Too Much Is Going On For A Single Title

I got the first o. chem test of the second semester back last week, and did as poorly as expected. I'd managed to forget about it over spring break, but it was a downer to come back to. I got about a 60, which is probably a C with the curve at the end I think. So it's terrible, but still in the realm of correctable. Nonetheless I got pretty bent out of sorts last week, and even played hookie from my job (the first 75 degree day of the year probably helped with that decision, somewhat.)

In better news I found my third (and I think final) recomender. I'll meet him in early April, and then that will be all sorted out. My neurologist never got back to me, which is probably the fault of the secretary there for not passing on my message, but there's not really time to worry about that - looks like I'll have to get a letter from my general physician. Personal statements are in draft form, but not complete, and I have to schedule two mock interviews by I'm not sure when (but sometime really soon).

So. What next. I have a general feeling of anxiety, and am pretty sure things are going badly. The biggest problem is simply that I'm not getting time to study enough for the MCAT, and am fairly sure I won't be ready to take it and do well in May.

I think the real approach is to "ignore" the MCAT. Whether canceling it and retaking it next year, or taking it and doing badly and ending up taking it again next year.... either way it's a test I can take again in the worst case scenario. Obviously I don't/didn't want it to end up working like that, and making this whole process take one more year is kind of (very) disheartening, but there's really nothing I can do about this. If I let that stress me out I'll just mess up everything else.

So what really needs working on is O. Chem, because I don't get to retake that and change my GPA. The problem with the last test, as I said, was that the answers to problems aren't in our useless book. So that's what I need to fix. I have to start actively working on problems this coming Monday, so I can go in and talk to our teacher about them to see what's going on. Then I just need to finish the rest of the application stuff. Hopefully the letters will be reusable/holdable if I were to not apply this summer, and my personal statement will certainly work whenever. That way, I won't have to worry about doing it again.

Just for the record, second semester O. Chem seems to have become a legitimate nightmare, with more to figure out and memorize than you can probably imagine. But I'll go on and do my best.

A Busy Break

So I haven't had classes this week because of spring break, but I've been running around everywhere trying to round up some letters of recommendation. I've succesfully managed two so far, not including my faculty "mentor" who'll reccomend me in the committee letter I talked about earlier. So it looks like I need one more faculty member, and the reference of a physician. I'm trying to get in touch with my neurologist for that; it would be nice if I could keep some sort of neurology theme going on in my application, since that's my reason for applying. If I'm unable to get in touch with him I'll have to get my generalist to write one up, which should be easily doable, even if somewhat less desirable.

The third professor is a bit tricky. Ideally it would be a science professor. Unfortunately, my first year science courses at AU have been large and I didn't go to office hours, so I'm pretty sure the professors don't know me at all. My physics teachers might remember me, but physics was my weakest class and, probably, isn't the best place to go for recommendations. It's an option though - I'd go with the teacher from the first semester when I managed an A-. I went to his office hours a lot, and he'd hopefully remember me once he saw my face. He could talk about me visiting frequently and trying hard, if nothing else.

I was also thinking about trying to get one of my old law teachers to help explain/justify my transition from law to science. Having only one letter from an actual science teacher would seem odd though.... not to mention I've been completely unable to track down this former law teacher since she left her job after being nominated as an appellate judge.

I also need to finish my personal statement by Tuesday. I haven't really started (although I have a good idea of what I want to talk about), and that's a pretty important essay on my behalf, so it's I'm feeling a bit of stress. At least I'm good at that type of writing though, so it shouldn't be too hard once I get a draft done.

The funny/sad thing is that while I'm spending all this time working on my application, I'm not being able to find time to study enough for the MCAT itself.... that's going to be a problem in two or three months. A big one.