Caltech

Trading Pumps for Painting and Prose

Hello all! I hope you had wonderful holidays and, for those prospective students, finished up all of your college applications. I wonder if it will still be true this year that many of the accepted students finished their essays between 11:50pm and 11:59pm on January 3rd. . . 

As for me, I finished up my last interview (Boston University School of Medicine) and have continued to bask in the relaxation of acceptance. Letter after letter peppered my inbox during break, including an incredibly sweet personal note from one of my interviewers encouraging me to attend and ask any further questions. I admit, I did get rejected from Stanford too, but even that was only a momentary sting at this point. I am wanted! I have somewhere to go!

I'm glad to say that one of my close friends, Jess, was also accepted into grad school at UC Berkeley over break. Is it early? Absolutely. Does she deserve it beyond any doubt? Absolutely. I couldn't be happier for her!

So, as I await the signal to begin my supplemental financial aid applications (yikes. . .), I have the advantage of time to recoup some of my "on-the-side" loves. Namely, I am pursuing three English courses, a scientific writing course, a course in principles of microscopy, and--perhaps strangest of all--silk-screening! Arts and literature will thus dominate my life for the next several months, with just a hint of biophysics on the side.

It may seem a little strange for a Techer, but note that I am fiercely tied to my English minor as well as a strong background in the arts from my childhood. When I left high school, my teachers in English grudgingly accepted my matriculation into Caltech but pleaded with me to continue my studies in literature and writing to the best of my ability. Little did they know I would have vast resources available here! I'm currently taking courses in Poe (beautiful language, horrid subject matter), Dante's Inferno (one of my all-time favorites), and Enlightenment fiction, in addition to the writing course.

The arts too are well represented, though you have to be looking for the opportunities. Not only is the prestigious Art Center nearby and available for cross-training, but Caltech's own tiny art center (TACIT Garage) contains a solid library of works and more than enough material for those Techers who wish to pursue art. I anticipate silk-screening being especially fun because I'll be learning how to make my own t-shirts. . . all the better for Tomorrow! Just doing minature paintings on silk was also quite relaxing, although I can't say that I was particularly proud of my piece. Oh well: I can always chalk its imperfections up to some abstract meaning, right? ;)

Until next time,

Elisa

 

Finally!!

I'm happy to report that I've been accepted to medical school as of December 15, 2011! 

Finding silly .gifs is my secret hobby, obviously.

The first call actually came while I was on the bus on the way to another interview. Pressed against other passengers on all sides, I held back on any excited shrieking even though I was ecstatic. Instead, said shrieking came later when I got my second call just before going to bed. It was especially great because my interviewer personally called me to tell me I was accepted even before I got an email notice! (Little things like that, to me, are extremely indicative of a school that will continue to show a lot of care for its students later on).

It was truly an incredible day that overshadowed all the toil of studying for the MCAT, all the hours of writing and revising applications, all the cross-country flights, all the anxiety over how my interviews turned out. . . everything, completely obliterated in the light of hearing the word "accepted." I won't pretend that it was an easy path, and I had more than one moment where I was convinced I had somehow ruined everything. Interviews at schools like Harvard especially intimidated me when I met other interviewees who had already been accepted to two or three schools by November. However, I'm fortunate to have patient friends and family who cheered me on while I was waiting on my first acceptance. When the day finally came, I was flooded with emails, calls, texts, and over 100 "likes" on Facebook (a truly astounding and slightly frightening display of support)! 

Now for some facts. Schools aren't required to report back until mid-March, and the waitlist can continue well into August. At this point, I can pay the matriculation deposit for any school that accepts me (generally $100 and later refunded if you decide not to go) and wait to hear back from my other interviews. However, by May 15, 2012, I will choose a single medical school and withdraw from the rest as dictated by AAMC. If I decide to stay on a waitlist and am accepted later, I will (a) forfeit the $100 deposit from the first school and (b) have to deal with the anxiety of the unknown for a few more months. 

For now, it's winter break and I am fully intent on relaxing with the security of knowing I have a future in place. Happy Holidays, all!

<3

Elisa

Retrospective

So begins three weeks of glorious relaxation! Currently, I am in Chicago visiting my cousins yet again. Originally I was going to fly out on Tuesday for a Wednesday interview at Northwestern, but it’s hard to pass up the chance to see family again. This upcoming interview will be my ninth, and my tenth will be two days later on Friday morning at Columbia. 

At this point, medical school application season is winding down: most schools host their final interviews in February or March, if not in January. Considering that the admissions committee need to give the interviewee some notice for scheduling and travel, that means that interview invites are slowing down and will soon cease entirely. Surprisingly, I found that many of my “safety” schools did not even give me the time of day while many of my top choices invited me for interviews. While it would have been nice to have known that before spending an absurd amount of money to apply to those "safeties," I know I wouldn't have felt secure applying only to high caliber schools no matter how my scores looked.

Also, I found out the hard way that you can't play as a mock-Californian and apply to Californian schools. So if you're really set on a UC for med school, you'll probably want to get residency in the state (or apply for the med scholars program between Caltech and UCSD)! I was not willing to give up my soul as an East Coaster for application season, and I suspect they took that as an ill omen. Ah, well: learn from me, applicants for 2012-2013!

You might as well accept that something is bound to go wrong during apps, though. Impossible not to!

As I wait for my Wednesday interview, I'm off to help around the house and earn my keep, so to speak. For example, I helped my second cousin with his 5th grade biology project earlier this evening. He is currently using a fishbowl full of jello, a bouncy ball, and several different types of candy to represent the cell. Turns out that Skittles start disintegrating in jello. . . luckily, he labeled the Skittles as lysosomes, so I told him to just tell the teacher that the cell was "undergoing apoptosis." Wish I could see her expression!

<3

Elisa

Finals Week Breakdown

I am not at all kidding when I say the ability to survive a Caltech exam (and indeed, multiple of them!) makes you more than worthy of admiration and praise wherever you go. This term is a bit unusual for me since my finals week only entails two final papers (one in English, one in Japanese. . . go figure), a fake grant proposal on the stability of dominance hierarchy in wolf pups (sadly, I cannot spam the cute pictures), a final lab report on substitutionally-labile transition metals, and a single final that will only be about one hour in class. Though I still loathe the kidneys. 

However, like every other Techer of my wise and experienced state (e.g. old fart), I have seen the full spectrum of finals weeks. So for those of you on your way in. . .

 

Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'entrate
 

I. The Open Book Exam, a.k.a. "The Standard"

Length: 2-4 hours

The Con:

The Pro:
 

The average is a 50%. And what does misery love?

(Just kidding: they curve around a B usually.)

 

II. The Endurance Exam, a.k.a. "The Staminizer"

Length: 4-8 hours

The Con:

When you finally emerge from your self-imposed isolation, the sun is gone. Gone. In fact, it might not be too long until it rises again if you started really late. 

The Pro:

It will probably be more leisurely than other exams. 

 

 

III. The In Class Exam, a.k.a. "The Sudden Death"

Length: 1-1.5 hours

The Con:

What? What do you mean it's already over? I just managed to get my pen, calculator, exam, model kit, erasers, and back-up pens to all stay on the desk!!

The Pro:

 

Oh okay whatever I'M DONE!!

 

IV. The Unlimited Time Exam, a.k.a. "The Slow and Painful Death"

Length: As long as you feel like staring at the piece of paper!

The Con:

It usually ends up like this.

The Pro:

Unlimited food breaks!

SPECIAL LLOYD EDITION**: The Moore Final Project, a.k.a. "What's Sun?"

Length: ???

The Con: 

By the time you emerge from Moore sub-basement, you might be threatened by a horde of angry villagers armed with garlic, silver bullets, and stakes. Or equally frightening: a pack of pre teenage girls who think you're Edward Cullen.

The Pro:

You have a theme song! (0:50)

 

** Lloyd has an unusually high percentage of electrical engineering majors, and Moore is the place to go for EE. People sleep there during finals week. 

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There are many more finals week possibilities (all of the project classes, the fake grant proposals I mentioned, lab reports. . . ), but I hope this introduction was fun and informative for the incoming students. Now, back to the books!

<3

Elisa

 

No Time For Cameras

This past weekend, I decided to completely forget about my finals (forgive my minor aneurysm, Tech!) and go to a concert in San Diego featuring Matt & Kim and Two Door Cinema Club.

First off, let me say that the beauty of University of San Diego's campus is both unparalleled and a little unfair. The Spanish architecture truly took my breath away, even long after the sun had set. And I thought that Caltech was gorgeous! Apparently, the school's social budget also encompasses the funds to attract popular artists such as Two Door Cinema Club. Only a little bit jealous. . . 

I should say though that Caltech has had some excellent concerts in the past few years. Mashup Massive in my freshman year was a tremendous event that took place just beyond Beckman Mall near the Gene Pool. DJ Earworm was the main artist on the scene, and it was incredibly fun. 

Enviable beauty, thy name is USD. 

In any case, we arrived at USD just in time to catch Matt & Kim opening. The dance floor was a bit strange (how exactly does one dance to such bouncy music??), but Matt & Kim were absolutely hilarious. At one point, they threw hundreds of balloons into the audience and asked that we blow them up, then toss them above us. Cue 99 Luftballons-inspired madness. Near the end, Kim also jumped into the crowd and did her own rendition of "Pon de Floor" by Major Lazer. Priceless! In my humble opinion, they are much better live than recorded: not only is the sound better, but their enthusiasm in person really makes the music that much better.

My personal favorite is "Cameras," but this video for "Daylight" will give you a good idea of (a) the sound and (b) how much personality they bring to their songs. They are a ridiculously cute couple. 

 

After they had cleaned up most of the balloons and prepared the stage, it was time for the main event: Two Door Cinema Club! They didn't say a whole lot during the show, but it was so incredible to see them in person. For those not in the know, they are a three-person indie rock band from Northern Ireland consisting of Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths) and Kevin Baird (bass, backing vocals). 

Words cannot describe how much I love them. Their music is quite bouncy, always catchy, and usually has an underlying tone of nostalgia or regret. If that introduction intrigues you, you should give their first album a listen. The next one is due out in 2012! My personal favorites of their currently released tracks are "What You Know" (a song has a very special meaning to me, although its message is rather tragic), "You're Not Stubborn" (the perfect theme song for the passionate warring couple), "Costume Party" (you will be humming the hook for days), and "I Can't Talk" (the closer of the night and incredibly catchy). I missed them at Coachella last year, but it's safe to say that I will be hanging on the chance to see them live again!

 

Apologies for the less than perfect quality. Also, you can't really see the madness that is Coachella from this particular clip. . . 

Overall, I had a great time and I'm so glad that I have the time to see concerts even on finals week! Granted, this is not necessarily the case for underclassmen, but you do earn your breaks :)

Good luck with finals, everyone!

<3

Elisa

Epicsgiving

This year, I celebrated Thanksgiving in the nearby city of El Segundo with my boyfriend and a couple of other Caltech alumni. We had been preparing for weeks, even christening the event "Epicsgiving" to properly relate just how much we were planning to celebrate. Indeed, when the day came, we had already made several dishes beforehand just so there would be enough room in the oven to make everything else!

In light of this, please enjoy an extremely picture-heavy post full of silly and/or delicious moments.  

Hobbes was carefully overseeing the festivities.

Preparing bacon-wrapped scallops! The original plan was to have both scalloped potatoes and potatoed scallops (e.g. bacon-wrapped scallops with a potato crisp on top), but it sadly did not work out.

THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS. Words can barely describe how great the textures and tastes combine!

Roasted sweet potato coins with a garnish of crumbled goat cheese, celery, scallions, dried cranberries, and slivered pecans. My first time making it -- and a great success!

The star of the show: a 15-lb turkey. We also had a giant ham to go along with it.

Mmmm homemade cranberry sauce. They pop in the saucepan!

Ta-daaaa! Final table, minus several side dishes that just could not fit, as well as all of the desserts. . . 

From left to right: Sy (Lloyd '08), me, Mike (Lloyd '11), Ellen (Lloyd '09), Tjho (Lloyd '09), Calvin (Lloyd '09), Albert (Lloyd '11)

I haven't gone home for a single Thanksgiving since coming to Caltech, since home is on the other coast. The first year, I went to UC Irvine to visit a friend; the second and third years, I stayed at Lloyd and dealt with the four 20lb turkeys given to us by Housing. Still, I don't really mind: I see my family quite often, especially during interview season. And it's always great to catch up with friends, especially since several of them live in NorCal now. 

<3

Elisa

 

A City Without Seasons

To apologize for the utilitarianism of my recent posts, let's draw the focus back to something more introspective. 

One of my new favorite songs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLTbeoo4QPM) sums up the Southern California experience quite succinctly: "it's hard to measure time in a city without seasons." Even though the term is drawing to close, I can barely notice a change from its beginning. The air has gotten somewhat colder in the mornings and evenings, and occasionally it drizzles. However, the days are almost unfailingly sunny and 70 degrees. For my past three years at Caltech, this has been the norm for the entire school year from September to June. Summer brings more heat and dryness, but even that's hard to notice when you're in a laboratory, office, or hospital the entire day. Pasadena is most definitely a city without seasons, and so your time -- be it a week, a term, or your entire undergraduate experience -- can slip away with barely a fleck of change to show for it.

This is in stark contrast to my childhood in Boston, where seasons surged forth like bulls rampaging through a china shop. Fall and spring were brief but beautiful, whereas winter and summer hogged most of the year and were obnoxiously cold and hot, respectively. The passage of time was incredibly obvious even just by looking at one's wardrobe: flipflops and camisoles sat tucked next to furred boots, scarves, and mink earmuffs. In Pasadena, I wear the same clothes month after month, year after year; any new additions are similarly styled for the perennial summertime one encounters at Caltech.

Which is better? It's hard to say, although I know many of my friends would immediately say that the winter of New England is a dealbreaker. Why freeze when you could visit the beach year-round? Yet, I am always deeply unsettled by how much time has passed without me noticing. Holidays always take me by surprise since it looks the same as ever, as does the turn of every month (an unfortunate fact when your friends and family have birthdays on the 1st). Not to mention how hard it is to believe that this term is ending, and that my time at Caltech as a whole will end in the blink of an eye as well.

Conclusion: it's time to do much more, not to mention take a lot more photos to share/remember. My interviews are winding down, and it's time to make a reappearance to my campus friends (most of whom greet me nowadays with "how long has it been since you've been here last???") 

Next post(s) will feature House events, Thanksgiving cook-a-thon, and an argument for why Santa Monica is one of my absolute favorite places to visit. 

<3

Elisa

So, Tell Me About Yourself. . .

I promise my next post will be on more fun things! I'm just in an interviewing info dump sort of mood, considering I just spent a week exploring New York City.

Common Interview Types

(1) The Conversation

As far as I've seen, this accounts for 80-90% of medical interviews. The interviewer will bring you into his or her office, sit you down in front of their desk, and ask a series of gentle questions aimed at expanding on your application, figuring out your personality, and generally exploring things that one won't necessarily include in their original introduction. For example, a lot of interviewers found out about my interests in cooking, art, and writing through the interview! Every once in awhile, you'll really find a profound point of connection and just talk about that the entire interview.

 In a word: relaxed. You'll leave these interviews feeling good about yourself.

(2) The Challenge 

I've only had a few interviews in this style. They ask questions that you would never hear during the "casual" interview and may not have ever prepared for. For example, I had a few long discussions on whether the current push to make medical students more empathetic -- through courses, seminar, exposure to terminal patients, etc. -- could actually change one's outlook, or at least affect them in the way having a real personal or family experience might. These questions are not easy and often last for several minutes of exploring different arguments, dilemmas, etc. 

 That said, if you survive, the interviewer will give you a genuine smile and handshake as "congratulations" for making it through. They're kind of fun too! They definitely make you think during and afterwards.

(3) The Cases

 

I have not yet had an MMI (multiple mini-interview), but the UCs, Duke, and a handful of other schools have adopted this Canadian brand of interviewing. In essence, they want to delve into an applicant's personality by confronting them with ethical dilemmas, tricky social situations, and other challenges and observing their response. This can manifest in a number of tests. Many are clinically based: 

Ex. You have two victims of a car accident, one of whom has a 100% chance of survival if you treat them immediately and a 30% chance of survival if you treat them later. The other has a 50% chance of survival if you treat them immediately and a 10% survival if you treat them later. Who do you treat first?

I've heard an entire range though, including written exams and one where you had to hug the interviewer! It's definitely a very different style, and quite controversial as a result. 

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 Hopefully these help someone, whether now or in the future! They're really not as scary as they first seem. Plus, if you have an interview, there's already somewhere between a 20-60% chance of acceptance depending on the school :)

 <3

Elisa

Caltech Premeds: Not An Oxymoron

Hello Upper East Siders, Gossip Girl here. . .

. . . just kidding! It is true that I am visiting Upper East Side this week, though, in addition to two other regions of New York City (the Bronx and the juxtaposition of Upper East Side and East Harlem). However, I’m going to take this moment to focus on a related but probably more useful topic: how in the world do you do premed at Caltech?? I have had more than one interviewer who shakes my hand, smiles, and says they have never seen anyone from Caltech at a medical school interview before. 

(1)  Be prepared to accept a lower GPA.

At any other school, I’m pretty confident that I could have kept a perfect GPA. However, the core curriculum at Tech is not designed to be easy. For those of you have been tuning into my previous posts, it’s like sipping from a firehose. There are some concepts you’ll understand, there are others that will go straight over your head. For homework sets, you will be able to consult the professor, teaching assistants, and fellow students (whoo collaboration!) to finish the sets. Usually those grades will be fine, provided there is no massive misunderstanding that gets passed around among those working on the set. It's the exams that tend to be killer: I had more than one final where the average was a 50%. Average.

It's a very different mentality from other premed programs. That said, I am truly glad for that unique experience. First off, it made me infinitely more humble. Turns out, that's a pretty essential personality trait to have when you're entering a profession where you will constantly find your own knowledge challenged and outdated. You need to be able to accept a mistake and move forward, rather than fight to the death for the last point. Second, it made me appreciate the good grades I did get. Even if it took an entire night of studying and memorizing, of sketching out diagrams and flashcards. . . if I know it paid off, it was all worth it. 

Basically, if you can keep above a 3.5 at Caltech (very doable), you should not only be good to go for competitive schools, but you'll be much better mentally prepared for the stresses of, well. . . not knowing everything all the time.

(2) Take the relevant courses.

Luckily for you, this isn't too bad. Many of them are already fulfilled by the core requirements of Caltech, and many more if you're a bio/chem major! Here's what I did to fulfill my own requirements:

• Physics (1 year): Ph1abc, Ph2ab
• Math (1 year): Ma1abc, Ma2ab
• Biology (1 year + lab): Bi8, Bi9, Bi10, Bi22, Bi114, Bi117, Bi122. . . the list goes on and on
• Chemistry (1 year + lab): Ch3a, Ch1ab (might need Ch102; I'll update on this later once I have an offer)
• Organic Chemistry (1 year + lab): Ch41abc, Ch8
• English (1 year): Frosh hum + 2 advanced hums in English
• Biochemistry: Bi/Ch110, Bi/Ch113

Pretty much all of these were finished by the end of my junior year except for Ch008 and the potential Ch102 class. Definitely easy to get them all done. 

(3) Do research in a project that is clinically relevant.

Luckily, also not hard to find because projects with significant clinical relevance tend to get better grants. Coming from Caltech, you should have no trouble getting into any laboratory you find interesting: be it on campus or off. I worked for two summers in Boston doing cancer research, for example. Interviewers love basic science experience! It's even better if you have a publication, although my own is still underway.

(4) Do shadowing at Huntington, CHLA, Cedar Sinai, City of Hope, etc.

So, how do you know you want to be in medicine? If you see the grittiest and goriest scenarios possible and are still up bright and early the next day to see more, that's a good sign. The exact programs available from Caltech vary from year by year, but I shadowed at Huntington Hospital last summer. The program was six weeks, sixty hours per week, twelve hours a day from mid-June to the beginning of August. I was invited to see a few more surgeries during the latter half of August (while I was working on applications) as well. To sum up: I could not imagine a more complete immersion in the day to day life of a physician than the Huntington Preceptorship program, at least from the perspective of shadowing. You will see everything.

By the way, the director, Dr. Caton, is an incredibly talented neurosurgeon who wants to give Techers a fighting chance in medical school applications: let him help you!

(5) Do volunteering, leadership activities, etc.

How do you know you want to help? How do you know you want to lead? There are a lot of different ways to show this to a medical school admissions committee. Personally, I tended more towards student government. The most prominent volunteering group on campus, the Caltech Y, is very active though. There are also opportunities available through the Caltech Premed Association (CPMA). Just make sure you're doing something productive with your free time that shows that you're a mature, organized, and active person. I am planning on some hardcore volunteering at free clinics once I matriculate into medical school, but I am glad I had the experience of helping my own (albeit tiny) community during undergrad. 

(6) Talk to the medical school advisor.

They want to talk to you! They know things! They have walk-in hours! Go say hi sometime :) Also, it helps them a lot when you're applying if they know you beyond a resumé. 

(7) Have fun.

In all seriousness. Everyone applying for medical school is going to be high caliber: what makes you unique? If you have a hobby that you're really passionate about, never give it up just to spend more time on classes and whatnot. Almost every single one of my interviewers has asked how I will destress in medical school.

Also, just to bring us back down to Earth: I like to cook, read, write, draw. . . occasionally blast silly music and dance with my freshman year roommate. . . explore LA. . . you get the picture. I am not a world champion dancer from a tiny unknown country or anything crazy like that, but I know how to get my kicks. 

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Basically, it's not the most traditional premed program, but I'm glad I had the opportunities I did at Caltech and I truly feel like it prepared me for handling -- well, pretty much anything after this. I'm also very open about my experiences moving towards medicine, so anyone who thinks my advice would be helpful can email me at anytime. 

Good luck current/potential Caltech premeds!

<3

Elisa

Bellevue in Brief

Hello! Today I just made my way back from the NYU Langone School of Medicine, located in the east side of Manhattan overlooking the East River. My host's apartment was at 1st and 26th, which basically means there's plenty to do no matter which direction you turn. Not to mention the medical school and associated hospitals (including the famous Bellevue Hospital) are just a few blocks away: definitely a plus in the midst of an East Coast blizzard!

The interview day was very relaxed: we had one half hour interview in the morning with a faculty member, then departed for tours, lunch, and more tours. Like many of my interviews so far, the talk was quite conversational. This time, I ended up focusing on my experiences in research and my endeavor to enter academic medicine. This career path ensures that I can maintain the "hard science" skills I attained through Caltech, teach the next generation of physicians, and of course, see my own patients. It will be a long path for sure, but I couldn't be happier with that combination! We also discussed, among other things, our opinions on the novel Don Quixote and our experiences moving around the country :)

One thing that really blew me away during the tour was the new simulation center, which cost $20.8 million to build but it definitely worth it. When we entered the center from the elevator, the first thing that we noticed was how new it was: from the spotless walls down to that fresh "new car" smell. There are over a dozen robotic mannequins, each costing between $15k-250k, which allow students to show their stuff in an emergency medicine environment that is as realistic as possible. They can perspire; they have a blood pressure; you can administer CPR. . . the works. One even gives birth! Also, they videotape everything so that students can look over their reactions later and say, 

"Ouch. I probably should have done that better. . . I'll fix it next time!"

Or perhaps. . . 

"Wow, I really nailed that! I look like a real doctor!"

After the interview day was done, I headed back to my host's apartment and we spent the rest of the weekend exploring Manhattan. She was super awesome and went out with me even though the rest of her roommates were studying. Among the places we hit up were Bareburger (one of the best burgers in NYC apparently!), Jane (fancy brunch place), High Line (sightseeing spot in the Meatpacking District, which contrary to its name is very fancy), and the movie theatre to see 50/50. 

The High Line is supposed to be populated with the "natural" vegetation of NYC.

That's all for now! Time to go work on my lab report. . . 

<3

Elisa