MCAT Prep Course and Books

In mid November, I attended a diversity event hosted by UBC med students for non traditional applicants. This was an absolutely excellent event and I'd really recommend people go check it out next year.

Later that week in mid November, I went to another premed event hosted by the UBC premed society. At that event, there was a raffle for a free MCAT prep course by Princeton Review. For some reason, I had a feeling that I was going to win. And what do you know, they called out my number. I was very happy about this, as the certificate is worth $2500. So I will of course be doing my MCAT prep through The Princeton Review. Earlier, I was doing some preliminary research, and I figured I was going to go with either Prep101 or Princeton Review. Although as a warning, if you are trying to decide between courses, I would say that I did NOT research on the topic extensively. I've heard that The Princeton Review and Kaplan get generally good reviews, and I know a few people that have used Prep101 and said that it was okay, but it was not really that necessary to their studying. So I probably would have went with The Princeton Review anyways. I think the most important thing is the practice tests. I know that The Princeton Review has both full length practice tests and thousands of practice questions. I am not sure how many Kaplan and Prep101 have. Of course I don't really have to worry about choosing because I need to use my free prep course voucher for Princeton Review.

If I was choosing, I would look at how many practice questions the company has, how many full length practice tests they have, how many hours of instruction they have, and also extras. For example, Princeton Review has the extra of "amplifire" which is some sort of online learning resource that uses memory techniques to help a person quickly learn science material.

Now that I think of it, I'm pretty happy that I'm going to be going with The Princeton Review. But one thing I have to remember is that SN2ed and the folks over at SDN are making a schedule for the 2015 MCAT. They have a widely known schedule for the old MCAT, and apparently it is pretty legit. So I'm not totally out of the woods with MCAT costs yet, as I will probably buy whatever books they recommend for the 2015 MCAT. I'm hoping they recommend Examkrackers because I've heard so many good things about their books. I guess I will have to see what they recommend when the schedule comes out! Can't wait!

Part-time Job Applications 2.0

It;s been almost a year to the day (9 months ago to be exact) since I made a post about doing part time job applications. I'm not sure if I addressed it in a later post, but I chose not to get a part time job while I'm in school until I've had a full calendar year of successful studies. Since I got exactly 80% in the 2014 calendar year, I feel confident that I can take on a few shifts, and still do well in my courses. When I applied for jobs the first time around 9 months ago, I only applied to research and medical jobs. This was because I was set on killing two birds with one stone, by getting a job that gives me some money while also being medically relevant. This time around I'm a lot more open to different types of jobs. In fact, one of the jobs I am really hoping for is a job at Superstore grocery store. I also applied for pharmacy assistant jobs. I think I would like those jobs the most out of all of the online postings I have seen so far. I understand it may take me a while to find a job, but I find it very hard to be patient.

Since I have a pretty big audience, I figured I might as well pose the question if anyone knows of any job leads in the Vancouver area. My email is premedpostfailure@gmail.com. If you want to email me about something else, that's cool too!

I'm glad I waited to apply for a part time job, because if I did apply earlier in the year, I think it would have severely affected my grades in a negative way.

Fall 2014 Final Grades and Overall Average for 2014

So my final grades for this semester are B-, B-, B, B. My average for this semester is 74%. Not good enough but my average for the calendar year of 2014 is 80%. That's a better average. But for 2015 I want a 90% average to bring my last 2 years average to 85%. I think part of the difficulty was getting used to 4 classes, but also being in all science classes made it tough too.

I can confidently say I will try my best to never get below an A again. If I were to make a prediction I'd say it's going to be all A+'s from here on out, except for maybe organic chemistry and calculus.

Finished last exam!

I am officially finished the 2014 fall semester! I feel super relieved and I was getting more and more excited as I was going through each question, progressing through the test in my last exam today. Im currently at the ferry terminal in Vancouver waiting to go to Vancouver Island. I'm not gonna get too comfortable though because I've already bought my books for next semester, and will start studying the textbooks shortly. I also have to study for both of my anatomy and physiology classes (online classes from the summer) as I will be writing both exams soon, sometime in January, or earlier.

I'll post my grades as soon as they are all updated. Sadly, this semester won't be as good as last semester. But next semester will be my best semester yet!

Finally almost done...

I got my heart transplantation paper back and I got 88%. There were some other tasks associated with the project that weren't directly related to my paper and I didn't do as well on them, so I got 80% on the entire project. 80 or even 88 is pretty bad considering how interesting I find heart transplant surgery. However, I did get deducted because I used too many colloquial medical terms and that sort of thing, so it makes me feel better that what I was doing things that were, sort of in a way, too advanced for the course. Also I got deducted because I didn't include enough descriptive epidemiology. So that was a simple omission and not really a deduction from the content I put into it. She also gave no guidelines on how much descriptive epidemiology we need, so I figured a few graphs/tables were enough. Anyways if I had not used colloquial medical terms, and also included more descriptive epidemiology, I would've got about 97%. I can deal with a few simple mistakes, and I wish I had fixed them before I handed it in, but I also wish it didn't affect my mark so much. At least she thought my paper was "great" and "fascinating".

I wrote my third exam today and I only have one more to go. I'm in the zone for the next test, but my mark may be quite low in that class. I can't wait for next semester to bring my average where it needs to be. If I get straight A+s next semester, I should have around an 85 average for the school year. That is a good average and only about 3-5% below where I want it to be. That is only one year out of many though, and my overall average needs some work.

Crossing the Georgia Strait

I took this photo at the end of the summer. It is on the BC Ferries. Once I'm finished exams, I'll be on this ferry again from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. I thought I'd post this for anyone who is also studying in Vancouver but also going back to Vancouver Island for the break.

 The view won't be as nice because it may not be sunny, but I'm still looking forward to it. It will be nice to get away from my routine and relax for a bit.

B-ham

I've completed 2/4 of my final exams. It was quite stressful but I'm relieved it's over.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to Bellingham, Washington to drop my friend off at the Bellingham International Airport. I'm really looking forward to this because I really love going to the States. I think we are only going for lunch, but we may do a quick shop too.

I'm only worried about 1 of my last two final exams. I'm worried because I missed quite a few classes for this class, so it may be difficult to study. But the other final I have to do will be fine.

All in all, I'm feeling okay, not bad but not good either.

Eye of the Storm

Well I just finished a 4000 word research paper. Luckily I selected cardiac surgery (specifically heart failure and heart transplantation). My prof said to do 3000-5000 words. I was aiming to do 4500 words but I just couldn't do that much. I was spent. Did I mention it's 3000-5000 words not including references, tables, graphs, figures, etc? I was really pushing my limits because the longest paper I've ever done is 7 pages. I know, poor me has had it so good when it comes to papers. But anyways I'm glad that's over with.

So now that's over with, I have 2 exams in the next 41 hours. I've started reviewing for both exams, but not as much as I would've liked. So the storm isn't over yet.

The eye of this storm is going to be very short lived. I haven't decided what I'm going to do tonight. That is, if I'm going to study for my first final tonight or go to sleep. If I go to sleep, I would get up early in the morning to study. Regardless, I'm feeling good because I got that paper out of the way, so right now I just feel like eating and enjoying myself and going to sleep. But I know I wouldn't enjoy myself because the sense of urgency for my exam will be kicking in soon.

Note: I tried posting this at 11pm pacific time last night but it didn't work, so I'm posting it now.

Surgery Scheduled

So I got confirmation that my surgery will be on February 5th at 7:30am. I am getting surgery to fix my breathing. I have very heavy breathing problems and can't breathe out my nose properly and have some issues breathing at night. My surgeon did otolaryngology, but he actually has a plastic surgery practice and is a plastic surgeon as well. So he asked me if I wanted any work done, and I will be getting some adjustments to my nose. My nose has a slight irregularity and it isn't super bad or super noticeable from all angles, but it has bothered me for quite some time. So I'm really excited to get this surgery done. I do think I will look better after the surgery. And since my surgery is about fixing something that's irregular rather than something normal, I feel very comfortable getting the surgery done. Some people have issues with plastic surgery, but in my case, I feel no hesitation whatsoever. The surgery costs $6000 but my brother is paying for it, with me paying him back when I can. The surgery will take place in Vancouver.

I will have to miss a week of school because of recovery time, but I scheduled it near reading break so I will only miss a few days of school. I want to go to Vancouver Island during my recovery, but I was warned I may not feel well to travel on the day of the surgery. So I will likely leave the day after the surgery. It takes about 4 hours to get from Vancouver to my mom's place on Vancouver Island, and it involves one ferry. I have a full list of instructions for 2 weeks prior and 2 weeks after the surgery. The list basically names things I can't do and things I have to do. I like anything surgery related and there may be some of you interested so I may post the instructions.

One interesting thing is that I will not be put to sleep, but will have a different anaesthetic. So I believe I will be conscious for the whole thing. I don't like the dentist, and I'm hoping it won't be like that. But since I won't feel anything, I doubt it will be like the dentist. 

Plus it's really really really cool that I get to observe my first surgery. I actually can't wait for the surgery for so many different reasons!

Note: I do not have a lot of money just because I'm getting surgery. My brother is paying for my surgery. But he contributes nothing to me for schooling. I use student loans and a couple hundred dollars each month from my mom. I have posted that I may be getting rent money from my uncle, but he has yet to inform me of that yet, so it's really up in the air. In short, I do have a tight financial situation and the surgery is an exception because my brother is paying for it.

Cash flow

So I haven't received any "no" responses towards Adsense, so I'll be applying for it. I believe people have to click on the ads for me to get paid, but I will leave it at that :P

Adsense? Yay or nay?

So my blog has recently become eligible for Adsense, which means ads could go on my blog, and every time someone clicks on an ad, I get some money.

I'm asking all of my readers for input on whether ads should go up on my blog. Obviously with my tight financial situation, any money would help me get into medicine, especially since my uncle hasn't got back to me about the rent money we are supposed to be splitting. So I'm leaning towards Adsense. But just email me at premedpostfailure@gmail.com or comment on this post to let me know whether or not ads should go up. If I don't receive a lot of no votes for Adsense, I will be submitting an application to put them up. Also note that the contents of my posts would not change with Adsense.

Possible C in sexuality?

So I wrote my 2nd midterm and got my mark 20 minutes after I finished writing it. I got a horrible 68%. I thought I did way better than that. But I'm guessing I just didn't study enough. The only problem is that my fate has potentially been sealed because the final is only worth 30%. I feel horrible about this because I wanted to have all good marks since returning to school. This kind of breaks up the upward trend pattern. Especially given that global health isn't going well, which makes matters much worst. So I could have 2 poor marks this semester. Although if I do well in the other 8 courses this year, then my average will still be over 80%. That is what I have to keep in mind because I almost really let myself get down in the dumps about these bad marks. I'm going to a non-trad premed event hosted by UBC med this weekend, and all I could think about was how I shouldn't be going because this semester won't have "doctor-like" grades. But if I remember the big picture of 8 other classes I'll be doing until April, I could still have a 85% average.

Given what's happened to my marks, I'm officially guaranteeing that I get all A+s next semester. I know I can do it and I have no reason not to succeed. The only problem I might run into is grading schemes. For example courses where an A+ is 95 and above and me doing things that aren't my strengths like essays and other subjective evaluations. So as a revision to my guarantee, I will get all A+s if most of my marks are more objective on things like tests rather than subjective things like essays. Even if it is subjective, I will work my butt off to do everything humanly possible to get an A+. I may need help from my profs or using other resources or spending more time on things. But I promise that I will try my absolute best next semester, and that is a promise I'm going to keep.

Thunderbirds

I deferred my final exam to a different day that has yet to be confirmed. I will update once I know the date.

With all of the deferrals, it seems the storm has passed, for now. I finished my drugs and society paper, which means I've completed 3/6 things I needed to get done, with the missing 3 things being deferred. So on to the next round. First up is a midterm in sexuality on Thursday. Will be continuing studying for it today before the UBC basketball game.

I have really come to love college/university sports. I love going to UBC basketball games. It feels so good to support your school. UBC will eventually be my alma mater, and I want to go to UBC basketball games for the rest of my life. Last night was the homecoming game, and the gym was packed. It was a great crowd and a great game, but UBC fell short to UVIC. UVIC has a great basketball program and they were actually a dynasty in the 80s. But UBC has had a storied past as well.

UBC basketball games are lots of fun and if you go to UBC you will probably see someone you know. I highly recommend people go check out their games! There is a rematch tonight against UVIC again. I'm not sure if there will be as many people tonight, but it should be a good game, and I'm expecting UBC to come out with the win tonight. If people spread the word about supporting UBC basketball in Vancouver we could get big crowds out all the time like last night. That would be my dream.

The men's game starts at 7 and it's at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver BC at the UBC campus. You don't need to be a student to go for the game. Ticket prices are reasonable. If there is no parking close by, park at North Parkade and walk 5 mins to the gym.

Halloween

So tonight is Halloween and I am on the premed101 forums looking up different medical school admission topics. I feel like part of me should put that and homework on hold because of today, but I really have no desire to put it on hold, it is my life and it consumes me. I think about medicine all the time and can't stop, even during holidays and special events.

A couple years ago when I was a caregiver, I was asked to work during Christmas break. That would have meant not going home to see my family because I was working in Vancouver and my family events are on Vancouver Island. I was very ready to work during Christmas, because I felt that is what was needed to be done. I ended up quitting that job for a different reason, and never had to work during Christmas, but I was more than ready to. That situation reminds of tonight.

But I don't drink alcohol anymore so I feel a bit limited in my Halloween opportunities. I don't mind though, because I have a lot of homework to do. Maybe I'll get the highest mark on the sexuality midterm because other people were out and about and I was in studying.

However, I might do something fun tonight by going to a Langara basketball game. I usually watch UBC play and I know a couple people on the team, but I have a friend on the Langara team too. The game is probably only going to be 1.5 - 2 hours long. It shouldn't take away too much time from studying.

I wanted to go back to Vancouver Island this weekend but I think I should save the time and stay in Vancouver and study and do my papers instead. I took a break last night to watch the NFL and NHL because it was the end of my week. I'm glad I did because both of my teams won! There are 2 hockey games and 1 NFL game I'd like to watch this weekend but I think I'll pass on them and do school work instead. I really need to finish at least one of my essays this weekend and also study for my quiz, midterm, and final.

I'm getting nervous just thinking of my final.

Foundations Midterm Mark

I got my foundations of health science midterm back. I got 77.5% on it. The class average was 57%. So I killed the class average, but I didn't do as well as I'd hoped. Looking over it, I thought I should've got 92% on it. The difference is the marks lost on the written section of the midterm. I'm going to talk to the instructor about it, but I'm not expecting her to change my mark.

However my instructor does have a special opportunity of getting bonus marks. If we resubmit our midterms with corrections made to the ones we got wrong, we get up to a 5% bonus. I'm not sure if I'll be able to re-correct my entire test, but I should get some right. So I may get 82.5% after the corrections. That is a better mark for me.

Foundations Midterm

So I did not receive my foundations midterm back on Tuesday. We are getting them back on tomorrow on Thursday. I was very disappointed as Thursday will mark the 2 week mark since we wrote it. But I am really looking forward to getting the mark back as this is the last mark I'm waiting for in my first round of midterms.

Over the next 2 weeks I have 6 different things to focus on. These are: 1)Anatomy & Physiology final exam 2) Human Sexuality midterm 3) Drugs and society quiz 4) a group presentation 5) a 6-8 page paper in Drugs and society and 6) a 1500 word paper in global health.

I just completed my part for the group presentation about an hour ago. (That is, I have done my research and I have everything I'm going to say written down, so all I need to do is put it down in point form on powerpoint and then present it in 1 week from today). Putting my main points onto the powerpoint won't take me very long at all. I finished the hard part of the project, which was doing the research and figuring out what I'm going to say. I'm happy with how efficient I was doing the research. It only took me 2.5 hours. I was expecting it to take 6-12 hours. So after the 2.5 hours I went to the washroom then immediately started studying for my sexuality midterm next Tuesday. I went through all of the slides I haven't gone through yet. I studied for about 40 minutes. Not bad considering I had been going hard for about 3 hours before that. I need to study as much as I can for my final, midterm and quiz. So getting in 45 minute chunks of studying here and there in-between things is perfect. 

I kind of want to start studying for my tests, rather than doing my papers. I feel okay about the drugs paper, but not the global health paper. I'm afraid I'm going to make the same mistakes and get around 60 percent again. I can't afford that. I'm going to go speak to my professor to voice some of my concerns.

No A+ in global health

So I got my essay mark back and I got 63%. I was very disappointed as I was expecting at least 80%. So I lost 5.5% on this assignment and add the other 5.5% I lost from my midterm and I've lost 11%. So The highest I can get is around 88.something percent. That would be if I got 100% in everything remaining. I think a B as a final mark is more likely.

I may be getting back my foundations of health midterm tomorrow. I really need something to cheer me up and boost my confidence right now. I'll post tomorrow whether or not I get my midterm mark back.

Hands of a Surgeon?

So yesterday I was carving pumpkins, and someone there commented that my cuts on the pumpkin were clean and immaculately cut. I couldn't help but think that maybe I have a surgeon's hands. But realistically, cutting a pumpkin is probably in no ways like doing surgery, except for the fact you're using your hands. But for me right now, carving pumpkins is as close to surgery as it gets for me,(unless I'm dissecting in a lab, which I haven't done for years) so I will take any little boost of confidence I can get for my potential future career.

Right now my top 5 speciality choices would be cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, and opthalmology. So it looks like my top choices are all surgical fields, but I'm not quite sure if opthalmology is surgical.

Being a surgeon has a lot of appeal for me. Not to say that being a different type of doctor wouldn't be a great job either though. Surgery just has a certain quality that I find very appealing. Even the word surgeon sounds so cool to me. I'd love it if I could call myself a surgeon. I'm not going to limit myself to surgery, but I am aiming for surgery based off of everything I know right now. That may or may not change. The most important thing to me is being happy.

Global health midterm mark

So I got 72% on my global health midterm. Better than what I thought before I wrote the test (see my "Yup" post). But I still can't help but be disappointed. But luckily I only lost 5.6% of my grade, so it's still possible for me to get 94% in the class, however unlikely that may be. Still not bad for about 6 hours of studying.

Now I'm just waiting for my global health paper mark to be posted and also for my foundations of health science midterm mark to come out. I really need a good mark on my paper or else I can say goodbye to my A+ in global health.

I might not even get one A+ this semester (except maybe my online course). Straight As isn't bad either though. I know I can get at least straight A's.

Next 2 Months, Next 2 weeks, Next 24 Hours

For the next 2 months (well 1.75 months) I will be preparing for my final exams in way one or another. I just checked the final exam schedule, and my exams fall on December: 1st, 2nd, 9th, and 12th. I think I will be ok for the 9th and 12th exams because I will have at least a full 6 days (ie December 3rd-8th) to study for those two exams. I can get a lot done in one day with no classes to go to. However I will start hard studying for the 9th and 12th exams on November 20th. I will start hard studying for the exams on the 1st and 2nd on November 12th. I am giving myself a full day break on Remembrance Day on November 11th. I don't have any classes that day either. If I get bored I will study though. I plan to do preliminary studying for all 4 of my exams. That preliminary studying will start on November 8th or 9th. I may have to modify this schedule depending on what content my exams will focus on. So I will talk to each one of my profs and get a sense for the exams sometime in the next 2 weeks.

In the next two weeks I have 1 final exam (for my online class), 3 quizzes, 1 midterm, 1 presentation, and 1 paper. I hope to be done my paper by Monday or Tuesday. Then I will be done my presentation by not this Friday in two days, but next Friday coming up. I will study for my quizzes and midterm intermittently. I haven't decided on a timeline for my final exam studying yet, but I will have that finalized by Friday.

My global health prof said that our midterm marks will be posted within 24 hours. I'm expecting that they will be up tomorrow morning before noon. I'm very glad the test was strictly multiple choice. Kind of rare to have that, but it benefits me greatly. Plus it is easier for a professor to put the multiple choice sections through the scantron machine rather than marking 50 long answer responses. I have no problem with that. I'm still waiting for the midterm in my Foundations of Health Science class. The prof said it will likely be marked by next week, so either on Tuesday or next Thursday. I am not a very patient person. Although I guess it is better to be waiting for marks then to be anxiously waiting to write an exam. I'll trade waiting for marks instead of waiting to write in a heartbeat. Waiting for marks at least gives you a sense of completion.

I will post my marks as soon as I get them.

4/4 completed; Done for now.

Just wrote that global health midterm. Not really going to comment on how I did because I don't want to jinx it.

One piece of good news is that I just joined a group for my group presentation in global health. I missed the class where we got into groups. I was worried because the prof told me that I could not do it by myself. So the pressure was on. Luckily someone kindly offered me a spot in their group. So I feel very relieved. I was worried I would get a mark of 0 if I couldn't find a group. The group project is worth 20% of my mark. Now I'm just waiting for a reply from my group as to discuss a meeting time to help fill me in on the plan of attack.

Overall I'm feeling relieved and a bit anxious. Tomorrow I have my foundations of health science class and I REALLY hope she marked our midterms. I absolutely despise waiting for my marks. I feel very strong feelings of uncertainty when waiting for marks.

I will post marks for my last two midterms and my paper as soon as I get the marks back!

Now my focus is shifting towards my online class, anatomy and physiology part one. I applied to write the exam in early November, but haven't received confirmation yet. I will be studying as though I am writing the exam in early November though. That is the class where the final is mostly based on the nervous system. I'm looking forward to becoming proficient in that area, mostly because I find it pretty cool!

Yup

Yup I'm definitely going to fail this midterm today. I was going to stay up all night studying but I fell asleep last night. I've only studied for a few hours for this test. Sigh.

3 Down, 1 to Go

So I have completed 3/4 midterms so far for my "first round" of midterms. I have my "second round" of midterms next month, but only in 2/4 classes. So 3 more midterms left this semester.

I'm eagerly awaiting marks for my one midterm I haven't received and also my Global Health essay. I'm still superstitious and don't like commenting on how I did. Kind of silly but that's just me. Soon I will be awaiting my mark for my midterm tomorrow, which is my global health midterm.

I really haven't studied that much for this midterm. I felt so depleted on Thursday (because of my busy week) that it affected my studying this weekend. Luckily there is some overlap of the material with my foundations of health science class. That was the midterm I wrote on Thursday. Hopefully there are lots of questions on that material. I also did an essay for my global health class, and researching for it allowed me to indirectly study a bit, but most importantly it clarified important topics in the class.

One of the problems is that I missed both of my global health classes last week because I decided to study for my other midterm. That might come back to bite me. But if you think about it, I'm sacrificing one class for another, which is what I would have been doing in the other class anyways had I gone to class, and it would've lowered my score on my last midterm. So it's kind of like I have to make a choice. Obviously the best thing would have been to start weeks ago and be good for both. But these last few weeks have been pretty crazy workload wise. This has easily been the most productive 3 weeks of my life. My 72% mark on my sexuality midterm is lower than I wanted, but aside from that I've been doing pretty good. I've only had a handful of days off since about Sept 27th. So that is progress for me. My work ethic is improving. If this would have been in the past I would not have been studying much and definitely not getting the marks I'm getting now.

Next month is going to be better, as long as I didn't miss much for my group project. It is in my global health class. Global health is what I feel to be my weakest class, so if do poorly on my midterm and poorly on my group assignment, I will end up with a B, best case scenario. Not the end of the world but it does set me back.

I shouldn't stress out too much about a B here and there because I have 1-2 years to get good grades. 2 years of good grades would put me in the conversation for UBC medical school. Speaking of UBC medical school, I also have some semi good news but I have to clarify it first. Basically my GPA is higher than I thought, and after my January semester, I may be above the minimum academic average for in-province at UBC medical school, which means I could apply to UBC medicine in August 2015 for admission in 2016. But I have to calculate my GPA based on UBCs criteria first. I'm not even sure if they will tell me the exact academic calculation formula, but they do post grading tables on their website, so worst case scenario I have an estimate. I'd hate to have my application disqualified because I didn't meet the cutoff though. I just want to "put my name in the hat" (for my international readers unfamiliar with that term, it's a figure of speech that means you want a chance, albeit however slight, at something that is based on chance. Sometimes in draws for prizes, people put their name on a piece of paper then put it in a hat to try to win the draw). I will phone UBC on Monday (if they are open at 430, which is what time my exam is done). If they're not open Monday I phone Tuesday. It is a very exciting idea that I could apply in 2015, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Nonetheless, I've been dreaming about it for the last few days. Maybe it was that feeling of happiness and complacency may have distracted me from studying for my midterm.

As I was writing this post I decided to check out ratemyprof.com for my global health instructor. Apparently one person never studied and still got a B. I really hope his tests are that easy, but the review is from 2011, so the instructor may have changed things up. I feel good that even if I get 0% on the midterm tomorrow, I can still get a B. Yes I am calculating my mark with a 0% because despite that review, I know the prof asks very tricky questions in class, and many times I don't know the answer, so the midterm could be similar to that. So yes, I could end up with 0% on my midterm. The midterm is worth 20%.

I'm going back to studying now.

Drugs & Society Midterm Mark

Just checked online and there was an update. Much to my surprise I got 90%! My guess after I wrote the exam was that I got anywhere from 50-100%. Haha a big range but that was best and worst case scenarios. The exam was out of only 30 marks. So that means I only got 3 marks deducted. I am actually quite surprised I got a mark this high. I guess since I didn't do great on my last midterm I was expecting a similar result.

I have to remember that ideally 90% is the lowest mark I can ever get. This is because 90% is a generally the lowest mark you can get for an A+ at UBC and Langara. So I want my average to be around 95%. I don't know how people like Kay (AKA Birdy, http://premedpostmom.blogspot.ca) get averages like these over the course of like 2 years. Actually I do know how - work ethic. That is where I lack the most. I don't think that I can get into medical school in Canada without work ethic. I'm going to step it up for the rest of the semester, and continue it into next. I can't guarantee 95% averages in my classes but I can guarantee I'm going to put in serious time to become proficient and master the material. That should result in high marks as long as the tests are fair. Even if they aren't fair I want to be able to get all of the questions right. That is my goal for every test from now on - 100%. Essays, now that's a different story. I have an essay due next week in the area of global health. Essays are a weak point for me. If anyone has any tips, feel free to comment on this post or email me at premedpostfailure@gmail.com. Thanks!

Some scores

In my sexuality class I got 72% on the midterm. This was about the average for the class. Not bad for 1 day of studying. Would have been 3 days but I had other assignments to do. I did surprisingly well on the short answer and diagrams, it was the multiple choice that got me. I didn't double check my exam, and if I had I would have got at least 83% on my midterm. This was due to simple mistakes in interpretation. Next time I will definitely double and triple check my exams. I'm going to have to do really well for an A+ in the class. My work ethic hasn't been that great. I'm definitely going to step it up for the rest of the semester. The prof in this class also said this was the hardest test in the class, so my next midterm and final will be easier.

My foundations of health science class has 80 people in it. The average for the quiz was 45%. I was one of two people that got 100%.  I feel great about it. The quiz had aspects of critical thinking, and I think that's where I have strengths over my peers. It's my work ethic that is far below my peers. But as my education progresses I will have better work ethic, because I know that will yield better grades and it will also make me a better doctor. I always hear that work ethic is so important for being a doctor.

I've wrote 2 midterms so far. There are 4 midterms for the first round of midterms for my classes. So I have two more to go. My next two midterms are in Foundations of Health Science and Global Health. I think the Foundations of Health Science midterm will be very hard. I'm going to start studying tonight.

I don't know my other midterm score yet but I will post once I know. Hopefully the extra time studying translates into greater success. I think it will :)

Vancouver Weather

I still wear shorts to school everyday. So far it has only rained for 3-5 days this school year. It is going to be mid October in a few days, and it is sunny and 20 degrees (Celsius for my international readers) out. Some people complain about Vancouver rain, but I think we have it pretty good.

I have lived in either Vancouver or Vancouver Island  for my whole life, so I like to think I have a good idea on the pattern. I have a theory, and it is that it is sunny and beautiful for April, May, June, July, August, September, then half of October is decent, then it starts to get rainy. and the rain continues for November, December, January, February, most of march. Then in April it's decent again. So if I'm right, Vancouver has sun for about 7 months. That is pretty good! Not as good as California but still pretty good. And apparently Tsawwassen (small town suburb 45 minutes south of Vancouver) gets 1/3 of the rain of the rest of metro Vancouver. That's part of the reason I want to buy a house there! Maybe I'd spend my winters in Tsawwassen and my summers in Point Grey. That'd be great.

I've had an exhausting day because of my midterm at 8:30am and then working on my paper and class. All I want to do is watch Monday Night Football. I've written 2/4 midterms that comprise the first round of my midterms (2 rounds of midterms and finals in total). I'll post my midterm results on here when I get my marks. Now to watch some Seahawks primetime football! Go Hawks!

Hello Seattle

So two weeks ago I went to Seattle, Washington. I've been there once before this trip and both times I had so much fun. Both times I went to NFL Seattle Seahawks games. I currently live in Vancouver BC. I don't like Seattle as much as Vancouver, but I really like Seattle a lot. There are some similarities between the two cities but I find them to be quite different. I really like America though. I was born in Canada but if I get a house in Point Roberts I will try to get dual citizenship. Point Roberts is an American town 1 hour south of downtown Vancouver. I've never been to Point Roberts but I think I would want a house there. Aside from Point Roberts, I'm not sure if I'd like living in America full time. I may get homesick. I feel the American way of life is different than Canada. But one thing I do want to do is go travelling around America. I'm not sure who I'd go with though. I think it would be so much fun and I'd learn a lot. I may go to various college and NFL games. Places I definitely want to go to are Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans, South Bend, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Green Bay,  and Chicago. I probably missed some places too.

I could see myself living in Seattle if I got into their medical school. I wouldn't mind that because their program is ranked very high. I would probably go to a lot of Seahawks games. I like how Greys Anatomy is set in Seattle. I would also like that Vancouver is a 2.5 hour drive from Seattle. My girlfriend and I are planning to go to Seattle again for a visit within one year. This is because we didn't have enough time to do everything. I definitely want to check out the UW Medical Center. To people not interested in medicine, that may seem a bit odd, but I just love hospitals too much! Especially since UW is ranked as one of the top hospitals in the United States. I think that would actually be the highlight of my trip, as funny as that sounds. I actually can't wait to go back to Seattle again. I would go every month if I could.

Stroke Recovery Association Board

Unfortunately, I was not selected to be on the board. I thought I had a good chance, but not quite good enough. I may try again next year, but am not sure. I was supposed to volunteer at the branch but the coordinator never got back to me after I was sick. I'm kind of rethinking volunteering at the branch. I'm also rethinking my VGH volunteering as well. I asked to be switched to a position that is physically at the hospital. My volunteering is really up in the air with how busy I am. But I will continue to volunteer as a basketball coach at Drive Basketball.

Great Roommates

I have two roommates. I meant to write this post before one of my roommates moved out. Roommate #1 was very considerate of my schooling. I heard him talking to my landlord, and my landlord was complaining that the place was a bit dirty. Roommate #1 told my landlord that he did not approach me about it because he knows how busy I am with school. I thought that was so sweet of him. He did not have to take that stance, and instead could of said that "I'm an adult" and I "need to pull my own weight" etc. etc. I really admire him for it, not only because it saves me time, but because he stood up to our landlord and told her his opinion.

Roommate #2 also had the same sentiment about house duties as Roommate #1. Roommate #2 knows I want to go into medicine (not sure how he knows though?), and when him and I were discussing house cleaning, he said I did not have to worry too much because he knows how busy I am with school. I insisted that I could help out, and we decided he would text me when it is my turn to clean something. I totally trust him to give me a fair amount of work and not overload me. That is 2 roommates now who are very understanding of my schooling and future goals, and are effectively helping me achieving my goals. They are taking on more work for themselves, just so that I have less work and can focus on my schooling to achieve my goals. I found that so heart-warming. I am quite worried about getting "bad" roommates, but recently I haven't run into that. I know there are great people out there, but when one of them affects your life in a positive way, it is very touching.

Since roommate #1 moved out, there is a girl who has taken his spot. She seems very nice, and I believe she is a student as well. I'm hoping I can get along great with her as well.

Prep101 Seminar, Sports Medicine Shadowing, and Sushi

So tonight I am going to a "Getting into Medical School" seminar hosted by Prep101. It is at UBC tonight at 6:30pm. I'm going to leave pretty early so I can get settled and maybe talk to some people about medicine. I'm hoping that I will learn some new valuable information on the process of applying to medicine. But I feel like I know everything about the process up until the interview. The interview is the only part I'm lacking in. Also I have a feeling there will be many 1st year students so hopefully they all aren't totally clueless. I mean everyone starts out that way though. I remember when I was like that too. It was before I went on premed101.com. I have learned so much from that site and I am so grateful.  I will post after the event to say how it went.

I have decided to get more involved with sports medicine. I'm not sure when I will start, but it will be January of 2015 at the earliest and September of 2015 at the latest. I haven't done much research on who I'd be involved with, but it will be in Vancouver. The best case scenario would be to shadow the Canucks doctors, but I am 99% sure they wouldn't let me. The second best option would be shadowing the Vancouver Giants WHL hockey team, but even that may prove difficult. I think UBC sports teams are a more viable option, and the most appealing aside from the Canucks, Lions, Whitecaps, and Giants. UBC would be a good stepping stone to a top NCAA Div 1 sports school, which in turn is a good stepping stone to the NFL. So I basically have to start my journey at UBC.

One of the problems with sports medicine is I don't want to totally leave Canada. I wouldn't mind being in the United States seasonally though, which may be likely because it could coincide with the football season down there, which is only 4 months for NCAA and 6 months for NFL. Unless training starts in July instead of August, in that case it'd be an extra month for both.

Sushi is my 2nd favourite food (after steak and mashed potatoes). I love sushi, I could eat it 7 times a week. If any of my readers are in Vancouver or visiting, and feel like trying some inexpensive sushi, I highly recommend Volcano Sushi in east Vancouver. It's cheap, but it is good quality. If you go there, get the Volcano Combo. It's $7.30 for a 20 piece sushi special, and it includes miso soup and Japanese tea. That price also includes tax! There are two locations: one on Commercial Drive and one on East Hastings street. You can google the locations. I really love going to that place! Don't forget to tip!

Sports Doctor

So yesterday I went to a Seattle Seahawks NFL football game. If you haven't been to an NFL game it is such an event it is amazing. It was amazing and it rekindled my interest in sports medicine. Also I found out I may be able to be both a heart surgeon and a sports doctor. I'm incredibly excited about this. I will post more on this topic and elaborate as soon as I get some more info.

Drive Basketball, Drugs Quiz, and A+'s

So I finally received communication from the basketball organization I want to be involved with. I was told I could shadow the coaches until December. I am not sure if I will be able to continue after December. I guess it depends on if they like me. They also have a policy where coaches must be working towards an undergraduate degree and playing college/university basketball. I have only played high school basketball and no sort of college basketball. This is why I don't think they will keep me around as a coach. I am still happy to be involved for at least a few months. I will make the most of my short time with them. Plus, after I'm done with them, I can join a different organization and cite my experience with Drive. That will look very positively. However, I am also worried that I will be able to find another organization to be involved with. I want to be involved with basketball on a weekly or biweekly basis at some level for the next few years until I am in medical school. The other main organization I am interested in is the Vancouver Eagles Youth Basketball. I contacted them and received a call back, but I told them I would phone them back once I know my schedule. So I may be able to contact them in the future if Drive Basketball lets me go. I cannot emphasize how lucky I am to get experience with Drive. They are all college basketball players. So many young youth look up to them, and I am a coach just like them. Basketball is very competitive in BC, as every high school in the province has a grade 10 team. I wouldn't put it on the same level as hockey, but it is a clear number 2 in youth sports in terms of competitiveness. Steve Nash and Andrew Wiggins are evidence of Canadian basketball importance.

I am also no longer feeling sick, so I can get back to my studying and EC's. I did go to two Drive Basketball sessions as a coach so far, one on Friday, one on Saturday. It was pretty good, but I found myself looking forward to it being over. I think it has to do with my attention span. I have problems committing to stuff over 20 minutes long. I am notoriously bad for finishing movies. Part of the reason is I never watched movies growing up, and once I started, I thought they were so long! So this same thing was going on at basketball. I should be greatful though, because basketball is one of the most enjoyable ways to kill time and do an EC, at least for me. I don't consider going to basketball as work, because it is pretty fun. But it just feels good to be finished a 2 hour shift. I think I more look forward to the feeling of finishing something.

I have a quiz in my Drugs and Society class on Monday. The problem is that I haven't got my books yet because I was sick. But I do have the class slides to study, and my classmates said that should be enough because that is what will be emphasized on the quiz. I would have bought the text today but the bookstore was closed. Anyways I still will be disadvantaged so I may not get above 80% on the quiz, but luckily it is only worth 5% of our mark. I can definitely make up for this quiz, I've received barely passing marks in classes before and saved myself on the final, so this time I'm only behind by 1-2%, so its not a big deal. I just have to work hard in the rest of the class, which I obviously plan on doing.

I really want A+'s in all my classes this semester. This will help me out a great deal for at least University of Calgary and UBC medical schools. I'm not sure which other medical schools look at college courses for GPA though, but I know those 2 do for sure. UBC is my top choice for Canadian schools. Being in Vancouver while doing medicine would be such a privlege, and also I would have a stronger chance (I believe) to gain residency in Vancouver. I love it in Vancouver. In my human sexuality class, a student needs 95% for an A+ compared to 90% for other classes. That is going to prove very difficult. But I think I will get A+'s in at least two of my classes. The reason its not three is because I don't know the grading scheme for my Drugs and Society class. I don't know what percent requires an A+. But I do know that two of my classes, Global Health and Foundations of Health Science, both require 90 for an A+. I can do that. I am so ready to succeed. Ideally I'd like straight A+'s but I'd be happy with 2 A's and 2 A+'s. Still high marks, but some wiggle room. I will find out what percent needs an A+ in my drugs class. I need at least 2 A+'s though. Problem is both those classes have term papers, and if I screw that up, then there goes my A+. I suck at papers. I could get 4 A's. That would be an 85 average for UBC. That is pretty good. Barring some disaster and/or poor time management, I should get at least straight A's. But you never know what is going to happen. After I finished high school, I never dreamed I would fail 11 classes at univeristy. So I am always cautious that I will not perform well. I am actually quite scared when I think about it. I mean I don't even know how I could have let the situation get that bad. 3 failed classes after my first semester should have been my wake up call. I am so worried that I will fall back into my old ways. That is why I go to the library basically every day now. I can't afford not to. The library is going to be my life until December 12th. That is the last day of exams at Langara for the semester. That is really a short period of time. It is essentially half way through September already. About 15% of the way through. All I can do is try my best in school this semester. I'm going to have to.

Sick

I'm sick. And not in the cool way. Although I am getting better, it was quite bad. I have been vomitting, dizzy, nauseous, had stomach indigestion, and intense stomach pain, and the general sick feeling. The stomach pain got so bad that I had to go to the hospital. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but I LOVE going to the hospital (even when I'm sick). Although when I am sick at the hospital waiting for the doctor, I get worried that I may require a procedure, maybe a surgical one, and I am quite afraid of those. I don't mind doing them, it is just that the idea of surgery scares me. This is quite ironic since I want to be a surgeon. Ever since I was a little kid, I just loved the hospital. To me it is such an exciting place, filled with highly trained people who want to get you better. To me that idea is very appealing, and I would absolutely LOVE working at the hospital, at least for a little while. I remember when I was really young, I used to love the vending machines in the waiting room of the emergency room. My mom would always let me buy 1 thing. Sometimes I got chips and sometimes I got skittles. Also when I was about 3 I had to stay at the hospital for a few nights. I don't exactly know why, but I was either vomitting blood or defecating blood.

I had a great time at the hospital as always. Well not always. The only time I didn't have a good time at the hospital was when my grandma died. So aside from when someone dies, I have a great time at the hospital. Anyways, I went to the emergency room because I had some really bad stomach pain. The charge nurse ( I think that's what they are called, the nurses at the ER check in desk) was quite annoying though because when I showed him where it hurt, he said "you have to be more specific, there are a lot of organs in there". Umm ok you do realize more than one organ can be hurting at once right? I didn't say that but I wish I had something similar to that, maybe not something as rude though. But I liked the medical student who assessed me the first time, and the ER doctor who assessed me as well. The medical student was compassionate, but you know the feeling you get when you get a really good knowledgeable dotor and it just feels like you are in good hands? I didn't really get that with her. I mean I do think I was in pretty good hands being in the student's hands, but I just don't think she had that strong knowledge base, and maybe lacked a bit of confidence. It could be because of experience though. She could be a fresh Year 3 student doing her first ever clerkship shift, because it is the 2nd week of school. So overall the student was good because she was compassionate and competent. I really liked the ER doctor too though. With him, it felt like you are in very good hands. He was telling me about appendicitis studies and that sort of thing. Also, he was very compassionate, which does not always correlate with a sound knowledge base. But he was very compassionate and even gave me some pain meds for the pain I was in. When they asked me on a scale of 1-10 for the pain, I said about 7.5. So that is pretty high. I wonder what the cut off is for pain meds though. The ER doctor kept me at the hospital for a few hours to monitor me for a few hours. Apparently what I had is really going around Vancouver right now, as the ER doctor said he had seen about 5 cases within the past few hours. So that is unfortunate because there is a lot of pain with it. When I was buying tylenol at the pharmacy, the pharmacist said she had the same thing, and it took her 8 days, with antibiotics, to get better.

The only bad thing about my hospital stay was that I didn't get a meal. I was there from about midnight - 6:30am on Monday morning. I am not so much concerned with the time I was there, but with the fact that I love hospital food. They made me put on a gown so I thought I would have stayed overnight, but nope.

Also I was at Vancouver General Hospital. After I was released from the hospital (I wouldn't really call it released since I love being there, more like had to leave), I went to Tim Horton's. All I can eat is bland food, so I decided on chicken noodle soup from Tim's. It is pretty nice that there is a Tim Horton's one block away from VGH. There are also a lot of restaurants on West Broadway in Vancouver, which is one block away from VGH. I was thinking it would be nice if I work at VGH, to have a lot of food options, since I'm not sure if VGH's cafeteria is 24/7 or not. But anyways there used to be a Wendy's right beside the Tim's but on google it says it's closed. I did not look when I was there. But there is another Wendy's one block away from the other one. I find it weird that two Wendys would operate so close to each other. But I guess that may be why the other one shut down. But there is a lot of restaurants on West Broadway. And since I will have a car I could even drive like 10 minutes away too. So if I'm at VGH I will have a lot of options, which is good because I'll need to refuel myself for those long shifts.

VGH is my favorite hospital. It is the best hospital I've ever been to. I would absolutely LOVE working there. I don't think I would want to be an ER doc though. Instead I probably want to be a surgeon. But realistically, I would be excited to go to work everyday no matter what hospital I was working at, and no matter which speciality I was in, as long as I'm a doctor.


I am feeling better today though. Unfortunately I have missed 3 days of school. I also have a quiz on Monday, so I need to try to get the class notes from a classmate.

VGH Volunteering, Basketball, and first 2 days of classes

Tomorrow morning I have to wake up early (I haven't been waking up early for the past few months). My first volunteering session at VGH starts at 8:30am. I have to wake up by 7am at least. I am no longer part of the breakfast program because they were short of staff. My coordinator said she can't guarantee when I will be volunteering again, so I asked to switch positions. Out of what was available, the walking group seemed like the best choice. Also I get to get some good exercise.

My new position is with the walking group out of GF Strong. We meet at Cambie/12th, so I guess we will be walking around there. It might be in the mall there. I'm not quite sure.

The main objectives for the volunteers are to provide supportive and social interactions with patients during their rehabilitation.

I'm kind of worried that I might not have much to talk about with the patients, but I guess I will try my best to let it come naturally. I sometimes find it to be a challenge making conversation with older people, as most of my life revolves around school.

I hope they also don't think that I'm really tired. I probably will be, but my early morning shower should wake me up enough to not look drowsy.

I like to think this is a meaningful volunteer position, as the support for the patients can mean a lot to them. I will be sure to highlight this on my application, but I plan on doing more EC's as well. Basketball is one of them. I just sent an email to the contact at the basketball organization I want to be involved in. He did not get back to me - again. So if that organization doesn't work out, I will be pursuing others.

So I've been to every class at least once, and I'm not sure how I feel about them. Two of them seem to be about epidemiology and public health, one is about human sexuality, and one is about drugs. The drugs course seems the most interesting. The other 3 seem decent. I'm all for public health, but I don't like it as much as medical science. But still, it is better than some of my other least favorites, like English. I hate english classes, unless it is about the American Dream. That is one of the only topics I can enjoy. I actually love the idea of the American Dream. It shapes so much of my life. To think that I could be a highly trained physician helping people and making good money for myself as well is just the ultimate win-win situation. I will post a more indepth post on my classes and the American Dream in the future.

But for now, I have to study my Anatomy & Physiology courses, as I won't have much time in later weeks because I will be knee deep in my other courses, which aren't self-paced like Anatomy & Physiology.

Pretending to be Training to be a Neurosurgeon

So in my Anatomy & Physiology I class there are 12 modules in total that we have to go through. My final exam tests 80% of it on modules 9-12 and the remaining 20% on modules 1-8. Modules 9-12 are all on the nervous system. I'm not sure which type of specialty I want to go into (although I am leaning towards cardiac surgery). So right now, I'm pretending that I'm studying to be a neurosurgeon (even though neurosurgeons probably learn this material in med school before residency). In any event, I think it would be cool being a neurosurgeon, but I kinda think a cardiac surgeon would be cooler.

From my limited knowledge, neurosurgeons seem to be the famous ones. For example there is the movie Gifted Hands, and then there is Wilder Penfield who by some is considered the greatest Canadian. Wilder Penfield was a pioneer neurosurgeon. From reading his biography, you can tell he had an amazing life. And of course, who can forget the Canadian Heritage Minute commercial on burnt toast and Wilder Penfield. I remember being 3 years old and watching that commercial.

Maybe being a neurosurgeon would be cooler than I thought.

Midterm 2 score of Anatomy & Physiology I

So it turns out I didn't do that bad - I got 90% on my second midterm! In my last post I said I thought I got at least 5 wrong, and it looks like that was all I got wrong because my raw score was 45/50.

This means my average in the course is 94%. Not bad at all.

One thing I'm worried about now is that I have to pass the final exam in order to pass the course. I believe this is a rule for TRU open learning courses. I know the final will be hard and I am very scared about it.

Second Midterm of Anatomy & Physiology I Completed, Science World, and Final Exam

So today I finished my second midterm. But I think I rushed it a bit, because when I was writing it I did not feel that confident. I simply should have studied more. But I wanted that relaxing feeling of completing a midterm so bad, so that is why I rushed it. My mark will suffer as a result, I don't think I did nearly as well. I think I got at least 5 wrong out of 50. That is not good at all. Considering I want an A+ in the course (90% or above), I have very little wiggle room. And I'm expecting the final to be very tough.

My final exam for the course is scheduled on Saturday September 6th. I need to study quite a bit in order to get my A+ in the class. I am going to study everyday. The only break I'm taking is to go see the Science World science of sports exhibit, which ends September 1st.

It is going to be a real test for me to get above 95% on the final exam, but I am going to try my absolute best to do it. I need that A+ so badly, I don't want it to slip out of my hands, because I had such a good start with my first midterm. Anything below an A+ will be a failure for me because 1) I need all the A+'s I can get to balance out my transcript and 2) I started the course so well that I have high expectations.

Who knows maybe I'll get 100% on the final exam. Wouldn't that be something.

Oh crap

So I just realized that I may not be eligible for FlexMed. This is because Mount Sinai doesn't necessarily consider sophmore by credits, but instead by the actual year. So I will be entering my 6th year after high school (but I took some time off). So they may look at my transcripts and see that I took classes in Sept of 2009,2010,2011 and 2012. On their website they say that if you have 3rd year standing but are entering your 2nd year, you can apply. So I have 2nd year standing but am entering my 5th. I obviously won't be eligible.

Looks like I got excited for nothing. Oh well 2-3 years isn't that far away.

FlexMed at Mount Sinai

So I just got off the phone with admissions at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City, and they said that their FlexMed program accepts Canadian citizens who also study in Canada.

Even though I have less than a 1% chance of getting accepted, I am still very excited about applying. Mount Sinai is a "top 20" school in the states, for what its worth. That fact, coupled with my poor academic history, means I should really be saving my money and not apply. But to even throw my name in the hat, and at a potential shot at an interview in as little as 6 months is too exciting for me to pass up.

FlexMed is a program for sophmores who if accepted, get early admission to Mount Sinai's medical school. People in FlexMed still have to get their bachelor's degrees, but they get early admission to medical school up to 2 years earlier than usual. I only found out about the program a few months ago, and luckily since I'm entering my second year, and I meet all their requirements, I seem to be eligble to apply.

I don't think I'll get an interview. The chances are too much of a long shot. But part of me just wonders, "what if". In all likelyhood the earliest I will ever get an interview is when I will have to wait my turn until I'm elgible for Canadian schools.

Regardless, time to make my application account!

Rental Income and Finances

So I talked to my uncle today and he said my grandpa's basement is renting for $800/month and the upstairs for $1100/month. One thing though, I have to take it with a grain of salt because only a month ago he said he didn't know how much it is renting out for. So those might not be the exact numbers. Anyways I will be getting half of the month's rent each month. But the thing is that we pay the utilities, so that will take out a huge chunk in the winter, and we have to pay the property management company around 15-20%, but I am not sure exactly how much we pay the property management company. Anyways even though I get half the months rent each month, I may only get $400 a month. On the other hand, I may get as much as $700 each month. It is kind of up in the air. But I will know as soon as my uncle has paid off the roof, because thats where the rent money for each month is going right now. It should only be 1-3 months until I start getting money. I'd be happy with $400, that would allow me to save a lot of money. I would save around $5000 a year. I'm facing a lot of pressure from my mom right now because she is paying my expenses. I can't wait until I'm a doctor and I don't have to worry about money anymore.

Note:

I have failed many courses in my university career. But I recently started doing well in my university courses in January 2014 and have continued since. I just wanted to state that none of these courses were repeats. They were all new classes I've never taken before. Likewise, in September they will all be new courses as well. I will post on here when I am doing a repeat.

Midterm 1 score of Anatomy & Physiology I

So my instructor took a little longer to mark the midterm then he said he would, but that's ok because I got 98% on my first midterm! 49/50 was my raw score. I am very happy with this mark, as I should be! I am so glad I had enough time to change that one answer that I got wrong!

It's amazing to think that only a few years ago I was failing classes and failing midterms and finals. And now I'm getting close to straight A's with marks like 98% on midterms. I am always afraid of  not performing well and getting marks similar to those that I recieved a few years ago. I do believe that I'm quite a talented student because I really haven't been putting that much time into my courses (I'm always putting things off and getting into a time crunch.) It's gonna be great to see how well I do in the September semester because I'm literally going to spend all of my time studying (except for time spent volunteering/exercising). I'm taking 4 courses, and I want to get above 95% in all of my courses. These courses will be calculated in my GPA for the University of Calgary Medical School. This will be the first time that my marks will count towards my medical school GPA (except for UBC which looks at all courses taken). Anyways time to get 100% on my next midterm!

First Midterm of Anatomy & Physiology I Completed!

So I just finished writing my first midterm for Anatomy & Physiology I. I literally just finished it 10 minutes ago. I thought the test went well but I don't want to jynx it (as stupid as that sounds I am superstitious when it comes to these types of things). I also didn't have enough time to review my answers I put, except for one question. The only question I had time to review, I saw that I had misread the question and put down the wrong answer, most likely because I was going too fast. I wanted to be sure that I would finish the test on time. Anyways the fact that I changed 1/1 questions isn't comforting. I wouldn't be surprised if I did poorly on the test because of this. I just ran out of time plain and simple. I also had a few knowledge gaps. But oh well, I won't know for sure until the test is marked. The instructor said he tries to mark them within 48 hours. So hopefully I will know my score by 10:30pm on Saturday.

For those of you that are wondering why I wrote a midterm at ten o' clock at night, it is because I schedule the midterms on my own accord. So this does mean that the tests aren't supervised, but obviously there is a level of academic integrity implied.

Overall I thought it was a fairly fair test. One question I was really stuck on and spent like 15 minutes trying to solve. But the question was worth 5 marks. The midterm is out of 50 marks, and consists of 35 multiple choice and 3 short answer.

The more I wait, the more I start to worry about how I did. The midterm is worth 25% though. So if I got 50% on this first midterm and 80% on both the next midterm and the final, then my final mark would be 72.5%. That would be either a B or a B- (depending on if TRU-OL rounds up). That is a poor grade for me (good compared to some of my academic history, but not good enough for medical school). I would be furious and disappointed if I received a grade like that, given how much I enjoy the content of the course. I'm aiming for at least 90% in the course, but I'd like to get above 95% because I actually think I have a shot at doing it for this course. But there is massive amounts of information to remember. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to remember it all, but I know I can do it. 90% in this course would be an A+, and I would be happy with that mark.

One thing though, the instructor said the tests do get harder as you progress, so that is tough but I will have to suck it up.

Anatomy and Physiology I

So my course schedule is being pushed back a bit. I've been going slower than I would have liked. But I've really been picking up the pace in the past week. I'm almost ready to write the first midterm. Once I'm finished the first midterm I think I will write the second midterm fairly soon after the first, after I learn the modules first of course. I think it's just a result of my momentum of the course.

Some of the content I'm already familiar with from chemistry and biology courses, but it has been about 6-7 years since I first learnt it, so it wasn't that easy. However when I read about topics like transcription/translation, I feel like I've learnt that at least 5 times now. Although it can't be that many.

Taking this course is enjoyable though. I haven't quite arrived at the good stuff yet though, as I will be learning about nervous tissue, central and somatic nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and somatic senses and special senses. Sadly the cardiovascular system isn't covered in this course, but it is covered in my next course, Anatomy and Physiology II! I can't wait. There are about 3 modules on the cardiovascular system and there are only about 12 modules. so a whole 25% of the course! And I should be excited, especially if I'm going to be a heart surgeon! Overall, I am very happy with choosing these two courses. Special thanks to lokiki for recommedning them. If it wasn't for her I'd be taking either chemistry, math, or social work right now. Needless to say, I enjoy physiology much more!

Stroke Recovery Association Interview, VGH Volunteering, and Rental Income

So this past Tuesday I had an interview to be a board member of the Stroke Recovery Association of British Columbia. I had applied for the position a couple weeks ago, and was a bit surprised to get an email back. I suppose they are looking for diversity on their board. Anyways, it was more of an informal informational interview. The process to become a board member is a bit complex, and it is something that I may not have the opportunity to be nominated for because each Stroke Branch nominates candidates, and the nominees from the members get priority over the nominees of the board (me). If I make it to the next round, then I will have a formal interview with the President and Vice-President, then I believe they will select their candidate. There are 2 openings on the board, and they must be filled by their Annual General Meeting in October. So I believe I will find out in September-ish.

At the very least, it looks like I've gained a clinical volunteering experience out of it. Because the executive director of the branch suggest I volunteer at their Shaughnessy branch. The volunteering doesn't start until September, but I'm looking forward to it. I told the executive director that direct patient contact is a must-have for me, and he said that those positions are definitely available.

Even if I don't get on the board this year, because I'm volunteering, a member of the branch could nominate me for next year, and then I would get a position on the board. Overall, I am very excited about the whole thing, not only about the board but just the volunteering as well.



I have also been offered a position at Vancouver General Hospital at the Banfield Pavilion as a breakfast program assistant. It seems to have a large social component with the patients, but I haven't quite made up my mind yet. In fact, I have posted a thread on pm101 asking people to help me evaluate if I should do it or not. The thread is called "1 week to decide if I should pursue this volunteering opportunity?" and it is posted in the General Premed Discussions.




So some of the best news I've had in years is that I will be making money through rental income. My uncle is currently renting out my grandpa's house (because my grandpa is not currently living there anymore) and he said that I will get half of the rent each month! We do have a property management company working on it, so I belive they take out 15-20 percent. But I'm still glad I'll be getting at least a couple hundred dollars each month. The house is a big house but it is a bit dated, so I'm not sure how much it is renting out for. If it is renting out for $1500 per month I will be getting at least $600 each month. I am hoping to get anywhere between $400-$800 each month. Realistically, I'd be happy with any amount, so I should try to control my expectations.

UBC Premedical Society -part 2

So I went to the UBC Premedical Society office and the whiteboard on the door said they would be open starting Sept 23rd. The office was really hard to find because they have the wrong room number listed on their website. I'm not quite sure why they haven't noticed that yet.

UBC Premedical Society

So today I am going to go to the UBC Premedical Society's office hours to sign up. Their office hours are 3-4pm on Mondays. I got this idea from a user on premed101 who private messaged me suggesting that I could go check it out. I didn't realize they would be open in the summer (still not sure if anyone will be there).

Even though I am just signing up, I'm very excited about going because I love meeting people who are passionate about medicine and want to go to medical school. I think this will be one of my favorite things about medical school (meeting people who are passionate about medicine). Because right now, in terms of knowing people that want to go into medicine, I only know of a couple people online, and pretty much no one in person.

The UBC Premedical Society has events like seminars, socials, volunteer opportunities, and a weekly lecture series where a doctor talks about his/her experiences. I am very excited about all of this! However, I don't think there will be events in the summer, but all the more reason to look forward to September!

Once I'm finished at the Premedical Society, I will post to see how it went! Hopefully my expectations aren't too high, because I am really looking forward to it.

Wedding, Drive Basketball, and Deep Fried Pickles

So last weekend I went to my cousin's wedding and saw some family I hadn't seen in a while. It was okay but it started to get me thinking about my wedding. I'm only 22 and don't plan on being married for quite some time (I think I would only get married after I got into med school), at least 6-12 years from now.

I also sent another follow up email to the owner of Drive Basketball in regards to the interview I had there (I already sent 1 follow up email 2 months ago and received no response). This time he got back to me and said he wants to meet with me and that he would be in touch shortly! I am very excited about this for a lot of different reasons. I will post more on the job/volunteer position as soon as I meet with him.

Today, I had deep fried pickles at Tap and Barrel in Vancouver. They were so good! Apparently they've been voted best deep fried pickles in vancouver, and I'd definitely agree with them. The first time I had deep fried pickles was in Seattle when I went to the Packers - Seahawks NFL game in 2012 with my cousin and his two friends. The ones I had in Seattle was at a place called Sluggers and were really good, but I think Tap and Barrel's are better. I went out for dinner with  my girlfriend because she had finished her midterm and I decided to reward her for her efforts.

FNH 200 Mark

So my first course of the summer, Food, Nutrition and Health 200 at UBC mark is out. I got 77% on it! That's a B+! Considering that I thought failed the exam and failed the course (see my "ouch" post), I am pretty happy. Considering that this is the first science course I've done in 3 years needs to be taken into account too. However, a B+ generally still isn't good enough for a Canadian medical school. So I do need to get 90% or above in my next two courses to bring up my average.

Overall I am pretty happy though. Just have to keep doing better.

Going Home

So since Saturday I've been at my mom's house on Vancouver Island. For those of you who don't know, Vancouver is about a 4 hour trip from the middle of Vancouver Island (Duncan). The reason I came was because my mom has a week off work so I decided to spend some time with her because my in-person class at UBC is over. However, I am registered in 2 more courses but I've barely scratched the surface on one of them and haven't started the other. The courses are Anatomy & Physiology I and II. I write the exam for the first class at the beginning of August and I write the second exam at the beginning of September. I believe the September exam won't conflict with my September classes because it is early enough in the course that I won't have anything due.

So far, I've just been relaxing, hanging out with my good friend, being with my mom, going to the gym, and doing a tiny bit of course work. I also watched a couple movies. I watched Shawshank Redemption and the Truman Show. They were both good but I liked Shawshank better. I also rented Lost in Translation and Gifted Hands. Gifted hands is about a surgeon, so I'm really excited to see that one. Hopefully it will be a good watch. Although I'm going back to Vancouver on Friday, so I only have today to watch both movies.

So I believe MUN's application and University of Calgary and OMSAS are all open now, so good luck to all of the applicants! I feel like most of the applicants on premed101 are talented applicants, and from the statistics, the samples on premed101 are much higher GPA/MCAT wise than the entire applicant pool. I think the people with the higher stats are naturally the ones who want to talk about medicine more. Also, premed101 is a very supportive community that helps everyone get through the process, so it definitely helps out to have that as a resource. I honestly don't know where I'd be without it.

Forgiveness

So all weekend after my exam I was helping my brother move. He was treating me badly as usual, then on Sunday when we were finished I told him I was going to leave. He then got mad at me and I walked out. I texted him that I'm changing my number and I never want to talk to or see him again. I told my other family that I like about this, and they are a bit upset too. Apparently my brother is really sad about the whole thing.

The problem I have with forgiving him is that I fear he is just gonna go back to his old ways. I also feel that my life is much better without him in it. He has treated me poorly my whole life. But last night, part of me did miss him.

I don't know what to do.

Ouch

So I finished my final exam for FNH 200 today, but it was a really hard test! There was an entire section that if we got the answer wrong, we got -1 marks, for a total loss of two marks for every wrong answer, instead of 1.

I think I did horribly on this test. Although I couldn't pull 12 hour days, I did pull 6-8 hour days for a week straight. I thought this would've been enough, but nope. I can't stress it enough how hard the test was. I won't be surprised if I failed the test, in which case I may have failed the course. This is very disappointing since I got straight A's last semester. However, I talked to my cousin and he said to not let it get to me too much because it happens to everyone and he said I'm smart so not to worry about it.

I prepared more for this test than the midterm and I got 80 percent on the midterm, so I thought my mark would've been equal or better, but probably not.

Time to start my new courses and get over 90 in them to balance this one out!

Sept 2014 Classes and final exam studying

So I just finished registering in my courses for Sept 2014. Needless to say I am incredibly excited about the classes I'm in. I'm in 4 health science classes. The classes are:

-HSCI 1120 Introduction to Human Sexuality and Behaviour
-HSCI 1130 Foundations of Health Science
-HSCI 1160 Global Perspectives on Health
-HSCI 1180 Drugs and Society

The course descriptions for these classes seem super interesting and right up my alley. I think doing these health science courses will be excellent prep for medicine. I really can't wait.

Also, my final exam for FNH 200 is on Friday. I've been studying, but I'm still a bit worried. Although I did feel this way for the midterm and I managed to get 80 percent so who knows. I think I will feel more prepared by Wednesday. For the next 4 days I'm going to be pulling 10-12 hour days studying. Hopefully that will be enough.

Applying to Queens Medicine and going to my mom's house

If everything goes right for me, I will be applying to Queen's Medicine in mid July of 2016. This is 2 years and a month away. It feels like both a long time and a short time away. On the one hand, after I finish the 2014-15 year, I will only have 1 year to apply. On the other hand, it is still 2 years away. I still feel like I need to improve my EC's. I plan on doing hospital volunteering, physician shadowing, mental health volunteering,  basketball coaching, lets talk science, and being a member of several UBC clubs. I hope this is enough. And I hope 2 years is enough time to put into my EC's.

Words won't be able to describe how happy I'll be if I get into Queens in 2017. I doubt I will get in though because I'll only have 3 undergrad years, so I'll need to do really well on the MCAT. I'm still not sure if i should write the MCAT in the summer of 2015 or 2016, or both. One thing's for sure, I'll need  at least one year of good marks under my belt in order to justify spending thousands of dollars on MCAT materials. Also, I hope SN2ed of the SDN forums makes a study schedule for the 2015 MCAT. I read somewhere that he is going to.

Right now it is looking like I might only apply to Queens in 2016. I may apply to others but I am not sure yet. It depends on my gpa. If I did apply to others it would be all schools that I meet the requirements for, and also accept 3rd years. University of Calgary is potentially one school, and so is UBC. I still have to make a spreadsheet of every canadian school with it's requirements and then decide when and where I will apply. Hopefully I will do this soon.

In my FNH 200 course, I figured if I get 100 percent on everything remaining, I will get 92 in the course. This however is going to be very hard. It starts with a quiz I have to do this weekend.

This weekend I'm going back to Duncan on Vancouver island (my hometown) to see my good friend and also my mom. I'm only going for 2 days but I'm looking forward to it because I haven't seen my friend in a while. We always have fun together. I just wish he was pursuing medicine because I think he'd make an excellent doctor.

Spanish Banks in Point Grey

Today I went to Spanish Banks beach in Vancouver with my girlfriend. I had never been there before and I found out it is a really nice beach. There is a beautiful view of the north shore and downtown Vancouver from the beach. There is also a cool little concession stand, and people had volleyball nets set up and some people were barbequing, and of course some people were in the water. If you google "spanish banks" you can see for yourself how nice it is. I am not in the best shape of my life but I hope to be in really good shape in 1-2 months. I'm going to be doing interval running 3/4 times a week and jogging or riding the stationary bike 3 times a week. I am also watching my diet and eating healthy, except for 1 or 2 cheat days a week.

There are also some very nice houses near Spanish Banks and I believe it is a very desirable place to live. I believe it is in Point Grey, which has one of the highest median income levels in Vancouver. I would love to live in Point Grey when I'm older. Of course I'd have to be a doctor to afford it. I've always dreamed of having a wonderful home in Vancouver ever since I visited Vancouver as a young child. Point Grey is right by UBC, so if I was living in Point Grey, I might be working at UBC Hospital, or VGH which is a few minutes away, or St. Paul's Hospital which is downtown. Or I may work at a combination of the 3. Or I may have my own practice.

I am still not sure what specialty I want to go into. From my limited knowledge, I think I would want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon, possibly a pediatric cardiac surgeon. I know there are only two pediatric cardiac surgeons in the province of British Columbia. But I am not sure about things like lifestyle factors (work hours, shift work, vacation time etc.) and income levels of all the specialties. Income is important to me. Although I am becoming a physician because of the meaningful work and the work environment, I also value income because my family has never had money before. I do see myself living a higher lifestyle, but to me it's more about security than luxury. I want to be able to have opportunities in life like living comfortably in a major urban center, travelling and supporting others. Also it is nice to be rewarded for doing meaningful work.

Midterm Mark and Anybody know about any easy Thomspon Rivers University online/distance courses?

So I got my midterm mark back from my Food, Nutrition and Health 200 course and I got 80 percent on it. I am okay with this mark because going into the exam I did not feel prepared, but while I was writing my exam I felt I knew most of the questions. 80 percent at UBC is an A-, so overall it is a fairly good grade. In the grand scheme of things though, I should be getting in the 90s because UBC Medicine's average to get in is around 87 percent (with the worst year dropped). So I need to do really well. Similarly, it is going to be nearly impossible for me to get above 90 (an A+) in the course because of the marks I've already received. I would have to get almost 100 percent on the final and on all the quizes and assignments.

Also my final exam for FNH 200 has been scheduled and it is on June 27th. I am going to start studying for this exam this weekend and continue through until the day before or the day of the exam. I am trying to get above 95 percent.

Also I need to register in a Thompson Rivers University online class. I am not quite sure about which course to take. If anyone has taken any courses at Thompson Rivers University and found them to be fairly easy and/or fairly easy to achieve a high mark, then please comment below with the course title and number if you can remember it. I am thinking about taking a math class, or a chemistry class, or a social work class, but I am not sure which one I will do yet.

Respiratory Therapy

So I applied to Respiratory therapy at Thompson Rivers University and I found out I got in! I was very surprised since they take university grades into account. They also take high school into account so maybe that was what helped me get in. The problem with this program is that it has to be done on site in Kamloops British Columbia, at Thompson Rivers University. Kamloops is about 4-7 hours away from Vancouver by car (I am just guessing here) and I really do not want to move there. I love everything about Vancouver, including the schools here. If this program was in Vancouver, I would probably do it. But since it's not, I'm going to have to decline. It is tempting though because they make anywhere from 27-33 dollars an hour here in BC. I may revisit Respiratory therapy in the future as a backup plan. Even if I did it I would only work until I got into medical school. I would never do it as a permanent job. Right now it is one of my lowest backup plans.

I don't place much stock into my backup plans simply because I want to succeed in my main goal of medicine and nothing else. I really wouldn't be happy doing anything aside from medicine. However due to limited funds, I may have to pursue a temporary career to support my university studies in order to get into medicine.

Right now, my main backups are Respiratory therapy, pharmacy, master's/phd programs (professor or research or both), perfusion, pharmacy tech, and I believe that is all I can think of right now. Hopefully I get into medicine after 1-3 years of applying and I don't have to worry about any of these backup careers.

Summer Plans

So I was able to register for courses at UBC this summer. So far, I'm only in one course, it's called a Food, Nutrition, and Health class. It started on May 12th, so I missed the first few classes because I registered late. My first midterm is next Monday on June 2nd, and I have an assignment due this Friday as well. I am starting to get a bit stressed but I still believe I have enough time to do everything. After this class is over in June, I might be taking two Thompson Rivers University classes online. But I am not completely sure yet.

I'm also glad I could register at UBC this summer because then I can workout at the UBC gym for the student price which is significantly cheaper. I'm going to get my membership tomorrow because when I tried to get it last week they said the system hadn't updated yet and said I wasn't registered in courses so they said to come in on Wednesday (tomorrow).

I am quite concerned about my FNH class because it is a science class and a 200 level class. I haven't taken a science class in a few years so I may be a bit rusty. I'll be glad once the midterm is over and I get my mark back because then I can gauge how I'm doing. But in the mean time I guess I'll just study and wait. Starting tomorrow I plan on putting in 8-10 hour days studying until my midterm. I might increase it to 12 hours on the weekend if I feel I'm not absorbing the material. There is quite a bit of material to know but most of it seems fairly interesting.

( ) Draft Day

(Removed)

 I saw the movie Draft Day, the Kevin Costner movie about the NFL Draft, and it was really good! I was surprised how good it was. If youre a fan of the NFL or even sports, then I highly suggest watching Draft Day. The next movies I'm looking forward to are Neighbours, Godzilla, and 22 Jump Street.

Uncertain Summer

Hey so sorry for the delay between posts. I have just been relaxing and also running some errands. The errands are in relation to my courses because I was registered in 3 courses at Langara for the summer but I was dropped from them because I didn't pay my fees! I've been scrambling by talking to UBC and trying to register for 2 courses there. They said it may be a bit too late to register now, but I should find out sometime next week. Next week is also when classes start so I'll be attending lectures just in case I can register at UBC.

I am not proud of not paying my fees, but in my defense I have never heard of a school requiring fee payment 2 weeks before the first day of class. I was also given no warning, no emails, nothing. The only way I would have known is if I looked on the calendar on the website. Despite this, I can't help but feel a bit irresponsible about this whole thing.

My girlfriend also had a great idea by suggesting that I take Thompson Rivers University online classes. So if I can't register at UBC, I will take Thomspon Rivers classes instead of working this summer. I feel my education is too important to put off for a summer. The only problem is that I don't really like online classes, but I'm hoping that I will enjoy the ones that I'll register in. They will be 3 classes in total, 1 math class and 2 social work classes.

As soon as I know what I'm doing this summer, I will post on here. I guess I will just have to watch some NHL playoff hockey in the mean time.

Final Marks

I received my final marks last Wednesday, but I haven't had the chance to post yet. So I ended up with an A-, an A, and an A+.

I was fairly happy when I found out, but part of me would have been happier with straight A+'s. All in all, not too much to complain about, except for maybe the A-. But an A average is still good.

I hate nightclubs, canucks, and Last exam

So on this Friday night I've come to the realization that I absolutely hate nightclubs. I am quite happy to admit this and I believe this is a positive thing in my life. I am 22 years old though, and it does feel like I'm in the minority. Now that I am serious about med school, I believe I shouldn't be spending my time worrying about "having fun" in clubs. I have had fun in a club very few times in my life, and I am never going again. I have also recently quit drinking so this adds to it as well. Although even if I could still drink, I believe I wouldn't be having fun at clubs. I hope most other premeds are in the same boat as me, as I would hate to get into med school and find out that the form of social life is through nightlife. Also average age in medical school in Canada is pretty high from what I heard (I believe it is anywhere from 24-27), so I doubt many people go to clubs past their mid twenties. If they do, I believe it is pretty strange.

I also had my last exam on Monday, and I should know my marks in 1-2 weeks. I am hoping I did well but I don't want to jynx it. (There's the superstitious athlete in me). I've also registered in my summer courses and they start May 5th. So I have a few weeks to relax. When classes first ended, I was really looking forward to classes, but now that I've been enjoying doing nothing, I am not really looking forward to classes. I am really hoping this changes as time gets closer to classes.

In other news the Stanley Cup playoffs are starting, and my favorite team, the canucks aren't in it. I hope the Canucks do well next year though and I'm glad they got Trevor Linden as president. I'll still be watching the playoffs though because I love NHL hockey, and I'm cheering for the New York Rangers, and also the Pittsburgh Penguins. I think Chris Kreider is amazing and I'm hoping he becomes a real force in the NHL in a few years. I watched the Rangers 2012 run and I thought he did really well.

Last day of class

Last Thursday I had my last class of the semester. I am still waiting to get a few marks back so I don't quite know my final marks. Also, I still have final exams.

As for the jobs, I haven't heard much back yet. I received an email from the head of Drive Basketball about a job but I wasn't able to meet with him during the days he wanted and he still hasn't gotten back to me with different days to meet him.

I'm hoping to know my final marks by the end of April. I have already registered for summer courses and I am looking forward to them quite a bit. I'm hoping to have even higher marks this summer.

My girlfriend really wants me to get a job but I only want a job that I'm passionate about. Not to mention a job could hurt my grades and school is my absolute number 1 priority. I love my girlfriend but I'm really disappointed that she doesn't see my point of view. What's worst is she thinks 80 bucks a week is going to make a huge difference when it hardly affects anything.

I also started volunteering with a UBC Mental Health group called the Kaleidoscope. I am very passionate about this group as I think mental health affects too many students and I'm just happy I can be a part of a solution. For anyone interested in comming to the Kaleidoscope there is free pizza on Tuesdays and free sushi on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The locations are below: (Note these are all on the UBC Vancouver campus.)

Tuesdays 5-6pm in the CSI’s small meeting room
Wednesdays 12-1pm in BUCH D209
Thursdays 12:30-1:30pm also in BUCH D209

Job Interviews

So I checked my email this morning and much to my delight I have 3 interview offers. Two of which I have confirmed time and dates and one of which I am waiting to hear back from. One interview is this Friday and one is on Monday. One of the interviewers wants me to bring in a transcript, so I likely won't get that job since I have 11 failed courses. But the other job never asked for a transcript, so hopefully I can avoid that with them.

The job I am most excited for didn't come from the UBC connect website, it came from a reply to a website submission I submitted about a week ago. The job is for Drive Basketball, and they are the premier youth basketball development league in the province. They handle all of the provincial teams. I am still not sure if it is volunteer or a paid job. In the email, the owner said that he was interested in me "working" for him, so there is a chance it might be a paid job. I would love doing the Drive Basketball job if it was volunteer, but you can only imagine  how excited I'd be if it was paid. Right now I'm just praying (i'm not really religious) that I get the job with them, and also that it is a paid position. If its not paid, i'd still be happy to volunteer with them.

I will post more in the coming days if I get more interviews/ updates on the interviews I have lined up.

Part-time Jop Applications

Since I've been doing well this semester, I thought it'd be a good idea to get a part time job. There are a lot of cool jobs on the UBC volunteer connect website. I applied to a bunch of those jobs. The only problem is that most of those jobs are 20 hours a week. This seems like it might be a bit too much for me. I would prefer about 10-12 hours a week. But I'm not even sure if I'll get an interview, considering I've only completed 1 year of classes and thus am in second year.

I think a lab job would be interesting. I have lab experience at St. Paul's Hospital. Although this was boring at times, I did enjoy going to the lab. There was one job that I am particularly gunning for. It was working with the UBC Men's basketball team. I would absolutely love working for the basketball team, as I am a huge fan of the UBC men's team. I am also a former high school basketball player myself, so hopefully they will view me favorably in the application.

If I could hear back from a 10 hour a week job, that would be ideal. I applied saturday night and I've already received one email saying that they are currently combing through applications. So I will post more if I get invited to some interviews.