Hi everyone! I hope you had a good new year, and that you are easing into this second half of the school year! In today’s blog, I’m going to write about my very last semester of college, and all the things that come with it, from my thesis to comprehensive exams. If you have any questions, please email me at sgoldsmith24@amherst.edu.
Last Semester
I am really feeling ready to get out of Amherst. I love it here, and I love my friends, but I’m also ready to move onto a new stage of my life. This semester, I’m taking a physics class (required for pre-med), an English class (also required for pre-med) called Jewish Stories and Storytelling, a French class called Republic of Letters, and a half-credit French discussion class that helps us prepare for the comprehensive exam. I think this is my first semester of college that has more humanities classes than STEM classes, so it is a shift, but I like getting to read a lot, even though some of the books are not books I would pick for myself. My goals for this semester are to run one more marathon, and to enjoy all the time I have left with my friends.
Thesis
This semester, I need to write the second and third chapters of my thesis, defend my thesis to a committee, and turn in the final version. I was supposed to write the second chapter over winter break, but was not as successful at that as I had hoped to be (in my defense, I was also preparing to take the MCAT, which I took at the end of break). So now I have to finish the second chapter, knock out the third chapter, revise, and defend. I am enjoying my thesis, which surprised me a little – it is a lot of self-driven work, which I can struggle with, but I really like my advisor and find the topic interesting. I’m also glad that it lets me spend more time with French, because I know once I begin a career in medicine that my French will be mostly unused.
My thesis is due in mid-April, and I’ll have a defense at the beginning of May. The defense is closed, so I only present to the professors on my committee. I think I prefer this to an open defense – less pressure to perform to the audience, and I can just speak and have a conversation with my advisors, who know my work pretty well.
Comprehensive Exams
Not all majors at Amherst College require students pass comprehensive exams in order to graduate, but both of my majors do: French and biology. The French comprehensive exam involves a twenty minute presentation on a book of my choice, selected from a list of books chosen by the French department. I chose a book that I read a couple semesters ago for a class, and while I’m a little nervous, I think it’ll be fine.
For my biology major, I have to pick one of five topics (energy, information transfer, regulation, sex, or water), and am grilled orally for a half hour. Most people pass on their first try, and I’m really hoping I’m one of them. If you don’t pass, you have the opportunity to do it again – you won’t be graduating without a degree in biology!
Thanks for reading! Please email me with any questions!