Getting Closer

Every little piece of news brings me a bit closer to the first day of medical school. The latest tidbit is our hefty book list, each text costing about $50-$75, with a few costing in the $200s. I know I'm geared up for school when simply the NAMES of the books make me excited to start! Principles of Internal Medicine, A Guide to Microbial Infections... information that I will actually use in the real world at my job! First things first, though, I will need to get my loan money before I can afford such a pricey set of texts.

*Just bought them all - about $1,400 all together. I'll take a picture of them all once I get them - I have a feeling they'll look rather impressive.

Trade schools really are a great option after or in place of a traditional 4-year bachelor's program. I hate to see people waste their education, like when they major in something general like art or political science and then never use their major to get a relevant job. That aside, I am very glad to be out of the public education system right as the state budget is collapsing. Private institutions do not seem nearly as affected by recessions and state budget crises as public ones. I am proud to have graduated from UCSD, but I feel the reputation of California's public schools will not last much longer if they lose funding, increase class sizes, lay off teachers, and eliminate research and other academic programs. They may go the way of Athens after the Golden Age, still claiming to be the intellectual center of the world because it gave birth to great philosophers and playwrights, but I suppose that is closer to Berkeley's fate than UCSD's.