Mourning a tragic loss, Next Semester, and Taking a Break

So I took the weekend to mourn the loss of my "perfect" GPA. Physics was my undoing. Physics is difficult for me. Could I have studied more? Yes. Should I have? Yes. But all in all, I'm happy. I got a B. It's respectable. Could have easily been worse. It's just that I don't like physics. It's awful. It's one awful word problem after awful word problem. Mundane. I'd rather have a root canal than study for it. The concepts I think are ingrained in my brain. At this point, it's a matter of putting my understanding into practice, and delivering the correct answer. Next semester I will work harder to get an A in Physics 2.

So my next semester's schedule is just about set. I am signed up for Physics 2, Organic Chemistry 2, Neurobiology, and I will soon be signed up for Psychology Research Methods. My 4 year University just needs a copy of my transcript showing that I took Statistics this semester, since it's a prerequisite. I also filled out the application for admissions into another local Community College. On Monday I will start the process of having my previous transcripts sent to them so I can do the Texas Fresh Start program. I'm not sure what class I am going to take at this point, but I'm thinking maybe either First Aid and Safety, or a beginning Nutrition class. Both are delivered online, so I wouldn't actually have to physically attend class.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to Christmas break. I plan on playing games with the kids, cleaning my sadly neglected house, and spending some much needed quality time with my wife. I'm thinking a night out on the town with a nice dinner, followed by a hotel room in the city. Woohoo! Party rockers in the house tonight! Fun is more than overdue.

The Texas Fresh Start Program and Me

Texas has this amazing program called "The Fresh Start." This is designed for non-traditional, aka old, students who wish to pursue a degree, not be held back by sub-par performances earlier in their educational career. Any grades ten years ago or older, are wiped away. This also means that if going on to professional school, like medical school, any prerequisites that were completed over ten years ago are also wiped away and must be redone (but shouldn't they be redone anyway? Who remembers anything from ten years ago?).

In my case, I will instantaneously have a 4.0 GPA! Amazing. Well, maybe not a 4.0 because physics and I are barely on speaking terms lately, but I digress. The only problem is that one needs to apply to the college as a Fresh Start applicant. Since I just learned of this and I am already enrolled, this creates a problem. I mean, I am already enrolled in a 4 year University (more to come about this later), as well as a local 2 year College. So in my case, I will need to enroll at another institution to be able to implement this plan.

My first thought was to enroll in another 4 year University because I need to take biochemistry at some point, and my current 4 year University does not offer it. Seemed like a great plan. The problem is that I just learned the course must be completed before I apply to medical school. Well my timeline has been carefully planned. I am finishing up my prerequisites next semester with physics 2 and organic chemistry 2. I was going to take a month in the summer and study for, then take the MCAT. I was going to then apply to all the Texas medical schools, except for maybe Baylor since they do not accept the program. Well now that I must have the class completed prior to applying, I need to readjust my plans.

So I will now apply to another two year college, take physics 2 there next semester. I will take organic chemistry 2 with my current 2 year college (I already know the professor, and am comfortable with his particular nuances, and I have a scholarship so it's free). I will also take Neurobiology and Psychology Research Methods with my current 4 year institution. So basically, I will be taking classes at 3 different colleges next semester. This is just about enough to make my head spin. The crazy things premeds must endure...