Yeah, yeah. It's been two weeks since I last posted, but blame it on finals and such. I came out ok, but only ok. I am using this past semester as learning how to be ok with less than an A. However, I did get an A on my A&P final!!!!! Which makes up for the less than stellar grade I got in French (well, almost anyway)
I had yet more correspondence from Ivy3, this time it is asking me to *clarify* that I have indeed taken A&P, Microbiology, and Nutrition. I haven't taken Micro yet, as I was planning on taking it over the summer...still plan on taking that route unless they say otherwise. I also received word that more clarification is needed on my past criminal record. WOW. Can I just say that once you've paid the price, the sentence should be over??? No, No, No, I haven't done anything that would put others at risk. I just have a smudge that's several years old, but in my effort to be honest, they all know about it. Ivy3 is the only school that wants documentation, so now I must go to my local courthouse and get some! This process never ends - but I am happy to know that at least some precautions are taken before people are given license to take care of people!
Side note (rant) :
I have joined allnurses.com and spent the last couple of days perusing the forums. I must say I am a little discouraged by the negativity towards people in direct entry programs. It seems that most people have some serious opinions when it comes to these programs and lack of experience of the students...I had previously heard that nurses eat their young, but WOW.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
A Call From Ivy3
Ok, so my third-choice school called me today! It turns out that I did the essay/essay question portion of the application wrong (ie. read "different") and they wanted me to fix it and send them a revised copy via email. Apparently, I was supposed to write a "goal statement" *separately* from answering the essay questions. AND, I was supposed to answer the essay questions in this form:
1. Type the QUESTION here
(answer here)
2. Type the QUESTION here
(Answer here)
ect.
What did I do? Well I wrote an essay. But not just any essay - a super essay! LOL. I answered all the questions in essay form and clearly (and cleverly might I add-----> thanks H.) embedded my "goal statement" within the essay as well. The woman who called me said that while my essay was "beautiful" and "glowing" they (the reviewers) really "won't know what to do with it" because it doesn't follow the traditional form. See, we applicants get graded on each piece of writing separately, and even each question individually. So the form above makes for easy scoring. What's my point in sharing all of this with you? Here it is:
I think this was my first experience with having to change my natural way of doing things to fit this more analytical/scientific/formulaic way of doing things. I am such an individual. Why must I conform and mutilate my essay? I rather liked the idea of having the review committee see my essay and say "now here's a person who knows how to move fluidly from one idea to the next in a coherent, almost lyrical, way."
LOL.
Yeah, right.
Let's be real...I am oh-so-happy that they called to give me the opportunity to fix it, instead of saying "Oh, she must not know how to follow directions" and leaving my application to chance! So I am off to break apart my piece of art that I worked so hard on and make it a glowing (albeit formulaic) new piece. Wish me luck...
1. Type the QUESTION here
(answer here)
2. Type the QUESTION here
(Answer here)
ect.
What did I do? Well I wrote an essay. But not just any essay - a super essay! LOL. I answered all the questions in essay form and clearly (and cleverly might I add-----> thanks H.) embedded my "goal statement" within the essay as well. The woman who called me said that while my essay was "beautiful" and "glowing" they (the reviewers) really "won't know what to do with it" because it doesn't follow the traditional form. See, we applicants get graded on each piece of writing separately, and even each question individually. So the form above makes for easy scoring. What's my point in sharing all of this with you? Here it is:
I think this was my first experience with having to change my natural way of doing things to fit this more analytical/scientific/formulaic way of doing things. I am such an individual. Why must I conform and mutilate my essay? I rather liked the idea of having the review committee see my essay and say "now here's a person who knows how to move fluidly from one idea to the next in a coherent, almost lyrical, way."
LOL.
Yeah, right.
Let's be real...I am oh-so-happy that they called to give me the opportunity to fix it, instead of saying "Oh, she must not know how to follow directions" and leaving my application to chance! So I am off to break apart my piece of art that I worked so hard on and make it a glowing (albeit formulaic) new piece. Wish me luck...
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
A&P Lab FINAL EXAM
Here it is 1:52 am and we (my study group) are still studying. Our lab final is at 8 am. This will be my first final of the semester, and probably the easiest one - or at least the shortest one. At this point I am just grateful that it is only over one chapter - the Senses. So cow eyes, human eyes, inner/middle/outer ears, tongue, nose, facial bones, cranial nerves, etc. How fun. I think I have reached my learning threshold for this particular test, but of course I will study until everyone else reaches theirs too. God I hope they get there soon!
Can I vent for a moment about this process? Of course I can. In our class people play that game where they ask you "what'd you get?" Usually it's after we get our tests back, out in the hallway. I don't mind playing the game (I mean we're all in this together, right?) Wrong. Usually when I answer the question people are shocked. Sometimes annoyed. Sometimes jealous. Other times just down-right mad. Go figure. But here's what I wish: I wish they could be here to see this craziness that is our lives of studying for these tests. We haven't met too many students who could keep up with our study schedule. So it's not luck, there is no secret - it's just good ol' HARD WORK. That's all. Come study with us. It's 2 am now, and we're still here. You're more than welcome to come, but please bring some snacks.
Can I vent for a moment about this process? Of course I can. In our class people play that game where they ask you "what'd you get?" Usually it's after we get our tests back, out in the hallway. I don't mind playing the game (I mean we're all in this together, right?) Wrong. Usually when I answer the question people are shocked. Sometimes annoyed. Sometimes jealous. Other times just down-right mad. Go figure. But here's what I wish: I wish they could be here to see this craziness that is our lives of studying for these tests. We haven't met too many students who could keep up with our study schedule. So it's not luck, there is no secret - it's just good ol' HARD WORK. That's all. Come study with us. It's 2 am now, and we're still here. You're more than welcome to come, but please bring some snacks.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Anatomy & Physiology...
is kicking my butt. This class is hard. Memorizing every bone and muscle in the body is nearly impossible. Not to mention the body's functions, etc. I am doing well, but only because I have no life outside of this class. What's working?
1) A good study group. Me and three other black girls formed a study group to combat the feelings of isolation related to being some of the very few brown students in this class of a few hundred students. IT REALLY HELPS to have people calling you to make sure you're coming to class, dragging you to the lab to study extra outside of class, and pick you up/congratulate you when you get your grades! (Also, I find it nearly impossible to stay up past 10 o'clock without at least one study partner. But with them, I can easily stay up until 1 or 2!)
2) Staying on top of the material. There is no falling behind in reading for this class, it will be hell to make up. As soon as you don't understand something, you must be viligent about finding the answers before the new material is added.
3) It's hard. Period. The best thing you can do to get over this is to tell yourself that YES, it is hard, but SO WHAT??? Despite what the stats. say about brown people and science, remind yourself, everyday if necessary...
YOU CAN DO WELL IN THIS (AND ANY OTHER) SCIENCE CLASS!
1) A good study group. Me and three other black girls formed a study group to combat the feelings of isolation related to being some of the very few brown students in this class of a few hundred students. IT REALLY HELPS to have people calling you to make sure you're coming to class, dragging you to the lab to study extra outside of class, and pick you up/congratulate you when you get your grades! (Also, I find it nearly impossible to stay up past 10 o'clock without at least one study partner. But with them, I can easily stay up until 1 or 2!)
2) Staying on top of the material. There is no falling behind in reading for this class, it will be hell to make up. As soon as you don't understand something, you must be viligent about finding the answers before the new material is added.
3) It's hard. Period. The best thing you can do to get over this is to tell yourself that YES, it is hard, but SO WHAT??? Despite what the stats. say about brown people and science, remind yourself, everyday if necessary...
YOU CAN DO WELL IN THIS (AND ANY OTHER) SCIENCE CLASS!
Friday, December 02, 2005
Waiting...
on admissions decisions is torturous.
Background:
I am an English major at a public university in my last year of my undergraduate program. I have applied to three Ivy-League schools for Midwifery- I will refer to them as Ivy1, Ivy2, and Ivy3. Ivy1 is my first choice school, and so on. I will also apply to a public university early next year. For the application process, I used the online admissions route for each school that allowed it (2 out of 3) and filled out the paper one with a black fountain pen - typing it was just too much trouble as it is hard to find a type writer nowadays! I had to pay the application fee for each school (between $50 and $65 per school) because *NONE* of the schools had fee waivers. I asked for my recommendation letters well in advance, as well as my transcripts. **I collected the letters from each of my professors and mailed them in myself** I had my essays looked over by *more than one* person that I trusted to be honest and critical.
What worried me most during the time before I sent in the applications:
Those darn GRE's!!!!! I was petrified of taking that test. I just never felt ready. My goal was 500 VERBAL and 500 ANALYTICAL, the WRITING I wasn't worried about. I read on one of the school websites that they found these scores to be "competitive," so that's how they became my goal scores. I studied for the math by memorizing the important formulas. I studied for the vocabulary by memorizing prefixes and whole vocabulary words, and also by simply reading more scholarly articles on the internet. I ended up going above and beyond my goal scores!
What worries me most now?
Getting in, of course. I am worried that my GPA isn't high enough to be competitive (it took me a minute to get serious about school). I am worried because soooo many people apply for sooo few spots.
Background:
I am an English major at a public university in my last year of my undergraduate program. I have applied to three Ivy-League schools for Midwifery- I will refer to them as Ivy1, Ivy2, and Ivy3. Ivy1 is my first choice school, and so on. I will also apply to a public university early next year. For the application process, I used the online admissions route for each school that allowed it (2 out of 3) and filled out the paper one with a black fountain pen - typing it was just too much trouble as it is hard to find a type writer nowadays! I had to pay the application fee for each school (between $50 and $65 per school) because *NONE* of the schools had fee waivers. I asked for my recommendation letters well in advance, as well as my transcripts. **I collected the letters from each of my professors and mailed them in myself** I had my essays looked over by *more than one* person that I trusted to be honest and critical.
What worried me most during the time before I sent in the applications:
Those darn GRE's!!!!! I was petrified of taking that test. I just never felt ready. My goal was 500 VERBAL and 500 ANALYTICAL, the WRITING I wasn't worried about. I read on one of the school websites that they found these scores to be "competitive," so that's how they became my goal scores. I studied for the math by memorizing the important formulas. I studied for the vocabulary by memorizing prefixes and whole vocabulary words, and also by simply reading more scholarly articles on the internet. I ended up going above and beyond my goal scores!
What worries me most now?
Getting in, of course. I am worried that my GPA isn't high enough to be competitive (it took me a minute to get serious about school). I am worried because soooo many people apply for sooo few spots.
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