I am back!

I am back! I finished my exams and things look promising. For the past 10 days, I have been taking my yearly exam which, if favorable, will put me into the next level. It all makes sense until I break it down. Here are the unusual criteria:

There are 10 subjects divided among 2 semesters. The first semester with 6 courses and the second with 4 courses. These subjects are taught simultaneously and if you remember from a previous article, I mentioned that there are no breaks in between the semesters. Also, we are scheduled Mondays through Sundays 7:30 – 6pm…with 1 hour break in the day! So we sit for 6 hours, get a one-hour break, then sit for 4 more hours. The routine alone is exhausting! The studying time period is basically all the time that’s left because everyday we learn so many new things; and  anytime we’re not in school, we study. If you are interested in knowing the 10 subjects, it is at the end of this article.

The admissions criteria:

There are 4000 students of various nationalities in the program this year but only 320 seats will be awarded altogether for the next level. 10 of which will be granted to international students. So with nearly 300 international students present in the program, you see the reduced probability of being accepted. However, that is far from my concern. I told myself from day 1 that even if they were to accept 1 person, I will be that person. This is not arrogance, nor delusion, it is how high I set my goal and been working with it. There were days I got sick, looked beaten but never did I ever think of quitting.

The exam phase:

Only 1 exam is given at the end of the school year, regrouping everything learned from the first day of the first semester up to the last day of the last semester. So woe to the one who dares to sleeps!

There are anywhere from 20 to 70 questions per test. Each of the 10 subjects must be successfully passed. The test consists of true or false questions each mostly worth 1 point. There is a portion of multiple choice with the points equal to the number of correct choices. Wait, there are penalties! If you choose the wrong answer for the true or false, you get minus 1 points (-1). If you don’t answer, you get zero points (0). If you answer correctly, you get plus 1 point (+1). Here’s a scenario: there are 20 true or false questions. You think you know 15 of them and decided to answer those. In the process you made mistakes and got 6 wrong out of the 15. Because you made 6 wrong choices, you now have minus 6 points (- 6). But, you got 9 correctly so that’s plus 9 points (+ 9). Now your final grade is the sum of your plusses and minuses which is your + 9 – 6 = 3. Your final grade is 3 over 20! There is no tolerance for mistakes. Either you know it or you don’t, there is no in between.

For the multiple choice: Let’s say there are also 20 questions. You think you know half of them. Let’s arbitrary assign question number 1 with six propositions in the sequence A, B, C, D,  E and F. Say the correct answers are ABD at a value of 3 points total for that question. Instead you answer ACE. Because you got A correct you have +1 point; but C and E are not part of the correct answer so you got yourself -2 points. Do the math for your +1 – 2 = -1 so you now have a -1 to go into your final score. If you attempted but chose anything other than the three corrects answers (for instance CEF), you get – 3 points waiting again to go into your final grade. If you only even picked 2 propositions and they are wrong, you get -2 points hanging. The trick is really just limiting the risk of getting negative scores. If you skip what you don’t know, you get zero zero for that question which is way better than a negative score.

Throughout this, I got to know myself on a deeper level and greatly increased my confidence. I did my very best and now that I am done with my part, I leave the rest to God. I always say He knows why He led me here and He won’t leave me. His favor was upon me from day 1 of this journey, and I am thankful for the health & strength He gave me to carry through every day. My family is the most amazing support system ever. My new friends outside of school, my fellow future doctors, and my very patient blog followers :).

P.S. The photos attached were sent to me by my friends overseas to encourage me during my preparation and exam phase lol. Have a laugh with me!

Here’s a toast to success…Little by little, birds build their nests and as I love to say, the future is in session.

 

Thanks Maria for this!

Again, thanks Maria!

 

 

 

The Courses:

First semester

• Botanics/organography

• Physics ( Mechanical, Dynamics, Electricity, Optic)

• Biophysics ( The Heart-Electrocardiogram, Vision, Hearing)

• Mathematics (Analysis, Statistics)

• General Chemistry ( Atomistic, Aqueous Solutions)

• Organic Chemistry ( Alkane, Alkene, Alkyne, Alcohol, Halogen Derivatives)

 

Second Semester

• Physiology ( Renal/Micturation, Muscular Contraction, Bioenergetics, Pancreatic Secretion, Salivary Excretion, Biliary Excretion, Digestion)

• Anatomy ( Every Bone, Every Muscle, Every Nerve, Every Vessel of the Head & Neck, Upper Limbs, and Lower Limbs)

• Biochemistry ( Proteins, Lipids, Carbohydrates)

• Biology ( Cellular Biology, Embryology, Histology)