A.Q. – After Qual

The waiting after the exam was one of the most terrible parts. We knew the results would be out on Wednesday, but no one knew what to expect. Would they only pass star 6 again? Would they be kind and allow 10 through? How did we all do relative to each other.

I contemplated spending the day high, in bed, without doing anything except reading and playing video games. I was too anxious, though, so I gathered my willpower, showered, and dragged myself to John’s Mechanics class. We were in for a real surprise that day! Tosh brought an entire Thanksgiving feast to class with him. The other students and I couldn’t believe it. There was a whole roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, pumpkin pie, and whipped cream. It was delicious and it really took the edge off while we were chatting about qual (and not doing Mechanics, of course). Not too much people showed up, unfortunately. It was just John, Stephen, Jasper, Tosh, and I. John Russel couldn’t be located, which is very unusual for him. I speculated that he might have had a lunch date or something (could it be Maura?).

As we were eating, I could see the committee debating things across the hall and shuffling around envelopes. A couple of times I left to check my mailbox, but there was no news. The rest of the day passed slowly. I played Dungeons of Dredmore. I contemplated hiking up the ridge and smoking. I rode to Longs and back to buy lunch. Finally, sometime around two, I had a hunch that it was time and I walked in to Karen’s office. The moment had come. I was one of the first to pick up my results. Envelope in hand, I walked slowly the the lanai on the side of the building and peeled it open. Inside, I saw the sign I had been waiting for: Pass*

“Yes!” I shouted, pumping both of my fists. The long struggle was finally over. The first thing I did afterward was check with a few friends. Mike had passed, Elan too. We both hugged. Then, I called my parents out on the other balcony and told them the news. They were really happy. Finally, I ran downstairs and told Dr. Learned, who was also really happy. We toasted with a shot of gin and I ran off to see how everyone else had fared.

In the end, it turned out all but three had passed with a star. Parthib didn’t make it, but he hadn’t studied too hard. Tom and Taylor didn’t make it either. I knew Tom hadn’t been studying like crazy, but I wonder about Taylor. Did his complaints about the departments pay affect his score? Then again, he had seemed really negative leading up to the exam and made a comment about “failing qual” to me one time in the hall. Hmmm. Not sure! We also weren’t sure about Jared for a while because he refused to check his scores at first.

Overall, I met my goal and scored above a 60. Some of my friends like Sejin, Jake, and Elan did really well, scoring in the 70’s or higher. Others, like Ryan T. got 50 or below on most of the sections.

Well, it’s over. That’s all I can say. I’m so relieved. I can move on with my life again.