What this really highlighted for me, more than anything -- aside from the fact that the Disciplinary Review waiting room is an utter nightmare while in spellshock -- is that I am nowhere near as good as I thought I was.
I've gotten this far in the alchemy program on... well... self-taught native talent, just like I got through high school. I figured a lot of stuff out myself and some of it you can find in the Lattice.
That's not going to cut it any more. I've got to study. And practice.