Monday, July 9, 2012

Medical School!

Quick Update on the exciting events in my life since last time:

June 18th 2012 ~11:00am: sent an email to Dean Parrish and admissions office of Drexel University College of Medicine (DUCOM) saying "I'm still interested, accept me please :)"
Few seconds later: get an autoreply message from Dean Parrish saying he's out of office until May 31st, 2012... (?)

~12:00pm about 5secs after setting down to eat lunch with Vivian: got call from Director of Admissions!  I was so excited she was laughing at my excitement... But being the pessimistic person I am... I don't believe it. 

June 22nd ~2:30pm chatting with Yusi, who pulled her tendon, in front of Children's: got call from grandmother saying I got my package!

~3:30pm: told boss I was leaving in two weeks because I had gotten into medical school.  He was not happy...

July 4th, 2012: Bro spun a wheel at Wrentham Outlet and won a 3d 2n vacation ticket to Orlando, Maimi, Washington DC, San Diego, or Las Vegas.  We haven't redeemed the ticket yet though.

July 6th, 2012: Last day of work!  Stayed until 5pm because boss wanted me to organize something, since he was too lazy to read my lab notebook... -____- (so typical of boss) and he kept talking to me about his and rest of the lab's schedules after I'm gone...

Currently: soooo many administrative things to do!  Also need to read chps 1-4 in histology and although I want to get a head start on anatomy, everyone says don't do it so we'll see what happens.  I haven't even started medical school yet and just with all the pre-orientation and pre...classes stuff, I'm starting to feel slightly overwhelmed!  I suppose it's good practice for during medical school.  Hopefully I'll have slightly more time to relax after I turn in these forms :)  My free time though, needs to be spent packing as well.  Planning on moving in to my apartment ($575/month studio) on August 1st, 2012.  Orientation is August 6th and classes start August 13th!  Sooo excited to start :) Even though it'll be more studying in one day than I had done in a month... but yaaaaaaaaaaay medical school!  I'm going to be a doctor!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Random Pics Post ("Exotic" things)


At H-mart, my brother found a big bald doll thing... I don't remember what it's called :P



At H-mart parking lot with Olga and Xu... and a turtle?



At Market Basket... Yes, this is a tomato.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Rochester Visit!

I went to visit Rochester (finally) mid-April, using my HPQ interview as an excuse.  Because the ride is one day there and one day back, I decided to stay for a week.  The week was filled with sports (badminton/tennis/pingpong), cooking, "studying", cards (Shengji!! and Bridge), and eating out :) (Korean restaurants yay!! We were too hungry to take pictures >_< and David was very amusing at Seoul House).  Because I wrote so much for the last post, I'm going to keep this short and just upload a bunch of pictures that I did remember to take :).

 Blue tacos!! For "Mexican Night"

Spanish Rice! Also for "Mexican Night"

The cookies we tried to bake before they were baked... Afterwards, it just looked like a sheet.  We kinda... were kpop-ing and didn't remember to turn off the oven so it was burned, but still edible ^__^;;


SUSHI!! I forget what we night we ate this... I think it was during "Dessert Night" so pretty though :)


Apple Pie!!  We were too lazy to make the crust part that goes on top, so we just didn't add that part. This was baked during "Dessert Night" when Bin was finished with her work.

Kimchi Jeon (pancakes)!  Just flour, oil, kimchi, water, and you're done :).

Kimchi Jiggae!  We literally put a lot of random crap in it haha, like the meatballs >_<.  Still tasted fine though :)

Interview feedbacks

It's been a while since I've updated... but I have so much to update that it'll take a while to finish! First things first, since it's almost D-Day (6more days!),

 I'd like my talk about my interviews at Drexel and Temple!

 Drexel (02.27.12)

 For my Drexel interview, we were supposed to get there at 8:00am, so I woke up at 6:00am to shower and get ready. I got to Drexel's Admission's Office a bit late because we got a bit lost and there was more traffic than we had thought. The GPS said it would take 15mins from the hotel we stayed at (in Chinatown... food was awesome, especially the Lan Zhou La Mian), but it ended up taking around 40mins...

 Anyways, so I went in a bit late/awkwardly, got my schedule for the day, and then, of course, it's a test! More like they gave us a sheet with an ethical dilemma and we had to write what we would do in that scenario. My scenario was something like your final project is a research project and you're not allowed to use web-based resources. The person next to you is obviously using web-based resources. What would you do? After the "quiz", the lady there started giving a brief overview of the history of Drexel, and started talking about the two different curriculums available at Drexel. Before she got to the one I was interested in (PIL), I had to leave to catch the shuttle for my faculty interview. So I take a shuttle that takes about 15-20mins to Hahnemann, the hospital my faculty is at. My appointment is at 10:30 and I get there around 10:00. On the shuttle, I meet another faculty, who saw my holding my map with directions. She was really nice and helped me find where the building was. So I'm there about 30mins early and the arrow signs that points to where my faculty interviewer's room is at is very misleading. It's actually to the right of when you first walk in from the elevators, but the arrow pointed the room to the left, so I literally wandered around the whole floor before I realized where the room was. I go in at around 10:25 and his secretary calls him saying "Your 10:30 is here". She tells me he'll be right here, so I sit around waiting and look around the room. He gets here at around 10:40 and we go inside his room.

 My first impression of his room is "wow he must be a busy person" because there are literally stacks of papers about 2ft high covering his floor and on his desk. He motions me to sit as he walks behind his desk. After I sit and he sits, I can't see him anymore over his foot tall pile of papers... We sit and he confirms that I am who I am and that I'm from MA. Then he asks me why medicine? I start talking and he starts interrupting me as I talk to clarify things. Halfway through a sentence, his phone rings and he picks it up. After he answers, instead of waiting for me to finish, he proceeds to ask me what I see myself doing in 10yrs. I'm like okay I'm not done talking, but whatever, I'll just answer. So I start talking again, he makes no indication that he's listening, but I think I see him writing. Then, he asks me what other interviews I've had, will have, and whether I've heard back from them yet. Afterwards, he asks if I have any questions. I ask him about the curriculum and he tells me to go ask Admissions, then I ask him about research opportunities, and he says maybe a three word answer. He then dismisses me and we leave. I thank him for his time and I meet the second interviewer outside. I look at the clock as I leave: 10:53. Okay, so a 12min-ish interview... I leave, find the shuttle, call my parents and say "Crap I'm going to get rejected." I sit waiting for the shuttle to leave for about 10mins and before the shuttle leaves, I see his next interviewee come in the shuttle with me, so I"m like okay it's not just me. We talk about how our interviews went and she said hers was okay, just very short like mine.

After we get back, I've missed the tour, so I sit in the waiting lounge and wait for my student interviewer. After starving for like an hour, my student interviewer finally comes and gives me a $7 meal ticket. I get a chicken salad sandwich and a bottle of water. My student interviewer was a pretty cool guy and we talked a bit about my background and about Drexel and living in Philly. I think, this went pretty well, too bad my faculty interview went really badly. My student interviewer told me that every student he's interviewed so far has had my faculty interviewer and they are all intimidated by him afterwards, which makes me feel a lot better. After the student interview, there was supposed to be a Q&A session. I wanted to stick around because I'd missed the information session, but after about 30mins of waiting, the secretary comes in and tells us that they don't know what happened to the Q&A person. She apparently never showed up and they couldn't get in contact with her, so we were all dismissed.

 I went back and started actually prepping for my Temple interview, since I had done so badly with Drexel's. My parents drove to Temple to look around, because they didn't want to get lost tomorrow and be late again. We ate dinner at a Pho restaurant that night and I stepped in dog poop :(. Food is so cheap in Philly Chinatown ($6 for a LOT of food) but it's like all cash, so I guess that's partially why it's cheap. I went to bed after watching the newest episode of Running Man (forget which episode) at around 9pm. My Temple interview was at 10:00am, so getting up at 8:00 to shower and dress would be fine.

Temple (02.28.12)

 We left early for Temple's interview and I got there around 9:15 for my 10:00 interview. When I got there, the security desk told me to sign in, so I got a pen and looked around for a sign-in sheet. The security guy was literally like -____- no you sign in at the computer. I'm like OH! It asked for my name, why I'm there, time, and it took a picture! I didn't realize it was going to take a picture, so I look really dazed in my picture. Then it printed out an ID and we had to wear it. Then I walked to the Admissions Office, and there, I got my schedule/information folder. The secretary was really nice and she told me where I was going. I saw that there was one other guy in the waiting room but he only sat around for a few mins before leaving for his 9:30 interview. My faculty interviewer was, once again, at a different building, but I didn't need to take a shuttle. I was about to walk there, but my parents decided to drive me. It was less than a minute drive.

When I went inside the building, I had to sign in again at security. This time, it was a paper sign-in sheet. I got my faculty interviewer's room at around 9:50 and he said I was here early, but we could start. He was definitely more organized than my interviewer at Drexel, and he had a guitar :). He asked me "Why Medicine?", "What do you see yourself doing in 10yrs?", "Why not MD/PhD?", "hobbies/extracurriculars?", "volunteering and research exp?", "Why Temple?", and the most interesting question: "What was the worst job you've ever had?" He was typing the whole time I was talking, but he gave confirmation that he was listening to what I was saying. I asked him about the research and clinical opportunities there and we finished in around 25minutes. I walked back to the Admissions Office where I saw more interviewees. Then we were given a information presentation as well as a financial aid presentation. Then, four first year students came and did an ice breaker before giving us a tour. They actually took us to the anatomy lab and there were dental students dissecting a real human's head, which was pretty interesting and scary at the same time. We had lunch, which consisted of sandwiches/wrap, chips, salad, and soda/water.

After the lunch, we went back to the admissions office to wait for our student interviewer to pick us up. My student interviewer was very nice and he's also interested in pediatrics, so I got to talk with him about the different opportunities at Temple for pediatrics. We talked for about 30/40mins and then he lead me back to the Admissions Office, and then I went back home. I definitely felt better about this interview and I was more calm when answering the questions.


 So of course after reading all of this, you're probably wondering "what happened?".

After about 9weeks of waiting, Drexel decided to waitlist me, which is a surprise because I thought for sure I was going to get rejected after doing pretty badly with the faculty interview. Apparently, though, the student interview plays a big part for Drexel, so I lucked out there.

After about 13days, Temple also decided to waitlist me (or what they call "continuing candidates"). It was great that they gave me a decision so quickly, and for Temple, waitlist was probably the best I could get because from studentdoctor, they had stopped giving outright acceptances since like Jan or Feb.

My thoughts? Temple is definitely my top choice. Its facilities are amazing, and there are so many outreach opportunities. It just acquired Fox Chase Cancer Center, so I can continue doing cancer research in med school, and the students are all extremely close to one another, which is another really nice part of Temple. I sent Temple a Letter of Intent, saying that if I'm granted admissions, I will definitely attend and that is true. Drexel is also a great choice because of the PIL curriculum and its facilities were pretty nice as well. I sent them a Letter of Interest, expressing my sincere interest in Drexel.

So May 15th (D-Day) is coming up soon and it's when the waitlist movement begins. I really do hope I get off one of these waitlists because I really am excited for medical school, even if it means a lot of work! Hopefully, my near future will be in Philadelphia :)! Also since my family is officially moving to California, probably by end of July/early August (we've sold the house already...), it'd be great if I can move to Philly as well :)! Fingers crossed for good news on D-Day. Just 6 more days!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

"Fan-service" - For Bin Use Only :P

Going to Philly for interviews tomorrow :) Part of my suit.







The pretty pink pajamas my dad got me in China... (never wearing these in public)

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sketchy foods

Sketchy "MEAT"




Mom's Purple Porridge

Sunday, January 22, 2012

First Post in 2012 :)

Since it's the first post, it must be happy (following my current emotional state). In the medical school world, I got two interviews last week from Drexel and Temple for end of next month!!! I am SO excited to go visit those schools (and a trip to PA to visit UPenn people!) I've heard great things about both of those schools, especially Temple and their new facilities. I will update my thoughts after my interviews.

For my UMass interview on 12/20, I don't think I prepared as well as I could have, so I'm definitely preparing better for my next two interviews. There was about 16 of us for the morning interview and 3 for the afternoon interviews. The interview coordinator was late, so we were very anxious in the waiting room, thinking they were watching us with a hidden camera or someone amongst the applicants was a spy or something. One person was playing with the piano. We talked and I met one guy from the UofR. I didn't know him because he stayed an extra year to graduate and I graduated a year early, so we're two years apart even though we graduated same year. We were given a brief overview of the school before being sent off to our interviews at 10:00am and 10:45am. I had two faculty interviews: one with a PhD in Infectious Diseases and the other with a Pulmonary Pediatrician. They were both very nice people, especially my second interviewer. He was sick during that day too but still a great guy to talk to. Both my interviews were very relaxed. My first interviewer asked more questions like why not MD/PhD (which I did not have a great answer to, so I prepared especially for that question this time), why medicine, tell me about your volunteering experiences, tell me about the research you are doing right now in your job, and we talked briefly about ethics and healthcare. My second interviewer only really asked about my volunteering experiences and another question which I did not have a great answer to: what do you think will be the most challenging in medical school. I was very lucky that my interviewers were both in the same place, so I only had to take the elevator up one floor to get to my next interview. Other interviewees had to go outside, or go to different buildings and rush to get to their next interview. After the two interviews back to back in the morning, we went back to room we were at in the beginning. The afternoon interviewees had arrived by then so I was very confused at first when I went back to the class. I wasn't sure if I was at the right place because I hadn't seen these people before. We were given a financial aid presentation ($8k tuition and 2/3rds off if you do your residency in MA!) and lunch (turkey, stuffing, salad, soup) before two students took us on a short tour (good thing because long walk + heels + injured ankle = x_X). The hospital was pretty nice, but very small. The simulation center was tiny too, but they're building a new one that's going to open this year. The classrooms/facilities that we saw were pretty nice, but we didn't get to see much, only one classroom, the student center, a small study room, the library, and the simulation center. I wanted to see the anatomy lab, but they said it was school policy not to show.

My overall impression: This seems like a great school! The students, from what I heard from the two that took us on a tour (rest of the students were home for winter break) are very cooperative and even share study guides! The place is relatively small, which is nice. The community is great, like Rochester's! Just during my 10min walk to through the hospital, to the admissions office, I was asked by like 5 people if I was lost and needed help finding my destination! UMass is my top choice, but I don't think my chances are great for getting in because I didn't do as well as I wanted during my interviews. I don't think I impressed my interviewers, but oh well, this is only my first interview and a great learning experience! I hope I can prepare better for my next two interviews next month!