Hi eveyone!!
I just got back from Amsterdam late Friday night, and I'm telling you, Holland is the most beautiful and surprising place I've ever been in my entire life!! If anyone has questions on where to go for vacation this summer, ask me about Amsterdam!! I"m so missing it right now.. So I must distract myself , not with school, but with blabbing... Oh yes, I love to talk (can't you tell?)!!
Lots of love,
Bien, an american girl unfortunately!!
I will read through the other questions, but it seems my awesome awesome did a great job while I was gone. I did get an intersting private msg from a UCLA undergrad re: advice for undergrads so decided to post my response here, esp. in light of the cyncisim we've been seeing. just to show that people can be competititve with just themselves and if you odn't kno somebody, don't assume (Yogi bear!).
Take care,
Bien
wrote on 04-27-2003 04:05 AM:
Hi UCSFgirl,
I will be a freshman @ UCLA in the fall of 2003 and would like to hear your experiences @ UCLA. What were your favorite classes, professors, volunteer works and ECs? Any advice for an incoming freshman? I would be more than glad to hear about your accomplishments @ UCLA. Thanks!
Hi sweetie,
I'm so glad tha you have the iniative to ask so early!! First, can I ask you if I can post this on the regular thread? I've had several people ask me this same question so I'm going to try to write a response general to large university while adding some UCLA specifics. I will block out your user name for privacy.
I was a micro, immunology, and molecular genetics major, and I was so in love with most of my teachers. It's a personal thing, but I think it helped a lot becaue for me, when I was sitting in a class that "a friend of mine" was teaching, it motivated me to do much better tha I would've otherwise. A state of mind, perhaps? So when a class started out I would try to get to know my professors inside and out of class. Going to a school with so many people was intimadating for me at first, so getting to know my professors and sitting in the front helped me a lot (when you sit in the front, you don't realize there's hundreds of people behind you). I'm so friends with many of my professors back at UCLA, and that made it harder for me to leave. More specifically, I loved Dr. Bates (biochem 153A), Dr. Buchanan (the physics 6 series), Dr. Zack (immunology), Dr. Lusis (CM156-hu molec genetics), Dr. Luceigh (chem 14 series), Dr. Clark (a husband and wife pair who both teach biochem. I had the Mrs. and loved her teaching style and personality). There were many more, but those are the ones that stick in my mind.
What helped me a lot was setting my own goals and trying to see if I could reach than independent of everyone else. UCLA is an awfully competititve place, and I hated that, and it made me very sad. I didn't have too many pre-med friends b/c you never kno who was using you or this and that. I think that's normal in a lot of social situations, but being a UCLA premed made it a little more likely. I've acutally had two friends admit to me that they started being friends with me becaus e"I seemed to kno what I was talking about." Go figure. Anyhow, that was the past. If you read an earlier posting on this thread, I also talk about why I picked UCSF over UCLA--personally of course becuase they're both fine institutions. This reaosn was because I rezlied that many UCLA premeds go to UCLA, and I wanted to start out in a fresh, non-competitive enviroment. From my good friends and boyfreind in the program, I learned also learned that their grading system perpetuates undergraduate habits.
Asking questions helps too. Well for me. In such a large class, it's hard (and unfair to others... I hated people who would waste everyone's time with their questions.. and then the professor whould finish late and be grouchy and everone would be grouchy) to ask questions during class. I saved azll of mine for after class, before, during class discussion (small group with a TA). I went to many office hours. Some people are ultra brilliant and can read the professors mind and don't need it, but I needed it, I think, and I really liked being around professors. and TA's. It's a funny thing becuase as a medical student, I was noting to my freinds a few weeks ago, I haven't been as obsessed with my teaching superiors. I honestly think it's because my classmates are so brilliant that I haven't needed that extra help and stimulation becuase I get it from them. And there's no "competitive" barrrier separating us. Finally!!
Activities wise, I fondly remember doing a lot of work wiht the ODC (Ocean Discovery Center). It's a small, ocean education center that UCLA used to own in Santa Monica. I got a letter a few months ago saying the city was taking it over, but I'm sure people from UCLA can still volunteer there. I enjoyed that [place because I'm passionate about the oceans, and with it's size and philsophy, it was possible to make a influenece there, esp. with regards to creativity. But there's a few things I'd like for you to take note of--it's not the ODC that was great necessary (tho it was--totally)--it's the fact that it was great for me. Look at the words I used "passionate," "possible to make a difference," "room for creativity.." these are things you should ask yourself when you select activites (so many to choose from). As an admissions officier, I would tihnk it was a lot more interesting to read about work that yr very excited about and was able to make a difference with (beucase you liked it so much and becuase there was a role for you to do so) than if you worked in some huge famous guy's lab doing something routine... you see what I mean? Just don't get hung up on "how things look." Do the" how is this going to make me feel." Gosh, I'm so emotional! heheh
So as I hinted, develop your strengths and passions. No one is perfect... Well, some of my classmate seem that way, but the point is perfect people are rare or you just don't kno them well enough to kno why they're not perfect. For instance, I'm not much with music so didn't do any of that as an undergrad. I'm not good at spots either. What I could do decently was learn stuff and do lab work so I did tons of it. Helped that I really enjoyed learning (worked in 90% of classes, funny how in 95% of thoise classes, I loved the professor). Ask yourself what can I do so that someone at UCLA will stumble across my name. In a good way =)
Counseling is hard to find at UCLA. I tried to get to know my undergrad advisor really well, and I did to a point, but she left for meical reasons.. .and the new one was a good friend already, but it was her first year. She was still good, but knew vry little about premed stuff .. and I decided my junior year that I was truly premed so was freaking out a bit about wqhat to do. Talking to friends and professors helps a lot. This was started when I was applying by some classmates of mine, but I really thought the "pre-med peer group" was a great way to get interview practice. There's anothe rpre-med group at UCLA, and they still send me emails.. but it looks great! They set up talks with adissions officiers and stuff.. but you'll see.
Being pre-med isn't a curse, it's extra motivation to develop your passions and really enjoy undergrad. That's my best advice, stay young and fresh.. don't get jaded, and you'll be successful in meedical school and the rest of your life as well. Let me kno if you have sp. question and good luck!
best of luck,
bien-aimee vu
ucla alumni, 2002
