Ask LizzyM Anything 2013 edition

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Ahh, Ask LizzyM (Almost) Anything. Some of the best answers to some of the weirdest questions...and I know we are all very appreciative. Reading the 2011 and 2012 editions last winter, prior to my application season, helped immensely with my application. I am sure there are hundreds of students in medical school who wouldn't have made it there without your advice.

I do have a question for you, LizzyM. But it is rather personal, so I will message it to you most likely.
 
I'm sorry if this question has already been asked. What is the intention behind asking where else you have been interviewed/accepted? This feels like it's almost a standard question in MD/PhD interviews but I have also gotten them in MD interviews. It's always such an awkward conversation with me trying to be as vague as possible.
 
In another thread @gyngyn said that the deadline for holding multiple acceptances has been moved from May 15 to April 30 by the AAMC. If this is true, what do you think of this change? Edit: apparently it's confirmed for the 2014-2015 cycle.

Thanks for answering so many questions!
 
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lalaland123 said:
posted this in a thread, but hopefully you can reply too:

My prof wrote me a letter and then asked me to look over it.

I know that adcoms looking for hidden insinuations and you cant use tricky language.

she used a couple of phrases which I am thinking of re-phrasing

Also, is it a compliment if she says, "....was one of the better students in my class..." doesn't that have slightly negative connotations?

Also, there's a lot of mention of whats on my CV and i feel not as much about my interpersonal skills. is that how it should be? I cant really ask her to praise me more about how confident, passionate, blah blah i am...

What are your opinions?
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@lalaland123
"one of the better..." doesn't sounds as good as "one of the best", but what can you do?

You might mention that reiterating what is in your CV is not helpful to the adcom and we much prefer what your LOR writer has observed about you including your confidence, collegiality, language/communication skills, etc.
 
I devote most of my time to research so I am wondering if you think the following are atleast average for those matriculating at 1) research focused and 2) primary care focused schools. I am only really worried about the primary care schools looking at this negatively because my in-state institution has a major primary care focus and though I'd love to go OOS, I'd prefer to stay in-state.

1) ~50 hours shadowing various primary care and specialties, ~60 hours volunteer at a hospital (over 6 mo.), and a semester-long ER Internship where the interns shadow ER doctors and help with clinical research for a semester be considered a good amount of experience provided that the applicant can speak well to their experiences?

2) For nonclinical volunteer experience I have ~30 hours YMCA volunteer over 3 months; other small things here and there including tutoring but not significant to put on the app.

I am confident I have learned a lot from my experiences but I don't want to be judged negatively pre-interview due to low number of hours volunteering etc. Do you reccomend more volunteer work, clinical or nonclinical?
 
wiloghby said:
Ahh, Ask LizzyM (Almost) Anything. Some of the best answers to some of the weirdest questions...and I know we are all very appreciative. Reading the 2011 and 2012 editions last winter, prior to my application season, helped immensely with my application. I am sure there are hundreds of students in medical school who wouldn't have made it there without your advice.

I do have a question for you, LizzyM. But it is rather personal, so I will message it to you most likely.
Click to expand...
@wiloghby PM me anytime.
 
Dear LizzyM

Full tuition (haven't experienced debt yet, how bad is 120k loan) or happier environment/better rotations?

Thanks & Merry Xmas
 
TheShaker said:
I'm sorry if this question has already been asked. What is the intention behind asking where else you have been interviewed/accepted? This feels like it's almost a standard question in MD/PhD interviews but I have also gotten them in MD interviews. It's always such an awkward conversation with me trying to be as vague as possible.
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@TheShaker
I don't ask that question and no one I know at my school asks it so I'm not sure why some schools find that to be a useful question, particularly if applicants waffle and refuse to answer forthrightly. I think that some schools want to see if they have a shot or if you've already been admitted to a school that would be most likely to be your first choice. I suspect that schools are trying to improve their yield by taking only those students who seem to have no other choice or who have only "lesser" choices. That can be a self-defeating strategy in my opinion but to each their own.
 
SN12357 said:
In another thread @gyngyn said that the deadline for holding multiple acceptances has been moved from May 15 to April 30 by the AAMC. If this is true, what do you think of this change? Edit: apparently it's confirmed for the 2014-2015 cycle.

Thanks for answering so many questions!
Click to expand...
@SN12357
Well, here are the current "traffic rules" for this cycle. I'm taking it one cycle at a time. I don't really care as my job is done by mid-March when our offers/waitlist/decline list is settled. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/recommendations/applicants/
 
At your school what do you look for someone pursuing MD/PHD? Would two years of research suffice? The research would be independent research, but due to bad luck no publications or posters. With a strong letter from a PI would this suggice as a MD/PHD for your school along with high stats?
 
LizzyM, thanks for answering all these questions.

I took a full gap year to make money to pay off my loans and to be able to help my parents make some money. I graduated from a top 5 school but my parents needed major help and so I worked 80 hours a week at a job unrelated to medicine. Otherwise I have plenty of research and clinical expletive. I just could not afford to apply or take a low paying research job that year. Is this a valid reason for a gap year and will this hurt me?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Si Se Puede said:
I devote most of my time to research so I am wondering if you think the following are atleast average for those matriculating at 1) research focused and 2) primary care focused schools. I am only really worried about the primary care schools looking at this negatively because my in-state institution has a major primary care focus and though I'd love to go OOS, I'd prefer to stay in-state.

1) ~50 hours shadowing various primary care and specialties, ~60 hours volunteer at a hospital (over 6 mo.), and a semester-long ER Internship where the interns shadow ER doctors and help with clinical research for a semester be considered a good amount of experience provided that the applicant can speak well to their experiences?

2) For nonclinical volunteer experience I have ~30 hours YMCA volunteer over 3 months; other small things here and there including tutoring but not significant to put on the app.

I am confident I have learned a lot from my experiences but I don't want to be judged negatively pre-interview due to low number of hours volunteering etc. Do you reccomend more volunteer work, clinical or nonclinical?
Click to expand...
@Si Se Puede
I know nothing about the primary care focused schools.
Why do you spend the majority of your time doing research? Do you want to do research while in med school? in residency? in a fellowship?
Are you interested in a career in primary care? if so, you might want to do things that put you in face-to-face contact with the public, answering questions, being of service in any way you can, providing instructions or explanations. This could be in an employment setting or as a volunteer and this is why primary care focused schools might be looking for applicants with experiences as volunteers or in service related employment.
If you don't want to do primary care, you may not be a good fit with a school where this is a focus as you may be frustrated in attempts to get the types of experiences you need to qualify for the kind of residency you'll want to propel you toward the type of fellowship training you'll need to reach your goal.
 
Skyforever said:
Dear LizzyM

Full tuition (haven't experienced debt yet, how bad is 120k loan) or happier environment/better rotations?

Thanks & Merry Xmas
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@Skyforever
Is the happier environment and better rotations worth borrowing $120K in order to purchase? Seek out a calculator that will determine your monthly payments given the interest rate and the number of years you'll defer payments while you are in training. Does your future self want to pay $x monthly so your present self can attend a school that seems to be more to your liking? I can 't answer this questions for you, only you can answer for yourself.

Edit: now I'm not sure I've answered this correctly... is the "full tuition" a full tuition scholarship? otherwise, I'm not sure your question makes sense.
Only reply if I've misinterpreted the question
 
My question is regarding volunteering, particularly non-medical volunteering.
I'm a non-traditional student, will be 40y/o during the interview season, and have two teenagers who have lived with me nearly full time since their mother and I divorced in 2003. As a result my time is in much higher demand than even that of most non-trad's and fitting volunteering time in is nearly impossible. I have spent countless hours volunteering with the schools and after school activities that my children were involved in but I don't really have documentation of hours and contact info for most of it.
I have been planning on lumping it all under one EC slot on the application and using one of the "most significant experience" slots to describe it in more detail, Does that seem reasonable or would there be a better way to handle this?

I also founded and was president of a drag racing organization here in the Portland OR area for several years prior to returning to school. The program was more of a club than a business, nobody ever made any money from it and all my time was donated for the love of the sport/program. It is clearly not volunteering to help the under served but it felt like more than just a hobby...your thoughts?
 
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23premes said:
LizzyM, thanks for answering all these questions.

I took a full gap year to make money to pay off my loans and to be able to help my parents make some money. I graduated from a top 5 school but my parents needed major help and so I worked 80 hours a week at a job unrelated to medicine. Otherwise I have plenty of research and clinical expletive. I just could not afford to apply or take a low paying research job that year. Is this a valid reason for a gap year and will this hurt me?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
@23premes

I suspect that a clinical expletive is a autocorrect.... anyway, an adcom might wonder why you are responsible for your parents debts and whether you are really serious about medicine given that you took a year off to work in a field unrelated to medicine. Also if it was a highly renumerative field, they might question whether you are going into medicine first and foremost because it pays well but without any interest in using medical science to treat the sick and advise those who wish to maintain their good health.

Just be sure that your "why medicine" essay leaves no doubts and that you have a reason for working as you did rather than continuing through to med school.
 
LizzyM said:
I've not seen your application with that EC. My loss.

(That earlier one wasn't a joke...)
Click to expand...

Oh, I was just kidding around. Was the applicant (if you allowed to disclose) a veteran or on active duty? That does sound really cool.
 
WaterPog said:
My question is regarding volunteering, particularly non-medical volunteering.
I'm a non-traditional student, will be 40y/o during the interview season, and have two teenagers who have lived with me nearly full time since their mother and I divorced in 2003. As a result my time is in much higher demand than even that of most non-trad's and fitting volunteering time in is nearly impossible. I have spent countless hours volunteering with the schools and after school activities that my children were involved in but I don't really have documentation of hours and contact info for most of it.
I have been planning on lumping it all under one EC slot on the application and using one of the "most significant experience" slots to describe it in more detail, Does that seem reasonable or would there be a better way to handle this?

I also founded and was president of a drag racing organization here in the Portland OR area for several years prior to returning to school. The program was more of a club than a business, nobody ever made any money from it and all my time was donated for the love of the sport/program. It is clearly not volunteering to help the under served but it felt like more than just a hobby...your thoughts?
Click to expand...
@WaterPog
Listing your volunteering with your kids' schools seems completely reasonable.
List the drag racing thing as a hobby.
 
How bad does a 7 in VR screw me if my MCAT score is ok overall and if everything is else is ace on my app and I apply early?
 
LizzyM said:
@23premes

I suspect that a clinical expletive is a autocorrect.... anyway, an adcom might wonder why you are responsible for your parents debts and whether you are really serious about medicine given that you took a year off to work in a field unrelated to medicine. Also if it was a highly renumerative field, they might question whether you are going into medicine first and foremost because it pays well but without any interest in using medical science to treat the sick and advise those who wish to maintain their good health.

Just be sure that your "why medicine" essay leaves no doubts and that you have a reason for working as you did rather than continuing through to med school.
Click to expand...

Thanks LizzyM. I wasnt responsible for my parents debt but chose to help them because I could. I have 5 younger siblings and if I took a low income research job I wouldn't be able to help them. My parents make less than 30k a year so I chose to help them because I could. Would it be bad if that was my explanation so long as I still showed commitment to medicine through my other activities and made it clear otherwise in my PS


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
theA1doctor said:
How bad does a 7 in VR screw me if my MCAT score is ok overall and if everything is else is ace on my app and I apply early?
Click to expand...

You can figure this out on your own looking through the MSAR... 7 is below the bottom 10th percentile at essentially every allopathic medical school. You should probably retake with more emphasis on VR than you did previously.
 
All else being equal, which section of the MCAT would you like to see the highest score in? Does it matter, or do you only consider the overall score?

Are you a cat person or a dog person?
 
rudziutki said:
You can figure this out on your own looking through the MSAR... 7 is below the bottom 10th percentile at essentially every allopathic medical school. You should probably retake with more emphasis on VR than you did previously.
Click to expand...

Retaking will only hurt me. Its more likely that I lose my 12 in PS than have my VR go up. I have entertained the possibility of a retake, but I can't justify retaking it, because its too risky
 
23premes said:
Thanks LizzyM. I wasnt responsible for my parents debt but chose to help them because I could. I have 5 younger siblings and if I took a low income research job I wouldn't be able to help them. My parents make less than 30k a year so I chose to help them because I could. Would it be bad if that was my explanation so long as I still showed commitment to medicine through my other activities and made it clear otherwise in my PS


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
@23premes You'll have to see... I really can't predict what adcoms will do. There may be adcoms who wonder what your priorities are and if you would step away from medical school to help your family and if your family is really supportive of your attendance at medical school or if they'd rather you go straight to work, particularly since it seems that you have been able to get a very financially rewarding job right out of college.
 
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Zelda840 said:
All else being equal, which section of the MCAT would you like to see the highest score in? Does it matter, or do you only consider the overall score?

Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Click to expand...
@Zelda840
I really only look at total score and I don't like a subscore < 8.
I'm allergic to cats. I do like dogs but don't have one.
 
How much attention do you think ADCOMs pay to Most Meaningful Experience essays in comparison to Personal Statements?
 
steelersfan1243 said:
At your school what do you look for someone pursuing MD/PHD? Would two years of research suffice? The research would be independent research, but due to bad luck no publications or posters. With a strong letter from a PI would this suffice as a MD/PHD for your school along with high stats?
Click to expand...

I don't have responsibility for MD/PhD admissions. I know that they like lots of research and, ideally, one or more publications. A LOR from your PI is essential as are high stats. A skill set that would be of use in one or more labs at our school or any area of expertise related to work being done here would help the idea being that you could hit the ground running when you matriculate.
 
Sorry, I meant full tuition scholarship. I was hoping to see if you have any experiences with anyone regretting taking the full tuition scholarship over happier environment and better rotations.

Totally a personal decision, but a difficult one!

LizzyM said:
@Skyforever
Is the happier environment and better rotations worth borrowing $120K in order to purchase? Seek out a calculator that will determine your monthly payments given the interest rate and the number of years you'll defer payments while you are in training. Does your future self want to pay $x monthly so your present self can attend a school that seems to be more to your liking? I can 't answer this questions for you, only you can answer for yourself.

Edit: now I'm not sure I've answered this correctly... is the "full tuition" a full tuition scholarship? otherwise, I'm not sure your question makes sense.
Only reply if I've misinterpreted the question
Click to expand...
 
seals44 said:
If I have relatively solid GPA/MCAT numbers, ~800 hours of research, ~500 hours of work in a clinical setting, 200 hours clinical volunteering, TA positions, club leadership roles, etc, is 13 credits per semester a red flag? I came into college with a quite a few credits already, so I can do 13 per semester and still graduate on time. I'm just worried that this will be a huge red flag, especially because I had one 13 credit semester with bad performance.
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@seals44
Your gpa will be judged with your course load taken into consideration. There are applicants who seem to do as much as you are doing and carrying 17 credits. Do what you think is best for you in terms of balancing everything you want to accomplish and how that the low number of credits per term is overlooked.
 
LizzyM, what are your pros and cons for students who do HPSP? Would you recommend it to anybody?
Edit: I already read the pros and cons on the military medicine section, but the info is from like 2000 and it turned into a debate.
 
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jobfirequestion said:
Hi LizzyM,

Kind of an awkward question right now. I've been accepted to a DO school already and I was soo excited about matriculating in the fall, but a few days ago I received an interview invitation after being on hold at a really great MD school that would also be less expensive. <snip>
If there is any way that (if you answer this) you could only quote the first paragraph I would really appreciate it. I hope to delete identifying information after.

Any advice?
Click to expand...
@jobfirequestion
You needed a job. You were hired at this job and you love it. You could say, "this job came along and I just love it." Unless you asked outright why you left the first job, don't bring it up. If you are asked, you could go with, "that job just wasn't a good fit for me; the administration told me in advance that they could not give me any time off for interviews so I'm glad this more flexible position came along." Not exactly the way it went down but if your former employer were contacted, they would corroborate your story and that would be good.
 
NuttyEngDude said:
How do you take your coffee or tea? Any favorite brands? Are you a Keurig cup fan? Merry Christmas!
Click to expand...
@NuttyEngDude
Tea: black or with sugar or with milk and sugar (depending on where I am).
Coffee: with milk, or with sugar, or black (depending on where I am and time of day)
Favorite Brand: Bustelo (an espresso marketed to Latinos)
Keurig cups just seem so damaging to the environment -- all that packaging waste! I can see the ease and convenience in places like real estate offices where you want to offer a client a variety of hot beverages at a moment's notice but for homes I just don't see the point. I use a pour through cone with a paper filter and a whistling tea kettle to boil the water and it works just fine without a lot of waste or a special machine.
 
Captain Sisko said:
wanted to stop by and say thanks for being a good resource. I've had a pretty successful application season, in part thanks to advice from users like yourself. One question though: did you interview me back in october?

Edit: nvm. I was interviewed by an Elizabeth M but I'm pretty sure it wasn't you.
Click to expand...
@Captain Sisko
I'm pretty sure it wasn't me because my name is not Elizabeth. 😉
 
Carl Seitan said:
I always imagined that you look like Judi Dench when reading your posts. Can you confirm/deny this?

Is it common for DOs to teach at MD schools?
Click to expand...
@Carl Seitan
I wish I had her cleavage. 😉 On the bright side, I'm not nearly as gray and I have a US accent.

I have known 2 DOs who have taught at my med school (there may be more that I've never worked with). I don't know if that is what you'd call "common".
 
let's say i want to strengthen my application for a competitive residency or fellowship (cardiology,derm, ortho etc), when would be a good time to take a research year? Between 2nd and 3rd? Between 3rd and 4th if you're still not sure what you want to do (to get a good feel for your options in rotations)? If we're talking about cardiology, would you do it between residency and fellowship?
 
Hello LizzyM,

How does your school and schools of similar caliber look upon a student who spends his whole summer (about 3 months) preparing for the MCAT and not doing much else? Would you look upon it unfavorably since he didn't do anything like research or study abroad? Does taking time off to really focus on the MCAT look bad in the eyes of adcoms?
 
Funke said:
Happy holidays, LizzyM!

1) The only place willing to let me shadow nearby is the children's hospital. I do have a huge interest in pediatrics, so is this sufficient shadowing or do I need to try and contact privately employed physicians?

2) I shadowed the Infectious Disease physician at the children's hospital, who is also Professor of Pediatrics and the Dean of Curriculum at the medical school I want to go to. He offered to write me a letter of recommendation, but it is a year and a half before I will apply. Can I ask for it now and just hang on to a physical copy? I'm not sure how letters of rec work in the application process.

3) Is EMT work looked upon as valuable medical experience, or are they too common to give me an advantage?

4) I know this has been asked in a couple different ways, but I am really only considering one school here in my hometown, because my wife LOVES her job here. It's what she was meant to do, and it is a very unique thing she couldn't do somewhere else. How much should I emphasize this in my interview as one reason why I want to go to this school?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
@Funke
1) Do you feel you know enough about the practice of medicine by shadowing only in a hospital. Do you know what proportion of clinical care is delivered in the ambulatory setting? Are you getting an opportunity to shadow in ambulatory care clinics in both primary care and specialty care or only on the hospital wards? You need to be sure you know enough about a career in pediatrics to know that you would be happy doing that work. Do you know enough having shadowed only in a children's hospital?
2) What has he seen you do? If all he can really say is that you show up on time, appear to have bathed, and stand as quietly as a shadow, then you don't have much of a recommendation. If he has had you do little things (fetching or carrying -- not clinical things) or showed you how to read an x-ray or a TB test and then had you do the next one while he watched and commented to you then the letter my have a bit more substance.
You could thank him now and let him know that you will be in touch. then stay in touch by email updating him ever 4-6 months about what you've been doing. When the time comes, ask him to submit his letter about you to the AMCAS file. you will have stayed in touch so the letter will say that he met you x years ago and that you were with him shadowing and that you have subsequently stayed in touch. It will be a recent letter rather than a stale one written by someone who had only known you for a short time.
3) Working as an EMT is a big plus. Just doing the training & not using it does not help at all. (Not that you were asking; I'm just saying.)
4) Why should a school care that your wife loves her job and couldn't do her job anywhere else. With as many applicants as they have for that school, are you such a hot prospect that they should want to hear that you really want to go there. Will that increase the likelihood that they will offer you admission? Might they fear that you would pick a "better" (higher ranked, cheaper, whatever) school over their school unless they knew how much you really needed to be admitted there?

At first I couldn't quite put myself in your shoes but then I imagined a city like Albany NY with only one med school and, perhaps, jobs in State politics/government that just wouldn't be transferable elsewhere. So, how I'd play this if my spouse had a job that tied me to the region and I really needed to be admitted to one specific school would be to emphasize in the interview that I like specific things about the school and why the school is a good fit for my learning style, my experiences, the type of medical practice I want to have (academic, primary care, etc), and that I just love the ___ area and my spouse and I have put down roots here and we have a support network here of family and/or friends and it would be ideal for me to establish myself here as a medical student and later as a physician. That might work!
 
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Hello LizzyM,

I've looked at several med schools' websites and some schools weren't very clear about their math requirement. Generally, is it okay to just take one semester of Calc I and one semester of Stats? Will that fulfill requirements at most schools, and will that work for your school?

Thanks and Merry Christmas! 🙂
 
Meredith92 said:
I have been accepted to a school very close to my family and near my SO-- it is "top twenty" and was one of my favorite interview experiences. I loved the students and felt like it was a great fit. I honestly think I would be happiest there out of any school. In March, I will be hearing back from several schools in the "top five," many of which are much farther from home and seem to have a bit more of a competitive atmosphere. I know I have not yet been accepted to these top five yet, but if I am, I don't know what I would do. Do you think choosing a #20 vs a #1 school would have any significant impact on my career? My gut tells my I'll be a great doctor/researcher at either place and I should choose where I feel happiest. However, I do not want to regret this decision later in life. What would you do? Thank you and happy holidays!!
Click to expand...
@Meredith92
Throw away the rankings. Once you have your offers, make a list with the names of the schools across the top and a list of the factors that were important to you along the left side of the page and then put +, ++, +++ and - signs in the corresponding cells with regard to how you assessed each school on each quality. It will be obvious which should be your top choice. The qualities that each person looks for in a school and how highly they value each is a very personal decision. Someone with multiple offers should be smart enough to know what they are looking for and how each school stacks up.
 
Kinch said:
Hi LizzyM, thanks again for doing this, what is the ideal amount of post interview correspondence for those who were not quickly accepted or rejected afterwards? I was planning an update letter for all and a letter of interest for the few at the top of my list. I know you don't think much of letters of intent, and you have encouraged keeping in contact. I guess I'm just looking for enough contact without being either annoying or desperate.
Click to expand...

I would recommend a thank you letter as soon as possible after the interview unless you were specifically told not to send one. It can't hurt.
Send an up-date whenever you have new grades to report, or a publication accepted for publication, or you win an award. You can just say, " I received some good news today: .... I do hope to receive some good news from Bigdeal College of Medicine in the weeks ahead." That's enough for them to see that you are still interested and havn't been so excited about being admitted to Exceptional Medical School that you have forgotten all about the other school.
 
Gauss44 said:
How much attention do you think ADCOMs pay to Most Meaningful Experience essays in comparison to Personal Statements?
Click to expand...
@Gauss44
This is what makes the admissions process a crapshoot. Some adcom members put their efforts into reading the most meaningful experience essays and others focus on the Personal Statement. Your job is to make both compelling but not redundant.
 
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