One Down

I submitted TMDSAS last night and boy did that feel good. I went ahead and started on my UTSW, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech secondaries. I'm working on AMCAS now and I'll probably submit today or tomorrow. I just need to finish up adding my activities. Then I can start my Tulane secondary. Tomorrow Glamour Shots opens at Stonebriar, so I'm gonna go there to take my med school app pictures. I want to get all this primary stuff sent in so that I can have concentrate on my secondaries. Of course, this means I will have to deal with my special friend...yuk! Well, I won't let her get to me. I know everything will be okay.

The Line Up

Here's my lineup of schools I'm applying to:

Baylor College
Boston University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Loma Linda University
New York Medical College
Texas A & M University
Texas Tech University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of North Texas
University of Oklahoma
University of Southern California
University of Texas, Galveston
University of Texas, Houston
University of Texas, San Antonio
University of Texas, Southwestern

My top choice is UT Southwestern, followed by everywhere else in TX. For the out-of-states, my top choice is USC (I have family alumni), followed by Boston and Tulane. I finished my TMDSAS app today, but I'm afraid to hit the submit key. They have my transcripts and MCAT scores already, they just need my app.

Here are my EC's:

TA General Chemistry Lab, Scribe for Internal Medicine Group, President of Metro Mustangs, Member of Sigma Tau Delta and National Society of Collegiate Scholars, SMU University Honors Program, English Departmental Distinction Candidate, Beecher Senior Scholarship for Excellence recipient from SMU English Department, Bronze medalist at HOSA National Competition, AP Scholar with Distinction, Teach Farsi and Islamic Studies

Let me know if any of you want to read my personal statement and optional essay. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

That Darn MCAT

I love puns. So I got my MCAT score back, and I feel pretty happy about it. I'm really glad about not retaking. I know I could have done better in verbal, but my score is still good and I'm really happy with my bio score. Now I've just got to concentrate on making my application super awesome so that no one can turn me down...based on non-GPA/MCAT factors, tee hee. I'm almost done with TMDSAS except for the "optional" essay. I still have to put my 15 activities into AMCAS. I'm anticipating I'll finish all these by the end of the month. I wish it was Feb 1, and I knew where I stood. The worst part about this is not knowing. But I have faith, and I'm sure I have a chance for at least some interviews.

Makin' Whoopi

Summer Nights

Last night I had a great get-together with some of my friends from school. It was Jiroko's birthday so we got together over dinner at the Noodle Bar. I had the chicken lo mein, which rocked, and we hung out there until they closed. Then we headed over to Paciugo and chilled (get it? we ate ice cream, which is cold) and enjoyed our gelato. We walked around the shopping center until we found a cozy spot in front of Whole Foods (ahh, the nightlife of Plano). We hung around for another couple hours before we called it a night and parted ways. It was a great night and it was nice to meet up with my friends and have some fun and get my mind off things. Yay, summer!

Viva Las Vegas

I'm back from Vegas, and I had a great time as usual. We saw a couple celebrities on this trip, which was cool. Within the first two hours at Bellagio we saw Jennifer Tilley at the Petrossian Lounge. The next day we saw Ed McMahon at the VIP lounge and then we saw Mahasti (a Persian singer) twice: once at the Fashion Show Mall and once at Bellagio. We also saw David Spade's standup act at the Mirage, which was fun. For the first time, I got to actually play in Vegas. My favorite slot machine was Super Cherry, where I dropped a dollar and won $75. Later, I won $235 at Black Jack, then spent $35 of it on a slot machine and won $300. Then I spent $150 of that on slots. So I didn't come out too bad, and it was pretty fun. Who knows what will happen if I wind up at Tulane med? Speaking of med school, the best part of my vacation was that I didn't have to think about it at all. I could just relax at the Spa, the pool, the malls (dude, I totally splurged at Burberry's sale!!), and the casino. But all good things must come to an end, and I returned to Dallas with lots of work left for me.

Under the Knife

So I had my surgery yesterday. I had four wisdom teeth extractions: 2 soft tissue and 2 partial bony. It's so ironic how I've spent the past two years providing medical perioperative care and now I finally am a surgical patient. I had it done at Baylor College of Dentistry with a surgical resident. This was the first time I've ever had IV sedation. First thing they did when I came in was slap on all those stickers for the vital signs and put the O2 stat monitor on my finger. Then they stuck the oxygen tube in my nose and covered my hair with a cloth cap. The surgeon came in and explained what was gonna happen and then he started the IV sedation. Everything started getting blurry as I heard my mom say, "You know doctor, she's a premed student. She just took her MCAT." Now you know where I get it from.

Right before I fell asleep they blindfolded me with a long bandage wrapped around my head. I woke up intermittently throughout, usually once the surgeon would start drilling. On my partial bony teeth, he had to break them into pieces and then take them out. I kind of wish it was video taped so I could watch it. Once it was over he took off my blindfold and called my mom and sister in. My legs and arms were shaking, and I wanted to tell the doctor to give me anti-anxiety meds in addition to the Vicodin and Keflex. But of course I couldn't talk. So I motioned for a pen and paper and wrote down my request. He told me that my IV had some anti-anxiety med in it and that my shaking was because my body was cold. He had given me so much fluid in such a small amount of time through the IV that my blood vessels were cold. Isn't that freaky?

When I got home the pain started, and I downed the Vicodin. It became my new best friend (I'm from Plano, what do you expect?). My cheeks swelled like chipmunk cheeks, and according to my sister I look like a cute baby. I don't want to leave the house though, my face is too embarrassing. Hopefully the swelling will go down soon. The doctor said I can't work out until it does, which sux, but then again I also can't eat as much so that may make up for it. So here I am S/P wisdom teeth extract x4, passing in and out of my consciousness thanks to the Vicodin. Ain't life grand?

Boring...

Now that school's out, I a little bored. Since my mom's at work and my sisters are still in school, I'm pretty much stuck at home all day. I run errands over the phone and try to clean up around the house, but there's only so much. Good thing I'm not trying to be a housewife. I'm fixin to put my school books up for sale on half.com, then maybe my days can be filled with mailing off those puppies. Passions has a storyline in Las Vegas, which just makes me more antsy to go. I can't wait!

School's Out

Yes! I am totally done with school and I got A's in all of my classes! So 19 hrs this term = 4.0. I put all my scores into AMCAS and TMDSAS. I flinch everytime I put those C's and W's from my sophomore year, but I cheer up when I put in straight A's from junior year. I've decided not to take any classes this summer. Instead, my summer plan is to

• Have surgery
• Go to Las Vegas
• Work on med school applications
• Work at the hospital
• Work out
  
• Hopefully go on some interviews and enjoy my MCAT score

Notice I did not put study for August MCAT on that list because I really hope I don't have to do that. I may study Spanish on my own, but that doesn't sound too realistic. No, I'm gonna finally enjoy some time to myself and just relax and read all those books I keep saying I'm gonna read and never get around to, like Lipstick Jihad and Eliot Possessed.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

"There are ... things ... that if I’d let be, they’d eat away at me and destroy me in the end...there are things you can’t back down on, things you gotta take a stand on. But it’s up to you to decide what them things are. You have to demand respect in this world, ain’t nobody just gonna hand it to you. How you carry yourself, what you stand for-that’s how you gain respect. But, little one, ain’t nobody’s respect worth more than your own."

My Personal Dating Profile

This is very relevant to a discussion I had on Tuesday. Thanks, Tiffany, for the link.

Your dating personality profile: Stylish - You do not lack for fashion sense. Style matters. You wouldn't want to be seen with someone who doesn't care about his appearance. Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate. Traditional - Modern culture does not move you. You hold traditional values dear to your heart.

Your date match profile: Conservative - Forget liberals, you need a conservative match. Political discussions interest you, and a conservative will offer the viewpoint you need. Traditional - You aren't looking for someone who is sexually repressed. You want someone who is adventurous under the covers. Religious - You seek someone who is grounded in faith and who possesses religious values. You believe that a religious person can enhance your life.

Your Top Ten Traits 1. Stylish 2. Liberal 3. Traditional 4. Wealthy/Ambitious 5. Intellectual 6. Religious 7. Big-Hearted 8. Adventurous 9. Sensual 10. Romantic

Your Top Ten Match Traits 1. Conservative 2. Traditional 3. Religious 4. Shy 5. Stylish 6. Intellectual 7. Wealthy/Ambitious 8. Practical 9. Adventurous 10. Romantic

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions

A New Day

"Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

I have a totally new outlook today. I just know that everything is going to be all right and that my life can turn out the way I want it to because I believe in myself and my family, coworkers, professors, and community believe in me, too. In fact, the English Department believes in me so much that in addition to me becoming a departmental destinction candidate, I just earned a new scholarship for my achievement in the English department!! I am so happy and I am definitely out of the funk I've been in the past couple of days. I took my Physics final, so I'm completely through with all my med school pre-reqs and now I can just focus on my med school apps and making myself in to an awesome candidate. I know I can do it, and I know I will make it. I will be a doctor.

I Will Be a Doctor

F*CK YOU!!!

I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR

F*CK YOU!!!
F*CK YOU!!!

The Thrill is Gone

Ever since I took the MCAT (last week), I've had little motivation to do anything. That test really took a lot out of me. I was kind of hoping I'd have some time to slack off at school before finals, but no such luck. This week is the last week of classes at SMU and finals week at UTD. So my schedule this week:

• Monday - Meet with our scribe coordinator to plan summer schedule
• Tuesday - Formal interview with SMU Health Professions Advisory Committee
• Wednesday - Later Victorian Lit paper 3 due (4-5 pages) and Psych Disorders of Children Test 3 (last day of class)
  
• Thursday - Children's Lit paper 4 due (4 pages on a novel for young adults) and extra credit due (write a children's book!) and Physics final exam and extra credit due (last day of class)
• Friday - Scribe in the morning on my day off from school

So I'm pretty busy this week. Which sucks when you're not motivated at all b/c you took the biggest test of your life and all you're thinking about it what your score is and you won't find out until June. And med school apps start May 1, so I'm really just wanting to focus on that, but I've got my finals in Victorian and Children's Lit and my final paper in Italian Humanism. Then the week after that I have my last test in General Nutrition. AAAHH!

MCAT April 2005

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeee! I took the MCAT today, and I feel great! I woke up on my own 5 minutes before my alarm clock went off (this never happens to me). I felt calm, almost euphoric, as I brushed my teeth and got ready for the day. I hooked up with some of my friends when I got to UD and we all felt pretty good (yay, TPR!). Overall, our classroom had 1 1/2 hrs added to it because our proctor kept delaying everything. The PS section started out easy, but then got hard. It was about as hard as the AAMC tests, though, so it wasn't completely unexpected. There were some things on it that I don't remember covering in class, but I used POE and the passage and tried my best. I had 2 passages left over, but I always do and I got a 9 on my last AAMC test so I know I can still make a good score. My VR section was so easy! I had a passage on Islamic scientists and 2 on scientific revolutions. Boy am I glad I took that class on the History and Philosophy of Science! And one of the sci rev passages was straight out of Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a book I've studied in 2 classes. I had read the passage before! I even had time to do the "killer" passage on Modernism. So I finished that section right on time and went on to do BS which I finished w/ 5 min to spare. My prediction: 8PS, 12 VR, and 11 BS. Here's hoping.

April Is the Cruelest Month...

Tomorrow is the day that will determine the rest of my life...but I'm not supposed to think about that because it will increase anxiety and the most important tip for the MCAT is "don't freak out." I feel well prepared. I scored a 29 on AAMC 8, which is supposed to be really hard. I'm really glad I took Princeton Review classes. If I hadn't, I'd be screwed. Today is supposed to be a day of rest and relaxation, and we're not supposed to study (but I'm still glancing at notes, tee hee). I skipped my SMU classes yesterday (well, one was canceled and the other was a quiz that I asked to take next week). I was planning on skipping classes today, but Dr. Cox said that we're going over sleep disorders and that it was kind of an important lecture. Could it be that TS Eliot was referring to the MCAT when he started The Wasteland by saying, "April is the cruelest month"?

Practice Makes Perfect

So I've been practicing for the big MCAT test this Saturday. I've taken AAMC 6R, 7 , and 3R. I've started 8 in that I'm doing one section a day just to get familiar with real MCAT questions. Today I did the Bio and I'm happy with my score. Overall, I'm feeling pretty confident, but I of course still want to improve. I pulled a 12 on the verbal for 3R, so I'm hoping to do that on the real deal.

My First Diagnosis

Guess what: I made my first diagnosis today! I'm serious, it was a real diagnosis. We have a patient in the ICU, and we didn't know what to do (hey, that rhymes). We have this software called Diagnosis Pro where we can put in some symptoms and check out the differential. OK, so we put in some info and the comp kept saying he had a diabetic coma (no, the guy was talking) and cancer (ok, we already thought that, but the CT scan kept coming up negative). One thing about this patient was that he had acetone in his blood (and no, you're not supposed to have nail polish remover in your blood). We checked out the differential some more and one possibility was chronic alcoholism (ding ding ding!). When alcoholism is suspected, the patient is automatically given Thiamine. The doctor went ahead and wrote that order and moved on while one of the patient's other doctors said that he had no idea what was going on with this guy.

As we were walking away to another building I said, "Doesn't acetone build up through ketosis?" and my doc said yeah and I said, "Well, ketosis occurs during fasting. So if our patient has acetone in his blood, he must be starving." My doctor said, well I checked his Hemoglobin A1C and it was normal. I said, "But our patient is an alcoholic...didn't you say that he looked 'emaciated and wasting'?" Yeah, he said. I said, "then maybe he's not eating at all, just drinking. He's choosing alcohol over food. His alcohol is depleting his niacin and he doesn't have enough niacin for the Krebs cycle. So now he has sugar in his body, but he can't metabolize it. Since he can't metabolize glucose, his body is going through ketosis since he's fasting. How much acetone was in his blood?" My doc said, "A very small amount...but there shouldn't be any at all. That's why it's a big problem." "So," I said, "that means that he's in the second, not the third, stage of fasting. We can still help him. Shouldn't we give him niacin?" "You're right, Maryam!" he said, "We have to give him Thiamine first to save his brain and then Niacin to save his body. I'll let the orders stand because if I go back and write for Niacin too they'll give it to him in the wrong order. But I'll go back later today and write for Niacin. Great job!"

I was sooo happy! I really can be a doctor. I do have the qualities that make a good physician: breadth of knowledge + analytic reasoning + critical thinking (+ compassion). I have to do well on my MCAT so that I can show the admission commitees that I do have what it takes, and I can finally begin the career that I was born to do.

Registration Time

It's the most wonderful time of the year...Registration! I love registering for classes because it promotes the idea that there is something new and exciting just around the bend. There's so much promise and knowledge to be gained in the coming term. Today I registered for my SMU classes for Fall 2005. Check them out and let me know if you want to take a class with me. I've taken classes with 3 of the professors, so I can give you the heads up.

• ENGL 4339 Earlier Romantic Lit
  
• ENGL 5349 Seminar: Literary Theory
• FL 3393 Dante's Poetic Vision (I'm petitioning for Honors)
  
• PSYC 3380 Health Psychology

So I'll have no SMU classes Wednesdays or Fridays! How cool is that? Sweet!

AAMC 7

Today I took the AAMC MCAT Practice Test 7 and scored a 28!! I got an 8 on Physical Sciences, 10 on Verbal Reasoning, and 10 on Biological Sciences. This is soooo awesome! I met my goals for VR and BS, now I just have to do it on PS, and I will rule the school. I was so excited when I graded my test. It's so funny that I did well because when I was taking it I thought I flunked it. Here's hoping I'll do even better on the real thing -- it's just 2 weeks away!