The end of a chapter

Well the end of my undergraduate experience has come to an end. The commencement ceremony was last Saturday (May 7, 2011). I finished my undergraduate B.S. Chemistry degree with a 3.52 gpa. This is the end of a long, wonderful, and challenging chapter in my life. When a chapter ends, a new one begins....

I did not get into any medical schools for the entering class of 2011. However, I was accepted into the UT Memphis TIP Program for Track II. I am hoping that this will improve my MCAT score and allow me to gain admittance into the UTHSC College of Medicine for the entering class of 2012.

I feel very confident about the MCAT this time. My senior year was full of difficult chemistry and biology classes and it has improved my ability drastically. This time when i'm studying for the MCAT, i'm not doing content review (except for physics, I have forgotten a lot of equations), I'm going to do practice passages. I will prepare more for the VR section as well. I've taken the MCAT before, I know what to expect, and Iwill be ready for it. I have not yet reserved a seat because i'm waiting for the FAP documents to be processed, but after I get my discount on the MCAT I will reserve my seat. I should be able to take it at the end of July or early August at the latest.

To catch you all up on my life, I am still volunteering at the hospital so that will make 2 years coming up this June. I'm still an entered apprentice mason, I hope to acquire my fellowcraft degree this summer and become a master mason by September. I am still working on the research project for the radiology department. And all of you ladies out there wondering, yes i'm still single.

Now you all know my plans for the summer, but you might be wondering what I plan to do after the summer since I have a year off. Well I'm still trying to decide that myself. If you have not already figured it out, I am a religious person. Therefore, I'm just going to follow the path that God has set forth for me. If I was to be hired at TVA then so be it, if not then I will continue to take classes and work towards a masters in chemical engineering. If God has something else for me planned, such as an opportunity to go to a third world country and dedicate my time and resources to help others that are in need and to spread The Word, then so be it.

Oh I forgot to post my grades for my last semester of senior year:

Physical Chemsitry II: B
Microbiology: B
Proteins and Nucleic Acids: A

Pchem 2 was rough, it was pretty much calculus based chemistry. I made an 88 in there, I lost my A because the final was an ACS standardized exam and was worth 24%. I made an 80 on the final and that lowered my grade quite a bit. I lost my A in microbiology because of the lab final. It was extremely difficult and I did not put the time into studying for it like I should have. So when you take Microbiology, focus on the culture tests, targets of test, test medium, test indicator, and the test results. I don't know how I made an A in Proteins. I worked extremely hard, but the professor kept giving me 86's on my exams. I went into the final with a borderline A/B. To be honest, I think he just gave everyone A's, but i'm not going to complain, it was the highest level course in my undergrad curriculum.

Well, I suppose I've caught you all up on the whole situation. I'll probably post back after I'm done studying for the MCAT or when I get my MCAT score back at the latest.