It is truly better to write as thoughts flutter in one's mind, for once those thoughts fade away, you can never get them back. Some fragments may remain, but the detail, depth, and intensity of those thoughts may never be regained. Such was the case for my UCSF Interview. After the interview, I experienced a myriad of thoughts and emotions that I did not put down on paper. And now, try as I may, I cannot even mildly recall what they were. Oh well!
So, how did my UCSF interview go? Hmm ... let's see. My interview was on the 8th, Thursday. On February 4 - 7, I was sick. I was bed-ridden for those 4 days. Though I had planned on practicing the essay writing part, and trying to write out answers to the most common questions that everyone expects will be asked, I wasn't able to do any of that. So, on Wednesday night, even though I was still not feeling well, I read articles about the growing field of pharmacy, the problems pharmacists face, and the future of pharmacy. Although I tried to come up with a succinct, coherent answer to "Why Pharmacy?" I wasn't able to. My head was still spinning. I could not concentrate. And I could not think. My brain was absolutely empty.
On Thursday, I went to Church and heard Mass. I've been meaning to do that since Monday, but because I was sick, I never got the chance to hear Mass. Then, I drove to work. I wanted to be at work early, so that I can finish everything I would need to finish 'coz I won't be coming in to work on Friday. It was such a wonderful blessing that I did not have anything to do at work, but order some supplies for the lab. So, I was able to finish everything by 10:30 am. After which, I just chatted with my co-workers about my impending doom, este, interview. Everyone was surprised that I was all dressed up, suit and all. My normal get-up in the lab are sweat pants and shirt. So they made a big deal of the suit I was wearing. =P
Then I ate lunch ('coz the process was expected to take several hours), or at least I tried to eat lunch. I was anxious *(not really nervous, just anxious) and so I couldn't really eat. Then, I freshened up and walked down. I was told in my letter that the proceedings will start at 11:30. So I got there a little before 11:30. It turns out, we were supposed to arrive and register at 11:30. So, when I signed in at 11:20, the person at the table said, "Oh. You're early. So have a seat and relax." I thought to myself, "Yeah right! As if I can relax right now!" So, I went in the waiting room and sat down. I tried reading some of the articles over, but my brain would no longer accept any new information. A person sat next to me, and we started talking.
She was really nice, and she has this beautiful smile on her face. You wouldn't think that she was nervous at all (apparently she was really nervous!) And as soon as Pauline (that's her name!) and I started chatting, everyone else in the room loosened up and started talking to one another. To think, we, interviewees, are competing for a limited 120-spot, no one was antagonistic toward one another. Instead of looking at one another as fierce competitors, we saw one another as potential future classmate/friend. It was so nice.
And that's what really impressed me with the field of pharmacy - the humility of pharmacists, and their willingness to help and educate. When I interviewed at UCSF for the School of Medicine, the interviewees weren't friendly with one another. I was so nervous then that I didn't even try to open my mouth. I saved my energy for my actual interview. The interviewees who were talking with one another would just brag about their achievements. They were already competing against each other even before the interviews started. Also, it's hard to schedule a day to shadow a physician. They feel oh-so-important that they can't be bothered with giving interested people the opportunity to see a day-in-the-life of a doctor. I don't deny the importance of physicians, but do they really have to throw at people's faces how superior and important they are? Pharmacists don't do that. When I asked to shadow three different pharmacists, no one rejected my request. And they even prepared the day before to ensure that they will be able to show me everything that they do on a given day. It was great to see how they work. Anyway, that's just a random rambling.
There were 27 interviewees that day. We were broken down into 3 different groups because only 9 applicants can be interviewed at a time. So, they had to make sure that the other 18 have something to do while waiting for their turn to be interviewed.
I was part of the red group. And I liked my group's schedule.
12:00 - 12:30 - Orientation (a brief overview of UCSF and the process)
12:30 - 1:30 - Essay portion (I'll discuss this later)
1:30 - 2:30 - relax with current pharmacy students, discuss prerequisites
2:30 - 3:30 - interview
3:30 - 4:00 - Financial Aid
4:00 - 4:30 - tour of the campus (optional)
That's it for now. The post is already long as it is. =)
So, how did my UCSF interview go? Hmm ... let's see. My interview was on the 8th, Thursday. On February 4 - 7, I was sick. I was bed-ridden for those 4 days. Though I had planned on practicing the essay writing part, and trying to write out answers to the most common questions that everyone expects will be asked, I wasn't able to do any of that. So, on Wednesday night, even though I was still not feeling well, I read articles about the growing field of pharmacy, the problems pharmacists face, and the future of pharmacy. Although I tried to come up with a succinct, coherent answer to "Why Pharmacy?" I wasn't able to. My head was still spinning. I could not concentrate. And I could not think. My brain was absolutely empty.
On Thursday, I went to Church and heard Mass. I've been meaning to do that since Monday, but because I was sick, I never got the chance to hear Mass. Then, I drove to work. I wanted to be at work early, so that I can finish everything I would need to finish 'coz I won't be coming in to work on Friday. It was such a wonderful blessing that I did not have anything to do at work, but order some supplies for the lab. So, I was able to finish everything by 10:30 am. After which, I just chatted with my co-workers about my impending doom, este, interview. Everyone was surprised that I was all dressed up, suit and all. My normal get-up in the lab are sweat pants and shirt. So they made a big deal of the suit I was wearing. =P
Then I ate lunch ('coz the process was expected to take several hours), or at least I tried to eat lunch. I was anxious *(not really nervous, just anxious) and so I couldn't really eat. Then, I freshened up and walked down. I was told in my letter that the proceedings will start at 11:30. So I got there a little before 11:30. It turns out, we were supposed to arrive and register at 11:30. So, when I signed in at 11:20, the person at the table said, "Oh. You're early. So have a seat and relax." I thought to myself, "Yeah right! As if I can relax right now!" So, I went in the waiting room and sat down. I tried reading some of the articles over, but my brain would no longer accept any new information. A person sat next to me, and we started talking.
She was really nice, and she has this beautiful smile on her face. You wouldn't think that she was nervous at all (apparently she was really nervous!) And as soon as Pauline (that's her name!) and I started chatting, everyone else in the room loosened up and started talking to one another. To think, we, interviewees, are competing for a limited 120-spot, no one was antagonistic toward one another. Instead of looking at one another as fierce competitors, we saw one another as potential future classmate/friend. It was so nice.
And that's what really impressed me with the field of pharmacy - the humility of pharmacists, and their willingness to help and educate. When I interviewed at UCSF for the School of Medicine, the interviewees weren't friendly with one another. I was so nervous then that I didn't even try to open my mouth. I saved my energy for my actual interview. The interviewees who were talking with one another would just brag about their achievements. They were already competing against each other even before the interviews started. Also, it's hard to schedule a day to shadow a physician. They feel oh-so-important that they can't be bothered with giving interested people the opportunity to see a day-in-the-life of a doctor. I don't deny the importance of physicians, but do they really have to throw at people's faces how superior and important they are? Pharmacists don't do that. When I asked to shadow three different pharmacists, no one rejected my request. And they even prepared the day before to ensure that they will be able to show me everything that they do on a given day. It was great to see how they work. Anyway, that's just a random rambling.
There were 27 interviewees that day. We were broken down into 3 different groups because only 9 applicants can be interviewed at a time. So, they had to make sure that the other 18 have something to do while waiting for their turn to be interviewed.
I was part of the red group. And I liked my group's schedule.
12:00 - 12:30 - Orientation (a brief overview of UCSF and the process)
12:30 - 1:30 - Essay portion (I'll discuss this later)
1:30 - 2:30 - relax with current pharmacy students, discuss prerequisites
2:30 - 3:30 - interview
3:30 - 4:00 - Financial Aid
4:00 - 4:30 - tour of the campus (optional)
That's it for now. The post is already long as it is. =)
2 comments:
good thing i waited... i'm done reading in one sitting. hehehe!
first off, ang naiisip ko lang dun sa mga applicants sa medicine, they are trying to reaffirm their achievements by saying them out loud to somebody. it boosts their confidence. maybe they need that. or maybe they have been spending too much time reading books that they lack the social "talents" to mingle. docs-to-be like that are dangerous. especially pag pumasa sila, they might play god. hehe!
Yeah. I suppose that's what they're trying to do. Pero, di ba? Di naman nila kailangan isigaw yung sa buong mundo. Parang kung sino kasi sila. =P *sour graping lang ata ako.
And I agree with you. Dangerous sila maging doctor. Pero, on the other hand, they might be like House, MD (ever watch that show?)
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