Birdy Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 I'm vegan, actually. My family is going to disown me since I wasn't last time I went (~8 years ago). I'll just eat more potatoes to make up for it I guess. Ah, didn't know. Sorry! Be sure to head to the farmer's market in Charlottetown if you'll be up this way. Plenty of amazing veggies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Anyone else drink a lot of coffee? I go through about 5 cups a day, but I think I've developed a tolerance. Might up to 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmatt1122 Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Anyone else drink a lot of coffee? I go through about 5 cups a day, but I think I've developed a tolerance. Might up to 7. Nope I generally try to stay away from drinking it regularly. Don't want to develop a dependence on it. I do enjoy it from time to time, but not routinely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroPreMed Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Anyone else drink a lot of coffee? I go through about 5 cups a day, but I think I've developed a tolerance. Might up to 7. No, I find after about 3 or 4 months it starts to irritate my stomach. I switched to mochas, half hot chocolate half coffee. Not as hard on my stomach, and then those days when I'm more tired than usual I can have a couple. If I have 3 throughout a whole day the third one will probably start to get to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Nope I generally try to stay away from drinking it regularly. Don't want to develop a dependence on it. I do enjoy it from time to time, but not routinely. How do you get through the day? If I don't chug down coffee every few hours, I am completely unproductive. No, I find after about 3 or 4 months it starts to irritate my stomach. I switched to mochas, half hot chocolate half coffee. Not as hard on my stomach, and then those days when I'm more tired than usual I can have a couple. If I have 3 throughout a whole day the third one will probably start to get to me. I usually have 1 caffeine pill when I get up and then a few coffees throughout the day. I'm not sure if I enjoy coffee or if I just enjoy caffeine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroPreMed Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 How do you get through the day? If I don't chug down coffee every few hours, I am completely unproductive. I usually have 1 caffeine pill when I get up and then a few coffees throughout the day. I'm not sure if I enjoy coffee or if I just enjoy caffeine. I don't even know if caffeine in coffee really wakes me up if I'm being honest. As per putting that much caffeine in your body, I would honestly try to cut that down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmatt1122 Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 How do you get through the day? If I don't chug down coffee every few hours, I am completely unproductive. Not sure how to answer that. I get through my days just fine without stimulants. I try to get 8 hours of sleep every night and eat well so that I don't get fatigued. If I need to stay up super late for something I'll drink coffee or have an energy drink but that doesn't happen very often (I'm useless studying when tired... I sometimes do this when driving late into the night, though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroPreMed Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Not sure how to answer that. I get through my days just fine without stimulants. I try to get 8 hours of sleep every night and eat well so that I don't get fatigued. If I need to stay up super late for something I'll drink coffee or have an energy drink but that doesn't happen very often (I'm useless studying when tired... I sometimes do this when driving late into the night, though). Let me know if you manage that during M1 and M2:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I don't even know if caffeine in coffee really wakes me up if I'm being honest. As per putting that much caffeine in your body, I would honestly try to cut that down. I have a hard time concentrating without caffeine. I think it is one of the major reasons that I've improved my grades from my first degree. First degree was a 2.0 - no caffeine. Second degree is a 3.88 so far - lots of caffeine. Not sure how to answer that. I get through my days just fine without stimulants. I try to get 8 hours of sleep every night and eat well so that I don't get fatigued. If I need to stay up super late for something I'll drink coffee or have an energy drink but that doesn't happen very often (I'm useless studying when tired... I sometimes do this when driving late into the night, though). It isn't really fatigue, per se. I notice that around 2-3 pm, if I haven't had caffeine, I'm bouncing off the walls. I try to have some sort of caffeine every 3 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmatt1122 Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Let me know if you manage that during M1 and M2:p Will do! I actually think I'll manage to during preclerkship. Clerkship and residency, though, I'm not so sure about. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroPreMed Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I have a hard time concentrating without caffeine. I think it is one of the major reasons that I've improved my grades from my first degree. First degree was a 2.0 - no caffeine. Second degree is a 3.88 so far - lots of caffeine. It isn't really fatigue, per se. I notice that around 2-3 pm, if I haven't had caffeine, I'm bouncing off the walls. I try to have some sort of caffeine every 3 hours. Correlation does not equal causation. There are many factors that could be accounted for your better grades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Correlation does not equal causation. There are many factors that could be accounted for your better grades. Of course. I was just pointing out that I believe the caffeine is one of those factors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I've had to cut down my caffeine. It's bad for anxiety, so I just stick to my 1-2 small cups a day. When I see other students downing Red Bull and coffee like they need it to breathe during exam times, I worry about them. That just can't be good for them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroPreMed Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I've had to cut down my caffeine. It's bad for anxiety, so I just stick to my 1-2 small cups a day. When I see other students downing Red Bull and coffee like they need it to breathe during exam times, I worry about them. That just can't be good for them... Yeah I don't think so. I have a friend who only drinks coffee once a day but if he has it going into an exam he drinks it probably 4 times faster. Maybe they're like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I've never had a redbull before. I used to take Ephedrine a lot when I had to maintain weight for BJJ competitions. I stopped taking that when my GP said I had to see a cardiologist (it turned out that nothing was wrong, I just had a heart rate of 48 bpm and they wanted to make sure everything was working). I think when my summer classes end, I'll have 2-3 weeks before fall term. I will try to drop the caffeine in this time period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLily Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Of course. I was just pointing out that I believe the caffeine is one of those factors. I can drink a coffee and be asleep an hour later, such is my caffeine tolerance. Just another benefit of grad school (Grad school also killed my sleep cycle) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I can drink a coffee and be asleep an hour later, such is my caffeine tolerance. Just another benefit of grad school (Grad school also killed my sleep cycle) What graduate program are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I see a lot of disgruntled graduate students on these forums. I'm considering grad school as an alternative if med school apps dont go well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehockeykid Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 ^i thought u said you were done grad school? perhaps i am mistaken. I have to buy a laptop. for the last bit I have been using a netbook and a desktop. i heard that in grad school i have to do alot of my work on campus kinda ****ty, cause i like working on a desktop and I have to spend money on a laptop. I know my network would die if i tried running sas or r on it. ^I might just clone my pc hard drive onto my new laptop's hard drive....this way i can keep all my current settings. fml **** alot of course work (I am doing online courses, I see that I have a number of assignments already due)... fml it was also raining today too, so i didn't get to play tennis fml I also have to get a haircut, I hate traveling especially for mundane tasks fml my hairdresser is in my university town, and i have to get a new hairdresser (I shopped around for a yr before finding someone i liked) fml so much **** to do oh god i am starting to become independent now i have to manage my personal finances...(budgeting, osap, car payments, loans, ogs, and **** I have to learn). found an excel budgeting spread sheet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLily Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 What graduate program are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I see a lot of disgruntled graduate students on these forums. I'm considering grad school as an alternative if med school apps dont go well. Hahaha, I know I sound complain-y, but honestly I did have a really good experience with grad school. BUT, it wasn't what I expected (some was, some wasn't). Also, something to keep in mind is that you do get put into a different category for some med schools as a grad applicant, which is good and bad; some schools lower GPA minimums (like uoft) but you need to make sure you/your research productivity stand out (go to conferences, get lots of pubs, make sure your supervisor loves you = good ref letter ). I'm almost done an MSc in bioinformatics. OMG, before I started I thought scripts were for actors and Python referred to the snake. When I was looking at MSc programs to apply to, I had come across an interesting paper on the human microbiome and when I looked up some of the authors, one was a prof accepting grad students. I was interested in his research, and met with him to talk about his work. 2 years later here I am in his lab, almost ready to defend my thesis. But doing my masters in a field that was pretty new to me definitely made my life hard for a long while. But I think it was worth it, caffeine dependence and lack of sleep in all. If you don't mind me asking, what masters programs are you considering? And did you mention elsewhere on pm101 that you're doing a second undergrad? How are you finding that (I'll probably be starting one this Fall since I didn't get into med this cycle, so I'd love any details about your experience) ^i thought u said you were done grad school? perhaps i am mistaken. I have to buy a laptop. for the last bit I have been using a netbook and a desktop. i heard that in grad school i have to do alot of my work on campus kinda ****ty, cause i like working on a desktop and I have to spend money on a laptop. I know my network would die if i tried running sas or r on it. ^I might just clone my pc hard drive onto my new laptop's hard drive....this way i can keep all my current settings. fml **** alot of course work (I am doing online courses, I see that I have a number of assignments already due)... fml it was also raining today too, so i didn't get to play tennis fml I also have to get a haircut, I hate traveling especially for mundane tasks fml my hairdresser is in my university town, and i have to get a new hairdresser (I shopped around for a yr before finding someone i liked) fml so much **** to do oh god i am starting to become independent now i have to manage my personal finances...(budgeting, osap, car payments, loans, ogs, and **** I have to learn). found an excel budgeting spread sheet... I'm defending it next month, woooo! So almost. I've got a Macbook air and have found it to be great (with R, etc.), plus obviously it can be brought with you everywhere since it's so lightweight. Of course it's pricey, but might be worth considering? The stats course I took to learn R had a practical component in class (we ran through examples, etc.) so having avery transportable laptop made my life easier. Of course, you get more computer per $ if you go for a desktop… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Hahaha, I know I sound complain-y, but honestly I did have a really good experience with grad school. BUT, it wasn't what I expected (some was, some wasn't). Also, something to keep in mind is that you do get put into a different category for some med schools as a grad applicant, which is good and bad; some schools lower GPA minimums (like uoft) but you need to make sure you/your research productivity stand out (go to conferences, get lots of pubs, make sure your supervisor loves you = good ref letter ). I'm almost done an MSc in bioinformatics. OMG, before I started I thought scripts were for actors and Python referred to the snake. When I was looking at MSc programs to apply to, I had come across an interesting paper on the human microbiome and when I looked up some of the authors, one was a prof accepting grad students. I was interested in his research, and met with him to talk about his work. 2 years later here I am in his lab, almost ready to defend my thesis. But doing my masters in a field that was pretty new to me definitely made my life hard for a long while. But I think it was worth it, caffeine dependence and lack of sleep in all. If you don't mind me asking, what masters programs are you considering? And did you mention elsewhere on pm101 that you're doing a second undergrad? How are you finding that (I'll probably be starting one this Fall since I didn't get into med this cycle, so I'd love any details about your experience) I'm considering Mol. Genetics at U of T, and hopefully the collaborative program in bioinformatics. My main concern for applying is my lack of programming experience, and my first undergraduate degree was in Math. The poor GPA may make a bioinformatics program hesitant. The second degree is going really well. Having done poorly once before, I have learned exactly what not to do. I spent some time learning how to study effectively, and I have been trying my best to implement those strategies. The only thing I dislike is my family isn't very supportive of my decision. I get snide remarks from family members about being older (i'm only 24) and taking first year courses. Other than that, I'm really enjoying the experience. I've never had good grades before in non mathematics courses. I almost failed high school biology, but managed an A+ for both introductory Biology courses this past year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroPreMed Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 ^i thought u said you were done grad school? perhaps i am mistaken. I have to buy a laptop. for the last bit I have been using a netbook and a desktop. i heard that in grad school i have to do alot of my work on campus kinda ****ty, cause i like working on a desktop and I have to spend money on a laptop. I know my network would die if i tried running sas or r on it. ^I might just clone my pc hard drive onto my new laptop's hard drive....this way i can keep all my current settings. fml **** alot of course work (I am doing online courses, I see that I have a number of assignments already due)... fml it was also raining today too, so i didn't get to play tennis fml I also have to get a haircut, I hate traveling especially for mundane tasks fml my hairdresser is in my university town, and i have to get a new hairdresser (I shopped around for a yr before finding someone i liked) fml so much **** to do oh god i am starting to become independent now i have to manage my personal finances...(budgeting, osap, car payments, loans, ogs, and **** I have to learn). found an excel budgeting spread sheet... I'm with Red on the laptop situation. I've had a MacBook Air and now a pro and they're both phenomenal. Like stated a little pricy but in all honesty if you want a really good laptop you'll only be spending a few more hundred dollars and it it saves you from buying another one a year longer than if you bought something else, why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I have a MacBook pro. I regret not buying an Air. I don't like carrying this thing around. In other news, apparently there was a tornado in Ontario yesterday. The weather has been very up and down recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroPreMed Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I have a MacBook pro. I regret not buying an Air. I don't like carrying this thing around. In other news, apparently there was a tornado in Ontario yesterday. The weather has been very up and down recently. I found the pro was way faster, and for the extra 2 pounds to me it's just meh. Hopefully everyone is ok though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I found the pro was way faster, and for the extra 2 pounds to me it's just meh. Hopefully everyone is ok though! I use my laptop mostly for browsing and typing up reports. I've recently started taking a tablet to lectures instead of a laptop. I only type notes in non-science courses, and I find i'm more productive with a tablet (harder to multitask => harder for me to procrastinate). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehockeykid Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I ended up spending close to 1k on a windows laptop. it will be pretty heavy but I shouldn't be walking too much since i plan on driving. i find pc just easier since i know most of the software will work with it. i am starting to learn so much about computers and programming. i ended up printing a cheat sheet for R commands and Git commands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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