One semester of volunteering enough?

[Elizabethx89]

******* the naysayers who could never begin to comprehend my situation.

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[Apollo1]

There are several issues with your plan...

> You plan on taking the MCAT in January '15. Assuming the January offering is when the new MCAT is in effect (don't remember a.t.m.), Biochemistry is now required for it. Orgo II is a prereq for Biochem. Are you also studying for Biochem.?
> Psychology and Sociology are part of the new MCAT as well. Have you already taken these classes, or are you studying for them in addition to Biochem.?
> Its' been mentioned ad nauseum that volunteering, etc. should be done over an extended period of time. Adcoms don't want to see a late flurry of EC activities.

I'm self-studying from various resources. I know a lot of people think this is a stupid idea, but I also think it makes sense, at least in theory, knowing how I learn. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out, and I'll have to find another plan.

> What do you mean "I'll have to find another plan"? As in, another way to prep for the MCAT, or where you'd have to find another career to enter? If its the former, you're wasting months that could be applied to EC's and classwork, plus the fact that you'd have a low MCAT score to hinder your application(s). If the latter, you're wasting time, money, energy, etc. instead of focusing on something else that could provide tangible, immediate benefits.

 

[Elizabethx89]

lol bullies

 

[QofQuimica]

Yes, it's a bad idea. Both of those classes typically take a year for a reason. And both of them are called PRE-reqs (not co-reqs, and not post-reqs) for a reason: you're supposed to take them FIRST. The basic knowledge needed for the MCAT is built upon the pre-reqs. You're also the one having trouble studying because your psychotic sister is making you too scared to go to sleep, and you seriously think you're going to self-teach physics and organic chemistry plus prep for the MCAT in the next three months while living in an unstable home environment that makes success all but impossible?

As I said to you months ago in the other thread, you need to get your home situation stabilized FIRST, and then you can apply yourself full-tilt to a postbac and otherwise preparing to apply for med school. The self-actualization part of Maslow's hierarchy comes last, AFTER you provide for your basic needs like food, shelter, and basic security. So here's what I suggest. Start by getting a job, any job, that will allow you to move into your own place and provide yourself with a stable, secure home with food on the table. Don't worry about the MCAT, volunteering, classes, or any of the rest of it at this point; get the basics taken care of first. Once you've done this, THEN you start working on a post bac and volunteering a couple hours per week. Review any math you need, sign up for physics and organic, take biochem, shadow. When you're ready, take the MCAT and apply. If it takes you five years to get ready for medical school, then it takes you five years. If it takes you ten years, then it takes you ten years. Who cares? You're not going to be a 22-year-old med student regardless.

 

[Apollo1]

January '15 is the last time they're offering the current MCAT. I'm registered to take the version without biochem, psych, and sociology. I have already taken a good amount of psych and sociology, though, yes.

By another plan, I mean another timeline to get every aspect of my post-bacc taken care of.

You're taking a big risk. Are you willing to hamper your application cycle if you score poorly? I don't remember if it was Q or Goro (maybe both) that has emphasized only taking the MCAT once, as the test is difficult enough for those who've completed all the pre-reqs and then some. If you score poorly, its just going to add time to the point where you can reasonably apply. Stick to the path more often suggested; knock out the courses, then study, then take*.

*Caveat - if during your studying now, your practice exams indicate you're placing >33, then perhaps take a chance on January.

 

[Elizabethx89]

fuuuuuuuk

 

[Apollo1]

I was specifically asking about the only volunteering for a semester before applying part.

I replied to this in my initial post.

I wasn't asking specifically for input on my MCAT study plan.

Before you edited your initial post, you talked about how you were approaching taking the MCAT this January. You also mentioned how personal issues forced you to move back to your father's house, how you weren't able to register for classes this semester & are working full-time at the moment. Your inclusion of more content than what the thread's subject line inquired meant that it was fair game for others (such as myself & Q) to ask questions & give opinions regarding them. Nothing in my replies was designed to put you down, and I think I can be confident in saying the same about Q's post.

 

[Elizabethx89]

I replied to this in my initial post.



Before you edited your initial post, you talked about how you were approaching taking the MCAT this January. You also mentioned how personal issues forced you to move back to your father's house, how you weren't able to register for classes this semester & are working full-time at the moment. Your inclusion of more content than what the thread's subject line inquired meant that it was fair game for others (such as myself & Q) to ask questions & give opinions regarding them. Nothing in my replies was designed to put you down, and I think I can be confident in saying the same about Q's post.

I didn't mind your posts, but I did mind Q's because this is at least the fourth time she has given me the same exact lecture when I think it's pretty obvious that I'm tired of hearing it and am not going to approach things the way she thinks I should no matter how many times she tells me to do so. That said, I'm just going to stay off of here for the next few months and focus on studying, so I removed my posts.

 

[QofQuimica]

I didn't mind your posts, but I did mind Q's because this is at least the fourth time she has given me the same exact lecture when I think it's pretty obvious that I'm tired of hearing it and am not going to approach things the way she thinks I should no matter how many times she tells me to do so. That said, I'm just going to stay off of here for the next few months and focus on studying, so I removed my posts.

I'm sorry if my post comes across as a "lecture." That isn't my intent. But from my perspective as someone who has gone through the entire medical training process and knows what's involved, it's hard not to say something when I see someone unnecessarily doing something foolish that will make their dream of med school infinitely LESS likely to come true.

As an analogy, I tell all of my elderly patients, even the ones with 100+ pack year smoking histories who are on home O2 (and sometimes home hospice) for their end-stage COPD, that they should quit smoking. Of course, in their case, a lot of the damage is already done. Once those alveoli are destroyed, they're never coming back, and all these patients can hope to do from here on out is to decrease the rate of further lung destruction. Similarly, I also tell all of my young, healthy patients in their 20s to stop smoking, even though they don't have COPD (and maybe never will get it regardless of how much they smoke). Why? Because someone your age who stops smoking can greatly reduce their chances of ever having this debilitating disease at all, or at least postpone it for decades. And even if I've told the same person the same thing four times, I still tell them again, because maybe the fifth time, they'll finally be open to hearing it.

Similarly, getting into med school is all about playing the odds. Can someone do everything "wrong" and still end up succeeding? Sure, in the same way that someone can smoke two packs per day for fifty years and may never get debilitating COPD. But the people who have the greatest chance of succeeding at becoming physicians some day are the people who go through the process sequentially in the order it is meant to be gone through.

On that note, time for me to start yet another night of encouraging some hard-core smokers to quit.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I didn't mind your posts, but I did mind Q's because this is at least the fourth time she has given me the same exact lecture when I think it's pretty obvious that I'm tired of hearing it and am not going to approach things the way she thinks I should no matter how many times she tells me to do so. That said, I'm just going to stay off of here for the next few months and focus on studying, so I removed my posts.

I'm sorry you're not getting the advice you want, but it is sound advice regardless.

Plenty of us aren't on the timeline we'd prefer for various reasons. But we're on it because it's more likely to make us successful at our goals. You've heard it on here before, but this is a marathon not a sprint. In the grand scheme of training an extra year or two isn't going to matter.

I can personally speak to getting your life in order first having a dramatic impact on improved academic performance, among other things seeming to fall into place much more easily.


So seriously, get the heck out of that toxic environment first and foremost. Maybe try getting a phlebotomy job or something. Healthcare jobs generally have good benefits even if you aren't fulltime.

Once you get settled and things chill out, then focus on school.

 

[jl lin]

I didn't mind your posts, but I did mind Q's because this is at least the fourth time she has given me the same exact lecture when I think it's pretty obvious that I'm tired of hearing it and am not going to approach things the way she thinks I should no matter how many times she tells me to do so. That said, I'm just going to stay off of here for the next few months and focus on studying, so I removed my posts.

No offense; but it would be wise for you to listen to Q.

"One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow (in order) to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren't enough hours in the day, but if we do each thing calmly and carefully, we will get it done quicker and with much less stress."--Viggo Mortensen

 

[wholeheartedly]

"One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow (in order) to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren't enough hours in the day, but if we do each thing calmly and carefully, we will get it done quicker and with much less stress."--Viggo Mortensen

I'm reminded of that every single day at work....