Medical School, anyone?

pink27 · #1 08-24-2001, 05:00 PM

Just wondering if anyone out there is either a pre-med student, applying to med school, or already a med school student? I am currently applying and I could use some advice on the length of my personal statement, the difficulty getting into schools, whether or not I should list my greek involvement on my AMCAS application, and I would also like to vent about the difficulty of the August 2001 MCAT.

KillarneyRose · #2 08-24-2001, 07:37 PM

Hi Pink! My biological little sister teaches the MCAT prep. class for Princeton Review and she is in the process of applying to medical school. When I talk to her sometime in the next couple of days, I will run your post past her and find out what her opinions are about the things you mentioned. Where are applying to med school?

newbie · #3 08-24-2001, 07:50 PM

I just wanted to wish you the best of luck!!

AggieDoc · #4 08-25-2001, 02:31 AM

Hey Pink: I am a first-year medical resident at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. I'd be happy to share your frustrations and answer any questions you have--vent and ask away!!

Andrew
"Aggie Doc"

pink27 · #5 08-25-2001, 05:20 PM

Thank you so much, AggieDoc!
Most of my friends were out of town this summer, so I was left to cope with application and MCAT stress all by myself. Well, here goes the venting! AHHHHHHHHHH! The MCAT was hard. I spent so much time and effort preparing and practicing for the August administration, and I won't even know how it went for six weeks or so. And after all the notecards I went through learning all the chemistry and physics formulas, I bet I used only five on the actual exam! I have to say, I'm so relieved that it's over and that I got throught it in one piece.
Enough venting, here are my main questions. Should I include my greek involvement on my applications? Also, I've been working on my personal statement for months and it never seems to be long enough. The AMCAS idea of "one page" and my idea of one page differ by about half a page. Should I continue writing to fill up the space or should I be satisfied about 600 characters short of the 5,300 character limit (that's about one small paragragh)? Also, I am applying to two New York schools that have their own application, Columbia and NYU. The NYU application went well, but the Columbia one is totally in a stalemate. They don't have a "Personal Comments" section, because they outright ask essay questions. All that is fine and dandy, except for the question "What satisfaction you expect for your activities in medicine?" What kind of question is that?!?!?! Are they completely insane? The word "satisfaction" is SO incredibly subjective. I know why I want to be a doctor and I know what my motivations are, but the only satisfaction I expect to get is to simply be satisfied with my life... to be a ble to look at myself everyday in the mirror and be content with where my life has taken me. How do you answer that question in 36 lines, when all I want out of medicine is to be happy? It wouldn't matter that much, but Columbia is my number 1 choice! I've wanted to go there since I decided I wanted to be a doctor. If I don't get in for legitimate reasons, that's fine, but I don't want to get denied because I can't answer a simple essay question. Here is my last question. I have been told over and over again to apply to a variety of schools, some very competitive and som not so competitive. I am a FL resident. Here is a list of schools I am applying to (let me know if there are any on this list I should forgo or any that I forgot that would be worth looking into:
(this is my list they way I ranked my choices) 1) Columbia, 2) Cornell, 3)Yale, 4) NYU, 5) Mount Sinai, 6) U of Chicago, 7) U Penn, 8) Loyola, Chicago, 9) Boston U, 10) U of South Florida, and 11) U of Miami. I can't apply to any schools requiring biochemistry and/or calculus. Thank you so much for any input you may have !!!!!! By the way, what are you doing your residency in?

pink27 · #6 08-25-2001, 05:26 PM

For those of you not interested in reading the novel above and curious (or with comments) about the med schools to which I am applying, here is the list:
Columbia, Cornell, Yale, NYU, Mount Sinai, U of Chicago, U Penn, Loyola, Chicago, Boston U, U of South Florida, and U of Miami.
I will appreciate ANY and ALL positive comments or advice!

CodeBlue_R3 · #7 08-25-2001, 11:20 PM

Hi, I'm a future doctor!!!

Just a few more years to go!!!

My choices are:

Boston U.
Emory U.
U Chicago
Columbia
U Miami
East Carolina
UNC Chapel Hill
Duke

Got info? Share it with me.

newbie · #8 08-25-2001, 11:55 PM

Codeblue - GOOD LUCK to you too!!!

Pink and Codeblue, how about UC-San Francisco?

That's a great med school, right?

Sorry, just had to put in a plug for my hometown

.

pink27 · #9 08-26-2001, 09:50 PM

Codeblue!

It's so nice to talk to someone else going through the same frustrations I am. How far are you into your pre-med eduacation? You must be a NC resident (since you're applying to so many NC schools). I was a NC resident until my parents moved to back to Tampa, FL last week (we had lived there previously several years ago). You picked some awesome schools to apply to (especially

Columbia

). Where are you doing your undergrad? What is your major? BTW, I'm always in the running for advice (giving and receiving), so I'll be happy to give you any info I can!

And I hope you'll share your info with me! It seems, from your list of prospective schools, that you may also be interested in Yale. It has a very well respected program and it seems to fit the type of schools you're interested in. You can email the admission office (there is an address on the Yale University site) and they'll send you more info.

Newbie,
You're right about UC San Fransisco. It is one of the best med schools in the country. But, it's free tutition for CA residents and the competition to get in is some of the worst in the country. They are very preferential to in-state residents,

and unfortunately, I am currently a FL resident.

AOEforme · #10 03-15-2009, 01:39 PM

*BUMP*

Two weeks to my MCAT.... any one else taking it on the March 28th date?

Does anyone have any tips?

AOII Angel · #11 03-15-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AOEforme

*BUMP*

Two weeks to my MCAT.... any one else taking it on the March 28th date?

Does anyone have any tips?

Skim the questions in the reading comprehension section before looking for the answers in the articles. A lot of people don't finish the reading comp section. It's a long test...good luck!

BigRedBeta · #12 03-16-2009, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Skim the questions in the reading comprehension section before looking for the answers in the articles. A lot of people don't finish the reading comp section. It's a long test...good luck!

Not as long as it used to be.

When I taught for Kaplan, honestly the biggest thing that determined if students did as well as they were capable of was confidence. Go in to the test thinking "it's game time, I've done all the practice, now it's time to perform" and you'll do your best. Walk into the exam telling yourself "this is going to determine the rest of my life, I'm freaking out, I don't if I can do this" and you're going to be disappointed in about a month when scores come back.

Beyond that it's about staying focused - not getting rattled by a hard passage, keeping on track with your timing and making sure you answer all the questions, even if you have to guess.

With two weeks left, if you're getting burned out, don't be afraid to take two or three days off from MCAT prep. It might be refreshing and hopefully you'll come back with renewed energy. You should be focusing on your weak areas right now, but when you're about 6-8 days away from the exam, switch back to doing the subjects you're good at so you build confidence going into test day. No studying the day before, have a relaxing evening and do what you need to do to make sure you get a decent night's sleep (for me that was having a couple pitchers of beer and an early dinner with friends, was ready to fall asleep by 10pm).

Best of luck...as someone ready to graduate from med school in 7 weeks, I don't envy your position, but I think it's worth it.

AOII Angel · #13 03-16-2009, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

Not as long as it used to be.

Nice...what did they cut it down to?

AOEforme · #14 03-16-2009, 11:40 AM

Thanks so much for the advice guys.... I have two other exams that week so I'm taking some time right now just to breathe....

Kappamd · #15 03-23-2009, 10:39 PM

Good look on your upcoming MCAT! I took it last spring and the only advice I have is to not freak out. If you come across a passage or question you don't know, skip it and get to the ones you DO know. You can always go back. That being said, time management is key. Watch the clock and give yourself enough time to go back and answer the ones you skipped. I underestimated how much time I would need for the BS questions I skipped and ended up being forced to leave 4-5 blank, which probably affected my score a point or so.