numb(ers)

my last math class was in 1994, a good 11 years ago. my undergrad didn't require advance aptitude in that subject. and at that point, i was kinda sick with math. modesty aside, i was good at it. but 11 years without constant exposure to arithmetic, algebra, geometry, etc. makes one rusty.

and that entrance exam for a law school certainly showed how rusty i was. the exam had 7 parts. i felt i did well in 6 of the 7 parts. there were occasional lapses in judgment (some very stupid lapses, which i am not inclined on revealing), and calculated guesses, but overall i felt good as soon as i put the pencil down some 3 minutes before the proctor told us to stop answering.

but the worst part of the experience was the math part. prior to the exam, i practiced on math tests in the gre. the results were good for someone who had not dabbled in math for 11 years. but i was slow. eventually i got myself to a point where i can almost answer 30 items in 30 minutes, with a few errors here and there. during the sunday exam, i realized i should have practiced some more.

40 items in 30 minutes. i figured i can hack 30, and probably guess the rest of the way. well, i ended up answering less than half of the 40 questions. i thought i was making good time, but when i looked up at the board, i was surprised to see that there were only 10 minutes left.

i finished the math part with over 50% of the answer sheet blank. i had to randomly put numbers on the blank spaces (it's a multiple choice, put-the-number-of-the-correct-answer type), hoping that i can blindly guess the correct answer. with 4 choices per question, i have a 25% chance of getting the correct answer on each of those 20+ items. those are not good odds. not good at all.

the math part will probably be the main factor for me not making the first cut. then again, i have a friend who skipped the math test altogether last year, and he made it to the upper half of thosed who passed the exam, which means he didn't have to be interviewed.

of course, i'm not banking on that to keep my hopes up. but i have to feel good about myself. now, two days after the exam, i still feel good. i just might make the cut.

then again, i may just be numbed by the experience. maybe it'll kick in sometime soon. then i'll definitely need a drink.