49 days left on the Countdown to Imperial College widget on my mac dashboard, and I can finally feel it happening! I’m going off to uni at last and my stomach is aflutter with nervous anticipation. So much to do! The college admin is painfully slow in its correspondence with me and I am getting increasingly frustrated. Deprived of important documentation, my student visa application is on hold indefinitely. With my visa in limbo, the business of booking a plane ticket becomes a source of much unease. Unfortunately, the longer I put it off, the more likely it is that I’ll end up with a pricier ticket, or worse still, no ticket at all!
I attended a pre-departure briefing last Saturday and got to talk to seniors already mid-way in their Biology course. From what I could gather, I can expect 2 hours of lectures a day (9-10 and 11-12), a 2-hour lunch break (12-2) and either practicals or tutorials till the end of the day (2-5) Tutorials and exams are marked, somewhat alarmingly, on an absolute scale. I haven’t decided if its a good thing, having no bell curve to fall back on. Opportunities for summer attachments are numerous, but unfortunately limited to the UK. I might try for an attachment in German or Swiss pharmaceuticals if I’m feeling adventurous. The bulk of the assessment comes from final year exams, with a lower percentage from coursework. Essay questions range from regurgitative (e.g. Biochem) to discursive (e.g. ecology). The good news is, first year topics are all compulsory, so I won’t have to worry about bidding for modules. 
The prospect of studying again worries me a little. I secretly fear that my capacity for retaining information has diminished. My senior has assured me, however, that the initial modules will cover the basics, so I’ll have the chance to reacquaint myself with the subject. It is a definite relief not having to do physics anymore! I am also expecting my involvement in math to be minimal, learning only as much statistics that biologists require.
p.s. I need to get The Cell (4th ed.) by Alberts, which costs like $100. Anyone want to sell theirs to me? :D
