Second week down and our first block exam as well!

All of our exams are in blocks, so whatever classes we are taking at a given time, usually 2 (that is, 2 core classes, not including some that run through the year which are not included on these exams), are both tested on the exam. They are really easing us in, giving us ample time to finish, but I heard a rumor that they gradually shorten the amount of time we are given per question. All of this is, of course, in preparation for the boards next year.

I am thrilled with my score and now I have a taste of what I should expect and how to stay on top of the material! It's a great feeling to know that I can now tuck away those 300 pages of syllabus (not burn them, as I heard one classmate suggest) and move on to the next round.

Just as a reference of how fast we move here, I believe in undergrad we spent somewhere around a week studying the lac operon in bacteria. In this course we covered approximately the same depth of material in 2 syllabus pages, or around 6 powerpoint slides! The material is really condensed and I do feel lucky to have taken biochemistry and molecular biology classes before. Some of my classmates are not so lucky!

I'm off to enjoy my last free weekend until October. These rare and special weekends after Friday exams are termed "golden weekends" because we essentially have no new material to learn over the weekend!