Happy New Year 2009!

From winning the ALDP slot to receiving my ZP-III economist promotion, I have accomplished a lot of my objectives. However, my American University return has not been as smooth because I must retake both classes after receiving dismal grades. Starting with calculus III, this entire year has been nothing but retakes. Though it looks like 2009 will be a redo, I will still graduate in 2009, conduct two independent study research projects, vie for the GS-12 economist post and expand my career and professional opportunities through earning six statistics credits to become a statistician and attending the NABE, NBMBAA, NAACP and ASA JSM annual conferences. Regardless of circumstances, I will improve my lot this 2009.

A Problematic Idea

This is my comment regarding the New York Times' highlighting Brandon Jennings' move to Europe in its Year of Ideas 2008:

I do not think that Brandon Jennings leaping to play in Europe was a brilliant idea and should have been highlighted here in this Year in Ideas 2008. It is a shortcut and there are no shortcuts to success! This is encouraging high school students to devalue education. Many college basketball players major in business and communication to be able to properly manage their income and images. Brandon will not have this opportunity. Furthermore, there will be a difference in medical care. The United States has the premier medical institutions which are far superior to its European counterparts. Moreover, it is required that all American medical staff speak English. The European Union has three official languages: English, French and German. There is no guarantee that Brandon can effectively communicate with the medical staff when injured. This language gap can lead the premature end of his basketball career and all follow him all of the days of his life. Professionally, the NBA does not have to accept Mr. Jennings’ European tenure because its rule stipulates that he must have one year’s worth of college. Brandon could have gone to any Division I college then to the developmental league before ascending to the NBA ranks. Finally, the most damaging part of this story is that Brandon is surrounded by a bunch of spineless yes-men, including his parents, who do not enforce rules. The college rule is meant to keep players safe by cultivating their games. For every Kobe Bryant there are 20 Sebastian Telfairs who could not make the leap. For 2009 please reconsider including people who take shortcuts for a living on the New York Times list.

What's Happening Now!

Receiving an email from a black businesswoman who has read my blog and become inspired from my life, motivates me to post my first blog entry in over one month! Her remark speaks to what I want to accomplish by sharing my experiences and hoping that people learn from them. I want others to benefit from my mistakes instead of making the same ones. It is all about giving and sharing because we all have a story to tell.

Now what exactly have I been up to since November? The National Novel Writing contest better known as Nanowrimo, has consumed the majority of my time. There have been some monumental stories during this month from Barack Obama’s presidency (I reside off of 16th Street and right after the networks project him as the winner, a horde of 2000 people ran down the street from 11:30pm to 2am chanting ‘Yes We Can’ all the way to White House. One man was even running the street holding a humongous balloon display, like the one you see at the Disney World entrance!), the President-elect’s 60 Minutes interview where he focuses on fixing the college football system instead of the Pell Grant even though it does not match inflation and we have been in a recession for one year, and my grievance process with a crazy instructor which is still in process (the school says that it can take up to 30 days. I pray that it does not ruin my Christmas!), and a well-meaning but evasive professor who believes that if he gives me specific instructions that I am being academically dishonest (Yikes!). This is also ongoing but will conclude next Monday. I have sent my concerns to the proper authority and will see what happens but in the meantime, I have decided to focus on the one thing that I can control: my performance.

The entire grievance process is a blessing in disguise because it supplies me with additional combat skills to face adversity. My agency holds an academic seminar, the morning my final, and throughout it I write down all of my dreams for the remainder of this year and for 2009. With every paragraph, I reclaim my joy and zest for life. I wanted to read the Statistics for Dummies book and take the DSST principles of statistics and the UDC elementary statistics II exams to qualify for the federal government’s statistician classification. It needs 15 math credits, 6 of which must be in statistics. Well, I have 16 math credits but 0 of them are in statistics. Yet, instead of viewing this as a singular opportunity, earning these 6 credits gives me 22 credits, 2 shy of the 24 required for the mathematician position. Here is where the DSST comes in handy again because it also offered the business mathematics exam where I could earn American Council on Education (ACE) credit. UDC accepts ACE credits giving me a total of 25 mathematics credits. Now all I have to do is either retake or test out of calculus III. Personally, after all of this drama, I realize that I can accomplish anything with a little hard work and perseverance. Hey, like the Reverend Joel Osteen preaches, ‘extraordinary people have extraordinary problems’. So I must be at the top of the food chain with all of this swirling around my head like shrapnel (When I swim with the sharks I do the backstroke!)!

A sour ending to 2008 means that this is setup for the 2009 comeback which will show up in all of my actions and Christmas gifts! Instead of purchasing a wardrobe of haute couture clothes and shoes (I confess to buying two pairs of Jimmy Choo on sale, of course, because I am an economist!), I will buy the STATA student version, Official DSST Study Guide and the Official CLEP exam to improve my future. The DSST exam costs $90 apiece versus $375 at the USDA Graduate School, $650 UDC credit by examination fee, and $3534 at American University (I remember when I use to make that much working part-time back in Cleveland so to me this is still a lot of money!). That is a significant return on investment! Moreover, after microeconomics, I am shifting my focus to statistics because it is only out of 100 instead of infinity which is easier to handle; therefore, it is important to prepare for by obtaining as many statistics credits as possible and these purchases ensure that I reach all of my goals.

Getting Ready for Primetime

I have bought an extension chord to create a personal multimedia center by linking my tv, computer and radio. Having taken off election day because I am on detail in Virginia but my precinct is in Washington, DC, I want to hear the Tom Joyner Morning Show wire-to-wire right after casting my ballot bright and early 7am. Immediately upon returning to my apartment, I am logging onto www.barackobama.com to share my voting experience and encouraging people to turn out. It's essential to have a three-prong multimedia feed going because there's an abundance of lies and misinformation to combat. And what better way than to create my own news center? Hey I pay the bill then why not?

This newfound blogging fervor results from seeing my 1/10 score and realizing that I have put all of my energy into my Facebook page, thus neglecting blogging on my Barack page. No more because I have already posted two entries! Throughout this campaign I have used my education and connection to advance Barack Obama and believe that many black professionals should bore the brunt of the burden. I have the ability to use my technological savvy to push Obama into the White House and during the next 48 hours!

Looking at the Bright Side

I admit that I have felt pretty bad over receiving my lowest score to date but unlike other times, this bad mark has not deterred me from saying that I can overcome (though I must acknowledge that it stung for a minute!). I guess it is the leadership program, good credit, and working in my major. I am currently working as a statistician at another agency. Even though it is kind of boring, I have learned how to calculate moving averages which is important to statistics. Therefore, in a recession, the fact that I have two jobs when many are searching for one is enough to view myself as successful. See if I was at Cleveland State studying for my MBA and climbing the ladder then I would be concerned with my academic performance. However, as a GS-11 Economist, steady credit, and an emergency fund, I am not clamoring as much over a couple of bad grades. The financial solvency has calmed my nerves because I live in DC on the same street as the university. I am no longer taking the bus to Farragut Square then transfer to the blue line to the Pentagon metro station then transfer to another bus. All I have to board one bus and get off at DuPont Circle then walk ten minutes to my apartment which I have because of solid credit.

However, I refuse to waste any of my scholarship money on getting anything lower than a B this semester. It is amazing that after outlining the chapters and creating practice tests, my microeconomics score is better than my mathematical economics. Today that I have outlined sections 11.1 through 11.4 and solve the homework to submit this Friday after my meeting with my micro professor and slipping my comprehensive exam form under my advisor's door (Yes, I know that I can pull this around even though this professor moves the second midterm to December 1st one week before the final exam on December 8th.). Also later this evening, I will finish outlining chapter 12 and start solving problems 1 and 3 on the fourth homework assignment. I will walk into the office having read all of the material so I can ask more informed questions. In a weird kind of way, I feel that microeconomics not mathematical economics may be my saving grace which is great because I need the former to sit for the comprehensive exam. This is not over by a long shot!

The Washington Post Endorses Barack Obama for President

The Washington Post endorses Barack Obama for president. Here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Notes from the Final Presidential Debate

Barack Obama soundly defeated John McCain during tonight's third and final presidential debate. McCain came off bitter and evasive, never really directly answering any question moderator Bob Schieffer posed to him. That was extremely irritating because I wanted McCain to give an honest answer about education, trade and balancing the budget. Moreover, Barack Obama reinforced the importance of education because if I possess a high quality education, nothing is unachievable. It motivated to push harder to obtain my MA in Economics degree. I agreed with Barack on everything except charter schools because are centrally located in poor communities fostering divide and conquer strategies instead of academic competition. Charter schools are located in inner-city communities not Cicero and Hyde Park. Finally, charter schools are another form of the poverty tax because those parents who have children in these institutions still pay income taxes to the school system that they are not using. I attend my school system and my household stayed above the poverty line because my parents did neither have to pay out of pocket for education nor have to pay gas prices to drive me there.

My Brownies Did It! Cleveland Clobbered the NY Giants 35-14

I am so proud that my Brownies clobbered the Super Bowl champions 35-14 last night in Cleveland. I am so happy about this win because I reside in DC, this is a great morale booster especially after my subpar micro grade!

The Morning After

Affirmation:
The sun rises in the sky, a brilliant vision. I breathe deeply, relax, and know I can face the day. The sun sets in the sky, a glorious image. I close my eyes, know I did my best today, and prepare for the day to come.

I truly do need this especially after bombing my graduate microeconomics midterm yesterday. This magnifies the importance of acing my mathematical methods midterm next week; and, my econometrics midterm this Thursday (Speaking of which my professor has emailed me this morning; but, instead of battling it out I will simply delete the message. Why fight this early in the morning?). That all but assured me that next year I will not be attending a top-tier doctoral university (though as an alumna I could still sit in on one AU doctoral class per semester. See the power of positive thinking! Yes, I know that applying to an Ivy League is out of the question but I can still graduate with my MA in Economics degree then take courses at American in preparation for my next move.).

It's All Starting to Come Together

Until now I had not known how much walking from M Street to DuPont Circle had worn me out. My muscles are still soar even after my hour nap. At least I had solved micro homework problems 1 through 4 (Well, there are bits and pieces that need to be finished which I will do at 8pm because I need to score a check plus on this assignment. Never again will I skip another micro class and assignment!). I am only having problems with number 5 which I will email him at 9pm. He will probably answer tomorrow morning; meaning, that I will get it during lunch time (At least I have solved the majority of the assignment!).

This third assignment has been a journey of self-discovery. Friday I admitted that I did not know certain concepts and immediately started working on them by reading chapter 10. Saturday I made major headway by finishing chapter 10 and solving problem 4. Sunday I reread chapter 8, solved problems 2 and 3, and learned not to fear my Ti Voyage 200 calculator just because I forgot how to solve LaGrange multipliers. While rereading chapter 8 for a second time, I laughed at how I had to do the same thing when at Cleveland State. There was no harm in rereading all of the chapters if that meant that I totally understood everything and aced the midterm. Honestly I thought that this was what it took in order to do well because microeconomics was my hardest class!

Tonight I will reread a portion of chapter 10 and try to solve problem 5 then start reading ECON 505 because homework is due Tuesday and I want to submit it after meeting with th TA for my tutoring session. I know that there is a lot of pressure on me, however, I know that I can do all of it including econometrics. Right after tomorrow's class I will return to my office to register my name and log onto blackboard to print all of the material. Since I am in training the entire week, my days are essentially off limits. However, my nights are not so I will cram as much as I can into them. I am thankful that I do not have to commute to Virginia this week saving me in between thirty and sixty minutes valuable sleeping time. This week I can roll out of bed at 8am instead of 7am. And I will use every opportunity afforded to me to get all of my work done.

With the upcoming microeconomics midterm, I will skip ALDP training and return to the professor's office to review anything that I do not understand. I just do not want to freeze up like I constantly do during the homework assignments. I feel that with the review session, the TA session, Friday's appointment and my rereading all of the chapters, there is no reason why an A impossible. Ever since dropping microeconomics in 2006, I promise that this time will be different! Earning an A in this class (because I know that I will earn an A in mathematical methods), will give me my first 4.0 grade point average at the graduate level. This will help me during the comprehensive exam and provide a cushion for my master's thesis.

This week I will email my advisor my idea to examine the Academic Competitiveness Grant's impact on encouraging more native-born American citizens to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Education is so vital towards my success that this has to be my topic. I will fight tooth and nail to defend it next year. It is important to start now instead of waiting for my Education Department contact to deliver the end-of-the-year report because there are so many hurdles to clear such as assembling a three professor panel and getting my idea cleared. The more I contemplate my topic, the more it makes sense to buy the STATA econometrics software to run regression analysis on it. Learning another statistical software language gives me more credibility. In addition, I will put eViews on my computer. Heck, I have paid for it so why not? This gives me another language. I will shoe my advisor that I am so serious that there is no way of denying my topic!

A Day in the Life

I started my day bright and early 9am in my microeconomics teacher's office reviewing problem 4. This session helped me so much because I went about it the wrong the way. He helped me go from the profit function to setting quantity demand equal to quantity and solving the equation. During this time I admitted that expenditure minimization was my problem; and, starting my ALDP assignment was the reason behind missing September 22nd class. The stress of being founded out was released from my body because I did not feel dumb after all. All I had to do was reread the chapters to better understand the material.

Upon returning home, I began outlining chapter 10. Then I traveled to Morton's for my 12:45pm lunch. That was the plan until the fire alarm rang forcing an evacuation. After walking across the street as a precaution (the man who sold me a charity basketball ticket then mentioned that his Cleveland friend got shot was once again hawking them this year in the very same spot!). Returning across the street, I thought that Washington Square would let people back in but was wrong so I walked to the Palm praying that there was not a huge lunch line.

Thank goodness for a recession because there was hardly anyone there! I got a table for one immediately. Once seated the first things I thought were that it was neither raining nor snowing; I changed into something comfortable to be able to walk; and, I had the money to afford either steakhouse. The live House on the bailout glared across the bar's TV screen (It passed then both the House leaders and President Bush spoke. My own waiter was distracted by the vote. Hey to all of you fat cats: Eat Ramen noodles!). I ordered the chopped steak with a half order of three cheese potatoes and a regular Coke for $21.18 plus $5 tip for exemplary service!

Departing the restaurant I walked to the Farragut West 18th street entrance to hop the orange train to Ballston to withdraw Keep the Faith by Faith Evans from the Arlington Central Library. Even before Biggie Smalls, Faith had an interesting life especially how she was classmates with the three black men who made a pact to support each other and become doctors (The Pact a movie based on their lives was shown at the Cleveland Film Festival). This resonated with me when I saw my friend two weeks ago at the NBMBAA annual conference. I was happy that someone from the old neighborhood made it!

Although I did not let a measly fire alarm deter me, it along with two public transportation trips drained me of my energy. Yet I continued outlining chapter 10 which I will complete tomorrow along with solving problems 4 and 5. In addition, the microeconomics teaching assistant replied that Tuesday at 5:30pm was okay but to forward her the homework problems which I had problems. Saturday after solving my homework, I will make a list of any problems that I still have (expenditure minimization will and Lagrange multipliers will be on the list because I am hazy on these two.). It is important to make a concerted effort into solving my homework instead of allowing someone else to do the work for me.

Finally the woman from the company which the USDA Graduate School contracted for its GRE class forwarded me the name of another instructor who essential gave me the GR92-2 sections 2 and 4 letter answers; but, I wanted them worked-out because that was what the substitute math tutor promised. I communicated to him and provided a succinct example. They will give me my just desserts!

This entire day was filled with the predictable and unpredictable yet one thing remained constant: my ability to get it done regardless of circumstance.

Flustered

This is my reaction to receiving a lower quantitative score than expected (Actually it was lower than last June's score)

All of the strength that I have mustered
Only to become flustered
By a sub-par score
Yet I return for more
How bad do I want it you say?
No amount of money can sway
Me from upward mobility
No exercise in futility
See my humility
Coupled with agility
Tempered by reality
Therefore now I am flustered

How Bad Do I Want It? Update # 2

Yippee! I have scored a 26/30 on GR90-16 section 3. Multiplying this by two equals 52/60 which is 700! This is a breakthrough motivating me to push harder. Two or my four wrong answers are preventable. These correct answers would have yielded a 28/30. Multiplying this by two equals 56/60 or a 760. This is Brown University's GRE minimum score which serves as my benchmark. Monday morning I will solve the Princeton Review easy math and verbal problems (I am doing this to readjust me eyes since I am awaking at 6am in the morning). Later this afternoon, I will do the electronic math drill to gage my computer performance. Though math is my primary focus, I need to present a well-round GRE exam which includes high verbal and writing scores. That's why I am studying the verbal section.

Tomorrow I will read chapters 4 and half of 5. By Friday, September 12th , I will finish reading the Princeton Review and have scored a 760 on the quantitative section by correcting my mistake and being patient. By September 19th the online tests will be completed and I will have earned my 760 on the quantitative. My ALDP mentor, Jed, says that he has practiced every day to boost his score; and, I will do the same because I am thisclose towards clearing the quantitative hurdle.

Examining Barack Obama's Presidential Acceptance Speech on the 45th Anniversary of the March on Washington

Two days ago Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for the President of the United States. It was also the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his historical I Have a Dream. At the foot of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial he expounded why blacks should receive full franchise as their white brethren. Much had changed during the past 45 years and Obama was proof of that. Though people had a right to say that Senator Obama giving the acceptance speech on the anniversary was providential, we must put each man in proper context. First, Dr. King was never a politician which was very important since he did not have to win public affection to advance his civil rights agenda. Obama would have to be elected. Second, though both men worked in community service, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and his executive board of lieutenants drafted the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act and the 24th Constitutional Amendment banning poll taxes at all voting booths to be ratified bu the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Senator Obama's senatorial record was an as illustrious. Furthermore, it was very rare for any sitting president to ratify a constitutional amendment. These two monumental differences were indispensable in understanding the key differences between King and Obama; and, how Barack should pave his own path instead of worrying about attempting to become the second coming of Dr. King.

Opportunity Journal Entry #25: Credit By Examination

Today I travel to the UDC bookstore to write down the book titles for all classes corresponding to certain CLEP and DSST exams. The book store worker seems enthusiastic when I tell him that I do not need any assistance because I have brought my list with the appropriate section numbers (Hey, I am on a mission!). Immediately I jot down every single book title from personal finance to business mathematics to management information systems. Cumulatively, I can test out of seven CLEP and DSST exams supplying the sound foundation to build my business economics portfolio to submit to an Ivy League doctoral program. The creation of this portfolio comes from a way to differentiate myself from other candidates. Although I am an economist with an MBA and have won numerous scholarships, I need to do more. Testing out of more business and statistical courses boost my career and academic profiles. I am only six statistics credits away from becoming a statistician and these tests present a viable alternative toward accomplishing it. Finally, they are cheaper at $90 a class than UDC resident tuition.

Afterward I walk to the Math Department to retrieve the business mathematic syllabi. I ask the secretary if Dean Steadman is here. She points to her office. Initially, I cannot see the dean but then I see her in the dark. I ask her about the department's credit by exam procedure. Also, I inform her about needing the statistics credit hours to become a statistician. Then she gives it to me along with a time frame (this week and next week are horrible but any other time will be okay).

Finally I have a timetable for taking the credit by examination tests because it has been four months in the making. I want to test out of elementary statistics I and II, business mathematics II, linear algebra, differential equations, and now, discrete mathematics since it is in my graduate micro text. Dean Steadman's remark about being able to take it throughout the semester comforts me because right now I am financially stretched even though I qualify for residency (At least, I can pay out of pocket).

Elitism Gone Awry

This is my response to William Deresiewicz's Exhortation: The Disadvantages of an Elite Education found here: http://www.theamericanscholar.org/su08/elite-deresiewicz.html

The author characterizes Cleveland State as a place with a lack of nurturers in the form of advisors, tutors, etc. which unfounded because the MBA program offers finance tutoring which helps me immensely. However, comparing a public versus a private one is unfair simply because they are not going after the same student. Having earned my undergraduate degree from a private liberal arts institution, not only did I see my advisor but we have eaten dinner over her house (many resided in the college town). There is more intimacy which shows in the price tag. Public schools function to accommodate those who cannot afford private school tuition but exhibit the same fire, drive and ambition.

Receiving my MBA from Cleveland State, I currently work as a GS-11 economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a premier economic agency producing the gross domestic product. Economics is one the most popular majors. Many Ivy Leaguers would die to have my prestigious job because this number is recited by the president, Treasury secretary and Fed chairman, all fellow Ivy Leaguers. I have never felt that my instruction was either substandard or preparing me to be a clog in the machine. In addition, NASA Glenn and several Fortune 500 companies such as Keybank, National City, Progressive Insurance and Sherwin-Williams actively recruit from Cleveland State as well as its wealthier neighbor, Case. These corporations know the value of Cleveland State University graduates.

Currently, I am a master's of economics candidate enrolled at American University and have financed all of math classes at the Northern Virginia Community College, USDA Graduate School, and the University of the District of Columbia, all state-sponsored schools. Their instruction have enhanced my professional work because now I can solve higher-order math problems. This in return benefits the entire American economy, Ivy league of not.

My Yahoo Finance Response to Laura Rowley's Article

Here is my response to today's Laura Rowley's It's Time to Rethink College Debt found here:

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/moneyhappy/100520.

I attended and graduated with a BA in economics from a Midwest liberal arts college and currently am an economist at a major statistical agency in Washington, DC. The only loans that I have ever used are federally subsidized because banks pay colleges to push private loans. Upon graduation, I earned my MBA from a state university to eliminate costs. During my graduate studies I financed my math classes at the local community college because it was cheaper than the state university two blocks down the street (As you could see, I am economical!). Furthermore, after relocating to the DC metro area, I took precalculus, calculus I through III at state and community colleges. Paying for them myself instilled pride that I could take care of myself.

Though I am currently a master's of economics candidate enrolled at a private university, I have won two scholarships to reduce costs. Moreover, my employer pays for one class which further eliminating my financial burden. I would recommend any college student to look for employers offering tuition assistance. In addition, some federal agencies provided debt forgiveness of up to $60,000. If Emily works for the Smithsonian, her debt would have probably been forgiven. Her MA in Arts is not a waste and she can still make a decent living. Furthermore, please inquire at your college's career services about cooperative education programs which enable students to work in their majors while earning college credit. These programs are available regardless of major. Finally, these abundant amount of opportunities are not advertised because the banks and credit card companies would lose money.

Focusing on the Positive, Confronting the Negative

The http://www.readeexpress.com/ horoscope has been on point especially this morning with its reminder to Don’t allow yourself become upset about those things that are completely out of your control. Realize your limitations. Yes, Tropic Thunder is racist and BET has co-signed and okayed its proliferation of white men in blackface by allowing Robert Downey, Jr. to appear yesterday on 106 and Park; however, the best way to defeat racism are through intelligence and action. Look at Barack Obama and the newly appointed UDC President Allan Lee Sessoms. This is one of the schools I have attended while residing here in the capital city. He had earned a doctorate from Yale, taught at Harvard and as a senior member in the State University before heading Delaware State, another historically black college and university. Therefore, I refuse to see anything that detrimental to me and my race of people.

My 31st Birthday

I have had an eventful 31st birthday today. I ate lunch at Smith & Wollensky's and the restaurant gave me a birthday card and triple chocolate cake to commemorate the event. Though I mistakenly ordered the creamed spinach for an extra $10, the fact that I could afford it, with more money to splurge on myself. Furthermore, by my 32nd birthday I will be a GS-12 economist.

Securing this promotion is a quite achievable feat given my ALDP slot, developmental assignment and four new components. These accomplishments showcase my research ability and depth. Also, I am not above transferring out if I feel that my career is stagnating. The developmental assignment provides a great opportunity to acquire new skills and cultivate my relationships. Come March if I believe that my current employer will not review my promotional request, then I am posting out to another agency. I do not work for free! Besides, next May I will have earned my MA in Economics degree with Omicron Delta Epsilon honors from American University and will embark on my doctoral journey to a top-tier program; therefore, there is little time for pettiness. I do not know how much time I have on earth, and I refuse to waste any on something totally unproductive. Why go through life bitter and frustrated.

The Winning Just Keeps On Coming

The DCBMBAA president called to congratulate me on winning the $2500 graduate scholarship! Combining the $1100 CBC Spouses General Education scholarship and the $3278 agency training assistance, leaves me $36 outstanding. Winning these scholarships motivate me to apply for more aid and that people are genuinely interested in my personal growth. Furthermore, it motivates me to push on and study for the GRE. I need to score at least a 760 on the quantitative for the top-tier doctoral programs to consider me. Though that is 100 points away, taking two free practice GRE exams present wonderful opportunities to achieve this objective.