Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything. This semester kept me much busier than I originally thought it would. This semester I have also been working on polishing my application. I've been volunteering 3-9 hours a week at the hospital at the cardiac cath lab. Also, I have started doing research at the hospital. It has been going very slowly though due to my semester workload. The paperwork required is ridiculous! I've had my research proposal done for quite a while now, but time hasn't really been on my side lately.
Let's see, what else is new.... I've been exercising more lately. I have dropped about 60lbs so far, that's always a good thing. However, with it being finals week, I have definitely been slacking off.
My grades aren't that bad this semester. I was hoping that it was going to be a 4.0 semester (it would be my first one), but unfortunately i'm getting a B. If I was making grades like this my entire college career I would be happy, but I've had some very B heavy semesters so you'll have to excuse my pessimicism.
My Official A's so far:
Genetics
Scientific Communications
Introduction to Art
I should get an A in precalculus 2, given I don't completely bomb the 4th exam and the final. I'm getting at best a B in Quantitative Analysis because of the lab. The lecture was easy, but the lab was rough. They don't give you enough time and you have to rush through everything while being precise while using their shoddy measuring instruments. Oh well.
My car is still not running, so I've been carless for literally a year now. It may not seem like a big deal, but i'm the type of person that HATES being dependent and being out of control. That's just my personality.
I don't know if it's because of the classes i'm taking, but it seems like the more time i'm in college, the less time i want to spend studying. I came into college swinging but now it seems like i'm wearing down. I really believe it's my classes. They're so boring! My next semester is even more boring! I am going to TA the Histology lab just so I can be involved in something that i'm interested in.
Speaking of next semester, I have my schedule worked out.
At UTC
World Geography TT 10:50-12:05
Intro to Sociology MWF 12:00-12:50
Sociology Lab MW 1:00-1:50
BIOL 498 (Lab TA) TT TBA
At a community college:
Statistics MW 3-5
Calculus 1 MW 5-7
Total hours: 15 hours
Now onto the last topic for the day; Christmas Break
For Christmas ''break'' I will be quite busy. Not really a break for me. I will be working on my research, volunteering 6-8 hours a day 5 days a week, shadowing some doctors (MD and DO), brushing up on Histology, prestudying for Calculus 1, join the freemasons, and some other things that I cannot recall off the top of my head. I have made a list but it's at my apartment right now and I'm at the restaurant next door studying for the Quant final (well I was studying!). My Precalc 2 class doesn't until Dec 17th and my classes start back January 4th.
Well that was a long post, but it had to cover 3-4 months of my hectic life. If you've noticed, I haven't mentioned anything about social activities. Heh. You gotta do what you gotta do.
December 5, 2009
August 19, 2009
3rd Day of School
Well it's the third day of school of Fall 2009 semester. The professors have already started piling the work on me. I hope this semester isn't going to be too rough on me. I'm still waiting on my Princeton Review Hyperlearning books and the 1001 Q's by ExamKrackers. Hopefully I will have enough time between studying for my current classes, volunteering, and TA'ing to study for the MCAT. I believe that taking Quantitative Analysis and Genetics will help me as well. I've been reading on forums that I need to focus 100% on the concepts, not memorization of facts and data. So that's what i'm going to start doing from now on. Anyways, there's quite a few more people from my old high school here now. I'm no longer the only one! That may give you an idea of how much of a rural area I come from
August 7, 2009
Summer coming to a close....
The car is still being worked on, which is really making me angry. But at least I have an apartment that's pretty much right on campus. Classes start in 10 days. I cannot wait till classes start, there is NOTHING to do over here at my apartment during the summer!
Over the summer I have been trying to build my application. I TA'd for Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 labs, which is good leadership experience (in my opinion). Also, I have FINALLY been given a volunteer position at the local hospital. It's a 30 minute walk. I work in the cardiac cath lab. I enjoy it, but it can be a bit boring when there's nothing to do. Also, I have been doing content review over the past few months as well. Nothing hardcore, just casual reading in some general chemistry and such. When I get my financial aid check the 14th I will be paying for either Berkley Review bookset or The Princeton Reviewe Hyperlearning bookset as well as some ExamKrackers 1001 question workbooks.
Life is throwing me a bunch of curve balls this year, when will I get a break?
Over the summer I have been trying to build my application. I TA'd for Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 labs, which is good leadership experience (in my opinion). Also, I have FINALLY been given a volunteer position at the local hospital. It's a 30 minute walk. I work in the cardiac cath lab. I enjoy it, but it can be a bit boring when there's nothing to do. Also, I have been doing content review over the past few months as well. Nothing hardcore, just casual reading in some general chemistry and such. When I get my financial aid check the 14th I will be paying for either Berkley Review bookset or The Princeton Reviewe Hyperlearning bookset as well as some ExamKrackers 1001 question workbooks.
Life is throwing me a bunch of curve balls this year, when will I get a break?
May 25, 2009
Dead ends....
This summer has been pretty rough. I've spent over $4,000 on my repairs for my car and spent the last $300 I had on my rent. I am coming to a dead end every where I go, I cannot afford to take the MCAT this year, to buy supplements, to pay for a class I need to take, etc. My friend got into med school and I'm really excited for him. Oh and I have my schedule for next semester (not sure if I posted it already or not on my last post, but i'll put it up again anyways)
BIOL 325 001 3 UR GENETICS HOLT207 TT 800- 915
CHEM 286 001 2 U SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION EMCS240 TT 1050-1140
CHEM 341 002 4 U QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS HOLT124 MWF 100- 150
CHEM 341 500 0 U QUANT ANALYSIS LAB GRO 419 M 200- 450
Will be taking either Calculus 1 or Precalculus 2 (depending on if I can afford the class this summer or not) as well.
Nothing exciting is going on at the moment in my personal life. It's quite boring, but oh well. I took some practice MCAT tests and I am overwhelmed. Even after reviewing the Biology content I am still making low scores. I'm very worried, that is another reason why I will be taking the MCAT next year. This way I will be able to afford the supplement material, the aamc.org practice tests, the kaplan class, etc.
BIOL 325 001 3 UR GENETICS HOLT207 TT 800- 915
CHEM 286 001 2 U SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION EMCS240 TT 1050-1140
CHEM 341 002 4 U QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS HOLT124 MWF 100- 150
CHEM 341 500 0 U QUANT ANALYSIS LAB GRO 419 M 200- 450
Will be taking either Calculus 1 or Precalculus 2 (depending on if I can afford the class this summer or not) as well.
Nothing exciting is going on at the moment in my personal life. It's quite boring, but oh well. I took some practice MCAT tests and I am overwhelmed. Even after reviewing the Biology content I am still making low scores. I'm very worried, that is another reason why I will be taking the MCAT next year. This way I will be able to afford the supplement material, the aamc.org practice tests, the kaplan class, etc.
May 4, 2009
MCAT Study-o-Marathon!!!
I finished the Spring semester finally. I thought it was going to be easy, but I was wrong yet again! Maybe because I didn't put too much effort into my studies. I was living on campus for once, which was a big change for me. I will probably live on campus again during the fall semester and then move back. My car is almost done being repaired. As tradition, I will now post my grades for the spring semester:
BIOL 330 HISTOLOGY B
MUS111 INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC A
PHYS104 GENERAL PHYSICS B
PHYS184 GEN PHYS LAB:ELEC & OPTS B
As you can see I'm getting waaay too many B's. My best bet is getting a 3.6 or maybe a 3.7 since I'm only halfway done. I will have to get straight A's from here on out. It will be hard, but I believe I can do it. If I can just slaughter the MCAT, I think I will have enough motivation and confidence to get a 4.0 each semester from then on. So in the mean time, I delcare the summer of 2009 as the MCAT STUDY-O-MARATHON!!! I plan on taking the MCAT in the month of August, unless I don't feel ready enough. But I believe that I will be ready. I am making a study schedule to follow. I will be assisting the Organic Chem 1 and 2 labs during the summer. With this in mind I beleive I will review Organic Chemistry around that time. I am thinking about studying Biological sciences now (since I have more material to study with) and Physical sciences next month and during July just take a bunch of AAMC practice tests. I will elaborate more when I get the details worked out.
I applied to a caribbean medical school, It looked like I was getting in. The admissions advisor was very impressed with my application. I was going to enroll Fall of 2009. However, after doing some research on caribbean schools and talking with my advisor, I decided to wait and use it as a last resort. I thought it would be amazing becoming a doctor before I was 25 years old! Now I will wait two more years before attempting to apply anywhere. Oh well, it was a good experience. It was definitely a confidence booster. I feel better now that I'm guaranteed a spot some where. But, still a caribbean school? To be honest, I don't care, as long as I become a doctor I'll go anywhere. That's what really matters.
Oh, there was a huge rave during the finals at the library. It was great! I'm not naming any names, but I will say it was a couple of premeds that started the whole thing. We watched a video of the UNC flash rave that was last year and thought we would do one as well. I know it wasn't original, but it looked fun. Anyways, before anyone got inside the library they locked the doors so there were about 1000 students (according to the email that was sent out from the school officials). They were chanting "Let us in!" and even the school's initials. It was an amazing site. Unfortunately the police decided to intervene and maced everyone. Even though multiple schools have done it, we are the only ones that had the police act violently on. Oh well, that's life, and life isn't fair. But it was still an amazing event!
That's about all for now. Not much goes on in life anymore. Friends are coming and going, but mostly going. It is unfortunate, but like I said before, that's life.
BIOL 330 HISTOLOGY B
MUS111 INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC A
PHYS104 GENERAL PHYSICS B
PHYS184 GEN PHYS LAB:ELEC & OPTS B
As you can see I'm getting waaay too many B's. My best bet is getting a 3.6 or maybe a 3.7 since I'm only halfway done. I will have to get straight A's from here on out. It will be hard, but I believe I can do it. If I can just slaughter the MCAT, I think I will have enough motivation and confidence to get a 4.0 each semester from then on. So in the mean time, I delcare the summer of 2009 as the MCAT STUDY-O-MARATHON!!! I plan on taking the MCAT in the month of August, unless I don't feel ready enough. But I believe that I will be ready. I am making a study schedule to follow. I will be assisting the Organic Chem 1 and 2 labs during the summer. With this in mind I beleive I will review Organic Chemistry around that time. I am thinking about studying Biological sciences now (since I have more material to study with) and Physical sciences next month and during July just take a bunch of AAMC practice tests. I will elaborate more when I get the details worked out.
I applied to a caribbean medical school, It looked like I was getting in. The admissions advisor was very impressed with my application. I was going to enroll Fall of 2009. However, after doing some research on caribbean schools and talking with my advisor, I decided to wait and use it as a last resort. I thought it would be amazing becoming a doctor before I was 25 years old! Now I will wait two more years before attempting to apply anywhere. Oh well, it was a good experience. It was definitely a confidence booster. I feel better now that I'm guaranteed a spot some where. But, still a caribbean school? To be honest, I don't care, as long as I become a doctor I'll go anywhere. That's what really matters.
Oh, there was a huge rave during the finals at the library. It was great! I'm not naming any names, but I will say it was a couple of premeds that started the whole thing. We watched a video of the UNC flash rave that was last year and thought we would do one as well. I know it wasn't original, but it looked fun. Anyways, before anyone got inside the library they locked the doors so there were about 1000 students (according to the email that was sent out from the school officials). They were chanting "Let us in!" and even the school's initials. It was an amazing site. Unfortunately the police decided to intervene and maced everyone. Even though multiple schools have done it, we are the only ones that had the police act violently on. Oh well, that's life, and life isn't fair. But it was still an amazing event!
That's about all for now. Not much goes on in life anymore. Friends are coming and going, but mostly going. It is unfortunate, but like I said before, that's life.
March 9, 2009
Spring break!
Well today is officially the first day of spring break! I unofficially started mine last thursday though. I only had Music and Physics, and lets be honest, Music isn't important and extremely easy and Physics....Well I just don't learn anything in lecture. The Physics teacher is great, he's the stereotypical physics professor. Crazy hair, big glasses, very lanky, and full of energy. I joked with my friend Alex (who took his class with me in Physics 1) that he was Marlowe's long lost son.
For my first day I decided to start studying for the MCAT. I got a lot of material from www.isohunt.com such as Kaplan's Premier Program, Exam Kracker's complete prep package, and even the Kaplan's teachers Edition that is used in the class room. I read the intro and it pretty much reiterated what Rishabh told me. It tests critical thinking and the key is to have CONFIDENCE. He jokingly told me that I can just cut a check of $1800 straight to him. Which is pretty much true. It's a shame how Kaplan is ripping people off. But Rishabh is the one that made a 35, so I will listen to him. Well I've been procrastinating all day, I need to get serious and hit the books...........
.........
...
................
........
Argh! It's hard. I know I'm going to kill the MCAT, but I need to work hard to do so. I'm still working on my game plan. What I think i'm going to do is read the supplemental guides, courtesy of Kaplan and Exam Krackers, then do tons of practice tests! I'm thinking about taking the tests slow, looking at each individual question and answer it. If I am not sure, I will look in the textbook and reread the section on what I missed. Do that for each section of the test. And after a couple of months of doing that start taking the full length practice exams in the actual testing conditions. The biggest thing I'm worried about is the fundamentals of math that is required. Adding/Subtracting/Multiplying in scientific notation has me worried. But I figure a quick review in math will help with that. Well, it looks like it's time to get my hands dirty!
For my first day I decided to start studying for the MCAT. I got a lot of material from www.isohunt.com such as Kaplan's Premier Program, Exam Kracker's complete prep package, and even the Kaplan's teachers Edition that is used in the class room. I read the intro and it pretty much reiterated what Rishabh told me. It tests critical thinking and the key is to have CONFIDENCE. He jokingly told me that I can just cut a check of $1800 straight to him. Which is pretty much true. It's a shame how Kaplan is ripping people off. But Rishabh is the one that made a 35, so I will listen to him. Well I've been procrastinating all day, I need to get serious and hit the books...........
.........
...
................
........
Argh! It's hard. I know I'm going to kill the MCAT, but I need to work hard to do so. I'm still working on my game plan. What I think i'm going to do is read the supplemental guides, courtesy of Kaplan and Exam Krackers, then do tons of practice tests! I'm thinking about taking the tests slow, looking at each individual question and answer it. If I am not sure, I will look in the textbook and reread the section on what I missed. Do that for each section of the test. And after a couple of months of doing that start taking the full length practice exams in the actual testing conditions. The biggest thing I'm worried about is the fundamentals of math that is required. Adding/Subtracting/Multiplying in scientific notation has me worried. But I figure a quick review in math will help with that. Well, it looks like it's time to get my hands dirty!
March 8, 2009
Time marches on....
It's spring break again. I can't believe how much time has gone by, it seems just like yesterday I was in Biology 121 (it's actually been 2 full years). I turned 21 a few days ago. Being old pretty much sucks. On the bright side when I'm out with some buddies at a restaurant I can actually say, "Have a round on me," "Next rounds on me, guys," or something cool like that.
Oh yeah, I never put my grades up from last semester. It was a bit disappointing, but it definitely could have been much worse. Biochemistry was a beast. I only know of one person that made an A, and unfortunately, that person wasn't me. Someone said that there were 3 A's in the whole class (2 classes of 24), but I have yet to meet these other people with the alleged A. As for Genetics, I should have made an A in there. The only reason why I ended up with such a low grade is because that witch grades the homework with ridiculous expectations. Countless times I put the right answer, but because the answer wasn't from her notes, it was wrong!!! Well we win some and lose some, this is my first C in a science class and hopefully will be the last. Anyways, here they are
Biochemistry: B
Physics 1 lecture: B
Physics 1 Lab: A
Genetics: C (I'm definitely retaking this class)
Freshman Seminar: A
As for this semester (Spring of '09), I took a few classes. I was supposed to have 15 hours, but since the jackasses at Chattanooga State (community colleges....go figure) are never at their office, I wasn't able to submit a closed class form and get into the Precalculus 2 online class. With my car being broken down still for the past five FUCKING months, I couldn't drive to another campus. My schedule ended up being:
BIOL 330 HISTOLOGY MW 1200-1250
BIOL 330 HISTOLOGY LAB MW 230- 420
MUS 111 INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC TT 800- 915
PHYS 104 GENERAL PHYSICS 2 TT 1215- 130
PHYS 184 GEN PHYS LAB 2:ELEC & OPTS W 100- 250
Histology class is extremely interesting. I recommend anyone to take this class. The professor of this class happens to know a lot of people at UT Memphis medical school (the school I want to get in), so hopefully I can impress the professor and have a good word put in for me. The way she grades is sick. Even with my excellent answers she takes off points for the most monotonous BS ever.
With the academics aside, things are going alright in my personal life. I live on campus so I have a lot more free time and I'm getting to know a lot of people. Unfortunately I recently found out that the girl I've liked since forever is a smoker. Not only that she has a tattoo. If that's not enough, she's getting ANOTHER! Why do girls insist on marking up their bodies, especially when they are so perfect the way they are? Even today, I was messaging this one girl that I *was* interested in. She was all like, "omg guess what!" and of course I was like, "lol What?" The response was, "i got a tat thursday!" I didn't even respond. I just closed my phone and left it at that. She was so cute too. I know, I know, you're probably thinking that i'm such a jerk by judging girls like that. I'm not judging, I'm just not remotely interested in girls that have "tats" or smoke! I mean think about it, when you hear of the word tattoos and smoking, what comes to mind? For some reason, cute little hearts and angels don't come into mind. I think of big bikers in bars, hairy fat bikers with lots of leather (okay, leather can be sexy, but not in this case). Plus it's just weird to me being able to say, "My girlfriend has a tattoo and she smokes" Everyone around would probably chime in, "Wutta guy!" If you're into that stuff then whatever, I'm just elaborating on my view of the situation. I'm going to be a doctor, I would like someone that is as conservative and high class as I am. The girl must not be more masculine than me.
Tomorrow I'm going to the old McDonalds spot and start tearin up this MCAT prep material so I can kill it and get into Johns Hopkins....Right? Okay fine; So I can get into UTM Med School....
Oh yeah, I never put my grades up from last semester. It was a bit disappointing, but it definitely could have been much worse. Biochemistry was a beast. I only know of one person that made an A, and unfortunately, that person wasn't me. Someone said that there were 3 A's in the whole class (2 classes of 24), but I have yet to meet these other people with the alleged A. As for Genetics, I should have made an A in there. The only reason why I ended up with such a low grade is because that witch grades the homework with ridiculous expectations. Countless times I put the right answer, but because the answer wasn't from her notes, it was wrong!!! Well we win some and lose some, this is my first C in a science class and hopefully will be the last. Anyways, here they are
Biochemistry: B
Physics 1 lecture: B
Physics 1 Lab: A
Genetics: C (I'm definitely retaking this class)
Freshman Seminar: A
As for this semester (Spring of '09), I took a few classes. I was supposed to have 15 hours, but since the jackasses at Chattanooga State (community colleges....go figure) are never at their office, I wasn't able to submit a closed class form and get into the Precalculus 2 online class. With my car being broken down still for the past five FUCKING months, I couldn't drive to another campus. My schedule ended up being:
BIOL 330 HISTOLOGY MW 1200-1250
BIOL 330 HISTOLOGY LAB MW 230- 420
MUS 111 INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC TT 800- 915
PHYS 104 GENERAL PHYSICS 2 TT 1215- 130
PHYS 184 GEN PHYS LAB 2:ELEC & OPTS W 100- 250
Histology class is extremely interesting. I recommend anyone to take this class. The professor of this class happens to know a lot of people at UT Memphis medical school (the school I want to get in), so hopefully I can impress the professor and have a good word put in for me. The way she grades is sick. Even with my excellent answers she takes off points for the most monotonous BS ever.
With the academics aside, things are going alright in my personal life. I live on campus so I have a lot more free time and I'm getting to know a lot of people. Unfortunately I recently found out that the girl I've liked since forever is a smoker. Not only that she has a tattoo. If that's not enough, she's getting ANOTHER! Why do girls insist on marking up their bodies, especially when they are so perfect the way they are? Even today, I was messaging this one girl that I *was* interested in. She was all like, "omg guess what!" and of course I was like, "lol What?" The response was, "i got a tat thursday!" I didn't even respond. I just closed my phone and left it at that. She was so cute too. I know, I know, you're probably thinking that i'm such a jerk by judging girls like that. I'm not judging, I'm just not remotely interested in girls that have "tats" or smoke! I mean think about it, when you hear of the word tattoos and smoking, what comes to mind? For some reason, cute little hearts and angels don't come into mind. I think of big bikers in bars, hairy fat bikers with lots of leather (okay, leather can be sexy, but not in this case). Plus it's just weird to me being able to say, "My girlfriend has a tattoo and she smokes" Everyone around would probably chime in, "Wutta guy!" If you're into that stuff then whatever, I'm just elaborating on my view of the situation. I'm going to be a doctor, I would like someone that is as conservative and high class as I am. The girl must not be more masculine than me.
Tomorrow I'm going to the old McDonalds spot and start tearin up this MCAT prep material so I can kill it and get into Johns Hopkins....Right? Okay fine; So I can get into UTM Med School....
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