Hey everybody! Man am I glad that this week is coming to a close...I'll be taking finals at the end of May.
As for me, let's see what I have left to do for my classes:
Chemistry - a few little homework assignments, 1 exam on chapters 1 thru 9, the American Chemical Society Standardized Exam, and the Final (Chapters 1 thru 10); I have one more lab to get done with dealing with most of the lab procedures that I have used up to this point and my lab instructor isn't going to help...swell 🙄
Psychology - a few more quizzes (my prof here loves to go quizzes), a 7 page term paper on a Psychology-related topic, and the Final Exam
Political Science - 2 more exams, one on Congress, the Presidency, and the Judicial system, one on California's government; there is also a final exam, but if I do well on the previous 2 then I can ditch the final and still have an A in the class (final counts the same as every other exam and the prof drops the lowest score)
English - 2 or 3 more essays to write, plus a portfolio of 2 revised essays instead of a final exam (but the revised essays count just as much as a final exam in a "normal" class)
That makes 2 finals that are mandatory to study for, one on a Wednesday, one on a Friday...I'd take the Political Science one on a Tuesday if I don't do well on the 2 exams before it.
Next semester's planned schedule (14 semester units total):
Biology 172 (5 units) - Cellular Basis of Life (Cell Biology for those who are wondering): Hopefully I'll get my first choice professor...she doesn't give out mid-terms or finals, just a bunch of quizzes. Plus, I hear that she's real kind to her students. If not her, then the other prof...I've heard some pretty nasty things said about him ("He treats his students like HIGH SCHOOL students!" was one quote). But from what I hear, he takes his test questions from the MCAT. Good practice, I suppose.
What's really funny about this class is...I still don't know how to use a microscope yet so I'm probably gonna be in big trouble when I start this class (I was SUPPOSED to learn how to use one in my previous bio class but I was a dork and recorded the results that lab partners produced in experiments; good trade-off 'til I got to Gen Chem I and everyone had to do their own experiments by themselves and recorded their own results...that's why I SO HATED lab up 'til now)
Chemistry 120B (5 units) - General Chemistry II: Only one professor is going to teach this course the next semester (not my current one), so I'll have no choice in the matter, but I heard that he was a cool dude, so I've got no problems...except maybe competing with other people signing up for spots in his class (yeah, that's right, only one stinkin' lecture! What a rip).
Learning to make aspirin has been an enticing aspect for all the pre-pharm people in my current Chem class. Also, since it's a continuation from Gen Chem I, I don't have to shell out 60 more bucks for another textbook - I use the same one that I use now.
Math 130 (4 units) - Short Course in Calculus: Well, I've heard some conflicting reports on the professors teaching this class...apparently, the professor that one chooses here depends on the personality that one prefers. For example, there's one prof who's upbeat and lively, but he's also very blunt and expects his students to know how to do the math after he only shows one stinkin' example. Some aggressive/assertive people like this aspect, but some people (like me) require many examples and many different numbers. It's gonna be tough for me to find a prof here that fits me.
Hmm...what can I say? I hate math, so I opted to take the "Calculus for non-math people" class. There's nothing wrong with that. Even my pre-med advisor said that med schools don't care, having worked at places like Harvard Med School before. I skipped pre-cal (which is not a requirement for this particular class, btw), plus I only need one semester of calculus for my bio degree and very very few med schools (like Duke) require an entire year of calculus. My personal top 3 don't require it at all. So no biggie.
While talkin' about classes, I feel like I'm missing out on doing research, or volunteering, or getting clinical experience. Those are all areas that I am worried about. My pre-med advisor really hasn't been much help so far there, because he seems to have focused a lot on academics and class scheduling. Well, I finally figured out that my grades from last semester suck because of bad TIME MANAGEMENT and having to adapt my study habits to fit college. I would end up scheduling a volunteer activity on a day that I should be studying for a largely important biology exam...and if you could choose between hitting the books or going out to help people, no contest for me there, I'd go out and help, even though med schools see grades before compassion 🙄
But now I've started to manage my time better and I think that I've got good study habits (I think that my Chemistry exam scores should speak for themselves)...I'm ready to get goin' on my EC's darn it! I don't like being confined to studying and acing exams and stuff. It really has been starting to make me wonder why I wanted to be a doc in the first place.
It really would be nice to go out and help people as a reminder and a reinforcer so that I don't end up questioning it and dropping it like I see some of my classmates do. 5 and counting...the non-traditionals are VERY determined though so I try to hang out with them. So much more mature, kind, and also especially driven and motivated compared to people my age to went into it on a whim and started "dropping like flies" as the expression goes, because they end up underestimating the difficulty of pre-med courses and the commitment and sacrifice required to be a doctor.
I'd say about 80% of the people in my Chemistry class are pre-health...out of that 80% I'd say about 80% are pre-med, because about 80% of the people in the Student Health Professions Association are pre-med. I have a feeling that about 20% of that 80% will remain when it's time to apply...do y'all follow me here? 😛
So many pre-meds at the beginning of the long journey, and yet so few reach the middle of the road, taking the MCATs and getting ready to apply to medical school...and yet a large percentage of that few don't get into medical school...interesting prospect.
I do trust my pre-med advisor...didn't take his advice and what he said would happen is exactly what happened! 😱
After that, if you were in my position, would you still not listen to 'im? 😀
Sorry for the abnormally long post (took about 90 minutes to type it all out), people, but I'm just glad to finally be able to get SOME rest.
