The Under M1 Club: Come on in! part 01

[mommyof3]

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From the schools I have talked to(I admit only two) they also said to major in what you like. They don't want a bunch of clones out there. I was reading some statistics and the #1 degree in med school in I think 1999(?) was philosophy! So I think you should stick with what you like because thats what makes you an individual and gives you a different view than others.

manna- I hope things are going well with your family.

2badr- You CAN do it😉

biodude- I admire you for taking 5 classes! Good Luck

 

[oldman]

Originally posted by Biodude

Has anybody had any experience in doing research? Maybe the juniors and seniors out there can shed light on this? I'm sort of planning on getting to know a professor at my school that teaches genetics and molecular biology...got his PhD at Tufts Medical School. My field of interest in the biological sciences happens to be genetics 😀

what questions do you have about research?

 

[Biodude]

Well, my questions stem mostly from confusion. You see, my undergrad isn't exactly as prestigious as some of the others out there. So, I guess my first question is does it matter if I do research at Stanford or a CSU?

Then my second question would be how did you get involved in research? Walk up to a PhD and say "Hello, I'd like to help you in your research"?

Well, my final question would be, does it matter whether you publish or not? I've found people talking about how they've had their research published or not published on these boards.

Thanks!

Oh, yeah, and mommyof3...that really makes me think about getting a double major! Darn. I wish that a person could minor in biology at my school, but for that particular major, the only option is a BS in biological science. It's going to take quite a hefty chunk of classes too 🙁

I hope that my minor in Philosophy can stand out though 😉

 

[2badr]

Thanx for the replies guys.🙂.
I will only work part-time in the fall.Maybe less than 20 hrs a week.I have taken many of my humanities already.I have 3 classes of humanities left (History I,Gov.II and American Lit.).Since Micro is my major I have to take Micro.There are pre-reqs for the other Micro. classes.These classes have to be taken in a certain order (ie I have to take Microbiology before I can take Pathogenic Microbiology)- and two(?) of them are only offered during certain semesters.So it gets to be a pain....
Anyway I don't want to rush things but I know applying one year later will not be the end of my world,just frustrating to think that two classes makes the diff betwen graduating on time and being able to apply.
Amnd skaterbabe I'm a girl....😳 😉

 

[Skaterbabe74]

Oops...sorry 2bad. I definitely know what you mean as far as wanting to get stuff done. My schedule is going to be pretty full for the next 3 years and I just keep crossing my fingers that I don't have trouble getting into any of the classes lol. Cell Bio is the prereq for most of our science classes so the pre-med advisor in the biology dept is already annoyed with me for not taking it last fall (I took a&p instead since it's a 200-level class and Cell Bio is a 300-level class). Other than summer sessions I really don't have any non-bio or non-chem classes until the fall of 2005 but some of my biology classes will be things like Injury Prevention, Health & Fitness, and Biomechanics which should all be easier than like Micro:Bacteriology, O. Chem, Biochem, and Histology (which are things I'll take before or during the MCATs).

Honestly if you have a minimal job of about 16 - 20 hours (especially one that you can study at a little) you should be fine if you want to stick to the schedule you told us about. It'll be tough, but you'll get through it. Precalc may not be that difficult (depending on your teacher obviously), and Chem and Micro shouldn't be too bad either. The tough one in that schedule will be the A&P because of all the memorizing involved...

However you decide to do things though I wish you luck! 😛

--Jessica, UCCS

 

[agent]

Yeah it depends on the teacher. My precalc teacher is a nazi.

And unfortunately im a bio major, cause I like bio and I need to have something to fall back on like teaching if this all doesnt work out. I guess I wont stand out, but oh well. I'll find something else to make me special.

 

[2badr]

I hear you guys.I sam taking Micro because it is my backup plan.If I don't get in the first time around I will apply to the Clinical Science/Oncology program at the Cancer center here.It is one year in duration and ends in July.So that is one option for me.

 

[RoseLee]

Hi Premeders!

Since we're talking about majors, I'm in a quandary regarding whether to major in Micro or Physiology. I already have a degree in Sociology and figure since I have to go back and take my post bac pre-reqs, I might as well have it count for something.

Basically, I'm asking about career options should I not get into med school. I am versed in my options with a Micro degree, but what awaits one that has a Physio degree?

Granted, I WILL 😉 get into med school, so this is just a back up plan to be "hypothetically" considered. 😀

What do you all think? Also, I'm in the same boat as far as research. I'd like to do some, but have no idea how to approach professers or outside labs. I did research the SURF programs and plan to apply to those in the summer. Any other ideas?

Roselee

 

[mommyof3]

RoseLee----I am working on my degree in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology. I was wondering what you have been doing since out of school? Are there alot of job possibilities with that kind of degree, if one has to wait an extra year to get into med school?

 

[RoseLee]

Mommyof3,

I haven't done much in the way of social work. I actually used my degree as an entry into high tech and I'm now working as a Snr Marketing Manager and I HATE it. (Thus quitting job to go back to school full-time...ahh the joys of living cheaply will soon be mine!).

I think Soc (+ the Anthro!! I loved Anthro!!) provides a firm foundation and if I didn't have to retake all my premed classes, would not even bother with a Bio degree as well (but, might as well since I have to take the classes anyway 🙂 ) I think the fact that I DIDN't major in a hard science at the outset makes me "different" and might??? help out when the adcoms take a look at my apps.

Many of my friends went on after their BA to obtain their MSW which would allow you to be a licensed social worker (which might be a GREAT interim program before applying to med school and in the lag year).

Hope that helps a little! PM me if you want to talk about the trials and tribs of Soc 🙂... I remember them well!

RoseLee

 

[agent]

Welcome RoseLee!

 

[Skaterbabe74]

Wow - We've all gotten quiet around here....classes swamping everyone?


For anyone who might be interested I got a 74 (which is a B) on my Chem II test....I know I messed up the titration/equivalence point question which was like a 20 pt question. Other than that I'll find out on Friday when we go over the test cuz classes were canceled 1/2 of yesterday and today due to the lovely blizzard we got in Colorado. So far Colorado Springs hasn't gotten hit nearly as bad as Denver although we may get more still, but we've gotten more snow with this one storm than we did the rest of the winter lol. On the one hand I love snow days because it means we don't have to risk our lives getting to and from school. On the other that means that we won't have a whole review day in A&P lab for our next test, and we won't get to cover the last chapter before our abnormal psych test.....but I get extra time to do my Calc homework cuz now it won't be due until Fri 😀

Anyway, just thought I'd say "hey" y'all; hope things are going well!

--Jessica, UCCS

 

[Biodude]

Skaterbabe74 - Nice job! Oh, yes, and if you're feelin' disappointed, that's okay, there's always more exams, right?

I didn't post for a while because 1) anything that happened between my last post and now would be too boring to tell everyone about...my last few pathetic attempts have shown this 😛
2) I was also swamped with lots and lots of work. I also got stress striking hardcore. Tomorrow I have Chemistry lab...I'm still trying to get rid of my hate for labs. On top of that, I got a whole bunch of things to do for English 101...writing up the final draft for my essay, reading a passage in the textbook, catching up on my reading logs...that last bit would take hours upon hours alone.

On top of all this...

3) I have mid-terms Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week. I have exams in ALL of my Wednesday classes on the same Wednesday next week. Sucks, doesn't it? 😀

So, anyways, I have several things to rant about today...I guess I'll start with what happened this morning when I went to visit my Chemistry professor during his office hours. I got the impression that maybe he must be irritated with me seeing as how I didn't exactly provide the correct answers to his questions, but the set-up was that I was having trouble on the homework. So I decided to visit my professor and ask him questions about it just to make sure that I understood what the homework problems were all about.

I guess I should have expected him to ask questions like that, but I didn't. What happened was, I asked him the questions, he told me to write on the chalkboard in his incredibly cramped office, and then he would ask things like, "Ok, so you have the chemical equation. Now what do you do next?"

I wouldn't know, that's why came to you, duh 🙄

I thought it was funny afterwards. I can just picture myself, standing there like a ***** with chalk in his hand, staring at the professor and hoping for an answer. Oh well, he'll hopefully change his view on me once the next exam comes along and I slam dunk it. I only had trouble on a few problems. He annouced during class that the homework this time was extremely difficult and that he would only include one problem of this difficulty on the test, to separate the A's from the B's.

That didn't make me feel so good about my B on the first test 🙂

The other thing that I have to rant about comes from something I read on nurses and doctors...interesting bit it was. Well, as you all know, nurses and physicians work together, but sometimes there are conflicts. I wonder why there is still conflict between people in the two professions.

This is probably going to start up some heated discussion, but I felt like saying it to somebody. Oh, yeah, Skaterbabe74, I think that this should promptly start up the discussions here again 😉 :

I'm not ignorant though. Some doctors are arrogant and think that they are god. This attitude stems from the fact that doctors have more training. I wonder how they manage to keep patients with such an attitude. They also have to treat nurses like slaves and underlings, not realizing the value that nurses provide for physicians. Whether they admit it or not, physicians need nurses...after all, how long does a doctor in a hospital see a patient? 5 minutes, right? How long do nurses see patients? All the time. Doctors need nurses to sort of pick up on cues that they may not see in their patients.

On the other end of the spectrum (I don't like to be politically correct here) there are also some nurses that think that they are superior to physicians because they are with the patients more. They think that this fact alone will overrule any diagnosis that a physician makes. One nurse even said, "The doctors don't keep you alive. I do." I won't name her, but that is also a very arrogant viewpoint.

I think that physicians should realize the value of nurses (and in fact, most of them do, horray!) As in, nurses deal with patients more often, and also have to pick up on the "scutwork" that a lot of physicians seem to find undesirable. There are some things that patients are just not willing to reveal to their doctors because they spend so little time with them.

I also think that nurses should realize that physicians have more training and that's why they make the final diagnosis and treatment in the end. They have more training in this area.

So, in conclusion, both professions NEED eachother, and I hope to be a fair PARTNER with nurses and doctors as a future physician.

The end.

 

[agent]

I just started spring break.. it just means more work for me..

this trig stuff we're doing now in Pre-calc is kicking my ass.

 

[manna]

It's back to the daily grind for me this week - our spring break was last week. I thought I was going to get ahead on my homework and stuff, but I just let my books gather dust most of the time and worked some extra hours (which I'll be grateful for on my paycheck, but they weren't so much fun in the accomplishing).

We have a sub in our A & P classes this week - she's actually a much better instructor than our usual prof, she's lecturing instead of just reading out of the book while we "color along" (highlight). First exam in A & P II is this coming Tuesday - it covers the heart, blood vessels, lymphatics, and immunity. Whew! Guess my nose is gonna be stuck in the books this weekend.

Hope everyone else is having a fantastic week. 🙂

 

[manna]

Originally posted by agent
I havent taken anatomy yet, but my wife took half of it, I know it can be hard, but I think i'd rather be in A&P than PreCalc

Is your wife in school too, Agent? What's she studying?

 

[agent]

Thats a totally sensitive issue. She was all honors in HS. She started college but dropped out due to poor work ethic..??

She has issues with following through on school, she never sees the end of the tunnel. This is why she has a hard time accepting that I want to do med school.

Recently she suggested that she might want to go to college again. When I brought it up the other day it started a big fight.

I'm okay with the fac that she wants to have babies and stay home and take care of them, but there are online classes and things she can do nowadays. I'm just tired of being the primary income provider.. its a lot of pressure.

 

[mommyof3]

Agent-
I can kind of relate to your wife. When you are a woman you feel very conflicting ideas of what you should be doing. You want to be at home with the kids, but you also want to do something productive out side of the home. My husband and I were in the same kind of situation for a couple of years. I don't mean to sound annoying, but the best thing you can do is leave her be. When someone questions what you do sometimes that person feels like you dont value WHAT they do. When my husband just let up I decided then to follow through with my dream. She also might be nervous as being seen as a failure if things dont work out. Well just wanted to give you a different point of view, hope things get better!🙂

 

[manna]

Originally posted by agent
Thats a totally sensitive issue. She was all honors in HS. She started college but dropped out due to poor work ethic..??

She has issues with following through on school, she never sees the end of the tunnel. This is why she has a hard time accepting that I want to do med school.

Recently she suggested that she might want to go to college again. When I brought it up the other day it started a big fight.

I'm okay with the fac that she wants to have babies and stay home and take care of them, but there are online classes and things she can do nowadays. I'm just tired of being the primary income provider.. its a lot of pressure.

Oohh... sorry to bring up a sore subject, Agent. 🙁

I don't know if your wife is like this - but I can relate to the poor work ethic thing in a sense... I'm sure there are more people than me who thought high school was a breeze and graduated with honors, then were hit with the reality/work load of college and it was nothing like we'd seen before. Of course, it could be that I came from an academically pathetic high school.

I also agree with the poster that said you have to deal with so many conflicting feelings as a mother - I suffer from terrible "mommy guilt." I want to educate myself, I want a career - but I want to be home with my children. So does this mean I'm "sacrificing" my children at the altar of my own desires? Irrational, maybe, but I have internal conflicts over that quite often.

I have to say - the online classes are GREAT! I took 12 hours of online classes (and worked full-time) with no problem during the fall - only had to leave the house once at the end of the semester to take proctored exams. I'd recommend them to anybody, although they do take a bit of self-discipline if you're used to having a prof reminding and prodding you of everything that needs to be done. They're very (in my experience) "self-directed."

Shamefully, I'm pretty discouraged with my husband lately - he's decided he's just not "college material" and would be perfectly happy doing manual labor the rest of his life (well, his dream is to actually be a luthier or a chef)... I wonder if some of you can relate to this - it's not that I don't support him whatever he decides, it's just a little discouraging for some reason... I can't quite articulate it.

Sometimes it's hard to learn to see the big picture..

 

[2badr]

Hi guys! I have been having a little trouble posting.But I guess I have been lurking a lot...😉 .
I am sorry to hear so many of you ahving a hard time.Agent I agree with the poster who wrote conflicting feelings for women.There was this show on Oprah-yes I catch Oprah sometimes-about women who wondered if they had waited too long to start a family.Many of them sadly enough were having trouble concieving their first child.They were feeling guilty about the career before the child-bearing.Then on the other end of the spectrum you have women who have had their children but feel guilty leaving them..and the decisions,the questions we women ask ourselves go on and on.But someone said best that we can have it all-but just not at the same time.Without knowing your full story agent I certainly cannot tell you what to do.But as cliched as it sounds you really have to keep the doors of communication open.Maybe it is more than just her "work ethic",you know?? It could be something bothering her that she feels she can't fully explain to you.
I think she will eventually understand how much this means to you and the benefits-hopefully-that being a doctor can bring to your lives.Hope is something everyone needs.The thing that keeps you going sometimes simply is the hope that tomorrow will be better than today.It goes like that sometimes.Just keep encouraging her in whatever her dream might be.In the end you will love each other more for it.
Sorry for the long post.Just in a strange mood today.🙁

 

[agent]

Originally posted by mommyof3
Agent-
I can kind of relate to your wife. When you are a woman you feel very conflicting ideas of what you should be doing. You want to be at home with the kids, but you also want to do something productive out side of the home. My husband and I were in the same kind of situation for a couple of years. I don't mean to sound annoying, but the best thing you can do is leave her be. When someone questions what you do sometimes that person feels like you dont value WHAT they do. When my husband just let up I decided then to follow through with my dream. She also might be nervous as being seen as a failure if things dont work out. Well just wanted to give you a different point of view, hope things get better!🙂

Thats suprisingly accurate. Thanks again 😉

 

[2badr]

Hi guys,
anyone applying for the entering class of 2005???

 

[agent]

I'm taking a hard look at PharmD right now.

 

[CJLaw]

If I don't get sidetracked, I will.

 

[FitnessModelMD]

im feelin pretty good right now, we are about 6 weeks from the end of this semester, and so far im getting an A in chem II, an A in statistics, an A in Biology , and an A in a mandatory 2-unit computer science course

I just hope that i can maintain these scores till i finish! I could use the 4.0 to help my cum.GPA (3.2) then its off to summer school, in which i have registered to take Orgo I w/ lab, and then Orgo II with lab back to back such that i will finish one YEAR worth of Orgo in about 9 weeks!!

someone remind me please...this is all worth it.. right? 🙄

 

[2badr]

Originally posted by agent
I'm taking a hard look at PharmD right now.

Why?? You think you would be happier in pharmacy?

 

[ready]

Originally posted by Biodude
Well, my questions stem mostly from confusion. You see, my undergrad isn't exactly as prestigious as some of the others out there. So, I guess my first question is does it matter if I do research at Stanford or a CSU?

Then my second question would be how did you get involved in research? Walk up to a PhD and say "Hello, I'd like to help you in your research"?

Well, my final question would be, does it matter whether you publish or not? I've found people talking about how they've had their research published or not published on these boards.

In simple terms: any research is better than no research, prestigious can be better than non prestigious, and published is better than not published.

I wouldn't worry about prestige as much as availability and interest. I go to a very small school but did my research at a top ten. It probably helped people identify my application but I wouldn't have done it this way if it had been a hassle. How far are you from the other school? Is your school fairly large (excuse my ignorance of Cali schools), if so I'm sure there is plenty for you to get involved in at your own school.

I got involved in research pretty much the way you suggested. I met somebody who worked in a lab that sounded interesting and asked if I could talk to his boss. There might be a program set up at your school for work-study through the undergrad research or premed office. If you're a URM there is a program through NIH that will set you up in the lab of a NIH funded researcher (PM me if you're interested and I'll dig up the contact info). What I'm trying to get across is that it is not hard to get into an academic lab.

Publications and presentations are great but plenty of people do fine w/o them. It depends on what you want to do and how long you stay in the lab. If you stay there 2yrs you should have some type of product to show for your work.

Hope this helps.

 

[agent]

Originally posted by 2badr
Why?? You think you would be happier in pharmacy?

It might be a better fit for my family

 

[Biodude]

Hey everybody.

I should be studying for my Chemistry and Psychology exams, but I'm not right now. Laziness and overconfidence, I guess 😀

agent - interesting read...I would be thinking of PharmD too, if I was in your situation. But, agent, please realize that Pharmacy is a completely different profession from medicine. I do not mean to bad mouth pharmacists, but from my (limited) exposure to them, they seem much more focused on drugs.

You should really think about it, because the practice is different. I must admit though, the stress level is probably much lower, as you won't have to worry about malpractice insurance...

agent, perhaps you should really check out the duties of a pharmacist, and definitely not in retail pharmacy either. I've heard nothing but bad stuff about that particular area 😎

CJ2Doc - heh, funny...I know how it feels to be sidetracked. At my school, it totally stinks that the upperclassmen (in terms of units taken) have priority over freshmen and sophomores (people like me). Well, whatever...why don't you (forcefully) try to add your classes next time if you do not get the ones that you want? That's what I'm gonna do...if anything's gonna sidetrack me, it's the stupid classes-schedules thing

As for an update on me...

here's my schedule:

Wed 3/26 - Chemistry Exam #2
- Psychology Mid-Term Exam part 1

Thur 3/27 - Political Science Exam # 2

Fri 3/28 - Psychology Mid-Term Exam part 2

I am going to hate tomorrow...it is gonna be one LONG day!

Well, I am also looking forward to Spring Break, which is Next week at my school...that's probably why all my exams are jammed into this week. I tell ya, professors

During spring break, I'll be able to go to the Martin Luther King/Charles R. Drew Medical Center and see what med students',interns', residents', and attending physicians' lives are like. The physician that invited me was Dr. Peter C. Meade, and he's a General Surgeon that also does some Trauma. This'll be my first exposure (in terms of "clinical experience") to medicine. I hope that it'll be as cool as I am thinking that it is right now 😉

Dr. Meade said to bring in a white coat. Darn, now I'm gonna have to go get my homemade lab coat that looks exactly like the real thing from my lab locker.

Well, I hope to see some more dialogue, and I'll be free once this week passes over.

 

[2badr]

This must be a trying decision for you agent.You alone know what will be best for your family.But if you are not happy,how will your family be happy? If you really think that this is an option for you then I wish you luck.
Have you looked into clinical pharmacy yet? Do a search on yahoo and you might be suprised at what you find.( I was considering pharmD at one point as well-but then I realized that it would the same amount of time 4 undergrad and 2-3 years for the pharmD..Most schools have phased out the BS in pharmacy.And I believe there are residencies?? Of course there is a lot less stress,fewer hour etc....)
Keep your options open,agent.i know it is hard to do when your heart is set on something you feel so passionate about.As much as I feel I love medicine now and would like nothing more than to become a doctor,I have tried to keep my options open.
good luck and keep us posted.I really hope it works out ok.We are rooting for you!!

 

[agent]

Thanks guys, I'll look further into it.

Regardless I need to get accepted to the 4 yr school first. I'm going there next month for an open house.

 

[agent]

bumpity bump^

I just found out that if I dont get a C in precalc I'm not moving on to my 4 yr school.

I'm probably just being paraoid as I havent gotten less than a B in 5 years, but.. it scary.

 

[CJLaw]

No worries agent, you'll get your B. And if you think you're close to a C--don't forget to haggle with your prof--a little sweet talkin has gotten me a few A's when I should have had A-'s or B+'s.

 

[agent]

Yeah I have a math wiz helping me now, so I should probably do okay.

It still bothers me. My next big test is coming in like 5 days.

 

[Sarah Kerr]

Ok guys Im having a bit of a dilemma. Most of you regulars know about my husband being at war. Well, Ive been sucked into CNN and cant quit, and my grades have suffered. Im probably going to get a C in my bio lecture. I have A's in all the rest of my courses, but they are all freshman level gen. ed. classes so were relativley easy. What should I do about this C? Should I retake the class, or just chalk it up to experience and kick butt in all the rest of my classes? I know its no excuse, but its hard to study when my husband is in combat. I think if I were asked about the C, perhaps that may be a legitamite reason to adcoms...maybe?! What do you all think??

 

[2badr]

Hi agent.i know how you feel I am going to my apply to my 4 yr university too.I have three others as backup but prefer this one in particular because it's reputation for assisting the pre-meds.try to not to worry prematurely.You will probably do just fine!
Sarah,can you talk to your professor? I don't think one C would be that big of a deal.IF however all of your grades are suffering every semester,that's totally different.It's your freshman year,your husband is fighting a war,you are taking care of a child and going to school.I can't see how they would not understand the stresses you are going through.
You may want to pull away from CNN for a while.(I know this will be hard because you are so personally involved with the war.)Even if it is just for a few minutes.Tell yourself you are only going to watch CNN x amount of time.Really you don't need to keep hearing the same thing over and over again.Do you have any family or friends you can visit for lunch or dinner? Just rty to pull away from the news for awhile.Man I know this is not easy but you are a lot stronger than you realize!
All said you might just need a break.You can only do so much and handle so much at a time.Take care.Pm me if you would like.I will sincerely be praying for you.
electronic under M1 hug{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hug}}}}}}}}}}} to you!!!!

 

[Biodude]

Hey people.

It's finally Friday, I have finally finished my last class, and I have received my second chemistry exam back. It's nice to be finally done and have a week of R & R not to mention a day of clinical exposure to look forward to. I've got my lab coat ready to go 😉

With that said, my exams this week were all exhausting, especially my Wednesday schedule...by the time I went in to take my Psychology 101 exam that day I was tired and basically BS'ed it, so I don't think that I did too well.

As for my chemistry exam score...it's an 86%, which is an A on my professor's scale. 😀

Thank goodness for that scale. I'd be getting a B right now if it wasn't for that scale 😛

So if I average in my first exam score, my grade right now (not including homework and lab work) is an A - nice, considering how I've done in my science classes up to now.

Agent - glad to see you goin' back on track with a math whiz for a tutor.

Sarah - I've been in your situation before, last semester. You're right about the two choices, and with the situation that you are in, I believe that you can explain to med schools why you got a C (husband fighting in Iraq war, freshmen year, etc.) just like 2badr said. After all, in my first semester, I was still adjusting to college. Now that I have, well, most of my grades are good if not great.

I figure that if I kick butt on my later science classes, that should off-set the C I received in Evolution and Biodiversity...besides, it's evolution and biodiversity...would med schools really place as much emphasis on this class as they would on say, Genetics? It's a rhetorical question, but feel free to answer, if you'd all like. 😀

 

[agent]

Sarah, stay on course. Talk to your prof to make sure there isnt any opportunity for extra credit.

In the end (jr, senior year) if your gpa is still lagging you can retake then

 

[Valinor]

Bio dude i envy youre chem teacher's scale 😉
Any of you guys coming to the premed conference at UCI in april?

 

[kaos]

So hard to keep myself on track...might get C's in inorganic and histo this semester...senioritis kicking in full gear!! 😱

 

[Valinor]

LOL i know what u mean, im having a hard time staying focused myself..just 2 more months till freshman year is over...

 

[Biodude]

Originally posted by Valinor
Bio dude i envy youre chem teacher's scale 😉
Any of you guys coming to the premed conference at UCI in april?

I remember going to the one held during October or November of last semester I believe it was. Valinor, did you go to that one? If so, perhaps we may have run into eachother and perhaps we may not have. If you can go to UCI, then you live in southern California, right? I've been waitin' to meet some SDN people in real life 🙂

I'm probably not gonna go to the one in April, though, seeing as how I've gained what I needed from the last one, so sorry.

What I needs is volunteering and other EC's.

Yes, yes, I love my chem professor's scale...and I am very shocked and surprised at the amount of people in my class that get F's (let's put it this way...the beakdown of test 2 grades went like this: 18 A's, 19 B's, 20 C's, 10 D's, and 20 F's and test 1's breakdown was even worse). For crying out loud, a 55% is a C on my professor's scale! 😕

As for me, I am glad that it is Spring Break, because I have no drive to work on any academic stuff right now. I want to go out and rent some good movies to watch, maybe go out to the gym to exercise and get some much needed sleep.

I'll be catchin' y'all later.

 

[Valinor]

naw i didn't go to the one in october/november, and yes I do live in So cal. You alreday in spring break 😱 I have 3 more weeks of school left before I get out for spring break 🙁

 

[agent]

Originally posted by Valinor
LOL i know what u mean, im having a hard time staying focused myself..just 2 more months till freshman year is over...

2 months till I get my Associates.. god im so non-traditional..

im 25.

 

[manna]

Originally posted by Biodude
What I needs is volunteering and other EC's.

🙄 I don't even want to think about EC's... who has time to volunteer when they go to school full-time by night, work by day?

Here's it's like, "volunteer or see my kids? volunteer or see my kids?"

For the moment, I've chosen my kids over volunteering - although I am considering taking a second/weekend/night job (doing clerical/paperwork stuff in a hospital). 🙁

Do you think a job counts as an EC?

Agent... there are others of us who can relate to that whole, depressing non-trad thing. I'm 26 and have been going to school at night for four years. Wanna know how many hours of credits I have? (don't laugh) - 38 (at the end of this semester). Now THAT'S depressing

I think I'm going to try to take a full load (15 hours or so) this summer... and keep my job. I'll go crazy, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

We just had our first exam in A & P II last week, luckily I came out of it with a 96 (and an upper respiratory infection, BLECH!). First lab prac is Thursday.

I've got a Q... I'm sure as with most things this varies from school to school, but just in general... anybody know how community college transfer courses go to a university? I know some universities limit it to like 64 hours... do they mean just the FIRST 64 hours you've attempted, or the 64 most relavent to stated major (at U) hours? Boy, was that clear as mud?

Sarah - have you gone and talked to your prof to see if there's anything you can do to pull your grade up? If there's ever any excuse for stress causing falling grades, I think yours is one! Good luck!

 

[Valinor]

Here in California its usually 70 semester units/credits max, and after if u go voer that, u will be given credit for taking those classes but they wont be applied towards youre B.A/B.S and you can choose which ones u keep, atleast thats what my counselor told me, I'd go and ask watever 4 year university youre considering about thier policy on transfer credit though.

 

[manna]

Originally posted by Biodude
For crying out loud, a 55% is a C on my professor's scale! 😕

Some people I will never understand. During the first half of the semester (A & P I) - one of our exams was open-book. At least 6 people that I talked to made UNDER a 60! On an OPEN BOOK test... OMG! I was so shocked.

 

[manna]

Originally posted by Valinor
naw i didn't go to the one in october/november, and yes I do live in So cal. You alreday in spring break 😱 I have 3 more weeks of school left before I get out for spring break 🙁

Wow... three weeks until spring break? When do yall get out for the summer? My finals are April 29/May 1, then summer classes start up around May 27. I think I'm going to take Comp II, American Lit, Gen Bio I and Chem I (yep, I haven't taken any sciences yet, scary!)

 

[Skaterbabe74]

Hullo all~ Well it's back to the grind for me. After a wonderful 5 nites/6 days in Vegas with my hunny (he rocked...I didn't start winning until Wednesday lol) I have to study again...boo! (Although I did study on the plane and over this past weekend) 😀

Sorry to hear so many have been having a hard time. I think it's the time of the year though...it seems everyone everywhere is having a rough couple weeks. This week I've got a paper due in chemistry (no biggie - just a 2 pg summary of a talk we had before break started), calculus homework due on Wed, an abnormal psych test on Wed, a calculus exam on Fri, and a chem quiz on Fri! Then next week I have my A&P 2nd lab test and I have no idea what it's over because of having snow days and transportation problems the last couple weeks. We were supposed to have a review this Wed but since we didn't get to cover anything last week due to the snow we won't get to spend nearly as much time reviewing as we would have. Aargh! lol.

Sarah -- I honestly don't think you'll need to retake that class, just do your best to shut the tv off for a few hours everyday (I know it's near impossible right now, but cnn will be there still when you're done studying) and try your best to concentrate the rest of the semester. So long as it's only one class that you're doing not so good in you'll be able to explain what was going on in your life at the time IF you even get questioned about it.

Biodude and Manna - I know what you both mean about the generous grading scales. My Chem II class is an honors class and on about the same scale as Biodude's class so we don't have anybody below a B right now, but our professor is always telling us stories about the kids in his Chem I class. I soooooo don't get how people can just not do anything in a class -- they must have rich parents who don't care that they are wasting money like that lol.

Agent -- don't worry! You'll do fine in your precalc class. I know the prof is a bear, but with the added help I guarantee you'll do better than a C and be able to transfer to your 4 yr school no problem. Keep it up! 🙂

Ouch on the spring break timing Valinor. Ours was last week, and I know Univ of Texas was the week before that (they try to get done with semesters way early so people don't pass out from the heat and humidity during class sessions lol).

Hey Manny - lucky you on the almost month long break between finals and summer semester. My last final isn't until May 19 and some of the goofy little one week interim classes start the very next day. I don't register until 7:20 tonite -- although I haven't figured out how yet since my computer at home has a primary hard drive failure that I can't get looked at until Thurs. (all I did was turn the power off the way you're supposed to while I went on vacation! and the stupid thing is only 3 years old and I'm still paying for it no less!). I'll probably just come into school early tomorrow and register then -- I shouldn't have any problem getting my classes since I'm technically a senior by credit lol even tho I don't graduate until 2006. The nice thing is that I will actually get a couple weeks break in between semesters. I'll have a comparative religions class starting on Jun 2, and then Biopsychology and Calculus starting the 9th and 10th. Comparative Religions only lasts for a month, and Biopsych we only have to go in for the tests, which will hopefully leave some time to find some docs to shadow and do some volunteer work 🙂

To answer your question about a job counting as an EC of course it does....especially if it's related in any way to medicine or science. Even if it's not tho it still counts as something that takes up a lot of your time. I would advise maybe looking into volunteering at a hospital in one of the patient contact areas one Sat or Sun a month for like 4 hours as a way to start building up those ECs without having to sacrifice a ton of time with the kids. You can always add more time in later if you need to

Agent I so know how you feel about non-trad status but trust me you aren't there yet lol. I'll be turning 29 next month and took way more than 2 years worth of CC credits before transferring to my current 4 yr school (w/out an assoc.) and even though I'll be going full time (and even overloading one semester) I still won't graduate until 2006 lol. We'll get there tho....maybe not the easy way, but at least we have managed to experience what life has to offer 😀

Biodude - glad to see you made it through that he&* week exam schedule and I hope you're having a blast at Drew! Can't wait to hear all about it 😀

(sorry this got so long but I don't know how much access I'll have to a puter for the next couple weeks - I knew I should have just left my puter in standby while in Vegas dangit! lol)

--Jessica, UCCS

 

[samenewme]

Originally posted by manna

I've got a Q... I'm sure as with most things this varies from school to school, but just in general... anybody know how community college transfer courses go to a university? I know some universities limit it to like 64 hours... do they mean just the FIRST 64 hours you've attempted, or the 64 most relavent to stated major (at U) hours? Boy, was that clear as mud?

It varies so wildly by university system that I strongly urge you to talk to a counselor at your college and/or an admissions rep at the university you're transferring to. Some let you transfer everything from a CC in the same system. Some evaluate every single course on a case-by-case basis, so that some courses may not transfer at all! You sure want to know that now.

So it's not just that every school is different, but the differences can really screw you up.

Good luck with the rest of the semester!