Hello everyone I need some advice regarding attending 8th National Pre-Medical and Pre-public health conference at UC Davis. I received an e-mail from Kaplan regarding this conference today and I started thinking about attending it. Its basically a conference about the entire application process and it looks pretty interesting. Now I live in Chicago and the cost to fly there and stay overnight will be $400. Since I am applying in July 2011 I think I could use this kind of information, but I have a vague idea of how the entire process is talking to friends. It sounds pretty fun/ exciting/ informational, but I cannot decide if I will really benefit from this considering the amount of money I will be spending. Any advice/ comments from people who have previously attended is highly appreciated!!!
8th National AMSA ARC/UCD Pre-Medical and Pre-Public Health Conference
- Thread starter annmarie
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You can figure out everything you need from looking around on this forum for a few days. Free too. But if you don't feel like doing that, then I guess it wouldn't hurt.
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I attended last year and plan on going again this year but it is very convenient for me to attend. I, personally, got a lot out of it last year. There are so many deans that go, and they were all very supportive and open to answering questions and giving out their emails for more questions. It really changed how I approached my junior year in terms of which activities to choose and what to focus on. For instance, one dean told me that good grades can make up for lacking EC's, however no amount of EC's can make up for bad grades. There are many good speakers, like the surgeon general etc., who speak on the current state and future of medicine (could be helpful in interviews).
I know that there is some free housing available and I would check that out if I were you. If it is feasible for you, I would recommend it, especially if you only vaguely understand the process now. You can pick and choose which workshops to go to based on where you are in your journey (topics range from basic prereq info to what to do if you don't get in) or on what info you think you need the most. Many of the deans themselves put on the workshops so the info is legit.
Hope that helps and good luck.
I know that there is some free housing available and I would check that out if I were you. If it is feasible for you, I would recommend it, especially if you only vaguely understand the process now. You can pick and choose which workshops to go to based on where you are in your journey (topics range from basic prereq info to what to do if you don't get in) or on what info you think you need the most. Many of the deans themselves put on the workshops so the info is legit.
Hope that helps and good luck.
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Why don't you register for their free webinars instead? Its free, convenient and informative. You could even ask question (the last one i attended at least). Here's a link http://www.kaptest.com/MCAT/Home/index.html
type in your zip code and you'll see all of the live free online events😎. Register for the Aug 23rd webinar w/ Dr.Houman Hemmati who... "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]will lead a comprehensive review of the medical school admissions process and the structure and scoring of the MCAT.* He'll teach you how to create a compelling application, including tips on personal statements and letters of recommendation." .
type in your zip code and you'll see all of the live free online events😎. Register for the Aug 23rd webinar w/ Dr.Houman Hemmati who... "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]will lead a comprehensive review of the medical school admissions process and the structure and scoring of the MCAT.* He'll teach you how to create a compelling application, including tips on personal statements and letters of recommendation." .
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Hey,
I went to that AMSA premed conference last year and I didn't find it as helpful as it seems. If you're going there for the info, I think that SDN along with other online resources would be sufficient if not better than the conference.
If you're from Chicago, and you'll need to spend that much money, I don't think it'll be worth it... The only plus about this is that you get to hear/talk with med school deans. I talked to a few of them, but the advice they gave me was pretty generic and can be found here.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to post it here and if I get the chance to go to that conference, I'll swing by and ask it for you.
I went to that AMSA premed conference last year and I didn't find it as helpful as it seems. If you're going there for the info, I think that SDN along with other online resources would be sufficient if not better than the conference.
If you're from Chicago, and you'll need to spend that much money, I don't think it'll be worth it... The only plus about this is that you get to hear/talk with med school deans. I talked to a few of them, but the advice they gave me was pretty generic and can be found here.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to post it here and if I get the chance to go to that conference, I'll swing by and ask it for you.
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I'm in California so going to this conference would cost me < $100 total. I was wondering if there are any good opportunities to network? Is there any chance to make a good impression on the Deans? Also, would it be worth it to go for me?
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I've been to these conferences way before they were at UCD. Let me tell you, they are interesting but will not be worth it if you are looking to gain information on the application process. AMSA/UCD-ARC was originated at ARC, trying to get community college students amped enough to apply to medical school. A lot of of the talks will be about how to get into medical school, writing your personal statement, medical student panel, etc. It won't be worth the money, unless you have money to burn and your not expecting much.
But you can make it a vacation by going to SF afterwards and spin the whole trip to be a semi-vacation =].
But you can make it a vacation by going to SF afterwards and spin the whole trip to be a semi-vacation =].
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"In the past eight years, the AMSA ARC/UCD Pre-Medical and Pre-Public Health Conference has grown from a local community-college event, attended by 231 students in 2003, to a national venue, hosting some 2,413 attendees at the University of California, Davis in 2009. The conference not only maintains its reputation for being the largest pre-medical gathering at an undergraduate institution, but it also stands as the only two-day event of its kind, supporting URM students interested in a career in medicine."
So for those who attended when it first started, I can see why you may have seen it as unimpressive. But it seems to have grown some bit...
http://www.amsaarcucd.org/
Take a look at the work shops and see if anything interests you.
http://www.amsaarcucd.org/flyer.pdf
So for those who attended when it first started, I can see why you may have seen it as unimpressive. But it seems to have grown some bit...
http://www.amsaarcucd.org/
Take a look at the work shops and see if anything interests you.
http://www.amsaarcucd.org/flyer.pdf
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I went last year and we had admission deans panels and open questioning, and half of the questions were "what is the average MCAT/GPA required to get into your school?" etc. At some point, one of the deans got really pissed off and said "I don't know if you've heard of it, but there's this book, called the MSAR, you should buy it, it has all of our statistics in it."
Anyway, it was a crowded, obnoxious gathering of premeds dressed in horrid interview attire trying to get into schools by talking to the deans 2 years before they apply 😕
However, I live close, most of my cost is subsidized by my student government (in other words, my own student fees lawl), and it's a good excuse to go party in Davis like we did last year 🙂. Plus, I'm hoping to run into some of the cool admissions deans that I've seen along the trail and remind them about myself haha!
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Bump. This year will be the 10th. http://www.amsaarcucd.org/
I wanted to know if going to the conference is worth the time and the money. I think it would be interesting to go, but I work during the weekend. Is this something that would benefit me in the long run?? Is anyone on here going?
I wanted to know if going to the conference is worth the time and the money. I think it would be interesting to go, but I work during the weekend. Is this something that would benefit me in the long run?? Is anyone on here going?
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Anyone??? I really would like to get some opinions on this.
