I came across this website that seem really helpful for premedical students esp. the ones preparing for MCAT and medical studies in US. There are MCAT preparation materials and the best thing is that most of the material is free!! So browse the website and benefit from the resources provided. It has video lectures of many topics, an impressive question bank with options to work on the topic of your choice and so on.
http://www.wikipremed.com/
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
For the class of 2015
Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS on getting accepted to the class of 2015. In this post I am going to write about the academic component of the pre-medical years with a little topping of social life.
Lets start with the international orientation:
For the students who don't live in Doha, you will be attending the International Students Orientation. Its a pretty decent social event, try not to miss it. You get to know all the students who will live in the dorms. This might be the only opportunity to know students who go to other universities, unless you have a roommate from a different school. My suggestion is to get to know as many people as you can, specially from other college's. And if you are a party animal, you might find it useful to make friends with people from CMU or GU coz they have a pretty chilled life (in our class tho, even Cornellians were cool!). For the people who cannot make friends so easily, don't worry, you will have a lot of time. Don't worry about first impressions etc coz it takes a really long time to find exactly your kind of people. It is a fact tho that as a Cornellian, you will mostly be hanging out with only Cornellians. So, try looking for Cornellians you think u would like to be friends with. Then you will have Cornell's orientation, which is also pretty much fun.
Now the academics.
Remember, that the ultimate goal of the pre-medical program is to get into medical school and believe it or not, you start getting evaluated from the first semester.
First Semester: The subjects to really focus on are science subjects like Biology (lab n lecture) and Chemistry and Calculus (i am not sure if it counts as science...check it..and if it does..its important).
Second Semester: Biology and Chemistry again, with Physics. This will presumably be the hardest semester (in terms of workload), so make it a point to be regular in ur preparation and plan well. SERIOUSLY (telling u from my experience). If you can improve ur GPA in this semester, you will be increasing ur chances of getting in.
First and Second Semester: College means a lot of hard work. Be regular with your assignments. You might at times feel like giving up one or two assignments in physics but DONT. In the end, you will be the one regretting it coz that small 0.1 might be the difference between an A- (A minus) and a B+ (B plus) and that WILL affect your GPA by a great deal. Dont be too lazy with ur chem lab reports either coz in the end, they count to be a lot. You will have quizzes which are equally important and i dont have to mention that the prelims and finals are verrry important. Prepare well for Biology lab finals, those exams ARE tough. I am sure youll start getting hold of whats important once u start but this is just a heads up. Most of the material you will be studying in the first year will be whtever u studied in high school. So you might get tempted to chill, but DONT. ull regret it! Keep up with the workload.
Third Semester: Organic Chemistry (this seems to give problems to too many people, so DONT forget to attend lectures in this subject, very important. You dont really need to look at the book if u attend lectures coz the notes that u get in lectures are amaazing. And building a good foundation is important, so the first few lectures are verry important) THIS subject is verry important. Physics continues, equally imp and easy to score well.
Fourth Semester: Orgo continues. (will be easy if u know ur basics). Another very important subject is Biochemistry. The study material is vague but if u read well in advance, its easy to handle. the questions asked will be more logic type so if u have read well, ull do fine. focus also on human genetics, but it shudnt be that difficult.
Third and Fourth Semester: its much lighter than the first two. you will have more free time.
I have only mentioned the science subjects (i might have missed out some, check to make sure), which is mostly what the admissions committee looks for med school. Have a strong science GPA. doesnt mean u ignore the other subjects. writing seminar is a pretty decent course and will help u mature! the best thing to do is to show an increasing trend in your GPA from the first to the last semester, if thats not possible, at least maintain a constant GPA and try never to go down. Most students start very well, and then go down hard. Not good. dont worry if u dont have a verrrry high GPA, just be stable and always perform to ur maximum potential. in the two years, they can very easily access ur potential and it doesnt look good if u r not performing near ur max potential. (it can hurt u actually, if u arent.)
MCAT: Medical College Admissions Test. Its a standard testing for medical school much like SAT. Its divided into three sections, verbal, biological and phyical. Biological includes biology and organic chemistry. Physical includes physics and inorganic chemistry. verbal is english reasoning. each section is out of 15 and the score is given based on percentile.
as most students here are not native english speakers, the admissions committee is leniant with verbal scores. the more important ones are biological and physical. it is important to be above at least 10 in these sections. a typically good score would be 30 out of 45. higher scores are amazing and sometimes a little lower will also work, based on ur GPA. you will have MCAT prep course during the summer after ur first year and most people take their MCAT (the first time) during the third semester or better still, before the summer break ends (so that u can pay full attention to ur grades once the semester starts). dont worry if ur scores arent good the first time. most people take it twice and some even thrice. its ur best score that counts. its important that ur MCAT scores and ur grades correlate. just a high mcat score doesnt guarantee admission, nor does a very high grade and bad MCAT.
Try n be involved in any no. of extra curricular activities as u can, but not at the cost of ur school performance. ull find that the second year is a bit lighter than the first so u could plan on being a little less involved in the first and more in the second. there are numerous opportunities for EC activities, as a group or individually. one of the classes (almost the whole class) went to some third world country to volunteer as a group (they managed everything on their own). if ur class agrees, u can do something like that. try other stuff like observerships in hospitals, maybe in ur home country. there will be opportunities here as well. be creative and come up with ideas! there will be numerous opportunities for research. try contacting people, seniors, faculty if u r interested in getting involved in research. but dont get bothered if u cant find one (especially in the first semester itself or the second...focus on ur studies in these semesters) coz the research labs here are young so not everyone can find positions. the admissions committee knows that so it wont hurt u not to have a research. but doing research is fun!
For now, relax as ur orientation is about to begin. be prepared with an open mind! these two years will be an experience (and theyll go by in a blink of any eye) and ull be glad u lived it. ull discover things about u that u never knew before..its a nice eye opening experience (sounds corny but is true!!). there will be times of high and low (mostly!). dont be depressed. ull make great friends...talk to them...or ur advisor (especially if it is about academics). and try to avoid cut throat competition among ur peers as it is unnecessary. remember, A CORNELL MD AWAITS U AT THE END OF ALL THIS!! ill leave the rest for u to discover!!
tht was really loong...well..i didnt have anything else to do!! jk!!
cheers
joshi
Lets start with the international orientation:
For the students who don't live in Doha, you will be attending the International Students Orientation. Its a pretty decent social event, try not to miss it. You get to know all the students who will live in the dorms. This might be the only opportunity to know students who go to other universities, unless you have a roommate from a different school. My suggestion is to get to know as many people as you can, specially from other college's. And if you are a party animal, you might find it useful to make friends with people from CMU or GU coz they have a pretty chilled life (in our class tho, even Cornellians were cool!). For the people who cannot make friends so easily, don't worry, you will have a lot of time. Don't worry about first impressions etc coz it takes a really long time to find exactly your kind of people. It is a fact tho that as a Cornellian, you will mostly be hanging out with only Cornellians. So, try looking for Cornellians you think u would like to be friends with. Then you will have Cornell's orientation, which is also pretty much fun.
Now the academics.
Remember, that the ultimate goal of the pre-medical program is to get into medical school and believe it or not, you start getting evaluated from the first semester.
First Semester: The subjects to really focus on are science subjects like Biology (lab n lecture) and Chemistry and Calculus (i am not sure if it counts as science...check it..and if it does..its important).
Second Semester: Biology and Chemistry again, with Physics. This will presumably be the hardest semester (in terms of workload), so make it a point to be regular in ur preparation and plan well. SERIOUSLY (telling u from my experience). If you can improve ur GPA in this semester, you will be increasing ur chances of getting in.
First and Second Semester: College means a lot of hard work. Be regular with your assignments. You might at times feel like giving up one or two assignments in physics but DONT. In the end, you will be the one regretting it coz that small 0.1 might be the difference between an A- (A minus) and a B+ (B plus) and that WILL affect your GPA by a great deal. Dont be too lazy with ur chem lab reports either coz in the end, they count to be a lot. You will have quizzes which are equally important and i dont have to mention that the prelims and finals are verrry important. Prepare well for Biology lab finals, those exams ARE tough. I am sure youll start getting hold of whats important once u start but this is just a heads up. Most of the material you will be studying in the first year will be whtever u studied in high school. So you might get tempted to chill, but DONT. ull regret it! Keep up with the workload.
Third Semester: Organic Chemistry (this seems to give problems to too many people, so DONT forget to attend lectures in this subject, very important. You dont really need to look at the book if u attend lectures coz the notes that u get in lectures are amaazing. And building a good foundation is important, so the first few lectures are verry important) THIS subject is verry important. Physics continues, equally imp and easy to score well.
Fourth Semester: Orgo continues. (will be easy if u know ur basics). Another very important subject is Biochemistry. The study material is vague but if u read well in advance, its easy to handle. the questions asked will be more logic type so if u have read well, ull do fine. focus also on human genetics, but it shudnt be that difficult.
Third and Fourth Semester: its much lighter than the first two. you will have more free time.
I have only mentioned the science subjects (i might have missed out some, check to make sure), which is mostly what the admissions committee looks for med school. Have a strong science GPA. doesnt mean u ignore the other subjects. writing seminar is a pretty decent course and will help u mature! the best thing to do is to show an increasing trend in your GPA from the first to the last semester, if thats not possible, at least maintain a constant GPA and try never to go down. Most students start very well, and then go down hard. Not good. dont worry if u dont have a verrrry high GPA, just be stable and always perform to ur maximum potential. in the two years, they can very easily access ur potential and it doesnt look good if u r not performing near ur max potential. (it can hurt u actually, if u arent.)
MCAT: Medical College Admissions Test. Its a standard testing for medical school much like SAT. Its divided into three sections, verbal, biological and phyical. Biological includes biology and organic chemistry. Physical includes physics and inorganic chemistry. verbal is english reasoning. each section is out of 15 and the score is given based on percentile.
as most students here are not native english speakers, the admissions committee is leniant with verbal scores. the more important ones are biological and physical. it is important to be above at least 10 in these sections. a typically good score would be 30 out of 45. higher scores are amazing and sometimes a little lower will also work, based on ur GPA. you will have MCAT prep course during the summer after ur first year and most people take their MCAT (the first time) during the third semester or better still, before the summer break ends (so that u can pay full attention to ur grades once the semester starts). dont worry if ur scores arent good the first time. most people take it twice and some even thrice. its ur best score that counts. its important that ur MCAT scores and ur grades correlate. just a high mcat score doesnt guarantee admission, nor does a very high grade and bad MCAT.
Try n be involved in any no. of extra curricular activities as u can, but not at the cost of ur school performance. ull find that the second year is a bit lighter than the first so u could plan on being a little less involved in the first and more in the second. there are numerous opportunities for EC activities, as a group or individually. one of the classes (almost the whole class) went to some third world country to volunteer as a group (they managed everything on their own). if ur class agrees, u can do something like that. try other stuff like observerships in hospitals, maybe in ur home country. there will be opportunities here as well. be creative and come up with ideas! there will be numerous opportunities for research. try contacting people, seniors, faculty if u r interested in getting involved in research. but dont get bothered if u cant find one (especially in the first semester itself or the second...focus on ur studies in these semesters) coz the research labs here are young so not everyone can find positions. the admissions committee knows that so it wont hurt u not to have a research. but doing research is fun!
For now, relax as ur orientation is about to begin. be prepared with an open mind! these two years will be an experience (and theyll go by in a blink of any eye) and ull be glad u lived it. ull discover things about u that u never knew before..its a nice eye opening experience (sounds corny but is true!!). there will be times of high and low (mostly!). dont be depressed. ull make great friends...talk to them...or ur advisor (especially if it is about academics). and try to avoid cut throat competition among ur peers as it is unnecessary. remember, A CORNELL MD AWAITS U AT THE END OF ALL THIS!! ill leave the rest for u to discover!!
tht was really loong...well..i didnt have anything else to do!! jk!!
cheers
joshi
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Applying
hello there,
has been a long time since i last wrote on this blog...well..i wouldnt exactly say i was busy but i wasn't able to write coz of the winter break...i went back to nepal and was too busy trekking around and trying to relax!
today i'd like to tell you more about how i had prepared when I was applying to Cornell for pre-med...now that the time for me to apply to medical school is near (this march), it is going to be helpful for me to recall what i did too!!
to begin with, i was unaware about the existence of this branch of cornell during my high school days. so my only plans were to apply to universities and colleges in the states and that was how i was preparing for the whole time. (please do realize that i am only one of the sixty students accepted in my class...so there is a huge range in scores of the people who did get accepted..there is no cut off level...every individual has his/her unique characters which the admission committee looks into...dont get dissapointed if u have anything less and if u have better scores..good for u..but in college admission...as u might have heard..nothing is guaranteed..and i am not at all a professional!!)
i did the Cambridge GCE A Levels (but there are students who have done the high school system of India (CBSE), French Baccalaureate, International Baccalaureate, Edexcel, Advanced Placement and so on..i dont even know all of them!!)...i had taken 5 subjects and had got a good enuf grade of As and Bs ( I know students with Cs and Ds as well)... after two years of high school, i decided to take a break to pull myself together and work on college application stuff and also tp prepare myself for the college experience...most people dont take any year off actually...in my case...my high school had its own style and almost everyone took a year off...most people who get accepted here in freshman year are around 18 years old...but we had the youngest person to ever get accepted here (age 14) and people who had already started medical school but left to start from premed again (age 20-21)
i took my SAT Reasoning Test, 3 SAT Subject Tests, TOEFL all in my gap year and got above average scores (in regards to this college)...check out the website to know the average scores..heres a quote from our website
"While no single grade or exam score guarantees admission, it would be relevant to note that the average GPA of the students entering the Pre-medical Program in 2005 was 3.8 and additionally that these students had an average SAT math score of 676 and an average TOEFL score of 604." (http://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/education/admin/downloads/2007_eviewbook.pdf)
i dont know the recent scores
the admission committee here looks beyond these standard tests more in this college than any other american college because of the fact that most applicants here are non-native English speakers...so if your reading score in SAT or your TOEFL scores arent particularly impressive as per US standards, you shouldnt worry that much because at this college they consider the fact that you are not supposed to be that impressive...however, i would advice you to pay attention in subjects that arent language based like science and maths.
after taking my tests, I started working on my personal statements. I made it a point to look into all the distinctions that this college had over any other college and by the time I was done researching for my colleges, I knew that WCMC-Q would be my priority school. (I actually stumbled upon this college's website by mere luck!!) I also made it a point to apply to numerous other schools for safety (I actually applied to 12 different schools!! u can choose the no. of schools u want to apply to but try and make it more than just one! look for a school that matches with your personality so that u get the best environment u need...good college research is a must!)
Then came the time of writing why I wanted to study at Cornell and why I would choose this particular one instead of the hundreds of thousands of schools all over the world! As I had researched well, not just about the college but about life as a general in Doha, in Qatar and the lifestyle of the college students here in Qatar Foundation, I had a lot to say. And I made my point clear in my personal statement that this was indeed what I was looking for. But in an essay, you have to also make it a point to state what benefit will the college have by accepting you..i wouldnt say u promise them that ud win the nobel prize and make the college famous, but talk about you as a unique individual, what are your strong points (try not to include your weak points unless u will make some important point later on!) and how you would make a difference in the culture of WCMC-Q, how you would stand out between the other 60 students who would get in with you and more importantly, how are u different from the other hundreds if not thousands of applicants! talk about what made u choose medicine as a career....etc etc (u shud know the drill if u r applying!!)
I did exactly that and "ONE FINE DAY, I OPEN MY INBOX AND SEE AN EMAIL FROM THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE OF WCMC-Q ASKING ME TO APPEAR FOR AN INTERVIEW!!" (i jumped up and down with joy..shouted out on top of my voice...etc etc.. btw..it was one fine night...my neighbours didn't seem to be too happy about my interview invitation or maybe it was my shouting!)
i flew to doha (yes, everyone HAS to appear for the interview) and nervously walked into the doors of the college's gigantic yet beautiful building...but the interview wasnt as nerve-racking as i thought it would be...the dean of admissions was an affable person and i was calm by the time i took the first bite of my doughnut during breakfast... i was briefed about the college, about the main campus..our college's plans etc etc during breakfast and then i was interviewd by 3 people including a faculty, the dean of admissions and a medical student..(yours could be different..i dont know what happens these days)...the interview went really pleasantly...it was more of a chit chat where they wanted to learn more about me and I wanted to learn more about the college and what I should expect.....i was also asked a simple question in science but that is not common and even if asked..it is okay to make a mistake! (dont stress about it from now!)
so yeah...after the interview...another fine day (this time it was during the day) I received a phone call saying i was accepted and that was that! i was the happiest person coz I was accepted to cornell's pre-medical program and my dreams of becomin a cornell doctor were very close to being true (btw..if u dont see me around next year...cud u tell the admissions committee that i really wanted to become a cornell MD and to reconsider and take me in??) jk..hopefully i will be around to write another story about how i got accepted to the medical program...inshallah (one of the very few arabic words i have learnt!)
thanks for taking the time to read this looooong post...and please leave behind your useful comments...u can also catch me on facebook..just look me up and id be glad to help.
NOTE: This is a personal blog and the information or advice given here are my own views coming out of my own personal experiences. If you see any differences between what is said here and the official WCMC-Q website, please adhere to WCMC-Q's recommendations and policies. Neither WCMC-Q nor I am liable for any claim made in relation to this blog. Summing it up, this is me speaking and not Cornell but the advices I have written here might be helpful!
has been a long time since i last wrote on this blog...well..i wouldnt exactly say i was busy but i wasn't able to write coz of the winter break...i went back to nepal and was too busy trekking around and trying to relax!
today i'd like to tell you more about how i had prepared when I was applying to Cornell for pre-med...now that the time for me to apply to medical school is near (this march), it is going to be helpful for me to recall what i did too!!
to begin with, i was unaware about the existence of this branch of cornell during my high school days. so my only plans were to apply to universities and colleges in the states and that was how i was preparing for the whole time. (please do realize that i am only one of the sixty students accepted in my class...so there is a huge range in scores of the people who did get accepted..there is no cut off level...every individual has his/her unique characters which the admission committee looks into...dont get dissapointed if u have anything less and if u have better scores..good for u..but in college admission...as u might have heard..nothing is guaranteed..and i am not at all a professional!!)
i did the Cambridge GCE A Levels (but there are students who have done the high school system of India (CBSE), French Baccalaureate, International Baccalaureate, Edexcel, Advanced Placement and so on..i dont even know all of them!!)...i had taken 5 subjects and had got a good enuf grade of As and Bs ( I know students with Cs and Ds as well)... after two years of high school, i decided to take a break to pull myself together and work on college application stuff and also tp prepare myself for the college experience...most people dont take any year off actually...in my case...my high school had its own style and almost everyone took a year off...most people who get accepted here in freshman year are around 18 years old...but we had the youngest person to ever get accepted here (age 14) and people who had already started medical school but left to start from premed again (age 20-21)
i took my SAT Reasoning Test, 3 SAT Subject Tests, TOEFL all in my gap year and got above average scores (in regards to this college)...check out the website to know the average scores..heres a quote from our website
"While no single grade or exam score guarantees admission, it would be relevant to note that the average GPA of the students entering the Pre-medical Program in 2005 was 3.8 and additionally that these students had an average SAT math score of 676 and an average TOEFL score of 604." (http://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/education/admin/downloads/2007_eviewbook.pdf)
i dont know the recent scores
the admission committee here looks beyond these standard tests more in this college than any other american college because of the fact that most applicants here are non-native English speakers...so if your reading score in SAT or your TOEFL scores arent particularly impressive as per US standards, you shouldnt worry that much because at this college they consider the fact that you are not supposed to be that impressive...however, i would advice you to pay attention in subjects that arent language based like science and maths.
after taking my tests, I started working on my personal statements. I made it a point to look into all the distinctions that this college had over any other college and by the time I was done researching for my colleges, I knew that WCMC-Q would be my priority school. (I actually stumbled upon this college's website by mere luck!!) I also made it a point to apply to numerous other schools for safety (I actually applied to 12 different schools!! u can choose the no. of schools u want to apply to but try and make it more than just one! look for a school that matches with your personality so that u get the best environment u need...good college research is a must!)
Then came the time of writing why I wanted to study at Cornell and why I would choose this particular one instead of the hundreds of thousands of schools all over the world! As I had researched well, not just about the college but about life as a general in Doha, in Qatar and the lifestyle of the college students here in Qatar Foundation, I had a lot to say. And I made my point clear in my personal statement that this was indeed what I was looking for. But in an essay, you have to also make it a point to state what benefit will the college have by accepting you..i wouldnt say u promise them that ud win the nobel prize and make the college famous, but talk about you as a unique individual, what are your strong points (try not to include your weak points unless u will make some important point later on!) and how you would make a difference in the culture of WCMC-Q, how you would stand out between the other 60 students who would get in with you and more importantly, how are u different from the other hundreds if not thousands of applicants! talk about what made u choose medicine as a career....etc etc (u shud know the drill if u r applying!!)
I did exactly that and "ONE FINE DAY, I OPEN MY INBOX AND SEE AN EMAIL FROM THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE OF WCMC-Q ASKING ME TO APPEAR FOR AN INTERVIEW!!" (i jumped up and down with joy..shouted out on top of my voice...etc etc.. btw..it was one fine night...my neighbours didn't seem to be too happy about my interview invitation or maybe it was my shouting!)
i flew to doha (yes, everyone HAS to appear for the interview) and nervously walked into the doors of the college's gigantic yet beautiful building...but the interview wasnt as nerve-racking as i thought it would be...the dean of admissions was an affable person and i was calm by the time i took the first bite of my doughnut during breakfast... i was briefed about the college, about the main campus..our college's plans etc etc during breakfast and then i was interviewd by 3 people including a faculty, the dean of admissions and a medical student..(yours could be different..i dont know what happens these days)...the interview went really pleasantly...it was more of a chit chat where they wanted to learn more about me and I wanted to learn more about the college and what I should expect.....i was also asked a simple question in science but that is not common and even if asked..it is okay to make a mistake! (dont stress about it from now!)
so yeah...after the interview...another fine day (this time it was during the day) I received a phone call saying i was accepted and that was that! i was the happiest person coz I was accepted to cornell's pre-medical program and my dreams of becomin a cornell doctor were very close to being true (btw..if u dont see me around next year...cud u tell the admissions committee that i really wanted to become a cornell MD and to reconsider and take me in??) jk..hopefully i will be around to write another story about how i got accepted to the medical program...inshallah (one of the very few arabic words i have learnt!)
thanks for taking the time to read this looooong post...and please leave behind your useful comments...u can also catch me on facebook..just look me up and id be glad to help.
NOTE: This is a personal blog and the information or advice given here are my own views coming out of my own personal experiences. If you see any differences between what is said here and the official WCMC-Q website, please adhere to WCMC-Q's recommendations and policies. Neither WCMC-Q nor I am liable for any claim made in relation to this blog. Summing it up, this is me speaking and not Cornell but the advices I have written here might be helpful!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Life as a pre-med
If you are applying to Cornell, you better be prepared to work...real hard...is one advice I would give to you. The first and the second semester is especially tough, not in the sense of the material but the work load. Finishing the pre-medical requirements in two years is undoubtedly challenging. However, our amaaazing faculty makes it easy to handle....and their technique is simple. Every individual student gets personal attention from faculty...your professor will always call you by your name and know exactly what you are lacking or are good at. Where else would one get to see so much interaction between faculty and students. Since people get individual attention, they are bound to be better at what they are working on and hence get their work dont easily...and thats how we handle our work load. ofcourse....with time...u will realize that Cornell students share an interesting way of socializing which is an addition to the normal socializing acts that you see among college students. everyone works together...group discussion is encouraged and creates a productive atmosphere...so every time an assignment is due...you are bound to find a big group of cornellians in some apartment working...(tho one would doubt if more work or fooling around is done!!)
and when we are not working on assignments or not reading for the following day's lecture and if we dont have a prelim coming up soon....WE RELAX!! and that is the most amaaaazing feeling ever! and relaxing mostly includes sleeeeping....looooong hours...people sleep for 15 hours in one go at least....i have once slept for 36!! on weekends tho...most people try n get over their tiredness and enjoy....some go to the movies...some go just to chill at Souq Waqef and smoke sheesha at night..the only time of the day I can survive outdoors!!
that is how a normal week goes by as a Cornellian!! work work work...sleep and start all over again!! but i am shocked to be admitting that I have started to enjoy this life and i am not a geek...i swear!!!
will be writing about some other interesting things later....
and when we are not working on assignments or not reading for the following day's lecture and if we dont have a prelim coming up soon....WE RELAX!! and that is the most amaaaazing feeling ever! and relaxing mostly includes sleeeeping....looooong hours...people sleep for 15 hours in one go at least....i have once slept for 36!! on weekends tho...most people try n get over their tiredness and enjoy....some go to the movies...some go just to chill at Souq Waqef and smoke sheesha at night..the only time of the day I can survive outdoors!!
that is how a normal week goes by as a Cornellian!! work work work...sleep and start all over again!! but i am shocked to be admitting that I have started to enjoy this life and i am not a geek...i swear!!!
will be writing about some other interesting things later....
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Interested Applicants
hi all...thanks for visiting this blog...now that the student affairs has a link to this blog, I see that more and more people are dropping by this post...it should be able to better serve the purpose...sorry for the irregular posts..it was just coz no one was actually reading it..now i promise to be more regular in the posts..for that i will be needing all of your...i will try to figure out a way to make this blog more interactive but until then i would like you all to shoot your questions in the comments so that everyone can look at them and we can all discuss....i hope u guys understand that it is difficult to just write about this place.....coz i would only write about wht interests me and may not be exactly what you guys want to know....i remember the time when i was applying..i was sooo lost...esp coz the whole region was new to me...so..ill try my best to prevent it
looking forward to hearing more about u guys...
ciao
looking forward to hearing more about u guys...
ciao
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
A Sophomore!!!
amazing experience to be a sophomore and even see the new freshman's comin in!! new faces comin in as well as old ones moving out!! oh...n did i tell u that we have had our first batch of doctors already out??? amaaaazing isnt it!! well...the freshman class is in full swing..havent met too many people so far but every one looks super enthusiastic to be here (i could tell that from their faces!!)...have my MCAT's comin up..and that is one reason why i am writing on this blog...looking for as many distractions as possible!! i dont suggest u do the same tho!!
oh yeah...the new CMU building is almost complete and the students have already started using the facilities....and the new restaurants!! subway is already there and a lot more are supposed to follow...and the best thing is that the building is next to Cornell...n if u jogged all the way to CMU after a busy morning..those sandwiches would taste even better!!! oh just to mention since i started talking about food already...we have a lot of events which seem to be organized just for the sake of distributing free food.....u r gonna love it!!
well..let me get back to study...after all...i got to get into med school!!
oh yeah...the new CMU building is almost complete and the students have already started using the facilities....and the new restaurants!! subway is already there and a lot more are supposed to follow...and the best thing is that the building is next to Cornell...n if u jogged all the way to CMU after a busy morning..those sandwiches would taste even better!!! oh just to mention since i started talking about food already...we have a lot of events which seem to be organized just for the sake of distributing free food.....u r gonna love it!!
well..let me get back to study...after all...i got to get into med school!!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
End of First Year
wooooah...it feels just like yesterday when we first arrived here...eager to start fresh and go on to become doctors (which at this point is a doubt every one of us has!) but yeah...the year sure did pass by without us even realizing.....i wish the rest of the 5 years pass by as quickly! there was a schedule we had for everyday of every week...at least one thing or the other was due the next day and we used to work late at night to finish it. u guys must be aware of the facebook group "If u start at the last minute, it only takes a minute", so it usually took us only a minute to finish most of the work...only starting it in the first place seemed to be a BIG problem!! we had been living every single day like it meant something (and it truly did...every assignment, lab report etc has the potential to change ur grade!), and before we realized we had passed a year!!
i wont talk about how the exams went...tho i hope for the best!
and yeah...the ever improving doha has shown us a nice time here. every weekend was something to look forward to... i usually dedicated my thursdays to watching movies back to back and sometimes going to the cinemas!
reaaaaly look forward to a pleasant summer break once the MCAT preparation classes are over
i wont talk about how the exams went...tho i hope for the best!
and yeah...the ever improving doha has shown us a nice time here. every weekend was something to look forward to... i usually dedicated my thursdays to watching movies back to back and sometimes going to the cinemas!
reaaaaly look forward to a pleasant summer break once the MCAT preparation classes are over
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