Removing the Blogger Navbar

If you have a blog hosted on Blogger, I'm sure you'd like to get rid of the ugly navbar, right?

Removing the navbar is incredibly easy. All you need to do is to copy the following HTML code and paste it directly above the #header-wrapper line in the "Edit HTML" view of your blog:

#navbar-iframe {

height: 0px;

visibility: hidden;

display: none;

}

Save the template and enjoy!

Med School Application - Letters of Reference

Most medical schools require their applicants to submit reference letters (assessments which are written by referees). These letters provide an admissions committee a chance to see what other people think of you. Consequently, the letters constitute an important part of your application package.

Choose the people who will submit your reference letter as per instructions from the medical schools to which you're applying. If no such instructions are given, then write down a list of possible referees. Choose from this list of individuals who:

• you can trust;
• are reliable;
• can write at least reasonably well;
• understand the importance of your application;
• can present with confidence attributes you have which are consistent with those of a good physician.

If your referee agrees to give you a recommendation, give him/her your resume, curriculum vitae, or any other autobiographical materials you may have. Alternatively, you may ask to arrange a mini-interview. Either way, you'd have armed your referee with information which can be used in a specific and personal manner in the reference letter. A powerful reference letter would be one where the referee strongly supports the idea of you becoming a doctor.

People are not paid to write you a reference letter; therefore, make it as easy as possible for them. Give them sufficient time before the deadline for submission. Supply them with a stamped envelope with the appropriate address inscribed. Besides being the polite thing to do, they may also be impressed by your organisation. Finally, once the reference letter has been sent, don't forget to send a "Thank-you" card to your referee.

Things for sale!

I need to sell the following stuff by the end of December 2007. I'll be in Toronto from November to December 2007. If you live in Toronto and are interested in buying any of the following, please leave me a comment. Prices are negotiable. Thanks!

Medical/Biomedical Books:

• Physiology Coloring Workbook, The Princeton Review (CDN$10; originally CDN$27.5 + tax)
• Anatomy Coloring Workbook, The Princeton Review (CDN$10; originally CDN$27 + tax)
• Human Anatomy in full color, John Green (CDN$5)
• Human Physiology 7th Edition, Stuart Ira Fox (CDN$55; near mint condition)
• Biochemistry 4th Edition, Campbell & Farrell (CDN$50; brand new)
• Molecular Cell Biology 5th Edition, Lodish et al (CDN$60; brand new)
• The Science of Biology 6th Edition, Purves, Sadava, Orians & Heller (CDN$50; brand new)
• Life - The Science of Biology, Volume 2: Evolution, Diversity, and Ecology, Purves, Orians, Heller & Sadava (CDN$15)
• Bioscientific Terminology - Words from Latin and Greek Stems, Donald M. Ayers (CDN$15)

Pre-Medical Books:

• The Princeton Review MCAT, 4th Edition (985 pages), Flowers & Silver (CDN$30; originally CDN$70 + tax)
• The Premedical Planning Guide 3rd Edition, Jane Diehl Crawford (CDN$9; originally CDN$19.95 + tax)

Schaum's Series:

• Schaum's Outlines: Logic 2nd Edition (CDN$15; originally CDN$25.95 + tax)
• Schaum's Outlines: Physical Chemistry 2nd Edition (CDN$15; originally CDN$25.95 + tax)
• Schaum's Outlines: Introduction to Psychology 2nd Edition (CDN$15; originally CDN$25.95 + tax)
• Schaum's Easy Outlines: Human Anatomy and Physiology Crash Course (CDN$5; originally CDN$14.95 + tax)
• Schaum's Solved Problems Series: 3000 Solved Problems in Calculus (CDN$20; originally CDN$39.95 + tax)

Science/Math/Statistics Books:

• Physics 5th Edition plus Solutions Manual, Cutnell & Johnson (CDN$35; near mint condition)
• Chemical Principles 3rd Edition plus Solutions Guide, Zumdahl (CDN$30; near mint condition)
• Introduction to the Practice of Statistics 3rd Edition, Moore & McCabe (CDN$15; brand new)
• Exploring Statistics: A Modern Introduction to Data Analysis and Inference, Kitchens (CDN$40)
• Linear Algebra with Applications 3rd Edition plus Solutions Manual, W. Keith Nicholson (CDN$30)
• Single Variable Calculus - Early Transcendentals, James Stewart (CDN$30)
• Probability An Introduction, Grimmett & Welsh (CDN$8)

English Books:

• Insight into IELTS, The Cambridge IELTS Course updated edition, Jakeman & McDowell (CDN$12; originally CDN$30.75 + tax)

Piano Scores:

• Beyer Op.101, Preparatory School - Piano Solo (CDN$2)
• Burgmuller Op.100, 25 Easy and Progressive Studies for the Piano (CDN$4)
• Chopin - His Greatest Piano Solos, A Comprehensive Collection of his Famous Works (CDN$12)
• Chopin Waltzes for the piano (CDN$8)
• Complete Series of Sight Reading & Ear Tests (Grade 10 & ARCT), Elsie Bennett & Hilda Capp (CDN$6)
• Czerny Op.823, The Little Pianist, 75 Exercises (CDN$5)
• Czerny Op.849, 30 New Studies in Technics (CDN$6)
• Debussy - Clair de lune for the piano (sheet music) (CDN$3)
• Hanon, The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 exercises for the piano (CDN$3)
• Piano Repertoire Album for Grade 8, Royal Conservatory of Music, Centennial Celebration Series (CDN$5)
• Richard Clayderman, Piano Solo Best Collection (CDN$5)
• Scales & Arpeggios for Grade 8 Piano, The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (CDN$4)
• Scales & Arpeggios for Grade 6 Piano, The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (CDN$1)
• Sonatina Album for the Piano, 30 Favourite Sonatinas, Rondos and Pieces (CDN$5)
• Schmitt Op.16 Preparatory Exercises for the Piano (CDN$3)
• Technical Requirements for Piano (for RCM Grade 8), with exercises in Ear Training & Sight Reading (CDN$4)

DVDs:

• Jorge Bolet plays Chopin and Liszt (CDN$4)
• Vladimir Horowitz plays Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no.3 (CDN$4)
• Horowitz plays Mozart (CDN$4)
• Glenn Gould - The Alchemist (CDN$4)
• Lang Lang - Live at Carnegie Hall (CDN$4)

Organisation of Your Autobiographical Essay for Med School Application

Your document must be clearly organised. If you're given directive questions, organisation shouldn't be a problem. However, if you're given open-ended questions or if you're told, for example, to write a 1000 word essay about yourself, adequate organisation is key. There're two general ways you can organise such a response: chronological or thematic. However, they're not mutually exclusive.

In a chronological response, you're organised by doing a systematic review of important events through time. In writing an essay or letter, one could start with an interesting or amusing story from childhood and then highlight important events chronologically and in concordance with the instructions.

In the thematic approach, a general theme is presented from the outset and then verified through examples at any time in your life. For example, imagine the following statement somewhere in the introduction of an autobiographical essay/letter:

"My concept of the good physician is one who has a solid intellectual capacity, extensive social skills, and a creative ability. I have strived to attain and demonstrate such skills."

Following such an introduction to a thematic response, the essayist can link events from anytime to the general theme of the essay. Each theme would thus be examined in turn.

Finally, keep in mind the advice given for interviews since much of it applies here as well. For example, the appropriate use of an amusing story, anecdote, or an interesting analogy can make your document an interesting one to read. As for interviews, specific examples are more memorable than overly generalised statements.

Betta splendens (Siamese Fighting Fish)



I love betta fish. This bright red halfmoon betta (it's called halfmoon because its tail makes a complete semi-circle) is simply gorgeous; it looks like a fireball.




This second betta is also very beautiful!

Introduction to Autobiographical Essay Writing

Many medical schools require autobiographical materials as important components of the application process. Autobiographical materials include essays, letters, or questionnaires where you're given the opportunity to write about yourself. Autobiographical materials are a sort of written interview. Thus the same objectives, preparation, and strategies apply as previously mentioned for interviews. However, there're some unique factors.

For example, you can begin writing long in advance of the deadline. When I applied to medical school, I started writing my essay about 9 months before the deadline. The ideal way to prepare is to have a few sheets of paper at home right now which you use to continually write any accomplishments or interesting experiences you've had anytime in your life. By starting this process early, months later you should hopefully have a long list from which to choose information appropriate for the autobiographical materials. Your resume or curriculum vitae may also be of value.

Be sure to write rough drafts and have qualified individuals proofread it for you. Spelling and grammatical errors should not exist! When I prepared my essay, I made use of editing service to ensure that it has absolutely no grammatical error. I sought help from EssayEdge, a company with editors specialising in editing professional school admission essays. I was quite pleased with their service, but I found the service too expensive. If you have friends who are good in English, you can ask them for help instead and save the money for something else.

The document should be written on the appropriate paper and/or in the format as stated in the directions. Do not surpass your word and/or space limit. Ideally, the document would be prepared on a word processor and then laser printed. The document should be so pretty that your parents should want to frame it and hang it in the living room. Handwritten or typed material with "liquid paper" or "white-out" is simply not impressive.