Applying

hello there,
has been a long time since i last wrote on this blog...well..i wouldnt exactly say i was busy but i wasn't able to write coz of the winter break...i went back to nepal and was too busy trekking around and trying to relax!

today i'd like to tell you more about how i had prepared when I was applying to Cornell for pre-med...now that the time for me to apply to medical school is near (this march), it is going to be helpful for me to recall what i did too!!

to begin with, i was unaware about the existence of this branch of cornell during my high school days. so my only plans were to apply to universities and colleges in the states and that was how i was preparing for the whole time. (please do realize that i am only one of the sixty students accepted in my class...so there is a huge range in scores of the people who did get accepted..there is no cut off level...every individual has his/her unique characters which the admission committee looks into...dont get dissapointed if u have anything less and if u have better scores..good for u..but in college admission...as u might have heard..nothing is guaranteed..and i am not at all a professional!!)

i did the Cambridge GCE A Levels (but there are students who have done the high school system of India (CBSE), French Baccalaureate, International Baccalaureate, Edexcel, Advanced Placement and so on..i dont even know all of them!!)...i had taken 5 subjects and had got a good enuf grade of As and Bs ( I know students with Cs and Ds as well)... after two years of high school, i decided to take a break to pull myself together and work on college application stuff and also tp prepare myself for the college experience...most people dont take any year off actually...in my case...my high school had its own style and almost everyone took a year off...most people who get accepted here in freshman year are around 18 years old...but we had the youngest person to ever get accepted here (age 14) and people who had already started medical school but left to start from premed again (age 20-21)

i took my SAT Reasoning Test, 3 SAT Subject Tests, TOEFL all in my gap year and got above average scores (in regards to this college)...check out the website to know the average scores..heres a quote from our website

"While no single grade or exam score guarantees admission, it would be relevant to note that the average GPA of the students entering the Pre-medical Program in 2005 was 3.8 and additionally that these students had an average SAT math score of 676 and an average TOEFL score of 604." (http://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/education/admin/downloads/2007_eviewbook.pdf)

i dont know the recent scores
the admission committee here looks beyond these standard tests more in this college than any other american college because of the fact that most applicants here are non-native English speakers...so if your reading score in SAT or your TOEFL scores arent particularly impressive as per US standards, you shouldnt worry that much because at this college they consider the fact that you are not supposed to be that impressive...however, i would advice you to pay attention in subjects that arent language based like science and maths.

after taking my tests, I started working on my personal statements. I made it a point to look into all the distinctions that this college had over any other college and by the time I was done researching for my colleges, I knew that WCMC-Q would be my priority school. (I actually stumbled upon this college's website by mere luck!!) I also made it a point to apply to numerous other schools for safety (I actually applied to 12 different schools!! u can choose the no. of schools u want to apply to but try and make it more than just one! look for a school that matches with your personality so that u get the best environment u need...good college research is a must!)

Then came the time of writing why I wanted to study at Cornell and why I would choose this particular one instead of the hundreds of thousands of schools all over the world! As I had researched well, not just about the college but about life as a general in Doha, in Qatar and the lifestyle of the college students here in Qatar Foundation, I had a lot to say. And I made my point clear in my personal statement that this was indeed what I was looking for. But in an essay, you have to also make it a point to state what benefit will the college have by accepting you..i wouldnt say u promise them that ud win the nobel prize and make the college famous, but talk about you as a unique individual, what are your strong points (try not to include your weak points unless u will make some important point later on!) and how you would make a difference in the culture of WCMC-Q, how you would stand out between the other 60 students who would get in with you and more importantly, how are u different from the other hundreds if not thousands of applicants! talk about what made u choose medicine as a career....etc etc (u shud know the drill if u r applying!!)

I did exactly that and "ONE FINE DAY, I OPEN MY INBOX AND SEE AN EMAIL FROM THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE OF WCMC-Q ASKING ME TO APPEAR FOR AN INTERVIEW!!" (i jumped up and down with joy..shouted out on top of my voice...etc etc.. btw..it was one fine night...my neighbours didn't seem to be too happy about my interview invitation or maybe it was my shouting!)

i flew to doha (yes, everyone HAS to appear for the interview) and nervously walked into the doors of the college's gigantic yet beautiful building...but the interview wasnt as nerve-racking as i thought it would be...the dean of admissions was an affable person and i was calm by the time i took the first bite of my doughnut during breakfast... i was briefed about the college, about the main campus..our college's plans etc etc during breakfast and then i was interviewd by 3 people including a faculty, the dean of admissions and a medical student..(yours could be different..i dont know what happens these days)...the interview went really pleasantly...it was more of a chit chat where they wanted to learn more about me and I wanted to learn more about the college and what I should expect.....i was also asked a simple question in science but that is not common and even if asked..it is okay to make a mistake! (dont stress about it from now!)

so yeah...after the interview...another fine day (this time it was during the day) I received a phone call saying i was accepted and that was that! i was the happiest person coz I was accepted to cornell's pre-medical program and my dreams of becomin a cornell doctor were very close to being true (btw..if u dont see me around next year...cud u tell the admissions committee that i really wanted to become a cornell MD and to reconsider and take me in??) jk..hopefully i will be around to write another story about how i got accepted to the medical program...inshallah (one of the very few arabic words i have learnt!)

thanks for taking the time to read this looooong post...and please leave behind your useful comments...u can also catch me on facebook..just look me up and id be glad to help.


NOTE: This is a personal blog and the information or advice given here are my own views coming out of my own personal experiences. If you see any differences between what is said here and the official WCMC-Q website, please adhere to WCMC-Q's recommendations and policies. Neither WCMC-Q nor I am liable for any claim made in relation to this blog. Summing it up, this is me speaking and not Cornell but the advices I have written here might be helpful!

Life as a pre-med

If you are applying to Cornell, you better be prepared to work...real hard...is one advice I would give to you. The first and the second semester is especially tough, not in the sense of the material but the work load. Finishing the pre-medical requirements in two years is undoubtedly challenging. However, our amaaazing faculty makes it easy to handle....and their technique is simple. Every individual student gets personal attention from faculty...your professor will always call you by your name and know exactly what you are lacking or are good at. Where else would one get to see so much interaction between faculty and students. Since people get individual attention, they are bound to be better at what they are working on and hence get their work dont easily...and thats how we handle our work load. ofcourse....with time...u will realize that Cornell students share an interesting way of socializing which is an addition to the normal socializing acts that you see among college students. everyone works together...group discussion is encouraged and creates a productive atmosphere...so every time an assignment is due...you are bound to find a big group of cornellians in some apartment working...(tho one would doubt if more work or fooling around is done!!)

and when we are not working on assignments or not reading for the following day's lecture and if we dont have a prelim coming up soon....WE RELAX!! and that is the most amaaaazing feeling ever! and relaxing mostly includes sleeeeping....looooong hours...people sleep for 15 hours in one go at least....i have once slept for 36!! on weekends tho...most people try n get over their tiredness and enjoy....some go to the movies...some go just to chill at Souq Waqef and smoke sheesha at night..the only time of the day I can survive outdoors!!

that is how a normal week goes by as a Cornellian!! work work work...sleep and start all over again!! but i am shocked to be admitting that I have started to enjoy this life and i am not a geek...i swear!!!

will be writing about some other interesting things later....

Interested Applicants

hi all...thanks for visiting this blog...now that the student affairs has a link to this blog, I see that more and more people are dropping by this post...it should be able to better serve the purpose...sorry for the irregular posts..it was just coz no one was actually reading it..now i promise to be more regular in the posts..for that i will be needing all of your...i will try to figure out a way to make this blog more interactive but until then i would like you all to shoot your questions in the comments so that everyone can look at them and we can all discuss....i hope u guys understand that it is difficult to just write about this place.....coz i would only write about wht interests me and may not be exactly what you guys want to know....i remember the time when i was applying..i was sooo lost...esp coz the whole region was new to me...so..ill try my best to prevent it
looking forward to hearing more about u guys...
ciao

A Sophomore!!!

amazing experience to be a sophomore and even see the new freshman's comin in!! new faces comin in as well as old ones moving out!! oh...n did i tell u that we have had our first batch of doctors already out??? amaaaazing isnt it!! well...the freshman class is in full swing..havent met too many people so far but every one looks super enthusiastic to be here (i could tell that from their faces!!)...have my MCAT's comin up..and that is one reason why i am writing on this blog...looking for as many distractions as possible!! i dont suggest u do the same tho!!
oh yeah...the new CMU building is almost complete and the students have already started using the facilities....and the new restaurants!! subway is already there and a lot more are supposed to follow...and the best thing is that the building is next to Cornell...n if u jogged all the way to CMU after a busy morning..those sandwiches would taste even better!!! oh just to mention since i started talking about food already...we have a lot of events which seem to be organized just for the sake of distributing free food.....u r gonna love it!!
well..let me get back to study...after all...i got to get into med school!!

End of First Year

wooooah...it feels just like yesterday when we first arrived here...eager to start fresh and go on to become doctors (which at this point is a doubt every one of us has!) but yeah...the year sure did pass by without us even realizing.....i wish the rest of the 5 years pass by as quickly! there was a schedule we had for everyday of every week...at least one thing or the other was due the next day and we used to work late at night to finish it. u guys must be aware of the facebook group "If u start at the last minute, it only takes a minute", so it usually took us only a minute to finish most of the work...only starting it in the first place seemed to be a BIG problem!! we had been living every single day like it meant something (and it truly did...every assignment, lab report etc has the potential to change ur grade!), and before we realized we had passed a year!!
i wont talk about how the exams went...tho i hope for the best!
and yeah...the ever improving doha has shown us a nice time here. every weekend was something to look forward to... i usually dedicated my thursdays to watching movies back to back and sometimes going to the cinemas!
reaaaaly look forward to a pleasant summer break once the MCAT preparation classes are over

Nepal Service-Learning Trip

hi all,
i had one of the best times of my life last week on our trip to Nepal. 17 students from Education City (7 from Cornell) and 2 Qatar Foundation Chaperons visited MY COUNTRY and trust me, it was an amazing trip. It was the first time that such an event had been organized by Qatar Foundation aimed at improving international understanding among students and also to develop a sense of social service, but the whole trip was more than just that! And whats more, the cost of the trip was also born by Qatar Foundation, students had to pay only a small amount just to show that they were truly interested. We had raised US$ 1500 for the service project that we had planned to do, which was building a wall around a primary school, located on a hill, so that students wouldn't fall off cliffs.
As the group included students from all branch campuses, there were not many people I knew who were in the group. But it didn't remain the same for long, for as soon as we landed we had started interacting with the "strangers" and by the end of the trip, we were all sooo closely bonded that I am missing them so bad as I write this!!
Our scheduled activities were in itself more than sufficient to make a wonderful spring break or for some, a life changing experience, because most importantly it included the aforementioned service project, where we were literally digging out dirt and dumping it in a ditch to fill it up while some others were actually putting the cement and building the wall (u can guess, we let the engineering students build the wall while we decided to sit back and prepare an emergency medical team in case any one got hurt!!!). We interacted with the local students and some have become good e-friends with us! A big realization for most people was the fact that people in the developed countries take for granted so many things which for people in the developing countries means life or death, like something as simple as a wall. Apart from the service project, we also went white-water rafting (an amazing experience) and stayed in a jungle for two days: with tigers roaming around our cottages at night....one of them even came into our bathroom...(supposed to be a joke..again!). But yeah, even though the tigers couldn't walk into our rooms, it was a scary experience all the same! And we also enjoyed the elephant safari and the verry scary jungle trail on foot (where the guide said he couldn't guarantee our survival and was giving us tips on what to do if a tiger or a bear appeared!)
haha...i can go on and on about this trip, but i guess u wouldn't be interested in the extra details so I will stop for now! in any case, a similar trip will be organized next spring break as well to some other country and to get in, all you have to do is to be the first one to apply...and I, for one, am going to apply the minute the notice comes out!

COFFEE HOUSE

dear all,
the event that us cornellians are proud to host every year was put up last thursday, march 13, 2008. it is called "Coffee House," a talent and cultural show, which i assume is the biggest event of its kind in Education City. and it was fun. all talents in education city had gathered together to put up this splendid performance, and whats more, even our faculty members were participating. So, next year when u start your biology labs, u shud request Dr. Chris Ogden, our faculty rockstar, to bring in his guitar and perform!!!
being out of my home country for the first time, it was very interesting, at least for me, to see this multi-cultural flavor take over EC, with dances ranging from Bharat Natyam, Punjabi to the local arabic!! and yeah, i even discovered a new flavor of music tht i liked, ARABIC MUSIC...it really rocks!! this event was also interesting because of the fact tht people could put up any talent they had, it didnt necessarily have to be dancing or singing, there were even photo exhibitions, magnificent piano performers and so on....next year, i say to myself, i am going to come up with some talent of my own!! u guys shud look out!!!!