ask a MS2 student anything

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Better or worse than undergrad? Possible to have fun while balancing the workload?
 
Tell the hSDN community about the curriculum and explain it if you can🙂
 
What were your stats when you applied? How many schools did you apply to? How many interviews and acceptances did you get?
 
How did you improve yourself as a person throughout undergrad?
 
What extra classes during undergrad (like besides the basic bio 1+2, chem 1+2, ect...) do you recommend, if any?
 
I know you haven't started rotations yet, but:

What specialty are you leaning towards? And why?
 
adjet-Better or worse than undergrad? Possible to have fun while balancing the workload?
both actually, better because now I am learning EXACTLY what I want to learn. in undergrad you had to endure those classes where you were learning stuff you cared little for. Worse in the respect that most of your time is spent studying, in lab [for anatomy] or doing small group stuff. It IS possible to have fun but it depends on the person. I for one like to get a good routine down and then figure out where to slot in time for myself. You eventually get the hang of things and the volume just becomes the norm.

mr avante- Tell the hSDN community about the curriculum and explain it if you can
it wouldnt really do any justice as every school is different, sorry lol

marylandmatt- What were your stats when you applied? How many schools did you apply to? How many interviews and acceptances did you get?
32 on MCAT with a good GPA. applied to 4 [money reasons], interviewed at 3, got into 3


hillo- How did you improve yourself as a person throughout undergrad?
i tried to be balanced. I was a member of a few clubs but always made sure to have a "title" ie. something to put on a CV. I started a student association for my degree [bio-sci] as it never existed because no one would take on that much work. I dabbled as bouncer at a local bar and used it to explain that I can deal with people even at their worst. I did research for my orgo chem prof for 2 years [no publication but an awesome letter of recommendation]. Most importantly, I tried to meet as many people as possible....connections get you VERY far!

tolbery-What extra classes during undergrad (like besides the basic bio 1+2, chem 1+2, ect...) do you recommend, if any?
-any class that can do 1 of the following: wont murder your GPA [taking hard sciences classes that you DONT need to take doesnt make you look like a martyr....it just kills your gpa], that interests you [i took path in undergrad and loved every second of it] or that requires group work/presentations and no midterms/final [or they are take home, 4th year had lots of these courses and that boosted my GPA].

biobeaver- What specialty are you leaning towards? And why?
no clue yet. I know I dont want to do surgery [still a maybe actually], peds and OBGYN. All of these disciplines are really interesting and I have shadowed in them but they are just not for me.
 
Do you ever have free time to go to sporting events and hang out with friends?
 
How are the girls in med school compared to UG 😆
 
What makes you special enough to start a thread like this?
 
indianjatt said:
Such an ignorant comment. And I am assuming you do not know Jalby. He isn't pre-vet.
Click to expand...
I know Jalby isn't pre-vet, but go ahead and start flaming in your ignorant froth because, obviously, you can't perceive sarcasm and good jokes on the internet. Clod.👎
 
Mr Avante said:
I know Jalby isn't pre-vet, but go ahead and start flaming in your ignorant froth because, obviously, you can't perceive sarcasm and good jokes on the internet. Clod.👎
Click to expand...

apparently neither could I.
 
Mr Avante said:
I know Jalby isn't pre-vet, but go ahead and start flaming in your ignorant froth because, obviously, you can't perceive sarcasm and good jokes on the internet. Clod.👎
Click to expand...

I didn't pick up on your sarcasm either you need some work kid
 
not medically related but what was it like working as a bouncer? is it anything like in the movies? also how well did it pay?
 
the pay sucked but didnt mind because I worked with all of my friends.
It was life experience at its best. Every shift was something new and had different challenges. Some nights it was slow, but then at the end of the night someone would cause a problem and that changed the entire night. Other nights it was so damn busy and fights would break out every 5minutes; so you had to learn to keep your cool.
I wouldnt say its like the movies but then again working the front door can sometimes feel like it. Spotting and keeping the fake IDs would get you a free beer from the bar so that was always an incentive [I would go by height; it never lies...you would be surprised how often people neglect to look at the height of someone].
Ya there were times I got knives pulled on me, etc so that was always interesting.
Would I do it again? Nope. lol
Was it good experience? You bet!
 
Looking back, What do you wish you did differently in high school?
What would you look for in a college if you had to do it again?
What would you major in if you had to do it again?
 
I personally wish I would have tried harder to like beer in High School and joined a frat in college.
 
bopper said:
Looking back, What do you wish you did differently in high school?
What would you look for in a college if you had to do it again?
What would you major in if you had to do it again?
Click to expand...

This is a somewhat old thread, not sure if Fatalis still checks it and answers questions. But here's some of my own personal insight/experiences.

1) I went to one of those specialized magnet high schools for math and science in a large city, and as such, I had a relatively rigorous high school curriculum, with pretty high caliber classmates. There was much competition, and as everywhere, there were gunners, but I tended to avoid them. To give you a relatively comparative idea based on standardized tests; in my AP Biology class, about 75/80 kids would get a 5 on the AP Biology exam, with the remaining getting 4's. But even though I worked hard, I played hard too, I would frequently stay out in the city with friends late at night. This, added onto a 2.5 hour commute by subway every day, eventually culminated in 4 years of very little sleep. So do I have any regrets for high school besides the lack of sleep and the drowsy hours spent on the subway at 6 AM trying to review notes before an exam? Not really, I enjoyed life, I learned a lot and I made many friends. In fact, even the subway rides every day helped make me more adaptable and independent.

Would I have had an easier time at a local high school, sheltered by my parents and taking sub-par classes? Definitely. Would I have had more of a social life, and not have to be up at 5:30 AM every morning? Definitely. Do I regret any of it? Not really. Going from that high school to college, and adapting to the independence college grants you, along with the course rigor was almost simple. I met plenty of friends in college who were from smaller more local high schools, who had a tough time adjusting. It may have been somewhat their own fault, but it also probably has to do with their environment growing up.

2) What to look for in a college? Personally, I wouldn't choose anything too small or anything with a limited program of study. Medium-Large colleges with a healthy student population, good course work/programs of study, plenty of extracurricular opportunities would probably be a good goal depending on the person. And don't believe all the noise colleges make about their student-professor ratios. My favorite, most enjoyable class in undergrad was a Psych class, where the class size was over 1400 students, hosted in the largest concert auditorium on campus. It's not the size ratio that matters, it's the caliber of the professor, and how the course is taught. He made the class come alive, and even though it was 1400 students, it was still interactive and an overall amazing experience.

3) What to major in is definitely something very subjective to the individual. I have friends who changed their major 3 or 4 times in undergrad. One of my friends changed from Biology to Bio-Engineering his junior year and spent an extra year in undergrad, receiving 2 majors and 2 minors. But I also have friends that went in with one major, and enjoyed it immensely, and graduated in just 3 years.

It depends on your interests. Can you get into medical school being an Art History major? Definitely. You just need your Pre-requisite courses. If I had to do it over would I, personally, be an Art History major? Probably not, given my onset of sudden narcolepsy every time I walk into a museum. Major in something you're interested in, because those are probably the courses that you're going to want to work hard in; whether it's Anthropology, or Applied Engineering Physics.

College wise, I went to an Ivy and majored in Molecular Biology, took some ridiculously difficult courses, some of which I somewhat regret. If I had to do college over again, I probably would've taken some easier courses, enjoyed life a little more my freshman and sophomore years. Maybe join some more clubs that I was interested in instead of just doing clinical work, research, volunteering...etc, the pre-med bucket list. Don't get me wrong, it's important to do your research, your clinical volunteering, your shadowing, but it's just as important to join some non-medical clubs, have some fun and play some ultimate frisbee during that snowstorm because your friends thought it would be a great idea.

But course wise, it's all perspective. Were some of the advanced biology courses difficult and optional, definitely, but were they somewhat helpful in medical school? Definitely. I've personally always found subject matter easier to learn the 2nd or 3rd time around. Even if you didn't remember the exact purpose of Phosphofructokinase from Undergraduate Biochem, seeing it again in medical school would probably spark some of those old neurons, and make understanding the concepts easier.

In the end however, much of medical school admissions is based on your GPA. So should you take academically rigorous courses? Yes, but work hard and do well in them, because you can't have an easier time going through the material again, if you never got into medical school in the first place because of the 5 C's that one term in junior year.

Did taking upper level Bio courses help me on the MCAT or in med school? I would say it did, but is it necessary to major in it? Definitely not. (Though if a medical school is requiring or highly recommending that you take a course, like Biochem or Genetics, you should take it, even if you're an Art History major.)

Finally, on the note of majors/programs of study, make sure you do research on your college of choice if you have a set idea of what you want to do. I have a friend who turned down several acceptances because the Anthropology department was weak, and that was the only thing he was interested in studying in undergrad.
 
Last edited:
bopper said:
Looking back, What do you wish you did differently in high school?
What would you look for in a college if you had to do it again?
What would you major in if you had to do it again?
Click to expand...
I still check it, just not regularly
to answer your questions
1) nothing; high school was great and I sometimes catch myself missing it, high school marks dont matter anyway
2) decent class sizes, reputation, a place that suits me, etc
3) same thing, just maybe took more easier classes and had some better study habits sometimes
 
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