The official numbers are in. Next year's matriculating class will be the biggest ever at over 250. The enrollment of females is down though from almost 40% to less than one-third. I thought admissions was making some progress the past couple of years, but apparently not. And there will be a definite housing crunch. However, this will only mean that next year's pool of accepted applicants will be smaller.
Do I care about these statistics? Not directly. I won't be here when the new frosh trickle in. I'll be far away, possibly attempting to settle into an apartment with roommates I haven't even met yet. There's a housing crunch for grad students too, and unfortunately, the choicest real estate goes to couples. (No, I don't understand the rationale behind this, but it is not sufficient reason for me to give up my single status.)
These sorts of housing problems, however, do not compare with the ambivalence that I feel about the next phase in my life. It's not that I'm afraid of spending long grueling hours in a lab (done it before, wasn't so bad), but the absence of classes. This particular pressure would be gone; I'm not sure how I'll end up taking it.
A link: I Am Frequently Asked Questions. I'm glad I stumbled on this. The author of this nifty blog is participating in something called "The Game" which actually sounds a lot like Tech's modern Ditch Day. I'd say the people behind "The Game" has more of a buffer. It's stretched out over days. Techers don't have days. We only have hours (workday hours, but hours nonetheless). And even though Techers aren't dumb, we can't have clues as obscure as their game due to our time limit.
