Class Overview: Fall 2018
Hello junior year! While there are so many cool courses at Vanderbilt that I have yet to take, there are only so many I can enroll in a semester that meet graduation requirements for my major, and I’m somehow already halfway through my undergraduate career, which is a little bit terrifying. However, I’m really excited about my schedule this semester and thought I’d share with you all the courses I’m taking currently. For those of you who have not read my posts before, I am a Neuroscience and Psychology double major on the pre-medical track with hopes of becoming a psychiatrist after graduation and medical school.
For my pre-med requirements, I’m taking biochemistry and physics. While I’m not particularly gifted in these subjects, I’m definitely enjoying them more than I expected to, and am finding it interesting to see how the topics covered fit in with the other science courses I’ve taken so far at Vanderbilt. They’re both lecture-style courses, but you can ask the professor for specific help during office hours, and physics has an accompanying lab course that meets once a week.
If you have been reading my posts for a while, you will not be surprised to know that I’m doing neuroscience research for credit yet again, though this semester a little more intensive (12-15 hours a week). I’ve been in the same neuroscience lab since the beginning of my sophomore year, and am here again to continue studying brain aging and psychopathology under my research mentor. After completing neuroscience research during the summer, it has been awesome to use the skills and knowledge I gained to share what I learned with my lab and continue my research with a newfound ease that comes with spending dozens of hours doing neuroscience research for 8 weeks. Research for credit is a great means of getting exposure to the field, and because Vanderbilt is such a vibrant research institution, you can take part in research projects in any number of subjects (not just STEM!!).
As if my research mentor hasn’t seen enough of me, I’m also taking a neuroscience course he teaches all about personality. It’s a subject of personal interest to me, and luckily fulfills some of my required coursework as well. It’s been really fascinating so far, and I’m looking forward to learning more on the subject!
Lastly, I’m taking a course just for fun all about the Beat Generation of writers and their connection to the French language. The professor who taught the Maymester I was a part of during the summer also teaches this course, and its only about 15 students, so it’s been a great platform for discussing ideas and concepts without hesitation. While I don’t have too many electives to spare with my majors, I’m glad I took this class for myself.
Stay tuned for updates on how all these classes went later in the year! Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions regarding move-in or life at Vanderbilt, feel free to contact me at alex.rains@vanderbilt.edu.
