The Under M1 Club: Come on in! part 01

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Ouch Biodude! 😛 Sounds like you're in for a rough second half of summer.

The workload "shouldn't" be more extreme just because it's upper division, but comparing my gen psych to upper division psych classes they do expect you to actually read the material vs just learn what you need from the lectures lol. Unfortunately I think you hit upon 2 profs that don't make things easier just cuz it's shorter🙁 .

At least All's Quiet on the Western Front is a pretty easy read. If you are a reasonably fast reader you should be able to make it thru the book pretty quickly. At least it's only a 4 pg paper vs an 8 or 10 lol.

Do you think you'll enjoy the classes despite the workload?

--Jessica, UCCS
 
Originally posted by Biodude


To give you all an idea on how hard this guy grades, here is his grading system:

75 - 100%........A
60 - 75%..........B
45 - 60%..........C
30 - 45%..........D
29 and below...F
Click to expand...

That is the most interesting grading system I've ever known. He was must be very hard since an A (75-79) would normally be equal to a C in most other classes.
 
Either his class is so hard that he feels sorry for the students, or he doesn't care about the work of the students.
 
True...I glossed over the A cutoff for that class lol. The lowest I've seen in my classes so far is an 85 for an A- and that was for Gen Chem. I was planning on taking Psych of Personality myself but hadn't decided yet if I was gonna do it thru UC Berkeley or my school. If this class is a representation of the classes in Cali I'm gonna stick with my school lol. (I know it's not from a UC school but still...sheesh lol).

Biodude - Are the tests going to be multiple choice or essay/short answer?

--Jessica, UCCS
 
Got an 82 on my last Chem test before the final. Pretty happy with that considering I was way unprepared.

Had the last lab today too...glad its done with. One more lecture tomorrow, then a review session, and a final, and I have a month of free time 🙂
 
angelic02 - Well, from all outward appearances, it seems more likely that the professor fits in the former category. You see, he is a very hard grader, from what he's said, so maybe he feels sorry for giving the students C's when they deserve A's with all the effort and detail that they put into their work.

Skaterbabe74 - The difficulty isn't in the material itself 😛 It's in the workload. I mean, here's my schedule:

Psych - I'm going to get a pop quiz any time, so I HAVE to keep up to date on the readings and I MUST take good notes (it's an open book and open notes quiz). The first exam will be on the 28th of this month, and I also have to turn in a paper relating my personal experience (or what's in the newspaper, current events, other peoples' experience, etc.) with the concepts & theories that we learn about personality. That paper would be due about two days after the exam.

History - Pop quiz any time, though not as bad as Psych. The professor just wants to make sure that people have read their books. My first exam for this class will be a week from today. I also have to have a group project on a certain piece of history done by Monday. The pace in this class is definitely break-neck!

Actually, come to think of it, it's the speed of learning History that really bothers me. As for Psych, the difficulty is certainly higher, because it's much more theoretical and cerebral.

Cozmosis - Nice score dude :clap: When I'm unprepared, I usually flunk a Chem test 😀

Okay, now I better go and hit the books...I don't think that I'll have more than about 3 hours of free time this week if I want to stay abreast of the readings! 😳
 
angelic02 - Well, from all outward appearances, it seems more likely that the professor fits in the former category. You see, he is a very hard grader, from what he's said, so maybe he feels sorry for giving the students C's when they deserve A's with all the effort and detail that they put into their work.

Skaterbabe74 - The difficulty isn't in the material itself 😛 It's in the workload. I mean, here's my schedule:

Psych - I'm going to get a pop quiz any time, so I HAVE to keep up to date on the readings and I MUST take good notes (it's an open book and open notes quiz). The first exam will be on the 28th of this month, and I also have to turn in a paper relating my personal experience (or what's in the newspaper, current events, other peoples' experience, etc.) with the concepts & theories that we learn about personality. That paper would be due about two days after the exam.

History - Pop quiz any time, though not as bad as Psych. The professor just wants to make sure that people have read their books. My first exam for this class will be a week from today. I also have to have a group project on a certain piece of history done by Monday. The pace in this class is definitely break-neck!

Actually, come to think of it, it's the speed of learning History that really bothers me. As for Psych, the difficulty is certainly higher, because it's much more theoretical and cerebral.

Cozmosis - Nice score dude :clap: When I'm unprepared, I usually flunk a Chem test 😀

Okay, now I better go and hit the books...I don't think that I'll have more than about 3 hours of free time this week if I want to stay abreast of the readings! 😳
 
Oops! Sorry for the double post everyone. I didn't think that it posted the first time! 😀
 
Nice job Cozmosis! At least you're almost done😀

Biodude - Well I guess at least it's open notes/book. It must be essay/short answer format then for him to be such a hard grader. ick. If you make it thru all of this alright you'll certainly have a good method set for med school lol. As far as the papers, I'm sure they'll be a pain but it sounds like it's mostly free form with a touch of theory thrown in...probably won't take ya too long to write them.

As far as History...a group project due a week from the start of class?? He must think no summer student works lol. Hopefully your group can get together pretty quickly and divide up the work...then you will probably be able to make it thru even if your group doesn't get to meet up again other than a few minutes before class.

I think I'm very happy most of our summer classes last 8 weeks vs 5 or less lol. Hang in there🙂

--Jessica, UCCS
 
Just wanted to pop in and say hi... 🙂

I've been a little in the dumps (yes, still) and pretty scarce lately.

Hope everyone's summer term is winding down enough in time for you to get a good break in between that and the beginning of fall term!

I'm tickled silly that tomorrow is my last day of micro... my brain needs a vacation! 🙂
 
manna-congrats on finishing micro! Do you know what grade you got yet?

washkeep-don't let them talk you out of your sig! Like Skaterbabe said, you could have chosen any one of numerous examples-you just picked a famous one associated with politics. And politics is a sore spot for a lot of people-it just attracts a lot more controversy than if you'd chosen, say, a reformed talk show host or movie star or sports star (Brett Favre, anyone?). In those cases, the strength required to overcome the problem would be emphasized. Isn't it interesting to see how there's such a double standard relating to certain professions?

Biodude-Wow, you've REALLY got a lot going on! I know I'd have a hard time staying motivated if I lived in sunny SoCal, but just remember-what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. And taking an upper division class as a freshman is nothing to sneeze at!

Anyway, update on my life.....

I've decided to go ahead and stick with the Anatomy, esp after what Skaterbabe said. Funnily enough, I understood your example muscles perfectly even before I read your explanations of where they were. I guess it's just the format of the particular textbook I've got.

Spanish I can leave for later when I need a break from upper-division sciences (it'll be fairly easy for me since I had five years in middle/high school-just don't remember all the fine points. I didn't have too much trouble when we went to Cancun last year)

And the dance project, while I'd dearly love to get going on it right now, will have to be shelved for a few months. We decided to refinance our house (cut our interest rate almost in half-yay😀 ) and we need to push our appraisal up by a few thousand dollars to qualify for an even better rate. So we're embarking on redoing our bathroom and kitchen before the end of August🙄

I am at least going to talk to the director of the YMCA here in town (he's a friend of my in-laws) to see if he can't hook me up with a director in the area I want to go to that could help me. I also mentioned it to my mom and she said she knew some people, including herself, who would love to make donations to get it going. Ah, sigh, wish I could do it now.....but oh well.

Also, we have a little bit of tragedy here. Our beloved schnauzer, Fletcher, went to the vet yesterday to have a lump on his groin looked at. Turns out it's a very aggressive mast cell tumor, and Xrays revealed metastases (sp?) in his chest and abdomen. So surgery isn't an option and we have a few weeks at most left with him. He's been increasingly lethargic over the past month-we thought it was just the summer heat, but now he's starting to go downhill fast. He still likes to run around outside and doesn't seem to be in too much pain (he's on meds) so we're going to hold off on putting him to sleep until it gets worse and just spoil him rotten for the days he has left. I bought some premium canned dog food for him and we're feeding him treats left and right and taking him outside every chance we get and holding him, etc... The kids are taking it hard but having the chance to love and spoil him is helping a lot-it's giving them the chance to adjust to losing him while he's still here if you know what I mean.

It just breaks my heart b/c we got him from the shelter three years ago when he was six and he'd been abused by his prior owners. It took us over a year to get him fully comfortable and trusting us, so he's only had two good years out of nine. And then this.....

Oh well, long enough post for today! Good luck to all in classes right now😀 (it's gotta be a heck of a lot better than construction work with no a/c!)
 
Hey Manna- cheer up, it is the summertime. 😉 And micro is almost over, wonderful!

I talked to the doctors at the clinic yesterday, and they are just great people. They both actually enjoyed medical school and said if they had it to do over again, they'd still be doctors.

I've had a great experience shadowing at the downtown clinic: children's urgent care. I recommend it to everyone. I really think you almost have to do it. As soon as I started, I was so damn happy, because I couldn't wait to get in there. I like working with disadvantaged populations, and I really love working with kids. I feel very lucky to have had such a good experience. It's really reaffirmed my ambitions to be a great doctor.
 
Hey everyone, just a quick stop here on how my situation is goin' on:

washkeep - hey dude, sounds like your experience has been a blast. That's also great that you're with a group of doctors who love their jobs. I can think of more than a few who definitely wouldn't do it all over again if they had to...

It also sounds like you're having fun with the kids. Hey wait a minute, was it like a fortune teller who told you that you'll be a Pediatrician when you finish med school? 😛 I dunno, it really sounds like you're drawn to that field of medicine at the moment. I also want to work with the underserved populations myself. You certainly get to see more interesting cases that way don't you?

jenni4476 - Well, the pre-req for the class was only Psych 101. While 101 has helped a lot, I'm totally blown away by Psych majors who've taken several Psych classes. Mind you, I don't have an inferiority complex, but it feels like I gotta stay on my toes...I'm certainly studying more now than I have before. As for your doggie, I'm really sorry to hear about that. I love dogs myself, though my mom doesn't, so I'm not gonna get one until I move out. Hopefully he won't be in so much misery when he enters into the afterlife...by the way, you sure have some cool things planned. I'm just here cooped up in the school and waiting for my first training session to start at the hospital. Are you going to go get another dog?

manna - Glad to hear from ya! Hopefully you'll have a longer break between Summer and Fall than I'll get (one week between last day of summer school and beginning of Fall semester). I'll be signing up for classes next Thursday. Probably all the spots for the classes I want will be gone by then 🙁

Skaterbabe74 - yes, most of it will be essay. I mean, my exams will be 1/2 essay and 1/2 multiple choice, but he's a hard grader, so I have a feeling that my essays will suffer miserably after checking out the grading scale. Oh well, I could only do the best I can and hope for the best as well.

As for history, my group project is due next week because no other group of people wanted to do it. I actually signed up to do a project that's due in August, but I guess I might as well do the one that's due on Monday. The professor grades easier on the people who go first after all (it's a group presentation in front of the class).

Here is my current situation:

I've got 15 minutes before Psych class starts. I will probably get a pop quiz in Psych today. The lecture is BORING. Almost exactly like the stereotypical old college professor droning on and on...he seems to sound like he's reading off of his notes. As for history, it sounds like the professor for that class really knows his stuff and even tries to throw in some slang and humor when lecturing. So it's not a total bust. History should be just another lecture today.

Tonight, I plan on turning in my immunizations list to HOAG (they require proof of the immunizations before I can start training). I'm still having trouble finding a CPR class! Drat, and the time is running out...most of the places I've called either a) didn't return my calls b) has a screwed up answering machine system c) listed the wrong number or d) all their CPR classes for the summer are filled.

Well, I better be going now. Hopefully my (petty) situation will improve.
 
Jessica (Skaterbabe74)- What is UCCS?

Biodude- What is HOAG? Have you found a CPR class yet? Who have you tried- the Red Cross or the American Heart Association?

To all:

I would not suggest taking pre-calculus at college if you can avoid it. Our instructor is nice, but I find skipping breakfast for an 8 am class that lasts until 9:30 to be a hassle.
 
Hey all!

Welcome back Manna - I was starting to wonder where u were this summer...congrats on being almost done with microbio. Hope it's going well for u!

jenni - Sorry to hear about Flecther🙁 . At least you have some time to deal with it all...I so miss pets. I had both cats and dogs growing up, but I definitely can't afford to feed another mouth or apt fees for one right now. At least Flecther will be living the "good life" for his remaining time🙂 .

I'm glad you're sticking with anatomy. And yeah it totally depends on the textbook. We used Elaine Marieb's Human Anatomy and Physiology, and while the book wasn't the easiest one I've read it was extremely detailed and gave you lots of hints on how to memorize things, so if you get stuck in whatever book your school uses give that one a try. Just don't let A&P intimidate you. Yes it will be hard. Yes it will be a lot of memorization. But if you get a good book and good profs you'll be fine. It all does sink in and make sense after awhile.

Wash - Sounds like you're having a lot of fun this summer! I love working with kids. They are soo much fun 😀

Biodude - Well at least having 1/2 essay, 1/2 MC gives you a shot at doing well on at least 1/2 of it lol. I hate profs that grade essays hard tho, especially if they aren't an english prof. And as far as feeling a bit underprepared compared to some of your classmates who have taken several psych classes so far don't. So many of the psych classes are so different from each other that nothing really prepares you for them. Some have some stuff in common like Abnormal and Biopsych and Clinical Neuropsych, but most are soo different from each other. Personality would certainly fit into the latter category I'm sure.

Ah...yeah easier grading vs more time is always worth it hehehe. Group presentations aren't that bad at least tho. At least your history prof doesn't sound too boring🙂

Angelic - UCCS = Univ of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

I went the Coll Alg/Trig route vs Precalc although I did try to get thru Precalc a couple times several years ago, but that 8am thing did me in. The CC I was going to at the time had only one teacher teaching it and always that early in the morning. Well I'm not a morning person or a math person so doing math at 8am didn't work very well for me lol.

Things are fine with me. We're back into our daily late afternoon thunderstorm cycle so while the days are hot we do cool down pretty well at night. Thank goodness those 90+ all sun days are done for a little while anyway lol.

Have a good one!
--Jessica, UCCS
 
Thanks all for the good vibes for my sweetie puppy! We just took him for a short walk and he was sniffing and hopping and watering every streetlight and bush along the way-granted, he slept all day and wore out pretty quick, but he can still enjoy a few moments.

Biodude-I know some of the hospitals and nursing homes in my area offer CPR classes occasionally-they're not advertised but you may want to try that. Also the fire department here does too. I'm not sure how busy LA compares with my small town but it's a thought.......Good luck on your intense studying-being kept on your toes is good, right? Keeps ya motivated if nothing else. Also, I've found that going first in presentations is good b/c there are so many after you that no one even remembers you (or any goofs you made) at the end. What's your project on?

And yes, we will get another dog. From the shelter-I just have something against paying money for a living animal simply b/c it has a pedigree and papers when there are so many others out there who can love you just the same.

We may wait a little while, though, since our house will be pretty torn up. It's going to be a pain but I like the fact that I can now justify not cooking and eating out all the time (at least until our kitchen's back together!) **My theory on why kitchen renovations always last twice as long and cost twice as much is that the mom likes not cooking so much that she drags her heels, and the extra cost of eating out gets added into the project:laugh:

Skaterbabe-I wrote down the name of the book and I'll pick it up if our textbook turns out to be sucky. Thanks😎 You're lucky, I love thunderstorms but we haven't gotten hardly any this year.

Angelic-I must be lucky. My precalc class is scheduled from 1-2 pm but it's every day M-F. So I only have to deal with the after-lunch blues, which aren't nearly as bad as the 8 am blues. On the other hand, Anatomy is at 8 am on Tues and Thurs. That's going to blow!

washkeep-how did you get into that shadowing program? Is that something I could do or do you have to have connections? Like you, I so love to work with underprivileged kids. It gives me a great sense of hope since a lot of them haven't yet been "downtrodden" by the circumstances of their life and if they have their hope encouraged rather than crushed at that age they have a much better chance of "breaking the chains", if you know what I mean. *Sigh* I know I'm so idealistic, but I can't help it! But then I think if nobody was idealistic a lot of people wouldn't have any hope so I just keep on doing it.😀
 
Originally posted by jenni4476


Angelic-I must be lucky. My precalc class is scheduled from 1-2 pm but it's every day M-F. So I only have to deal with the after-lunch blues, which aren't nearly as bad as the 8 am blues. On the other hand, Anatomy is at 8 am on Tues and Thurs. That's going to blow!
Click to expand...

jenni-My precalc class is also MTWRF. It was the only option for precalc class down here at Baylor during summer session II. What major are you taking Anatomy for? At our school, we are not required to have that class in order to ask for a premed committee letter of recommendation.
 
Angelic-We're not required to take it either, but I'm doing it for two reasons....

1. To keep myself motivated and remind me what I'm really doing all this for-I've been fascinated with the human body since I was a kid-plus I figure I'll get a head start on the terminology if nothing else

2. For my Bio major, we're allowed to have one extra lower-division class (in addition to Gen Bio 1 and 2) count towards the degree and this was the one I found most interesting. Strangely enough, it won't count if I combine it with Physiology but it does on its own.

This also has to do with the fact I'm attending a CC with a limited class selection for this year and they don't have "Gen Bio" per se-they offer a 5 cr Animal Biology class and a 3 cr Botany class. I know some med schools have issues with classes labeled "Botany" or "Animal Biology", also, I prefer things more integrated so I'm going to take them at the university starting next summer, which puts me a year behind in the normal progression and doesn't leave me any room to take those 3 cr as an upper div class unless I want one semester all science.

Whoo-long explanation! Don't you hate how things get so complicated when you're dealing with schools?
 
I took anatomy last semester - I think the Marieb textbook is fantastic, it really has some great charts and diagrams.

I have yet to sign up for fall classes myself.. have to try and call and do that today (I'm hoping the CC will let me do it over the phone, since I'd have to take a half-day off work and drive an hour each way to go down there and go it). I think I'm going to mostly take online courses, and maybe Chem one night a week (if I can get in it).

The stupid college doesn't assign you an advisor if you're just a part-time/night student, so I'm worrying about the courses I'm taking transferring. They offer a Gen Bio I & II and then Zoo. I don't know if the Gen Bio that's online is a non-science majors course or not, debating wasting my time taking it. I'd really like to try and CLEP bio, but don't have time to prepare for it really.

I think I've finally decided on applying to a BSN program for next year (would graduate 2006). It doesn't run through the summers, so I'm going to try to take orgo and physics on my summers off (assuming I get in) - just in case. 🙂

I've actually really enjoyed micro (other than the commute) - my lab prac is tonight. I'm thinking I'll have an A, but am feeling a little uneasy about the lab prac (combined grade) since I had to miss two labs when my house was broken into.

My Comp class is what's killing me. It's a complete waste of time as none of us are learning anything - the prof is horrible. It's an online class and of the past 5 e-mails I've sent her with questions, she hasn't answered 3 of them. I'm writing a letter of complaint to the dean.

We have about a month break between summer/fall classes. Yay!

I guess I should be happy about summertime, but I'm just hot, tired and miserable! Too much on my plate. I need a vacation! :laugh:

Forgive me being bitchy, gotta vent somewhere. 🙂
 
Hi guys...

I am Jeff, from Syracuse (go orange)
40 year old PA who just had a major brain fart and decided to go to med school...work in surgery at a local hospital.

Am starting back to take prereqs at a local college...starting out as a junior.

I have 2 little beautiful kids, a boy and girl, ages 7 and 16 months. They are really a good bunch. I have the best wife, too. The most supportive lady in the world, behind me 100%.

I had originally planned to go overseas but in retrospect, my mom is not very healthy and my 90 year old grandfather lives w/ us.

So, I'll be sweating the prereqs at my tender young age with all of you young whippersnappers.

Good luck, hope to hear from you soon.

JK:
 
Originally posted by jeffk13057
I am Jeff, from Syracuse (go orange)
40 year old PA who just had a major brain fart and decided to go to med school...work in surgery at a local hospital.

Am starting back to take prereqs at a local college...starting out as a junior.

I have 2 little beautiful kids, a boy and girl, ages 7 and 16 months. They are really a good bunch. I have the best wife, too. The most supportive lady in the world, behind me 100%.
Click to expand...

Hi Jeff! Glad to see you found your way to us over here on the under M1 thread 🙂

A supportive family is SUCH an important and helpful thing, and you are definately blessed in that area it sounds like! One of the main reasons why I'm pursuing a BSN undergrad is because my husband is NOT supportive, and he and I are in fact separating... "just in case," you know. But that's enough of that. 🙂

I saw your post on the SWK thread also.. I've been kind of scarce around here lately. I have 2 kids myself, both boys - 5 yrs and 18 mos.

How long have you been a PA? I would have thought that you'd have already been required to take many of the pre-reqs for PA school, no?
 
Hey Jenni- well it's part of my paid internship this summer. If you're interested, you should call the downtown health center, because I think they'd let you do it. And if that's a big pain, I could try to find out what you'd need to do. But aren't you near Madison? If I were you, I'd stop by the free clinic or downtown clinic or whatever they have there and ask about shadowing. They are especially accommodating at teaching hospitals...

good luck!

angelic- how do you like baylor, are you from TX?
 
Well, I guess it's time I come in again:

angelic02 - HOAG is the name of the hospital with a special program called CCE (Clinical Care Extendership). Basically, it allows pre-health professions students (mainly pre-meds and pre-nursing students) to volunteer and see what it's like to work in the field of health care. I tried to get into it once but it didn't work. Now that I'm in, I'm trying hard to meet their requirements so that I can finally obtain clinical experience and see if medicine is truly for me 😛

Funny also that you should mention pre-cal. My little brother is taking a pre-cal class right now (he's still in high school and it's a college pre-cal class, btw)...it's pretty darn easy for him so far. But it figures. I have a feeling that his IQ is way higher than mine. I myself do not plan on taking pre-cal even though Calculus is required for my major (Biology). All of the Physics courses here at my school are Calculus-based except for the 101-type ones.

I'm just gonna take "A Short Course in Calculus" instead. No need to take pre-cal for that one 😀

jenni4476 - That's a good idea. I'm starting to run out of them...darn, I really do hope that I'll be finding a course in CPR soon or else I'll have to skip training over until December practically.

jeffk13057 - Hey dude, welcome to the club! Most of the people here are non-trads like yourself, though I'm one of the traditional people, at age 19. So you've been a PA all this time, huh? I wonder what it's like to be a PA instead of a doc. Also why did you decide to go through med school after being a PA? Sorry about the questions, but you've raised my interest. After all, PA school is like 2 years and then people get to go practice and earn a decent wage. Medical school is about 4 years, and then it's off to anywhere from 3 to 8 years of residency/fellowship before practicing. I myself wonder sometimes why I choose the longer route 🙄

Skaterbabe74 - Well, it looks like I'll be getting my first taste of how the prof's tests and grades are like today. My Psych professor has stated that he will have an open book/notes quiz today. Needless to say, I am not exactly anxious to get it done 😎



I've noticed something funny in my classes up to now. People are starting to drop both classes like flies. Like they can't handle them already. Wow, geez, I wonder why not? I mean, I have an overload, and most of these people are only taking one class each. As for why I myself am not dropping, it is mainly because I want to challenge myself and see if I can handle this workload. I keep thinking that this is nothing compared to what medical school will be like, and that's sort of my motivation to keep myself in (as crazy as it seems! 😀 ) Well, I'm not looking forward to the classes today, plus my group will be starting on our project after history class. I just hope that I'm not going to be too terribly tired...

It sucks to have to use a school computer whenever I want to access the internet now. I pretty much have no time to chat unless I type really really fast like I'm doing now. Oh well, I'll be back probably tomorrow or next week, depending on if I can get my grubby hands on a computer with internet access (my home one is currently down right now).
 
Manna I'm sorry you're separating. So are you doing the BSN to support your kids?

I FINALLY sent my app to Northwestern today. I'm going there next week thursday.
 
manna - sorry I didn't respond to you earlier...

Anyway, it's good to hear from you again. It also sucks that you and your husband are separating. Really sorry to hear about that.
 
Originally posted by washkeep
Hey Jenni- well it's part of my paid internship this summer. If you're interested, you should call the downtown health center, because I think they'd let you do it. And if that's a big pain, I could try to find out what you'd need to do. But aren't you near Madison? If I were you, I'd stop by the free clinic or downtown clinic or whatever they have there and ask about shadowing. They are especially accommodating at teaching hospitals...

good luck!

angelic- how do you like baylor, are you from TX?
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washkeep-Baylor's fine. Sometimes it gets boring on the weekends. I am from Texas. Are you?
 
Manna- I'm sorry too. I hope things work out for you in the end.

Biodude- So does that Calc class satisfy the Medschool prereq for Calc?

angelic- I'm from around- mostly Southeast- the good 'ole Bible Belt (TN & SC). Wash U's also got a sh**ty social scene. And a lot of the premeds SUCK. They are totally doing it for the wrong reasons- but there are some real good kids too.
 
Hey all!

Welcome jeff! I'm non trad as well although I'm still working on my first degree and didn't work in health care prior to coming back to school. I was in retail😛 . Sounds like you've got a great support system which is one of the most important things in all this. Check in and let us know how your prereqs are going often!🙂

Manna - I'm sorry things aren't working too well between you and your hubby at the moment. Don't apologize for venting here tho, that's what we're here for... A BSN sounds like a good back up plan tho.

I'm also sorry your comp class teacher is so awful. Definitely complain to the dean....the whole point of online courses is supposed to be ease of communication! lol. I used to be a writing tutor so if you have questions I'd be happy to give them a shot. Just AIM or email me at [email protected].

As far as the online bio so long as it's a Gen Bio class it'll count. The thing to double check is whether or not there's a lab attached or available in addition to the online lecture. If there is you'd be fine.

Good luck on your Micro practical! I'm sure you'll do fine on it🙂


Biodude - A lot of people who take summer classes expect them to be way easier than a regular semester class because it's so short. If they are working in addition to doing school the workload is often more than can be handled even if it is only one class. So that's probably partly why so many are dropping your current classes. Another reason some are probably dropping your psych class is simply cuz they'd rather take it with a prof who isn't such a hard grader. A lot of people dropped my biopsych class after finding out they had to fit 16-19 tests into 8 weeks lol. Good luck on your psych quiz and your group project!

Agent - Congrats on finally sending in your NW app! I'm sure it's just a formality 🙂

Angelic - I think a lot of college towns can be pretty boring if there's not much else around the university. I know Colorado Springs sucks as far as social activities whether it's a weekend or not lol, and we have 2 4-yr schools, a CC, and a bunch of technical schools! Plus our public trans sux at nite so it's really hard to get around if you don't have a car (like me).

Nothing's going on with me other than studying. My bf came over last nite to hang out for awhile since he's gonna be working insane hours the rest of the week. Nordstrom's Anniversary sale starts Fri so he'll be there from open to close Fri for sure...maybe Sat and Sun too if he's commuting with his dad (who also works in the store). I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to take out the emergency loan to pay for my calculus class or just wait til next summer since that would mean $500 less to live on during fall semester. I'd really like to get it done before taking physics tho even tho my physics is algebra-based rather than calc-based.


Have a good one all!
--Jessica, UCCS
 
skaterbabe- You are a nontrad? What did you do before coming to undergrad?

washkeep-So you are at Wash Univ in St. Louis? That is one of the places where I am applying to med school. Not much of a social scence there? So I've heard...

My 100th post since joining the Student Doctor Network.
 
Angelic - Yeah I'm nontrad. I'm 29. I took classes off and on since graduating hs in '92, but i was less than enthusiastic about regular academic classes because I was concentrating on a dance career and then figure skating career for the first 6 years after hs. Neither ended up working out -- dance because I decided I didn't want the short career I would have had (I didn't start dancing til I was 18...if I'd started as a child, other than the classes figure skaters took at the rink, I'd have had a full career cuz I was a natural technician.), and figure skating because my money ran out and I wasn't good enough yet to get a sponsership. Once my money ran out I had to quit both skating and school so I went to sell shoes at Nordstrom's for the next few years. Thought about going into management there but decided I didn't like the bureaucracy (managers make less than decent salespeople, and they tend to set you up to fail too much) so I went back to school in the fall of '01. I'd always planned on getting a degree, although in what changed a lot between jr year of hs and 5 years ago when I moved out here, but I didn't really settle down to do it until '01. I always wanted to be a doctor deep down tho - my 2 dreams growing up were to win the Olympic gold in figure skating and to be a doctor. When I was little it was a pediatrician...as I got into hs and into more sports besides skating it switched to orthopaedics, especially when I messed up my knee 2 weeks before soccer team tryouts lol. After hs I changed my major about 8 times and ended up coming back to bio/premed the year before I moved out here as I was making the decision to reapply myself to my skating training. Once I got out here, and saw how much sports med and exercise science play a role in olympic athletes I knew that's what I wanted to do. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do sports med through orthopaedic surgery or IM/FP but I definitely want to work with athletes and help them be the best athletes they can be.

Ok - that's pretty much my life story hehe.

--Jessica, UCCS
 
Manna-I'm so sorry to hear about your separation. I don't know what your reasons are but stay strong and do what's right for you. The BSN may be hard to explain to adcoms but in your situation it seems to be the best thing you can do. I hope it all sorts itself out for you and that your kids are doing OK through it!

Skaterbabe-is the Calc class online or something? Would you be able to fit it around Biopsych easily? Can you find time to come and teach me some technique somewhere in there?:laugh:

washkeep-No, actually I'm only 20 mi northwest of Milwaukee so it would work out fine. That's something I'll definitely have to check into, but I'll have to put it on my list of things to tackle later. We're thinking about moving down by UWM next year when I transfer, it may be much easier for me to pull off then. Thanks for the info!

Biodude-Now that you're accepted to the program, can you defer it if you can't find a class or do you have to drop out and apply all over again? That would really suck if you can't get in b/c of a technicality...

Jeff-Welcome! I'm also nontrad (27, married w/2 kids 7 & 9), returning after an abortive career in accounting. I got into it b/c my mom's a CPA and had me working in her office since high school and didn't really realize I hated it until tax season last year. So I quit and it took me a year to figure out what i wanted to do and to get around to doing something about it. You're in good company here😀 I also would like to hear more about your story and your decision....we're very curious here

Not much new today-went and dropped a good chunk of change at our local home improvement store, now I'm going to be working like crazy to get everything done. We've got three weeks until the appraiser comes, so I get to act like Bob Vila for now.....DH is very possessive of his toolbelt, though:laugh:

My puppy doggie is holding his own, too. He's in the kitchen right now wolfing down the food I just gave him. The vet said as long as he's still eating and running around and appearing to enjoy it and not be in too much pain we can hold off. So it may be longer than we originally thought, but then again things can just fall apart with no notice. Taking it day by day and enjoying what we have.......Pets really reinforce a lot of life's lessons, don't they?
 
jenni - Actually calc would be thru UC Berkeley Extension and an independent study course. They'd give me 12 months to finish it, but ideally I'd do it inbetween biopsych (which ends July 31) and the start of school, or at least the first few weeks of school. It consists of 10 assignments and a proctored final, and since I pretty much understand the concepts just need more practice with it all I don't forsee fitting it in being a problem. If need be I'd finish it over winter break. I always planned on doing it this way, but I also thought I'd have the money for it without taking more out of my fall aid. It uses the same book I used for it all year and I'm pretty good at the stuff in the book, just haven't been able to get it all straight when taking a test at my school. Fall semester I had a B going into the final and then bombed the final cuz it was way harder than anything we'd had on previous tests so I ended up with a D. Spring semester I took it at night and didn't make class as often as I should have, and didn't like the teaching style at all so I pretty much had a D going all the way thru and that's what I ended up with. Our school counts homework for very, very little and is overly geared toward the exam scores whereas I'm used to having the homework count for quite a bit more of the grade and can usually keep myself above the C line thanks to the homework. With UC Berkeley's course it's all homework and one exam so I think I'll be able to get through it well enough to get past it. I wouldn't be taking it at all if it wasn't required for my majors since most med school's don't require it. I think I'm going to go ahead and do it...I'm just trying to figure out if I'll be able to live without that $500 during the fall lol.

Ok - enough rambling...

--Jessica, UCCS
 
Its really nice to see all you ppl my age posting now. Welcome all the new posters! You are very welcome here.

I just turned 26 recently and have 2 small kids. I might have to work the DAMN second job again. Thats the last thing I want to do while going to school at NW.

My health has been pretty good though, so I guess I should be thankful.

Skaterbabes - That was an interesting story to read about your pursuits. Thanks for sharing 🙂
 
Originally posted by agent
Manna I'm sorry you're separating. So are you doing the BSN to support your kids?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind thoughts, yall. My husband and I mutually agreed that splitting up would be best... so I'm not too discouraged over it - it's just going to be weird being alone again after 7 years (not to mention hard taking care of 2 kids!)

Yes - I'm very, very afraid that if I went into a more traditional pre-med route (bio or whatever) that I'd have a hard time finding a decent paying job around here if heaven forbid - I applied to school and didn't get in, or had a family crisis where I had to postpone applying. It might be hard to explain if I do take that route in the future, but I'm trying to be rational for my own situation, you know.

I've been waffling between the BSN and a BS med-technology program the other local university offers. I still haven't totally decided, but I can't take any more of the MT pre-reqs at night, so I'm slugging away at the rest of the pre-BSN ones 🙂

Agent - on the NW thing - so will you be doing their new (evening?) bio thing you mentioned a while back?

Skaterbabe - Thanks for the offer. The only thing I have left in Comp thankfully is to go in to the college for my proctored final. I'm sure the online Bio has a lab, but it's a lower level than Zoo and that's what I'm worried about. I blanked out on my Micro final but ended up with a high B anyway, so I'm pleased. Our final grades won't be posted until Monday, but I feel pretty confident that I'll have an A.

Bio - sorry to hear about your PC being down, I'd be having withdrawals! :laugh:
 
Yes manna, Ill be doing their new evening bio program.

Im pretty excited, I have to go there to register and meet with a counselor this thursday.
 
Manna - Typically Gen Bio's are going to be the second lowest numbered course in a catalog. ie. Bio 101/102 or Bio 111/112, something like that. Since your school doesn't offer advising check with the 4 yr school you'll most likely be attending. Whichever counts there will count everywhere else. I'm thinking the Gen Bio is the one you need vs the zoology but I'm sure they can tell you. Maybe stop by their website before calling and see if they have info like that in with their prospective transfer info. Congrats on doing well on your final and I'm sure getting that A! Good luck on your comp final!


Now I just have to figure out how to turn that life story into an interesting, attention-getting personal statement Agent lol. But I still have another 2 years to figure that out:laugh: .

--Jessica, UCCS
 
Skatebabe - it already sounds interesting to me.. just have to add some medical related experience in there somewhere.
 
LOL. Thanks Agent 🙂 I'd never turn in an essay in exactly that format tho. Nowhere near professional enough for my tastes and therefore probably not professional enough for adcoms.

Medical experience I still have to get, other than personal visits to doctors/emergency rooms and hs volunteering in non-patient areas all of which have reinforced my desire.

Well, and I have a funny anecdote involving a time when my bf got really sick. He gets throat infections very easily. If he gets sick, his throat will invariably close up. He's also not the type to leave work or call in sick unless he's on death's door sick lol. Anyway, once he was really sick - never should have gone into work at all, but he did. And he was just getting worse and worse. (We used to work in the same dept at Nordstrom). Anyway our bosses, and I finally convinced him he needed to go home. He was getting so bad that I felt I needed to go with him to make sure he actually made it home since the store is an hour away from us. Anyway, if any of you know what it's like to be in a car when you feel very awful you'll know how he was really feeling. He was driving cuz I don't have a license (long story), and we were almost home when he got really bad. Ended up throwing up out the window but of course didn't make a clear shot. We got home, I tucked him in, gave him some ibuprofel, and a damp cloth for his head and just took care of him all day. He's one of those people who dislikes being around anyone when he's sick too so this was special. Cleaned his car even lol. That, and my most recent experience of pulling ligaments in my knee (while at work, which sucked, but the hospital they use is the same one the doctors for the Broncos work at) reinforced my desires to be a doctor.

My classes took up too much time this summer, so once I get my work schedule set for the fall I'll be looking into adding a Sat a month or so as a volunteer, and hopefully do some shadowing next summer.

Anyway, I don't really need to worry about the statement until the spring of '05 but I think a lot of that stuff will be included somehow....just more polished lol.

Back to biopsych - I'll be glad when that's over. I'm enjoying the material, but the pace isn't exactly easy lol.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!
--Jessica, UCCS
 
I don't know what to say, so I'll just

BUMP

to keep this thread visible (on the first page).
 
hi ppl
hope everyone had a great weekend 🙂
i finally found housing (which wasn't as easy as i hoped it would be) so i'm officially not homeless anymore. :clap: :clap:
also getting a soar throat, which sucks 😡 (and why does it have to happen in the middle of the summer when its 100 degress outside??? 😕 )
 
ch-where do you live? it alwasy seems like you're awake in the dead hours of the night 🙂...glad to see that you're not homeless anymore. it sucks not having anywhere to call home...i've been there, done that (not in a homeless sense but in other ways)...

summer is getting boring.....can't wait till school starts!
 
thanx LJoo
i'm moving to berkeley next month, and since i don't live there now (and never have b4) it wasn't easy to find housing...
i'm only awake now because my whole schedule is messed up 🙄 i wake up after noon and then can't fall asleep 'till very late, so get the whole vicious cycle going on 😉 :laugh:

hmm, can't wait till school starts😕 you must be REALLY bored:laugh:
when do u start school?
 
oh, got it. 🙂 well the only reason why i see you online so late is because since i'm in korea, it's either the afternoon or early evening when you're awake in the wee hours of the morn.

Starting Berkely, huh? Wow! Exciting 🙂. This is kind of a stupid question but are you going for undergrad or med? I know that it's an undergrad but don't know if it's med as well.....? Cali is great-the weather is beautiful and the beaches are a pretty nice package deal too. Where are you moving from?

I stat school on the 28th offically, but because I'm a transfer to my new school, Evangel (springfield, mo) :clap: :clap: I have to attend the student orientation which starts the 23rd. i'm not so anxious to begin that, but hopefully i'll actually learn some valuable things so that I don't feel like it's a big waste of my time.

This summer has been a big bore-I have no work, no schoolwork, no schedule, no friends, no car-and to top it off, my mom lives in the countryside-so the internet and I have gotten to be fast friends (I jumped to three hundred posts in this summer alone!). so not only am I looking forward to the regular routine of ordinary life, I'm also looking forward to attending this school i'm transferring to. 🙂

Tell me some more about yourself!
 
hey LJoo
sorry ur not enjoying korea 🙁

i'm transferring to berkeley as junior from a CC. i live in the san jose area now. UC berkeley does not have a medical school btw.
i'm starting school on aug 25th, but i'm moving in a week earlier, they have a whole bunch of "welcome week" activities.
had my orientation 2.5 weeks ago.
when are u coming back from Korea? how long have u been there?

good luck at ur new school!:clap:

k, i'm off to bed now😀
 
The UC system is crappy to transfer into...I was thinking about going to UCLA but because I had one year of college behind me, no such luck. they told me i need to go to a cc but the move didn't seem to be worth it-i was in nebraska at that time. oh well, this school is much more suited for me anyways.

i've been in korea since towards the end of june and i'll be here until august 18th. it hasn't been ultra horrible here; i've learned much about the culture, have a deeper appreciation for the korean side of me, learn more about myself, and realize that i love america more then ever. 🙂 so while i'm glad to be here, i just need stuff to do!

good luck at berkely 🙂....what do you plan to major in? the great thing about the uc system is that they have some great majors aside from the traditional ones...

haha..you're going to bed at 4 am/ hee hee 🙂

gnight!
 
I was sick pretty much all weekend.

Sick enough for my damn lip to breakout in cold sores.

Anyone else have this problem every once in awhile?

I was told by someone one time that cold sores are actually a version of the herpes simplex and that it can be transmitted to the genitals if you touch your face and dont wash your hands well..

thats horrible. I'm glad thats never happened to me. I just hope it goes away by thursday when I'm going to NW.
 
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