SM Megamall SALE and Divisoria HAUL!

Hello, everyone! I hope you’re having a good day today….. and HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE! Anyway, thank God I have another free day to post a blog about my recently bought items from SM Megamall sale and divisoria. I am still a student, no job, and just dependent on the allowance I am receiving. So, I always save my allowance and wait for super sales or go to divisoria to buy some stuff I remember my budget last week was only P2,000. I have so many things to buy like shoes, bags, clothes, and bags.. So here are the things I was able to buy.

Formal Wear – Peach/Pink long sleeves around Php300-400

I’m really so into formal wear right now. One month ago, I also bought three tops, two were long sleeves and one was a yellow blouse. I’ve been looking for this long sleeves for more than a month and I am just happy that I spotted this in SM Department store! I also had additional 10% discount because I am an SM Advantage Card holder that’s why I got this for a very cheap price

Next item bought were a pair of school shoes from Parisian, and 2 sets of socks (3 pairs/set) – Php 300-450

Parisian is my favorite affordable brand for school shoes. I’ve been wearing Parisian school/black shoes for four years already. For these items, I also had additional 10% discount in SM Department Store.

School bags – around Php499.00 each

I also bought a school bag. The maroon one is mine. My sister bought the violet one and the blue shoulder bag is my mom’s.

All in all, I was able to got these items for Php1,200 only! Three days later, we went to UST to pass my requirements and since we were already in Manila, we decided to go to Divisoria too.

Items bought in Divisoria!!!!

I was able to buy the violet bag and the brown bag for only Php500.00 and the stripe bag with animal print was only Php250.00. Too bad I only noticed that the violet and brown bags are just imitations of some brands when I took pictures of it for my blog. I am not an advocate of imitations and I’d rather buy unbranded bags than buy imitations. By the way, My mom bought me the yellow shoes for Php200.00 because I ran out of my budget. I hope these are durable and will last me a long time

Anyway, I heard there will be a “back to school” sale in robinsons mall on May 18. I’ll go there and buy my school stuff! I really love sales but hate it at the same time because I get excited and the tendency is I buy stuff I don’t need much. Hehehe! So there! Happy shopping, everyone!

TV Series that I Watch.

Hi! I’ve been watching some TV Series right now. I wanna share ‘em to you and tell you what I think about ‘em

The Vampire Diaries. I’ve been a fan of this TV series since its first season. It just gets better every episode! It’s about vampires, and the protagonists are the two brothers — Salvatores. During their ‘mortal/human’ phase, they were both pursuing a beautiful lady named Katerina. Katerina is a vampire and she turned the two brothers whose mortal father hunted vampires during his time. Many years later, Stefan Salvatore found Elena, Katerina’s doppelganger. Elena became the love interest of the Salvatore brothers. I am rooting for Damon-Elena love team and Klaus-Caroline love team. 3rd season is ending very soon and I couldn’t wait to see the coming twist regarding Alaric’s transition into a vampire- HUNTER

The Walking Dead. I love this TV Series and its comic book version This is about a zombie outbreak and people’s survival. I was just a little disappointed with its second season because they wasted a lot of episodes on the farm looking for Sofia. Can’t wait ’til its 3rd season!

Missing. I am quite surprise that I like this genre of TV Series. It is full of action and beautiful scenery. I like Ashley Judd, her beauty and stunts are very stunning. This is about a former CIA agent who’s looking for her missing son, Michael, after he went to Rome to study.

Once Upon a Time. I enjoy this tv series because of the fairy tales. this is about Snow White and Evil Queen who took away her happiness. The evil queen cursed the fairy tale land and she “trapped” all the fairy tale characters on Earth, in Storybrook where the characters forgot who they really were and where the time is not running. Here’s the twist: Before Evil Queen had cursed the fairy tale land, Snow White was able to save her daughter, Emma, who, on her 28th year of existence, will save them from the curse by putting Emma inside the magical “tree”. The magical tree was a portal to Earth. But here’s the catch: Emma was saved alone. So, she grew up just like other normal people. And she doesn’t know who she really is. Her son, Henry, has this fairy tale book where all the fairy tale characters were written. Henry believes that their community in Storybrook contains the fairy tale characters. The time in Storybrook starts to move forward when Emma stepped in their place. I love how the writers come up with fairy tale characters’ life stories that are not usually tackled much in our fairy tale books. My favorite characters here are Ruby (Red Riding Hood), Mr. Gold (Rumpelstiltskin), and Grumpy the dwarf!

Jane by Design. I’m not into fashion but I love the humor in this tv series. Jane is a high school student with a brother named Ben, and a best friend named Billy. She applied for a job to help her brother to pay for their bills when Gray, her boss, mistaken-ed Jane as an adult and assigned Jane as her executive assistant. Gray is the type of boss that is hard to please, so Jane is really having a hard time in fulfilling her job but her passion in fashion comes in a very natural way that helps their company during some difficulties. I just hope they will show more Jane in school next season

Princess and I. A Filipino tv series. I love the scenery in Bhutan. And I love Kathryn-Enrique love team This is about a lost princess.

I am watching other tv series but these are just the tv shows I regularly watch. I wonder how I will ever catch up with these tv series when medschool starts.

Medical Schools that I Considered.

There are so many good medical schools here in the Philippines but because there is an application fee for each school, I narrowed down the list of my school choices. UST, UERM, PLM, and FEU. Here are the pros and cons of each school for me:

UST
Pros:

• it’s my alma mater
• usually tops the physician licensure exam
• integrated style/method of teaching — mixed traditional and problem based. in this way, students are not being spoonfed by the professors. By the way, there’s a difference between traditional and spoonfeeding so don’t take traditional way of learning as spoonfeeding.
• have affiliates abroad
• location — surrounded by many establishments
• in-campus hospital
• complete facilities and equipments — they let their students use these compared to others that just make these facilities and equipments as a display

Cons:

• expensive tuition fee
• very limited scholarship programs offered
• I thought I had a lesser chance of being accepted despite of having good credentials because of the rumored “politics” going on, and my financial status/stability. Yes, I felt sad on my part when I was taking their entrance exam, we were asked about our parents’ monthly income. I saw my seatmates’ papers and most of them have family earnings of Php100,000.00+ monthly. My family don’t even earn Php30,000 monthly and I am just being supported by my uncle and sometimes by some scholarship programs.
• location — not the best location. UST is known for floods

UE
Pros:

• still one of the best medical schools in the Philippines
• slightly lower tuition fee than UST
• offers many scholarship programs
• location — surrounded by malls, LRT, etc
• in-campus hospital
• They have some affiliates abroad

Cons:

• traditional style/method of teaching. For me it is a disadvantage because they focus more on theories. I’ve heard that they were more of problem-based before but changed due to decreasing of passing rate in physician licensure exam. Again, don’t take traditional as spoon feeding method.
• location — the campus is just beside the street where many public and private vehicles are passing. And you have to cross the street to go to the medical building.
• even if I considered its tuition fee being slightly lower than UST, it is still expensive!

PLM
Pros:

• One of the best medical schools
• Very affordable tuition fee
• Different scholarships being offered
• I’m not 100% sure if they are problem based learning style

Cons:

• out-campus hospital
• incomplete facilities and equipments
• location — very far. option for commuting inside intramuros is very limited. Pedicab costs a lot! Surrounded by very limited establishments
• they prioritize Manila residents
• too many requirements needed! They asked for my barangay clearance, cedula, nbi clearance, NSO, my parents’ latest ITR, etc, etc
• very very much expensive application fee! I paid Php2,300+. more expensive than UST’s!

FEU — I no longer applied here even though I considered it because I didn’t want to shell out any money anymore
Pros:

• A good new medical school
• Latest technology/equipments
• My friend told me that the in-campus atmosphere is very peaceful
• Many scholarships offered

Cons:

• VERY VERY FAR!
• My friend’s dad somehow got traumatized on their way to FEU because of the streets, highways, and traffic lights/signs
• expensive also

These four medical schools have a good quality of education so it’s just really up to the applicants what to choose. We have different ways of learning, and it’s just about finding the right school for you and coping up. Please don’t ever think that traditional style of learning is equivalent to spoon feeding. And don’t think that problem-based learning is just a self-study style. God bless everyone!

Dilemma in Choosing my Medschool and my Summer before Medschool

Before I graduated last April 3, 2012, I made a very difficult decision. During the AY 2011-2012, I applied to three of the top medical schools here in the Philippines namely, University of Santo Tomas (UST), University of the East Ramon Magsaysay (UERM), and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila (PLM). Before the academic year ended, UST and UERM released their lists of accepted applicants and I couldn’t believe that I was accepted to both universities. UST gave their accepted applicants 2 weeks to confirm reservation while UERM gave their applicants until March 25 to reserve their slots. Both universities required Php30,000.00 as reservation fee. So, my dilemma started. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT UNIVERSITY TO CHOOSE aside from the fact that I was still waiting for PLM to release their results because their tuition fee is much much lower than the UST and UERM.

In my heart, I knew I want UST but as a student who didn’t come from a rich family, I was considering the tuition fee of PLM. I called PLM to check if they already released the results but they told me that they would release it on April or May. I didn’t know if I was ready to take risks this time and wait until PLM releases their results. I talked to my dad, he said that I’d better wait for PLM because we cannot afford Php100,000+ per sem tuition fee rate of UST. I felt sad when I heard that of course, but I understand. Then I talked to my mother. She said to reserve my slot in UST already. Then I became more confused! Few days remaining before the last day of reservation in UST, I asked for my sister’s opinion. And she said that if she would be given a chance, she would choose UST.

March 14 came, and miracle happened! My tito, who is supporting me in my studies, said yes and told me that he sent me the reservation fee for UST. So, March 15, I reserved my slot in UST!

The reservation fee was not a guarantee that I could already enroll on May because there was one more requirement before enrolling — to pass the physical examination. And before you could have a physical examination, you need to have laboratory exams first like urinalysis, cbc, fecalysis, antiHBs, HBsAg, etc. in UST Hospital. I was able to have my laboratory during the Holy Week (Holy Thursday). Imagine my agony (I was raised by a superstitious family, by the way).

After I got my laboratory results, I went back to UST for several days for my physical examination and vaccination. The doctor advised me to have vaccination for Hepa A & B, and MMR even if I already had Mumps, Measles, and Rubella when I was a kid. I got my medical certificate after having my vaccination so I am ready for enrollment in May. I just have to bring some documents required by the admissions office, and the money.

PLM released their results last week, and unfortunately, I was not on the list. None of my friends in UST, either. Well, I guess moms really know best! Thank you, mommy, for insisting to get my reservation in UST. I love you!

I got a copy of ebooks from a friend so what I do now is open them during free time and scan so that I already have a little idea of what we will be studying. I think I have to enjoy this remaining few days of my vacation. I will post tomorrow the things I think of UST, UERM, and PLM. Their advantages and disadvantages I considered when I was still in applying stage in medschool.And why I didn’t apply in FEU anymore.

Lastly, I just want to tell you that I’m excited to be a freshman student of UST again

Wish me luck!

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