Monday, September 15 is my first official day of MCAT studying!
I'm excited, anxious, tired, stressed - any combination of adjectives.
I'm attempting to do something I'm not quite sure is possible. This semester, I'll be finishing my master's thesis and preparing it for publication, submitting two different grants, taking an extra statistics class, presenting a paper at a conference in October, and working as a graduate teaching assistant in charge of nearly 80 students.
That, plus I'll be studying for the MCAT.
To get a feel for verbal reasoning, I cracked open one of my books full of VR passages.. So far I've done six. I feel pretty confident that VR will be my best section, and I don't want to fail myself by not putting in the time required of doing well on that particular section.
I have to go teach now... Then do homework... Then work on my presentation... Hopefully sleep sometime before I head back to campus at 8am tomorrow to do it all over again.
This is the life I love!
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Last Day of Volunteering
Hi, blog! Today was my last day of volunteering for the summer!
I ended up clocking 53 hours of service at our local hospital this summer, between working in the mother/baby unit and working in escort services.
I decided to take the semester off so that I can focus on studying, so I won't be able to return to the hospital until January or February. :( I truly loved my time there, and I can't wait to go back!
I also learned some bad news today: I won't be able to defend my master's thesis in the fall because of an institutional policy that prevents me from defending if my coursework isn't complete. I would be short three thesis hours, so I can't defend until January or February.
This might not be a bad thing, since it will mean I can spend more time studying and less time stressing over my defense.
Heading home to Illinois for a week tomorrow before I head to Korea a week from tomorrow!
Natalie
I ended up clocking 53 hours of service at our local hospital this summer, between working in the mother/baby unit and working in escort services.
I decided to take the semester off so that I can focus on studying, so I won't be able to return to the hospital until January or February. :( I truly loved my time there, and I can't wait to go back!
I also learned some bad news today: I won't be able to defend my master's thesis in the fall because of an institutional policy that prevents me from defending if my coursework isn't complete. I would be short three thesis hours, so I can't defend until January or February.
This might not be a bad thing, since it will mean I can spend more time studying and less time stressing over my defense.
Heading home to Illinois for a week tomorrow before I head to Korea a week from tomorrow!
Natalie
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Starting Down the Lonely Road
Going to medical school has always been my dream and goal, and I'm finally about to start doing something about it. I've made a plan, and I'm going to stick to it. My studying commences September 15, culminating to the ultimate test, the MCAT, on January 15.
It's going to be a long road, balancing my job as a graduate teaching assistant, and an overloaded schedule in grad school (as well as my master's defense in the fall and a presentation in Memphis in October!).
But I'm more determined than ever to finally set foot on the path I've been moving toward my entire life.
Everything I've been doing for the last 5-6 years has been to set myself up to be a successful doctor, and more importantly, a doctor who makes an impact on the world.
Right now, I'm working on my master's in sociology, and I'm hoping to apply to MD/Ph.D. programs starting in September of 2015.
I don't know where life is going to take me: if I'll stay in my program, if I'll leave in May, if I'll even be in the same state, no, country, a year from now.
But that is what this blog is for. To document my experiences as a grad student, intro to sociology instructor, and future med student.
I can only hope that my experiences will help someone else in the future.
But in the meantime, I'm preparing for my first-ever trip to Asia (South Korea and Thailand) where I will spend three weeks exploring with my good friend, Bri. Aside from being a wonderfully exciting opportunity, it does have its med school reasons, too.
I want to study international health and infectious diseases, but I've only spent four weeks out of the country in Guatemala to volunteer. As such, I'm using this experience not only to explore a new culture, but also to begin to prove to med school committees that, despite my youth, I'm more passionate and serious than ever to study international health and get involved with world relief efforts.
I'm sad to say that tomorrow will be my last day volunteering at the hospital for a while; I'm taking a break until January to focus on my classwork and my study schedule.
And finally, I'm excited to get started on some new projects with the KU Work Group in the fall. I worked with them starting in February of this year to improve the resource guides on their Community Toolbox Website, but I'm hoping to start helping them publish success stories once I get back from my trip.
That's all for now. I surely won't be posting everyday, but I want to use this blog as a way of holding myself accountable to everything I have planned between September and January.
I'm already taking the road less traveled, and now I'm ready to start making things happen on that road!
Natalie
It's going to be a long road, balancing my job as a graduate teaching assistant, and an overloaded schedule in grad school (as well as my master's defense in the fall and a presentation in Memphis in October!).
But I'm more determined than ever to finally set foot on the path I've been moving toward my entire life.
Everything I've been doing for the last 5-6 years has been to set myself up to be a successful doctor, and more importantly, a doctor who makes an impact on the world.
Right now, I'm working on my master's in sociology, and I'm hoping to apply to MD/Ph.D. programs starting in September of 2015.
I don't know where life is going to take me: if I'll stay in my program, if I'll leave in May, if I'll even be in the same state, no, country, a year from now.
But that is what this blog is for. To document my experiences as a grad student, intro to sociology instructor, and future med student.
I can only hope that my experiences will help someone else in the future.
But in the meantime, I'm preparing for my first-ever trip to Asia (South Korea and Thailand) where I will spend three weeks exploring with my good friend, Bri. Aside from being a wonderfully exciting opportunity, it does have its med school reasons, too.
I want to study international health and infectious diseases, but I've only spent four weeks out of the country in Guatemala to volunteer. As such, I'm using this experience not only to explore a new culture, but also to begin to prove to med school committees that, despite my youth, I'm more passionate and serious than ever to study international health and get involved with world relief efforts.
I'm sad to say that tomorrow will be my last day volunteering at the hospital for a while; I'm taking a break until January to focus on my classwork and my study schedule.
And finally, I'm excited to get started on some new projects with the KU Work Group in the fall. I worked with them starting in February of this year to improve the resource guides on their Community Toolbox Website, but I'm hoping to start helping them publish success stories once I get back from my trip.
That's all for now. I surely won't be posting everyday, but I want to use this blog as a way of holding myself accountable to everything I have planned between September and January.
I'm already taking the road less traveled, and now I'm ready to start making things happen on that road!
Natalie
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