I am glad that this semester is finally over. Sophomore slump hit me really hard and sadly didn't do as well as I wanted. What made the semester not as miserable was that the content I learned from my classes was more interesting compared to last semester. As a chemistry & biology major (Course 5-7), most of my classes are pre-med classes even though I am not pre-med. I took 3 major classes, 1 HASS-S (social science) class to fulfill my GIR (General Institute Requirements), and a 6-unit elective called Ethics for Engineers. In total, I took 55 units (4.5 classes). This was around the same as last semester (57 units), though this semester felt much harder because I was doing my CI-M (Communication Intensive-Major) class along with more rigorous major classes. My lab class was 13 units (1 class), though the catalog divided it into 3 modules since each module focused on one type of technique.
5.13: Organic Chemistry II
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this class that are more personal. I still enjoy the content, though I don't plan to pursue organic chemistry research because the idea of synthesis and methodology doesn't sound that fun. I enjoyed Prof. Kiessling because she went at a reasonable pace and discussed applications of organic chemistry, such as click chemistry and DNA nucleotides. She also showed us funny videos previous students made about chemistry concepts like the anomeric effect and J-coupling. There was a lot of engagement. 5.13 started to become sad after I did below average on my second midterm even though I studied much more than my first midterm, which I did above average on. Unfortunately, I took it personally and questioned my chemistry abilities, so I didn't feel as invested to put in effort on the third midterm and the final. I got distracted by wanting to get an A instead of enjoying the class during the second half of the semester, which backfired.
The second half was taught by another instructor. She was fine, though she went a bit faster and I wished she considered doing molecule of the day since I felt like there was a disconnection between the topics I learned with medicinal and biological applications.
Sadly, the environment of 5.13 was more stressful since half of the class had pre-meds. I could sense feelings of frustration or nervousness around midterms. I wish the environment was like my experience of taking online organic chemistry in high school. Since it was more for enrichment purposes, students weren't too focused on being perfect, but rather on appreciating the complexities of chemistry.
Overall, the class was interesting, though at times the difficulty of the class made it discouraging and frustrating sometimes. Having a growth mindset would benefit me more in this class.
5.351: Fundamentals of Spectroscopy
This lab class was a breeze. The factual records were easy to complete and so was the report. The lab TAs were quite approachable and I got to chat with them about their personal lives and learn about how undergrad was for them. Considering that the TAs are only three years older than me, they honestly feel like an older sibling, not like some towering figure. The downside of the class was that the labs were not engaging and made me question why I was pursuing a career that used techniques that haven't changed a lot in the past 20 or 30 years.
5.352: Synthesis of Coordination Complexes (CI-M)
This lab class was more difficult, but the transition wasn't too drastic. I was at first intimidated by the CI-M assignment which was a 10-minute presentation about a paper we read. The instructor was a pretty nice grader considering that I didn't spend too much time preparing for my presentation. The lab was more labor intensive, but I liked seeing beautiful crystals form and the cool color changes. The hardest task was probably writing up the lab report and I was very fortunate to be granted an extension even though I did not have a family emergency or personal circumstance.
5.353: Macromolecular Prodrugs
This lab was kind of a nightmare. Unfortunately, I am the slower person in the class, so I ended up having to stay after 5 PM three or four times. I liked that the lab used a cycloaddition reaction (click chemistry) followed by ROMP (Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization) reaction to make bottlebrush polymers for the prodrug. I briefly mentioned this class for my "why MIT" essay because I was into the idea of using organic chemistry for drug discovery. My expectations of the class were different from reality. I think that back when I was a senior in high school, I didn't really think about the frustrating parts of the lab, such as low yield or impurities in the product. I mainly thought about how cool it was to actually conduct a three-step organic synthesis. I will just say that this class taught many lessons, such as the importance of reading instructions carefully and being patient.
7.03: Genetics
This class was not meant to be stressful compared to 5.13, but I sadly did not devote enough time to the class to do well. The first half of the class was not very interesting since the units covered basic concepts like Mendelian genetics, pedigrees, crossovers, etc. The latter half was more interesting since I got to learn more recent genetic concepts like CRISPR, Cre-lox, transgenes, and recombination. While the class has not convinced me to switch to Course 7 or do research in a genetics lab, I am more open to conducting research that involves genetic engineering. The last few lectures were quite fascinating because the professor talked about these rare diseases and how families tried to identify their child's rare diseases. I liked how the professor made the connection between the content we learned to relevant medicinal applications.
10.01: Ethics for Engineers
This class was a 6-unit class, meaning that it is half a class since it only meets once a week for 2 hours and the workload isn't meant to be stressful. The format was discussion based and I enjoyed hearing ideas from other people about various ethical questions, such as the use of CRISPR or gene drives to eliminate mosquitos. The class covered more topics related to the life sciences. I am glad that I got to meet students from all walks of life, people I probably wouldn't interact with if I didn't take the class.
17.407: Chinese Foreign Policy
I am very glad I took this class, even though I sometimes didn't really understand what was going on during lectures and did not enjoy writing political science essays. As someone of Chinese descent, taking this class was essential because it gave me a better understanding of China's history, politics, and foreign policy. My favorite unit was the history of Chinese foreign policy from the 1950s to the present day. Questions that I always had in my head were answered in this class, such as China's complicated relationship with Russia and the China-Taiwan conflict. While I did not find the later units to be as interesting, I still liked being informed of Chinese current events. If I was more diligent with my reading, then this class would probably not be as painful or confusing.
Comments
Post a Comment