Education Bubble???

          I thought this was an interesting article that dealt with some ideas I have been toying with lately.  It in part deals with the idea of there being an education bubble in our country.  I'm sure many of you have heard the phrase or even joked to others that a college degree is the new high school degree (thus making a masters or higher degree the new college degree).  While we may joke about it, I tend to think that's actually becoming a reality.

          This evidence is definitely anecdotal, but a lot of the kids that went to my high school and went on to get a college degree are currently unemployed or at jobs you would consider to be far below their educational level (ex cashier at Borders with no other plans on the horizon).  Many of them are going back to school for masters degrees they don't particularly need or want.  Friends of mine have confirmed seeing similar results in their acquaintances.

Application Update - Two More Interviews

It's all about finding your fit.

          In the last month, I had two more interviews.  These were an interesting set, because they closely followed each other, and my feelings toward them were so different.

          Part of what has been interesting about this whole process is going to different schools and seeing what does and doesn't work for me.  Honestly, my way of thinking about schools has undergone a massive evolution over the course of this application cycle.  Now, I usually don't even bother asking about the things that were important to me at the first school or two I interviewed at, while I have discovered that a couple other key questions - that I originally never put much thought into - are extremely important.

Rejection Season

WE HAVE MOVED TO: A Theory of Living  

 
       It would seem it's about that time of year for us pre-meds in our application cycles.  What time?  Yes.  Rejection season.  That time of the year when those 10 schools you haven't heard a peep from since they charged you 100+ dollars for their secondary (scam!), let you know that they aren't interested.

          I have been remarkably rejection free up until the last several weeks, having only received three until February (Georgetown, BU, and Cornell).  Yes.  Cornell was one of the first schools to reject me.  I have to make two admissions here.  First, I was never deeply interested in Cornell.  Second, it definitely still stung when they shot me down, since I went to undergrad there.

Off to See my ND... Wait... ND?

Redux

          I wrote in this article about my personal battle with GERD.  I wrote about how badly I wanted to get off the PPI drugs now that my esophagus is healed enough to give it a shot.  Well, I tried.  It was hard, and ultimately, I realized I didn't have all the information I needed, so I stopped.  Fortunately I made this decision in time to enjoy a little bit of Christmas time coffee/chocolate and a wild night out on New Years Eve.

          As a quick reminder, the basic assumption I'm making here is that low stomach acid is actually the cause of GERD, because the esophagus will not close if the stomach's environment lacks a certain amount of acid.  I have found many resources explaining that a "cure" for GERD is to take acid pills to rectify this problem.  I decided to pull off the drugs, although I didn't have any acid pills handy.

Application Update - Another Interview

          I was just called for another interview, this one from a mid-tier school out in the midwest.  I'm pretty excited about this one.  From a direct analysis, I am probably more excited about the school I have already been accepted to, but that is before having visited this midwest school.  That analysis also doesn't include the out of state price tag I'll be paying at the accepted school.  That changes things a bit.  Overall, I am very hopeful that I head out there and love it.

          I'm also excited because one of my best friends (since second grade!) lives and works out there now that he has graduated.  I don't get to see him often, and I can't just fly out there without an excuse, so I'm glad to get this opportunity to visit him for a productive reason.  Right now, my plan is to head into town the day before the interview, maybe grap dinner with him, and prep for the interview that night.  After the interview, I'll head over to his place, and hopefully he'll be down to show me just how fun the city can be.

Week's Reflections - 1/7/12

          The first week of the new year is in the books!  I am excited to celebrate by heading on vacation next week.  Don't worry, I'll still post a few updates.


1.) New Track Your Plaque Article

          I like this article, because it's a very succinct and to the point summation of the reasoning behind the Track Your Plaque low carb diet.  Dr. Davis briefly describes the phenomena he sees with a low carb vs a low fat diet, through the lens of a cardiologist mainly concerned with heart disease.  His article is backed by many years of clinical experience managing the diet and heart health of his patients.  At the end, he also suggests that avoiding wheat in particular can also cause people to benefit in several non-heart related ways.  He doesn't break any new ground here, but I appreciate it for being short and concise and easy to understand with or without medical training.

Application Update - Interview at a Top School

No.  It wasn't actually Harvard.  That would just be silly.

          Recently, I interviewed at a top med school.  We are talking top 10 or 15 depending which ranking system you're looking at.  As I described in this article, I am not a stellar applicant.  I have a wildly mediocre GPA only partially balanced by a good MCAT.  Typically these top schools interview kids with great GPAs and great MCATs who have been published and done other spectacular things.  So yeah, I was surprised when I got the invite.  In all honesty, I thought this school in particular was the one I had the least shot at of all 25 on my list.

          I went into town a few days early, because I actually have friends who go/went there for undergrad.  I met up with them for coffee and to watch some football and all the usual things.  The funny thing is that I knew most of these kids from way back in high school or summer vacations.  What does that mean?  Well, when they heard I got an interview there, they had with some shock assumed I had turned myself into a top notch med school applicant who gave up his undergrad experience for perfect grades, when they know me more as the decent student and frat boy.  I was quick to reassure them that things had changed... but not that much.

Oh, the Powers of Vitamin D

I refuse to feel like this.

          I'm still at home for the holidays, and this winter season, some disgusting sinus infection decided to visit my family.  Well... except for one of us.  With my entire family sick, I started feeling the first hints of the sniffles.  No!!!  I'm going on vacation down South with my girlfriend on Friday, and I refuse to get a sinus infection now.  I bumped my daily 5k iu of vitamin D up to 10k for two days.  Sinus infection?  Gone.  Before it even began.

          Please keep in mind, 10k iu of vitamin D is not something you take for the long term.  You need to run blood tests to determine how much vitamin D you need to take daily, although the Vitamin D Council recommends about 5k iu per day for an adult.  Vitamin D is an incredibly powerful immune system boosting tool, and there is anecdotal evidence that taking a megadose for a day or two when symptoms of infection start to pop up can reduce the duration of your illness.

It's Not About the Money... But Damn I Want the Money

Yuppie

          I spent New Year's Eve partying it up in New York City with some friends from Cornell who are all employed people who have started "real life."  It's an odd feeling for me talking to them about work and life and everything, because I don't really feel like I have started "real life" yet.

          This gap year I'm taking is a weird limbo; I'm kind of working, but it's not full time and not at a long-term job, and I choose my own hours.  What's more, I have no idea where I'll be for the next four years, so I'm not really settling my roots in anywhere.  Plus, I'm staying at Cornell living close to campus.  Honestly, my life hasn't changed that much from how it was as an undergrad, except that schoolwork has been traded out for some work work.

Book Review: In Stitches

          I got In Stitches by Anthony Youn for Christmas.  Up until now, any reading I have done related to medical school has been aimed at getting in.  Now that I have an acceptance, I want to get an idea of what the hell I'm getting myself into.

          In that regard, I actually feel like I am well behind most other pre-meds.  It seems like all other pre-meds either have a parent who is a doctor or a long line of relatives who are doctors, and these students have some idea of what the whole process is like.  In my family, it'll just be me, and I have no idea what the hell is coming next.

          I have mixed feelings about the book.  I thought the first half was pretty disappointing.  Literally the first hundred pages were concerned with his troubles with girls, and I have to say... I just didn't care.  Also, his thoughts on his jaw surgery were remarkably brief, which was disappointing.  As a doctor who would go on to become a plastic surgeon, I had hoped he would share more thoughts on his own time under the knife.

Week's Reflections - 12/31/11

          Unfortunately, this week's reflections are a little light on interesting news or articles I've read.  I've been pretty distracted with the holiday season.  I'll be back on form first thing in the New Year.

1.) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

          Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope the last year was great and the next year is better.

          The new year is always a good time to look at the big moments of the past year and your hopes for the next year.  If I had to label a most important event of the last year, it was definitely getting into medical school.  I try to avoid being too focused on academics - a trap I think too many premeds fall into - but the fact is that I worked incredibly hard for the acceptance, and if I hadn't gotten it I wouldn't be able to follow my dreams.  So I'll definitely be doing a cheers and draining a shot for that tonight.  Other big things are becoming ever closer to my girlfriend, graduating from college, and settling into a post-grad lifestyle.

          For the coming year, I suspect one of the biggest events will be moving to a new location and starting medical school.  One of the biggest events?  Yeah, that looms like Mount Everest on the horizon.  I am so excited, though.

          How about you?  What were the big events of your last year, and what does the next year have in store for you?

Okay, Fine, I Want an iPad

          Fine.  I admit it.  I want an iPad.  In fact, I want one really badly, even though I know it's irrational.  If you know me, you'll know how hypocritical this sounds.  I have always thought iPads are useless.  I have an iPhone and a laptop - although wow this thing is old - so why the heck would I ever need an iPad?  Can't I use either my laptop or iPhone to do anything an iPad can do or more?  If that's the case, the iPad is a useless indulgence, a waste of close to a thousand dollars.

          Most people, when pressed, have to admit that their iPad is pretty unnecessary.  One of my closest friends worked really hard to justify his when I asked about it.  The final answer he came to is that he likes typing on it, because he doesn't like a traditional keyboard.  What?  Come on.  My own father has one for work, and I almost never see him use it.  To a man, though, everyone loves the darn thing.

The Heartburn Battle

          GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), also known as acid reflux or heartburn, is the result of acid from your stomach washing up into your esophagus.  It is a chronic condition that can cause a burning sensation that is uncomfortable - heartburn - and it can actually erode the lining of your esophagus.  Unfortunately, the most serious complication that can result from this disease is the development of Barrett's esophagus, which is the precursor condition to esophageal cancer.  Cancer of the esophagus is an incredibly deadly form of cancer, with a mortality rate of 87%.  Christopher Hitchens, the writer, recently died of complications arising from this kind of cancer.

          I just painted a pretty bleak picture, and I did that because there can be serious consequences from this disease.  However, in most cases, cancer does not arise.  In fact, this condition can be treated pretty effectively by prescription drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (prilosec, protonix, nexium, etc).  When taken, these can block the secretion of up to 90% of the acid in the stomach.  With the acidity reduced, the fluid that refluxes up into the esophagus is much less likely to burn the esophagus as much, reducing symptoms and the odds of developing more serious complications.

Bending then Breaking

          Unfortunately, even as I extoll the virtues of the paleo diet on this blog, I have to admit that I have slipped a lot lately.  Travel really tends to throw me off, and I have been travelling a fair bit for the interview season.  The fact is, without a kitchen at your disposal, it can be pretty tough to eat high quality foods and avoid the bad stuff... which seems to be everywhere.  For example, did you know that there is wheat, and thus gluten, in soy sauce?  Honestly, I was shocked when I found that out.

          The other problem is that once I bend a little bit on my diet, I tend to throw in the towel and go ahead and break, at least for a few days.  When you have meticulously avoided gluten for a while, even a slight exposure can throw you off a lot.  Once I have already hit that point, I usually decide that I might as well keep going for a few days... and that's when things like McDonalds start to make their appearance.  Not good.  Very not good in fact.  You don't have to tell me.  I know.

Application Update - Where I Am Today

          Unfortunately I started this blog in December, which is pretty deep into this year's med school application cycle.  I wish I had started it a year ago.  Then you could have enjoyed the journey with me as I struggled to pull great senior year grades, graduated, and went on to take the MCAT.  You could have seen my frustration with secondary applications and the waiting game since finishing those applications.  But, I started a few days ago, and that's just the way it is.  I will, however, update you on the process, in what will undoubtedly prove to be a long post.