Grad Diary 3/4/10

Man, these past two days have been tough.

Yesterday morning I had my first Immunology exam, and I think it went well. We were given eight questions and had to answer four. We had an hour and a half, which was just enough time for most people. The questions really varied in style, depth, and approach, leaving something for everyone (I guess). I was a little wary about this test if only because I have never had immunology before, so I tried to be extra careful in preparing and reviewing my notes. I felt pretty good after taking it, and I hope I did well.

This morning was a different story. It was the Gene Regulation exam, and I felt much more prepared for it, having had some background on most of the material already, and the format being similar to the Cell Biology exams I had last semester. The test included six questions, of which we had to answer four, and ideally it should have been doable in one in a half hour. The let us come in an hour early, however, because certain students had a second exam today directly following this one. I came in at the usual time (not feeling a need for a whole extra hour) and was surprised to see pretty much everyone was already there working on it (that shouldn't have surprised me, in retrospect). I picked up my exam, spent a minute or two searching for a free seat and got started. An hour and fifteen minutes later I was done, feeling very fried, and for the first time wishing I had a little more time to feel confident in my answers. I came and left before most anyone else left. Most people used the entire 2.5 hrs. I felt considerably more drained after this exam than after Immunology, and I am not as confident I did as well, but we shall see in a few weeks. Once again my "speedy" test taking was commented on later (though, to be fair, I basically used up the entire time that was supposed to be allotted us anyway).

I'm glad that's all over with and that I can take a week or so to cool off. Next week is "spring break" and I don't have classes next week, but I'll be staying to do lab work. It'll be really nice not having to worry about classes for a few days and just focus on lab stuff and taking it easy. Thank god tomorrow is Friday.