Aug 30 2011

Life After MIT

Posted in: Miscellaneous

So I have (somewhat) settled into my life post-grad.

This is, however, NOT my last blog. That is coming, and (I promise!) it will be still MIT-relevant.

Once things stop becoming MIT-relevant, then I'll stop blogging. Which will be a sad day.

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So I'm now living in THE NYC, on THE UES (or the Upper East Side, for you unenlightened folks). Theoretically, I live in East Harlem, since we have the East Harlem zip code (10029), but we are zoned in the same Congressional district as the wealthy Upper East Side (NY 14th). This made me finally realize what "gerrymandering" means*. (okay, I also wanted to live in the most Democratic Congressional district in the nation according to the Cook PVI index, which is NY 15th (Harlem and Washington Heights) and NY 16th (Bronx) :P)

* Seriously though, check out the Manhattan Congressional zoning map - the traditional boundary between East Harlem and the Upper East Side is East 96th St., but see how the district lines shift sharply... read the post »

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Aug 25 2011

So You Wanna Be a Doctor?

Posted in: Academics & Research

I'll give you snippets of three actual conversations first.

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I.

I was chatting with this guy at one of my med school interviews -

HIM: "So where do you go to school?"

ME: "Oh, I go to school in Boston."

HIM: "Do you go to Harvard?"

ME: "No!"

HIM: "MIT?"

ME: "Yes..."

HIM: "Funny how Harvard and MIT kids always tell people that 'they go to school in Boston.'"

I never thought about it, but if you must press me for a reason, I do feel like sometimes saying "oh, yeah, I go to MIT" sounds rather pretentious, so I've unconsciously continually opted to say Boston, rather than MIT directly.

It's almost like that with being Premed at MIT.

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II.

For some reason, people HATE admitting that they are premed at MIT - consider the following exchange:

HIM: "So what course are you?"

YOU: "Uh...7. (or 9, or 10B)"

HIM: "What do you want to do after you graduate?"

YOU: "Uh...go to med school...."

HIM: "Oh, you're a premed?"

YOU: "Yeahhhh....."

This happens all the... read the post »

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Aug 4 2011

Ratification: The Story of the US Constitution

Posted in: Academics & Research

If you are at all following the news, you'll know that the US Congress just raised the debt ceiling, after a protracted deeply partisan debate.

Just like every political debate, the "Constitutionality" of adjusting the debt limit was brought up by various legislators. Sen. Schumer (D-NY) suggested using the 14th Amendment to the Constitution as a legal requirement for the government to continue paying its financial obligations. In response, Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) dismissed the idea as "crazy talk."

So how does this document, well over 200 years old, continue to shape US politics?

Professor Pauline Maier, a history professor at MIT, published this book last year. I wrote about the book when it came out last year.

Since then, Prof. Maier's book had gone on to win:

• "10 Best Books of the Year" (Wall Street Journal)
• "100 Notable Books of the Year" (New York Times)
• George Washington Book Prize ($50,000)

It is also available prominently at major booksellers like the... read the post »

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Jul 7 2011

MIT Academics

Posted in: Best of the Blogs, Academics & Research

After Graduation, I now have a lot of time to "reflect upon my MIT experience." :P

Technically, I'm not kicked out from the blogs until the end of the summer, so I hope to continue writing a few blogs discussing various aspects that I've come to gain a better understanding of after my four years here, which I hope would be of use to incoming freshmen, especially. I don't actually have a plan for this, haha, so I will just draft things as they come to me. :P

I graduated with a 4.7 GPA from MIT, or 3.7, if you are more familiar with the 4.0 scale. This GPA was good enough to get me into medical schools, but also means that I always get a smattering of B's along with A's every semester. I completed the requirements for two degrees, took five classes for five semesters, four for two, and six for one.

I think I am somewhat different from the "standard" MIT population because:

1) I've never learned to code* at MIT (requirement for all engineering degrees).
2) I've never built... read the post »

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Jun 15 2011

101 Things To Do Before You Graduate!

Posted in: Best of the Blogs, Life & Culture

Four years ago, Melis '08 posted a list of the "101 Things To Do Before You Graduate" for her graduating class.

That was right when I entered MIT.

Now, four years later, I get to post my own version - courtesy of Grace '11, since I have long since lost my own copy due to the chaos of the intervening years.

(basically, the backstory is that at freshman Orientation, each incoming MIT student gets a copy of some version of this list, which is actually different from year to year - if you compare Melis' to mine you can note the differences - I guess significant "MIT things" change from year to year :p)

I have not seen this list since my freshman year, and I just asked Grace to take a photo of her list so I can see what the heck was on it - I was quite surprised actually, considering that I never went out of my way to do anything and most of the list happened :)

Some commentary -

THINGS I DID DO (yellow)

1. Pull an all-nighter (for fun!) - for fun, or not for fun, I... read the post »

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