Chances for Bryn Mawr: Should I take the GRE for an extra boost?

[cheree cheree]

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[dipbk]

Bumping this up as I have the same q (and quite similar profile) myself

 

[Soco9087]

If you think you have time to study and do very well on the GRE go for. A good GRE won't hurt your chances. If you cant put in the time to study then do waste you time and money. Since it seems like you have a year before you apply? A year of relevant research experience would provide great experience and probably a nice letter of recommendation. Thought since you're working full time it might be hard.

 

[cheree cheree]

Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[darkjedi]

I would not bother with the GRE. Bryn Mawr would be far more interested to see your time spent doing medically related stuff and unique interests. Your GPA and SATs are within what Bryn Mawr accepts so a good GRE wouldn't really help you all that much. Spend some more time volunteering or shadowing.

I also didn't start accumulating significant medical experience until around Sept.

 

[cheree cheree]

Thank you! I just got a great volunteer position shadowing a nursing unit at a major hospital. I'm told I'll get the most exposure to patient care that way.

Are you enrolled in a postbac program now?


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[cheree cheree]

Darkjedi,

I now see your profile with current stats. Seems you're long past postbac and that Bryn Mawr was a good experience for you. Thanks again for your advice.

 

[yamssuck]

Hi Cheree,

I just finished up a structured 1-year post-bac this past year and came from a liberal arts college with a similar gpa & SAT (math was higher, verbal was lower). You should be fine for the next cycle if you start your volunteering/shadowing now - and yes, try to do both if you can manage it.

Did you take any science/math classes in undergrad? If so, how did you do? I ask because you will have to be able to convince the admission directors that you will be able to handle the workload. I had some friends that took community college math/science courses (not pre-req ones) and did well, which definitely helped their case for admission.

If you have any specific questions please feel free to PM me. Good luck!

 

[cheree cheree]

Yamssuck,

Thank you for sharing!

I took an intro college chemistry course pass/fail a couple of months ago (I'm 3 years out of undergrad). I took it to test my own capabilities. I hope it won't look bad that I did not take it for a letter grade... I was getting an A- but with working long hours, little time to study, etc., I didn't want to risk a bad mark on my record.

I'm starting a volunteer program that involves closely shadowing nurses and providing patient education at the bedside. I think this is appropriate as it will give me more exposure to patient care than most other volunteer positions. What do you think?

 

[ksyhe]

Hi Cheree,

I'm currently in BM's postbac program, and I had the same concern as you about taking math for a grade before I applied. Basically, I was terrified of math. I got a C in calculus back in high school, and avoided math-related courses all during college. But I ultimately decided to take calc for a grade, mostly to prove to myself that I could get an A in my worst subject (while working 60+ hours/week) before dropping my career and plunking down my life savings to start a new one... I figured that having a safety net like pass/fail wouldn't really be doing me any favors in the long run if I just didn't have the academic firepower.

Anyway, that was my primary motivation for taking it for a grade, if that makes sense. But as a bonus, it improved my GPA; and as Yamssuck mentioned, the question of handling the workload/academics came up at all my interviews -- and it was pretty satisfying to have my answer (and new transcript) ready to go. 🙂

Good luck!

 

[cheree cheree]

Well that's encouraging!

I'm nervous I'm not ready for calculus. I took math through precalculus in high school, but nothing since then. How'd you manage to jump right into calculus at this point? It all just comes flooding back?

 

[dipbk]

Well that's encouraging!

I'm nervous I'm not ready for calculus. I took math through precalculus in high school, but nothing since then. How'd you manage to jump right into calculus at this point? It all just comes flooding back?

I'm about to start my first math course since AP BC calc and AP stat (ie since 7 years ago). I think you might want to check out a precalc review book or hs textbook. I just borrowed Barron's pre calculus the easy way.

Actually if there isn't one already it'd be great to start up a thread on good review books for HS level maths and sciences.


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[ksyhe]

Well that's encouraging!

I'm nervous I'm not ready for calculus. I took math through precalculus in high school, but nothing since then. How'd you manage to jump right into calculus at this point? It all just comes flooding back?

Ha, that would have been amazing! But sadly, no. Like dipbk, I reviewed on my own before the class started. I'd recommend looking at Harvard Extension's online math placement tests: https://dceweb.harvard.edu/prod/gowmatn.taf (I didn't actually take them myself, just got a sense of where my big gaps in knowledge were. But taking them wouldn't be a bad idea if you have the time -- you'll probably just need to create a new login for each test you take). Then I used this site to brush up/relearn those topics: http://www.sosmath.com/index.html

And then supplemented with Khan Academy for when I really got confused: http://www.khanacademy.org/#browse

(Khan Academy was also great for explaining any concepts I didn't understand for the calculus class itself).

Also, I'm not sure if this is the case for most calc classes, but the first two of weeks of my class were mostly algebra/trig review anyway.

Good luck!

P.S. Here are a couple of other resources that folks at Bryn Mawr have recommended (wish I had known about them last year!)
http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/
http://www.math.com/students/practice.html

 

[cheree cheree]

Wow, thank you so much for your suggestions! I will definitely check out these links.

How are you liking the program so far?


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[dipbk]

Ha, that would have been amazing! But sadly, no. Like dipbk, I reviewed on my own before the class started. I'd recommend looking at Harvard Extension's online math placement tests: https://dceweb.harvard.edu/prod/gowmatn.taf (I didn't actually take them myself, just got a sense of where my big gaps in knowledge were. But taking them wouldn't be a bad idea if you have the time -- you'll probably just need to create a new login for each test you take). Then I used this site to brush up/relearn those topics: http://www.sosmath.com/index.html

And then supplemented with Khan Academy for when I really got confused: http://www.khanacademy.org/#browse

(Khan Academy was also great for explaining any concepts I didn't understand for the calculus class itself).

Also, I'm not sure if this is the case for most calc classes, but the first two of weeks of my class were mostly algebra/trig review anyway.

Good luck!

P.S. Here are a couple of other resources that folks at Bryn Mawr have recommended (wish I had known about them last year!)
http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/
http://www.math.com/students/practice.html

These are some awesome resources. Mind if I paste them into a new thread?


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[ksyhe]

These are some awesome resources. Mind if I paste them into a new thread?


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Sure, happy to share the knowledge. 🙂

Cheree, so far so good! The summer session was definitely intense (as you would expect), but it's kind of amazing the amount of chemistry we learned.