This is going to be... "fun"

The closer to a deadline the more productive I get. It's even more interesting when I'm in a panic (sort'a).

I got a form last week to confirm choices for what subjects I will be taking for my entrance exam. I initially thought I was going to be taking 3 subjects, Math A (integrals, differentiation, vector calc and basic differential equations), Math B (Laplace Transforms, Fourier Transforms, differential equations) and Control Theory (I hated that course when I was in UBC).

After reading the form I got, I am supposed to be taking 4 courses for examination... I'll be throwing ElectroMagnetism into the mix, I was surprised since I got the gist from the old exams that I would only need 3 courses. The best part is that I left all my electromagnetism notes in Canada, plus my text book. I'll be having that Fedex'd to Japan and working off some of the library resources.

There is a possibility that I might have to take an english test too. What the hell? I asked the main office last month if it was necessary and they said that it wasn't. I asked the Mechanical Engineering (that's the official department I am under) office to see if I needed the English test and they said yes. I will not be amused if I need to take the English test because it is not trivial. It means that I need to translate some tough looking prose from English to Japanese. This I am not prepared for and nor will 3 days worth of study have me prepared for that test if/when it occurs. This detail will have to be straightened out tomorrow.

Finally I will have an interview with my professor and several other people from the department. I can already guess what they're going to ask me: "Why did you choose this University?" "Why do you want to study MEMs technology?" "What kind of skills do you have?" "What do you like?" etc etc.

Personally, I like interviews because the topics you can cover are open and the important part is that you can admit that you don't know something without looing like a fool (interesting thought, no?). In a test, you get docked marks if you don't know; in real life you can propose a hypothesis, lay out your assumptions do some research and make a plan to go from there. I will be looking forward to the interview because it'll be something refreshing to do after sitting through 4 tests over 2 days.

As of today, I have 18 days left to study for 4 courses. Wish me luck!