked that are going to force me to think back to the basics. The committee members will try to find questions that I do not know the answer to. It will probably end up taking me about 2 hours to get through this 50 minute presentation.
I have about 4 and half weeks to get through all of this, so maybe this really won't be that bad and I am just freaking myself out. I can do this! I will get my Phd! And then everyone will have to refer to me as Dr. Marisa for at least a year after I defend my thesis!
