Unsure of all things

So, my life has been slightly complicated. I went to DC, and sure, I saw all of the sights, the National Mall, etc. Unlike most people who were there, I tended to look on the buildings (especially the Capitol) with a lot of disdain. The cherry blossoms and the Jefferson Memorial were the only touristy sights that inspired much confidence.

I have gotten to knock Virginia, DC, and Maryland off of my list of places to go, leading me to 29 states, a sort of city-state, and then 5 out of around 194 countries.

The big problem is that it looks like I'm going to get no funding at any of the universities to which I applied. My odds of getting a one half scholarship for tuition to DC are about 40%. Basically, that would take about 7,500 off of around 33,000 I should bank per year. Now, I think 33 K is extremely excessive. Here's why: they assess a $1000 personal fee per semester, $2700 for food per semester (who eats $2500 worth of food in 20 weeks? All you need is cereal, ramen, and some apples). I think for a year's worth of food on a budget, you can spend like $2700. So, I can cut that 33 K down by around 4700, and assuming I get the scholarship, by about like 12 K. 21 thousand dollars a year is a LOT of money.

Colorado and Boston College look to offer me nothing.

So basically, I am going to have to sit on the shelf for a year, saving money, probably getting an MBA, and studying foreign languages. I hate having to do it, but fate looks to choke me.

So, I guess I should make a preliminary list of things to do for this year:

1. RETAKE GRE. I need to get my verbal score up about 100 points.
2. Take a couple of history courses from tenure track faculty.
3. Really get people who will give me fantastic recommendations.
4. Apply to higher universities (U-Chicago, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt (?), U-Michigan, etc.) in my fields of interest.

C'est la vie, je suppose.