Posted by alexandra_k on January 29, 2014, at 22:31:58
In reply to Re: horrible interview » alexandra_k, posted by europerep on January 29, 2014, at 16:23:38
Hi. It is a sort of a bridging course. I didn't realize before how cumulative science was and just how much math was required to do university physics etc. So it is basically a year where I try and get from where I am now... To where the high school kids are at. So I have a chance competing against them for a place in medicine 2015. If I did the Bio-Med year this year... I wouldn't have a hope, really.
They say: 'This program is for people who want to begin studying at tertiary level but have left school with minimal or no qualifications'.
The selection criterion involves such things as, being motivated to do it, not having too many other demands to juggle. Etc etc. I've seen it. I'd score highly at it.
The sticking point (insofar as there is one) is the program co-ordinator. A sort of... Personality clash. Of the sort that I found at tech, really. She sends out emails with lots of FUNNY TYPE FONTS. Lots more text than strictly necessary and stuff in red, underlined etc. During the testing she was talking to us - saying we could start reading our test scripts - and saying we could start filling in an application form... All at once. I wondered at the time 'is she TRYING to overload people? is she TRYING to get people filling in their application form rather than spending their precious 30 minutes actually doing the test? Is she TRYING to weed out those with attention difficulties?'. She didn't seem to be trying to make it easy for anybody... Then when we had started doing the tests she started having a conversation with someone who asked her something... Then was wandering around talking to people...
I just... Really struggle with people like that. She's the program co-ordinator... The gatekeeper.. But... One voice in many. I think I got the English chick onside (she is the English tutor - and she seemed supportive of my not doing English). She was reluctant to tell me what score I got in Math... But she didn't seem... Appalled. So I think I did okay-ish. Okay-ish to be considered for science math. Maybe because x did = 2 after all.
I think the science people will want me.
Anyway... She is the program co-ordinator... Not the tutor. And a committee decides, of which she is one voice. So... She's just... She just represents the attitude I've had all along... People couldn't stop me being good at reading. SO they tried to prevent me doing other things. Because it wouldn't have been fair if I was good at other things too... They aren't like this with everybody, though. So... I don't quite understand why it is that people really turn on / don't like ME. Why they don't like ME succeeding or achieving or whatever.
She asked me how old I was too. Which you aren't allowed to do. And she asked me whether I thought I was too old to be a surgeon. And I said they weren't allowed to discriminate on the basis of age. And she said 'yeah, they can say that but they probably do that anyway'. And I was like 'yeah, and there really aren't any female engineers either, so I may as well just give up right now' (extending). And she was like... No... There are LOTS of female engineers. Which of course... There aren't. But I wasn't going to get into an argument with her about that anymore than I was going to get into an argument with the health science intake person after she said it was harder to get in here than it was to get into melbourne or sydney medical programs (there are stats on that, and there are rankings on institutions and that simply isn't true). why do people talk???
HOly crap.
If you get good grades then you are doing well. What do you do? What field are you in? Would you like to do a PhD somewhere? Getting a place in one is a lot about luck. I know someone who applied to, like, 9 places. She only got on offer: from her 'dream' institution. The lower ranked ones she thought she'd definately get an offer from passed her over. If you want to do it and your grades are good you should go for it. More grad students spend a much greater portion of their lives lying in bed apathetically wishing they were dead than you might think.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1058481
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20140129/msgs/1059920.html