Donald Bowling's Dossier

When I was first choosing colleges I must admit that Virginia Commonwealth University was second on my list. I really wanted to got to the University of Virginia. I received my letter of acceptance from VCU a few weeks after I was turned down for early admissions at UVA. Later that month I received a letter from the honors program at VCU inviting me to apply for admissions to there program I decide to fill out the application just in case I didn't get into UVA. It turned out I was not accepted for admissions to UVA and was offered there waiting list. I decided I would accept admissions to somewhere that actually wanted me and offered me some incentive to attend through there honors program.

I eventually found that VCU was not such a bad choice after all. VCU has a better teaching system than what I have heard about UVA with introductory classes actually taught by professors instead of graduate students. The first year I took introductory courses such as Inorganic Chemistry with lab, English, American Literature, U.S. Government, International Relations, Pre - Calculus, and Calculus. These where courses I needed to complete graduation requirements, and they where also prerequisites to higher level courses I would need to take. I also took honors VCU 101, a introductory course that allowed me to learn about the honors program and the things I should expect to accomplish in my four years as a undergraduate. Perhaps the most interesting course during my fist semester was Honor's Biology. In this class the first semester I learned about the good and bad uses of science and got to meet many interesting researchers and professionals in the seminar course. In the second semester of this class I was able to learn about virginia's environment and meet many specialists in that area.

During my first year I joined The Wesley Foundation and became the Treasurer of that organization. I also joined the Idea Exchange the honors student organization and participated in many of there activities. Perhaps the best of my first semester activities where the honors desserts, brown bags, and seminars which presented interesting topics and allowed me to get to know other honors students.

The second semester I began volunteering in the department of Pathology and Laboratory at Shore Memorial Hospital and at the Veterans Hospital here in Richmond. As a result I began contemplating a major in clinical lab science that I postponed a decision on till after summer break. I also completed my first year with a 4.00 GPA.
    My second year at VCU was mainly focused on completing all my premed requirements. I took Cell Biology to lay a foundation for latter biology work since it is a prerequisite to higher level biology classes. I also took Organic Chemistry with lab which was very interesting since it was more descriptive and had less mathematics than regular chemistry. The lab was very fun and it allowed me to do real life chemistry and learn the reactions that could actually be used to make a drug. I took Art History which was a very painful subject but was necessary to complete my art requirement. I ended up having to take this class over again my second semester due to problems that arose in the class the first semester. I also took general physics which was a bit challenging since i never had taken a physics class before. However this subject proved very rewarding since it tied in with the other sciences i had already taken.. The first semester I also took a Intro. to Clinical Laboratory Sciences, by this end of this class I had decided to change my major to Clinical Lab Sciences. I found Clinical Lab Sciences a much more major interesting than biology and also this major would guarantee me employment after college if i did not go to medical school.
    My second semester of my sophomore year I took the second part of Organic Chemistry and Physics, as well I repeated Art History. I also took Animal Physiology since It would give me a better background for medical school and clinical lab sciences.  I also took English 200 this semester to finish my general education requirements. In this class we had to write a 20 page essay, I choose to write on pathology. I must say this class was both challenging and interesting since it focused around the 20 page essay. It was during this semester that I also learned of my acceptance into the clinical lab program.
    During  my second year at VCU the only student organization I was active in was Wesley Foundation. During this year i became president of the organization due to loss of members from the preceding year. At the end of the first semester the Wesley Foundation was discontinued by the Methodist Church for political reasons however I and the other students decided to continue meeting under the new name of The Open Door Methodists.