6.5 months before med school...

Started by socom
Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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socom

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Okay, so I've already started learning bass guitar and Spanish. I am doing some "light" reviewing of my old biochem textbook. I need other suggestions on things I should do before med school.

Current:
1.Sky diving
2.Tattoo
3.The New Yorker submission
4.Upgrade PS3
5.More focused on working out
 
You know, I would give advice, but I feel worthless. I started reading like crazy, listening to audio books when I drive (which as a semi driver is a lot), and basically doing everything I can to keep myself mentally stimulated, but in the past three weeks I have done nothing but listen to pandora radio and play battlefield 3. Yesterday I was thinking to myself, "man I hope I am not screwing myself." I just lost all motivation for being productive.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
You know, I would give advice, but I feel worthless. I started reading like crazy, listening to audio books when I drive (which as a semi driver is a lot), and basically doing everything I can to keep myself mentally stimulated, but in the past three weeks I have done nothing but listen to pandora radio and play battlefield 3. Yesterday I was thinking to myself, "man I hope I am not screwing myself." I just lost all motivation for being productive.
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Summary of my life currently: (in order of most frequent occurrence)

1) Work
2) Playing Battlefield 3
3) Read stuff on SDN
5) Watch stuff on Netflix
4) Read Steve Jobs biography

Thats about it unfortunately, maybe a little guitar playing in there.
 
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I've been trying to be productive each day... but it's so difficult to do, especially being the night owl that I am.

I spend the late nights watching a lot of documentaries on youtube of the universe, history, dinosaurs, etc. The discovery channel has an awesome documentary series on the universe (stars, galaxies, dark matter/energy, black holes, etc.) that I've been addicted to. I highly recommend them if you enjoy that stuff.

I've also been playing a lot of Team Fortress 2, continuing some volunteer work in the community, watching basketball/football, and am starting my own little garden in the backyard. 🙂

Most of the day though... I'm just sitting around, wondering what I should be doing.:laugh:
 
Iliketoytles said:
I've been trying to be productive each day... but it's so difficult to do, especially being the night owl that I am.

I spend the late nights watching a lot of documentaries on youtube of the universe, history, dinosaurs, etc. The discovery channel has an awesome documentary series on the universe (stars, galaxies, dark matter/energy, black holes, etc.) that I've been addicted to. I highly recommend them if you enjoy that stuff.

I've also been playing a lot of Team Fortress 2, continuing some volunteer work in the community, watching basketball/football, and am starting my own little garden in the backyard. 🙂

Most of the day though... I'm just sitting around, wondering what I should be doing.:laugh:
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Watching documentaries is a great way for people in our "predicament" to keep our minds active while not expending too much energy reading (which I would love to do, but am hardluck finding the motivation). I've also been watching this documentary series on the History Channel called "Ancient Aliens". It's crazy, these guys are hypothesizing that ancient civilaztions such as the Babylonians and Egyptians had contact with aliens
 
I was discussing this over drinks with my buddies once they found out I got in. We started talking about a "bucket list" for the next 6 months. We came up with destination golf trips, week-long rafting trips on the Snake River, mountain biking in Moab, getting scuba certified, and a bunch of other cool stuff I've always wanted to do.
 
I understand the whole bucket list thing, since you won't have a life for the next 7-8+ years, but doesn't anyone want to save anything for when you're actually practicing? Or retirement? I mean, I'm not going to be the M0 pre-reading for M1, but I'm also not going to try and cram all of my desires into 6 months.

That said, I haven't been accepted, and I didn't even apply this cycle so what do I know 😉
 
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rafman said:
Watching documentaries is a great way for people in our "predicament" to keep our minds active while not expending too much energy reading (which I would love to do, but am hardluck finding the motivation). I've also been watching this documentary series on the History Channel called "Ancient Aliens". It's crazy, these guys are hypothesizing that ancient civilaztions such as the Babylonians and Egyptians had contact with aliens
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Yeah, definitely. Ancient Aliens... I'll have to check that out. It sounds strange, but cool.
 
This is going to be the last time to be unproductive for a long time so enjoy it. I have been spending time adding new mods to my car, working out as much as possible, playing BF3 and spending quality time with friends and family. I also am taking a vaction to Belize this summer right before I start.
 
I've never played this BF3 before...now I'm interested, seeing how many people play it.
 
Make the next 6 months count! Some of the most memorable months of my life for sure.

Sleep, drink, party, vacation, visit old friends, play video games, run around outdoors, go to sports games...and just have a good time!
 
1) Learn how to relax. Be it meditation, yoga, zoning out, whatever. At some point, you're going to suddenly realize that you have way more work than you thought you did, and your instinct is going to be to run away, or only focus on certain parts. If you know how to calm and quiet your mind, you will get through it. Plus, when you take a difficult exam and you start to psych yourself out, you will know how to "reset" and get back to the task at hand. Take the time to "figure yourself out" now, before you've got everything else on your plate.

2) Read something unusual. Read a book on rhetoric & persuasion, or regularly read opinion articles that you disagree with (i.e. if you're conservative, read Slate; if you're liberal, read Drudge). You're not going to agree with everyone you go to school with, work with, live with, etc., so you need to learn how to argue/persuade, and how to see someone else's point of view.
 
All i've been doing is playing MW3(gamertag= lazypanda24x7) on xbox obsessively and other videogames..

Other than that, been reading weird books i've always wanted to read and hanging out for days at a time with close friends- lan parties, breakdancing sessions, the fun never ends... until august lol.

I even think this semester is going to be great. Only 4 classes, no biochem or other crazy hardcore classes. I just foundout i don't need organic 2 lab so i have 5 more hours per week to do fun stuff =)
 
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painmd87 said:
1) Learn how to relax. Be it meditation, yoga, zoning out, whatever. At some point, you're going to suddenly realize that you have way more work than you thought you did, and your instinct is going to be to run away, or only focus on certain parts. If you know how to calm and quiet your mind, you will get through it. Plus, when you take a difficult exam and you start to psych yourself out, you will know how to "reset" and get back to the task at hand. Take the time to "figure yourself out" now, before you've got everything else on your plate.

2) Read something unusual. Read a book on rhetoric & persuasion, or regularly read opinion articles that you disagree with (i.e. if you're conservative, read Slate; if you're liberal, read Drudge). You're not going to agree with everyone you go to school with, work with, live with, etc., so you need to learn how to argue/persuade, and how to see someone else's point of view.
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I would start with TED for inspirations and creativity.
Being a science pre-med, I missed out on a lot of basic arts courses...so this is the time to fill-in the gap.=)
I just started on Spanish. http://www.spanishdict.com/ has lots of free video lectures and study tools. It's very useful. http://scs.msu.edu/media/Spanish/ - Medical Spanish from Michigan State University, with recordings and handouts.

For anyone looking for a more serious answer, I highly recommend a Philosophy of Death class from Yale. It's an open source course. As omnious as it sounds, it'll prepare me for the deaths I'll see in the next 4 years.
http://videolectures.net/yalephil176s07_death/

I think a class on Logic, Psychology of Persuasion, Psychology of Motivation, Toast Master for Public Speaking...would also be helpful.
 
Your list looks pretty decent! I think the key is to live it up while you can. You really have these 6.5 months to somewhat forget about responsibility since your career is set. Granted, our life isn't over once we enter medical school, but it will never be the same.

Currently, I am a ski bum in a small resort town, skiing the days and working the nights. This will be followed by backpacking Europe for 3 months at the end of ski season.

Enjoy it all!
 
I think all who have been accepted and have plenty of time going to med school should do two things:

1. Read all those books you said you were going to read but never got around to doing
2. Develop a work out regime if you don't have one already. Med school requires a lot of sitting and all that inactivity sucks.
 
I'm adding you right now... My gamer tag is Deltanutke1518

Yeah I know, I get really creative on my usernames...

I wish I could do a bucket list, I feel like work will get in the way of the awesome things I could do.
 
I started Rosetta Stone for Spanish (currently on level 3/5) and listen to Spanish audio tapes in my car. I'm also watching a lot of Spanish television and hope to be at least somewhat conversational by the time med school starts. Maybe when rotations come around I will be able to use it and buff up on it more. Something I've always wanted to do and this will be my last chance.

I've also started working out more consistently. Trying to turn it into a habit with 6 months of consistency before med school so I will be able to keep it somewhat consistent when I start. I try not to be at the gym too long because I won't want to be there any more than an hour starting in August anyway 🙂

Other than those two things I have been just enjoying family and friends (trying not to spend too much money 😉)
 
dntke1518 said:
I wish I could do a bucket list, I feel like work will get in the way of the awesome things I could do.
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Then stop working so much. I'm working under 30 hrs a week. I like money and all, but nothing beats free time to do the things you've always wanted to do.

Speaking of which, I have an urge to burn something, and I don't mean toast. I feel like I should get that out of the way before med school or my books will be on fire. Any suggestions?
 
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Vishna said:
I started Rosetta Stone for Spanish (currently on level 3/5) and listen to Spanish audio tapes in my car. I'm also watching a lot of Spanish television and hope to be at least somewhat conversational by the time med school starts. Maybe when rotations come around I will be able to use it and buff up on it more. Something I've always wanted to do and this will be my last chance.
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How do you like it? My university has a terrible Spanish department and after a year of Spanish I switched over to French to keep my sanity. I tried Rosetta Stone many years ago and liked it but didn't get terribly far into it.
 
I got my gf Rosetta Stone Spanish as a graduation/Christmas/birthday present. She's so busy with studying for the NCLEX she hasn't even opened it yet though. I'm anxious to look at how good it is.

Working out is definitely up there. I used to be in awesome shape, but then school and work this past semester consumed all my free time. Then Thanksgiving and Christmas (the ol' one two) got me good! I wonder how much time we'll all have to devote to working out once school starts... I hope I can make time for at least 3 times a week or so.
 
rafman said:
Watching documentaries is a great way for people in our "predicament" to keep our minds active while not expending too much energy reading (which I would love to do, but am hardluck finding the motivation). I've also been watching this documentary series on the History Channel called "Ancient Aliens". It's crazy, these guys are hypothesizing that ancient civilaztions such as the Babylonians and Egyptians had contact with aliens
Click to expand...

socom said:
Playing BF3 is time well spent. I still need to buy it. Missed out my chance on Black Friday. Got MW3 instead, but ended up playing original MW.

As for traveling, my uncle offered me a plane ticket out of the country if I got in. I just took him up on that offer.

Ancient Aliens? You mean this guy:

http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/158/329/9189283.jpg

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ancient-aliens
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Hahahahaha, I just finished watching the series "Ancient Aliens" on Netflix. This guy is out there! While some of it makes sense, quite a bit of it is a far, far, far reach. All I can say is neenew neenew, I have come to give you my DNA 🙄
 
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I am bored out of my mind waiting for school to start. Everyone is saying to "enjoy time off" but it's kind of hard to do that right now. Unsure about where I'm going to school, which makes it hard to start relationships and hard to make any sort of plan for the future. 6 more LONG months.
 
:laugh::laugh:
FrkyBgStok said:
mcat study material. i was going to sell it but i said screw that i am gonna burn it all up.
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I sold some of my material, but I'm loaning the rest to friends so they can study without having to pay for the books. Just an FYI, black powder makes burning things a lot more fun:boom:if you're not careful though that might happen:laugh:
 
haha i will def. make sure to add all of u today. also, I have a kinect(im a loser i know lol) and love playing ping pong/ boxing online so if anyone wants to "get in shape", I'd be down for a couple matches haha.
 
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socom said:
Then stop working so much. I'm working under 30 hrs a week. I like money and all, but nothing beats free time to do the things you've always wanted to do.

Speaking of which, I have an urge to burn something, and I don't mean toast. I feel like I should get that out of the way before med school or my books will be on fire. Any suggestions?
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Not possible... I work full time doing lab work (GC, HPLC, ect...) for an ag biotech company. If I could work part time I would...
 
Been playing SWTOR.... I swore off MMOs but this game plays like a single player game with friends, which I find highly enjoyable. Loved Mass Effect 1&2 and this is pretty damn near similar.

I also want to work out and develop a habitual training regime that I can continue into school. Would like to read some books, but I have ADD when it comes to casual reading.
 
DrWily said:
Been playing SWTOR.... I swore off MMOs but this game plays like a single player game with friends, which I find highly enjoyable. Loved Mass Effect 1&2 and this is pretty damn near similar.

I also want to work out and develop a habitual training regime that I can continue into school. Would like to read some books, but I have ADD when it comes to casual reading.
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man i need to do this, i just can't get my ass off the couch to do so. Don't get me wrong, I still try to workout, but all these people that think running is a hobby? Running is hard work and not fun at all. Exercise sucks.
 
Don't get me wrong, I hate cardio with a passion.

I'm just going to do olympic lifts and get really huge. Really fat, but really huge :laugh:👍
 
FrkyBgStok said:
man i need to do this, i just can't get my ass off the couch to do so. Don't get me wrong, I still try to workout, but all these people that think running is a hobby? Running is hard work and not fun at all. Exercise sucks.
Click to expand...

Most exercise sucks. The only way I enjoy it is when I bury it in an activity I like, I.e tennis. I forget that I am getting my exercise in. Weightlifting is easy for me to do.
 
Postal said:
I think all who have been accepted and have plenty of time going to med school should do two things:

1. Read all those books you said you were going to read but never got around to doing
2. Develop a work out regime if you don't have one already. Med school requires a lot of sitting and all that inactivity sucks.
Click to expand...

I've been wanting to do this, but I can't find the book I want to read since I packed it up and moved last year, and I refuse to buy it again, knowing that I have it. 😡

I've also been reviewing Spanish, which is probably more productive, anyway.
 
DrWily said:
Don't get me wrong, I hate cardio with a passion.

I'm just going to do olympic lifts and get really huge. Really fat, but really huge :laugh:👍
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LOL. You gotta do it! That, or eat really healthy. I ran two and a half miles after a big leg workout two days ago (then ran another couple of miles yesterday). I can barely waddle around fast enough at work here in the ED. Bad move on my part.

I've been meaning to get started on my book list, but I promised my gf I'd finish "The 5 Love Languages" for her first and I just... can't... seem.. to get motivated to finish it. AMIRITE?
 
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ManBroDude said:
I've been meaning to get started on my book list, but I promised my gf I'd finish "The 5 Love Languages" for her first and I just... can't... seem.. to get motivated to finish it. AMIRITE?
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Tell her you'll finish it if you get to pick out the next book she reads. Once she agrees, then pick up the nearest Kama Sutra book you can find at your local bookstore. 👍👍👍
 
DrWily said:
Tell her you'll finish it if you get to pick out the next book she reads. Once she agrees, then pick up the nearest Kama Sutra book you can find at your local bookstore. 👍👍👍
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LOL. Listen to Wily... he is a bad, but wise man.
 
I will be traveling a lot in these 6 months

Feb: Miami for a bachelorette party
March: Vegas with my girls
April: Hawaii (Maui)
May and June: Asia trip: Japan, HK, TW, Shanghai, Beijing

Other than that: full time job, work out, hang out with friends.
 
CopToEM said:
How do you like it? My university has a terrible Spanish department and after a year of Spanish I switched over to French to keep my sanity. I tried Rosetta Stone many years ago and liked it but didn't get terribly far into it.
Click to expand...

Personally, I really like it. It's fun and interactive and does teach you a lot. The lessons can get repetitive but I've learned that repetition is key when you want to be able to recall something later, especially when you don't have a picture in front of you to describe something that's going on. I got German a few years ago and didn't get very far into it as well but with the new versions you get audio tapes of the lessons. I put all of the tapes onto my iPod and listen to them on my way to/from work. This is where I think I do most of my long-term memorizing. The lessons on the computer introduces you to the words but unless you're exposing yourself to the words again and again, they won't stick until about the 4th or 5th time. After you get the vocabulary, it takes even longer to understand and get used to the grammar. This is where the tapes really come in handy. I've listened to the entire series (up to where I'm at in the lessons) several times and each time I have an "aha!" moment. So although I don't anticipate being fluent by the time I finish all 5 levels, I'm confident I will be able to understand enough and have a great foundation for reading children's books and listening to Spanish television which will take my comprehension and recall skills to another level.
 
DrWily said:
Tell her you'll finish it if you get to pick out the next book she reads. Once she agrees, then pick up the nearest Kama Sutra book you can find at your local bookstore. 👍👍👍
Click to expand...

There are so many wrong things I could say about the name of her next book...

Would The Joy of Cooking be fair? :laugh:
 
Jeez, I'm starting to feel like a BeachBody rep since this is the third time I've pushed this..

A lot of people are talking about wanting to get into a workout regimen. One of the hardest things, I think, about doing this is

A) not having enough motivation or confidence to go to a gym and workout

and

B) not having the equipment to do so.

I started doing insanity a few weeks ago. The workout is simply awesome. The first few times really sucked - I could *barely* make it out of the warm up. Now I can easily blast through that, and the feeling of accomplishment honestly makes working out something I now look forward to each day. If you are serious about wanting to get into shape (don't feed into the hype, you more than likely aren't going to get 'ripped' doing this), I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

(and no, I'm not a beachbody coach pushing this for a profit.)

http://www.amazon.com/INSANITY-60-D...1RS6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326852998&sr=8-1
 
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2 years of fitness sales experience here: Not everyone has the same body compositions, finances, or even fitness goals, so pushing what subjectively worked with you doesn't carry a lot of weight for people who may have chronic conditions like joint issues, obesity, etc.

Nutrition has twice as much to do with weight loss than painful workouts do (no beer, cheese, simple carbs, etc). The most important goal is setting a reasonable goal in a reasonable time frame , creating a proven plan with the help of internet resources or a trainer, and STICK WITH IT.

A great starting point to get FREE info and motivation for this would be www.reddit.com/r/fitness

Toytles: I would be sleeping on the couch for so long if I pulled that number. :laugh: (She's actually in great shape and works out with me regularly, so it's not really an issue). She can't cook worth crap though.
 
bajastapler said:
cocaine!!!! at least once 😉 haha jk

i'd travel if i were you. gl!
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Cocaine is a helluva drug, but please seek help. Don't OD before becoming a DO.

DrWily said:
Don't get me wrong, I hate cardio with a passion. I'm just going to do olympic lifts and get really huge. Really fat, but really huge :laugh:👍
Click to expand...

I would love to lift more like I used to, but my wrist injury is only about 80% healed. Just sticking with core stuff like pull-ups and some lighter weights.

FrkyBgStok said:
mcat study material. i was going to sell it but i said screw that i am gonna burn it all up.
Click to expand...

I don't think burning TBR books would be a good idea. Resale value is way too high. Kaplan, on the other hand, is fair game.

MrNovember said:
I am bored out of my mind waiting for school to start. Everyone is saying to "enjoy time off" but it's kind of hard to do that right now. Unsure about where I'm going to school, which makes it hard to start relationships and hard to make any sort of plan for the future. 6 more LONG months.
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Bored out of your mind? I should set something you love on fire. That should bring some excitement into your life. Maybe not the excitement you had in mind, but excitement nonetheless.

FrkyBgStok said:
Agreed. I would love to do nothing until school starts. unfortunately, my wife and kids would be pissed when they haven't been eating anything but ramen noodles after a few weeks.
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WHAT?! I'll have you know that ramen is an EXCELLENT source of nutrition. As a matter of fact, in the 1700s, when sailors traveled to new, unexplored continents, the crew aboard ships that carried ramen survived because the beneficial preservatives in the seasoning packet not only nourished the body, but preserved their organs for the long journey.

As for those complaining about preservatives causing cancer, you can rest assured: cancer didn't exist back then.
 
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