On Fall of 2nd Year

I apologize for my lack of posts these past few months but there are a few reasons for that.

First, I spent weeks after I moved in trying to fix my schedule. I originally enrolled in Chem 3B, English R1B, and Music 26ac. However, I decided to switch from chem 3B to Bio 1A (on an epiphany I had in the middle of the night...) because I wanted to take chem 3B with Pederson (who only teaches it in the spring) and bio 1A didn't seem too much different in the fall or spring. So i enrolled in Bio 1A, English R1B, and got waitlisted for Music 26ac. Now, usually when you're on the waitlist, if you wait long enough then you'll most likely get into the class- usually. However, that didn't seem to happen this semester as I got dropped from the music 26ac waitlist (it was a breadth so it wasn't too important, but still..). Being dropped wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't already 3 weeks into the semester and I had to frantically find a replacement class. After emailing numerous professors and GSIs to see if I could still enroll, I finally found a class that I both needed for units and for med school- Stats2. So basically, this semester, I'm taking three classes that are going to be catastrophic for my GPA, but hey, might as well take all the hard classes at once while I'm at it and get it over with right? Ok, that's fine. But that's not all. I got a position at one of the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and I started working about two weeks into the school year. Research wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to work 15 hours a week on average (Right off the bat, I had to do DNA extractions and PCRs, and now I'm on cloning). I get home at around 6-7pm every day, cook/eat dinner, try to do some work, and then collapse. Not the ideal way to spend your 2nd year of college. Now that midterm season is rolling around, the pressure and stress have doubled and I feel I'm beginning to reach the limits of my endurance. I just hope I can make it through this semester without breaking hahaha

If you have any questions or topics you would like me to address, please feel free to ask/comment. :)

Other than that, to my fellow Berkeley peers, good luck on your first (or possibly second) round of midterms and I'll see you on the other side!

-K 

Dear Reader 13

Anonymous said...

Hello K,
do you remember what you got on your first midterm in chem 1A?
Also, do you have any advice for us on future midterms?? thanks!

Dear Anonymous,

I believe I got an F on my first chem midterm hahaha 

I was depressed for three days straight. I thought I knew all the material going in and I finished the exam about twenty minutes early and thought "That wasn't so bad..." It was my first college test ever and I wasn't sure on how to approach the test. The failing grade was a huge wake-up call for me. If you didn't do too well on the first midterm, just remember that you have about 4 more tests to go (total of 4 midterms and 1 final i believe?) and so your first midterm will be buffered by many others. As for advice on future midterms- I started doing the practice exams weeks in advance so that way, I would have plenty of time to go to GSI office hours and get help on material I didn't fully understand or that I needed extra help with. I also started going to the professors' office hours and SLC study groups. All these things just help reinforce the material. Reading the book didn't help me too much. While doing the practice tests, try to get into the frame of mind "How do I apply the concepts learned in lecture to this problem?" since all of the chem 1A midterms are extremely conceptual. After a few midterms, I figured out how to 'think' about the problems and so my scores started going up. I ultimately did well on my final and lab so I did alright in the class (although your labs are separate this year so that's a bit confusing..). 

I hope this helps somewhat (people usually find what study methods work for them half way through the semester so don't worry too much! :) Good luck on your future exams and in chem 1A! 

-K 

Dear Reader 12

Anonymous said...

hey k! just happened to stumble upon your blog (which is SUPER helpful with all this premed stuff!)
im taking chem 3a/3al this semester with bio 1b and wanted to know if you had any tips for that?
are either of the lab sections hard? i'm not quite sure what to expect with these classes, and any advice would be so appreciated!!
thanks,
j

Dear J,

Thanks for stopping by! Glad I can help :)

I haven't taken bio 1b yet but from what I hear, it's not that bad, and very doable with chem 3a. You might want to look on courserank because I know there are quite a few people who are doing that and have asked questions on that site about taking 3a/l and 1b concurrently. Just don't take any more time consuming classes. :) But I can help you a bit with 3a/L. If you've read my past post about chem 3a, you'll see that it was much easier than gen chem, and bio 1b lecture isn't supposed to be very difficult. So with lectures- you're good to go. Ochem lab, like all other labs, depends on your GSI. My GSI was fairly lenient with his grading so the lab reports weren't too stressful for me (lab reports are due with each lab). The labs themselves are not very difficult and most finished before the alloted time (once again, i'm not too sure about bio 1b). At the end of the semester, you'll take a lab final- i believe you only need 50% to pass and it was quite easy- I just looked over my notes a day before the exam and did well on it :). In the end, I felt like my other classes took up more time than chem3a/L so taking chem 3a/L with bio 1b shouldn't be too much of a problem- but don't take my word for it ;). Don't impact your schedule if you take those classes concurrently and don't take classes that would require you to read copious amounts and write numerous essays. Since Pederson is supposed to be a VERY good professor, i'm sure you'll be fine :) 

Hope this helped somewhat! 

Best of luck!

From, 

K   

Dear Readers 10 & 11

Jenna said...

Dear K,
Can you make a post about scholarships? Are there any exclusively for freshmen?
thanks! :)

Dear Jenna,

Are you asking about general scholarships or berkeley scholarships? :) 

Unfortunately, I never applied to the scholarships at berkeley, but if you haven't already, check out the site: 

http://alumni.berkeley.edu/services/scholarships 

I'm not sure if any are reserved for freshman :( As far as other scholarships go, I applied through typical scholarship sites, such as fastweb-which weren't very helpful since so many people apply through those sites- but those sites give you the widest range of scholarships to choose from and you can try narrowing your search to show scholarships reserved for freshman only :) 

Sorry I couldn't be any more help on this one! 

Best of luck! 

From,

K 

Anonymous said...

do you know how I could land an internship/lab research job? I don't know any of the professors, and I've never done any kind of research before... how am I supposed to stand a a chance against other applicants? do I just email someone, or go up to berkeley labs...??

Dear Anonymous,

This is a tough question with a lot of different answers. First off, you have to start somewhere right? :) And some professors (not many) understand that. For students just starting research, I would recommend trying URAP (although a bit tedious) since you'll be in an applicant pool with students in similar situations, and the professors would have come across students with no research experience more than in other cases. If that doesn't work, I would suggest going through researchers' (not just berkeley professors- this can be anywhere- hospital, SF, etc) research/labs and emailing tons of people with a statement of interest- don't make it too generic- make each email unique to the research/lab. Let's say this too doesn't work. Then over summer, try to find smaller research facilities to work in, such as a state school near your hometown (that's how I started off)- if they don't accept you due to lack of experience, tell them you would just like to shadow them or you're willing to wash the dishes- little experience is better than none :) - even working in a hospital lab as a volunteer would add to your lab experiences! 

Hope this helps! 

Best of luck- Let me know how it goes! 

From,

K 

On A Delay

I have recently moved into my apartment at Berkeley and am still waiting on our wireless internet to get connected. I deeply apologize for the lack of responses this past week, but give me a few more days and I promise to post as soon as possible! 


Thanks so much for your patience :) 


From,
K 

Dear Reader 9

Alice said...

thanks for replying so quickly! I'm really impressed by all your info, and it did help. :) So, I'm in the textbook-buying stage, and I still had a couple questions about the supplies we need...

- I've managed to get a chem textbook for cheap, but I don't know where I can buy the OWL code for it. My friend said the edition of the textbook doesn't matter much, but that the OWL code is essential. where can I find that?
- What's the lab manual required for Chem 1AL?
- Do I have to buy the lab notebook suggested by the Cal bookstore, or would one of my own work? (it's a really nice, lab notebook I've used in previous science classes... does it matter whether I've used about half of it or not?)
- and lastly, does Math 16A and 16B use two separate textbooks?

thank you, again; you're a saint!

Dear Alice,

You're welcome! 

-Yes, the book doesn't matter too much- i think i opened mine about three times the whole semester- but the OWL code is important since the professors assign homework and quizzes online via OWL. I believe some people bought the OWL code separately on the OWL site (http://www.cengage.com/owl) but you might want to try the student bookstore and see if you can buy it there. Since you'll have a week or so before you'll need it (homework is due once a week), I suggest waiting till class starts and asking the professor to be sure, since you want a code that has 'Berkeley' as one of the schools listed. 

- The lab manual is a thin book that has all the experiments listed- it's what you'll be using in lab to do all your experiments.

- As for the lab notebook, you'll be turning in carbon copies of your data/work at the end of every lab and the notebook suggested by the school is the best for that purpose. If your notebook has tear-out carbon copies and you really want to use it, then ask your GSI first just in case :) Otherwise, it does not matter how much of the notebook you've used :) 

-The math 16 series books are two separate textbooks- pretty thin and not too expensive (once again, buy a used one if you can) 

I hope this helped! :)

-K 

On Leaving the Nest

As summer draws to a close and the school year comes crawling closer, nerves will start to kick in for many and excitement for most. I know I probably mentioned this a thousand times in my previous posts, but I'm going to mention it just once more  :)

A week or so before my first year of college started, my nerves completely abandoned me- so much so that I kept thinking 'Why didn't I just go to a community college and stay at home?' I was scared of leaving my home, my friends, my family, of being in a foreign place without the comfort of my parents' shadows where it was so easy to forget about my problems and take refuge in the fact that I was still a kid- in other words, I was scared of growing up. Of course, like other kids, I wanted to get as far away from my parents as possible and live independently- no curfews, no chores, no annoying siblings. But at the time, I would have gladly taken those things over having to leave my familiar lifestyle behind. I was scared of not making any friends, having terrible roommates that I wouldn't get along with, of failing my classes, not getting into medical school- basically all the things that could go wrong in college were integrating themselves into my future. Pessimistic much?

The last night I spent in my room, I spent with tears streaking down my face, making my pillow all too wet to sleep on. I felt like such a loser for being so scared of something that everyone went through eventually. Morning came and it was time for me to pack up everything and head out. Surprisingly, no tears came as I was leaving my house, just a dull heartache.

I got to berkeley, said hi to my roommates, unloaded my things, and spent the day walking around campus. When it was time for my parents to leave, I am embarrassed to admit, I was a complete mess while my parents were way too composed for my comfort (later I learned that my mom broke down while cleaning out my room when they returned). As I was walking back to my dorm, I looked around me without feeling so scared for the first time- after all, the hardest part was behind me (or so I thought)- and I took a deep breath and thought 'I'm finally a college student'.

You know the rest from there- roommates, classes, an occasional SF outing. Turns out, there was nothing to be afraid of. I visited home regularly and found nothing changed- except my sister took over my room- and I looked forward to going back to berkeley every time I was away. So to those who are feeling slightly scared and nervous about starting college, just remember, you're about to start an incredibly exciting part of your life- a part in which you will learn more about life, the world, and yourself than all the previous years combined. So work hard, stay safe, and most importantly, have the time of your lives :)

-K