Class of 2015!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BWSTW]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I was going to take the mcat on the 30th but I'm pushing my date back to april 10th. My BS is decent, my VR is good but I need to keep in time, but my PS is bad, so gotta take a lot of time working on it and I just wasn't ready yet. I took a long break from hospital volunteering, got about 30 clinical hours in public health though (H1N1 clinics), but I'll probably go back to the hospital this weekend, I just wish I wasn't doing patient transporting anymore. I want to try something else, so I'll probably go in this week and talk to them. I need to start shadowing some more, I've only shadowed a medical examiner.

I'm so jealous! I would give anything to shadow a medical examiner, and that is the one thing I can't do here. They don't allow it out of "respect for the deceased." I understand that, but it is a learning experience for me, not a freak show. It's very frustrating!

 

[Longshanks]

I was going to take the mcat on the 30th but I'm pushing my date back to april 10th. My BS is decent, my VR is good but I need to keep in time, but my PS is bad, so gotta take a lot of time working on it and I just wasn't ready yet. I took a long break from hospital volunteering, got about 30 clinical hours in public health though (H1N1 clinics), but I'll probably go back to the hospital this weekend, I just wish I wasn't doing patient transporting anymore. I want to try something else, so I'll probably go in this week and talk to them. I need to start shadowing some more, I've only shadowed a medical examiner.

Shadowing isn't a big issue. If anything, maybe shadow someone dealing with living individuals. Other than that continue with your volunteering, probably more meaningful and helpful.

 

[Appless]

Shadowing isn't a big issue. If anything, maybe shadow someone dealing with living individuals. Other than that continue with your volunteering, probably more meaningful and helpful.

Actually shadowing is huge and if you dont have it can really hurt your app. If you get your shadowing through volunteering, research, or something else thats fine but you better have some of it or you will be at a somewhat disadvantage. Its one of those thigns that just expected will be in your app.

 

[faith2]

Please do not take offense.....I was just thinking I will be able to help class of 2015 since I am class of 2014. Wow this is amazing.


accepted 2014 UCF Go Army!!!!!

 

[Artimacia]

Please do not take offense.....I was just thinking I will be able to help class of 2015 since I am class of 2014. Wow this is amazing.


accepted 2014 UCF Go Army!!!!!

Congrats! I would like to go to UCF, my sister goes there for ROTC 🙂


Yea, I do have time to shadow, just need to find doctors willing to let me :-\

 

[RokKidA]

For those of you who were able to shadow a MD or DO physician, how did you get that opportunity? Was it through connections? telephone? email?

Since I have very limited connections I'm considering just emailing a bunch of random doctors in a nearby hospital and hoping one of them responds back, but I have no idea if this strategy would work at all.

 

[rHinO1]

For those of you who were able to shadow a MD or DO physician, how did you get that opportunity? Was it through connections? telephone? email?

Since I have very limited connections I'm considering just emailing a bunch of random doctors in a nearby hospital and hoping one of them responds back, but I have no idea if this strategy would work at all.

I work in a hospital so I asked 1 of the cooler docs I work with if I could shadow him. If you volunteer in a hospital you could do the same thing. A lot of doctors will let you if you approach them the right way.

I also shadowed a doctor through a program offered at my school. Check if your school has any programs like that, or maybe a pre-med club that has connections.

 

[Artimacia]

I work in a hospital so I asked 1 of the cooler docs I work with if I could shadow him. If you volunteer in a hospital you could do the same thing. A lot of doctors will let you if you approach them the right way.

I also shadowed a doctor through a program offered at my school. Check if your school has any programs like that, or maybe a pre-med club that has connections.

The doctor I shadowed was through a forensic anthropologist (my professor at the time). I'm thinking of emailing a whole bunch of doctors too since I don't have many other connections. At the hospital I volunteer at when I can, I actually don't see many doctors at all, but a lot of nurses. I even help transport patients around and I still hardly see any doctors (I see the most in the ER if any place)

 

[rHinO1]

The doctor I shadowed was through a forensic anthropologist (my professor at the time). I'm thinking of emailing a whole bunch of doctors too since I don't have many other connections. At the hospital I volunteer at when I can, I actually don't see many doctors at all, but a lot of nurses. I even help transport patients around and I still hardly see any doctors (I see the most in the ER if any place)

If you have trouble meeting doctors in the hospital then try e-mailing one that works there. Go to the hospital website and find the e-mail (they are listed for patients to find) of whatever type of doctor you are interested in, then e-mail him and say:

"Hello Dr.________, my name is _______ and I have volunteered in ________ hospital for _______ years/months. I am currently an undergraduate student and intend to apply to medical school this June. I am very interested in (insert doctors specialty). I am excited to learn more about (insert specialty) and would be grateful if you would allow me to shadow you."

 

[FlowRate]

If you have trouble meeting doctors in the hospital then try e-mailing one that works there. Go to the hospital website and find the e-mail (they are listed for patients to find) of whatever type of doctor you are interested in, then e-mail him and say:

"Hello Dr.________, my name is _______ and I have volunteered in ________ hospital for _______ years/months. I am currently an undergraduate student and intend to apply to medical school this June. I am very interested in (insert doctors specialty). I am excited to learn more about (insert specialty) and would be grateful if you would allow me to shadow you."

This is what sucks for me.. none of the hospital websites have emails for their docs =(.

 

[RokKidA]

At the hospital I volunteer at when I can, I actually don't see many doctors at all, but a lot of nurses. I even help transport patients around and I still hardly see any doctors (I see the most in the ER if any place)

Yes, this is exactly how it was when I volunteered in the ER. I swear one minute they are around to do paperwork and seconds later they are gone! There is no way to have a conversation with them, let alone ask to shadow.

If you have trouble meeting doctors in the hospital then try e-mailing one that works there. Go to the hospital website and find the e-mail (they are listed for patients to find) of whatever type of doctor you are interested in, then e-mail him and say:

"Hello Dr.________, my name is _______ and I have volunteered in ________ hospital for _______ years/months. I am currently an undergraduate student and intend to apply to medical school this June. I am very interested in (insert doctors specialty). I am excited to learn more about (insert specialty) and would be grateful if you would allow me to shadow you."

Thanks, this really helps a lot. Yeah, now all I have to do is go in stalker mode and find all the email addresses of the doctors online.

 

[rHinO1]

Also consider asking a couple nurses about which doctors might be good to shadow. The nurses usually know who is friendly & likes to teach (or another way to put it, they know who is not an a-hole).

 

[BlueElmo]

Popping in again.😀

 

[Artimacia]

If you have trouble meeting doctors in the hospital then try e-mailing one that works there. Go to the hospital website and find the e-mail (they are listed for patients to find) of whatever type of doctor you are interested in, then e-mail him and say:

"Hello Dr.________, my name is _______ and I have volunteered in ________ hospital for _______ years/months. I am currently an undergraduate student and intend to apply to medical school this June. I am very interested in (insert doctors specialty). I am excited to learn more about (insert specialty) and would be grateful if you would allow me to shadow you."

Yea, the doctors' emails aren't on my hospital's website, but this is a good email to use, thanks 🙂 It's not that I have trouble meeting them, it's just I can't find any around to meet haha!

 

[rHinO1]

Don't feel bad, I have worked with a lot of doctors the last 3 years and only a few take the time to say hi and talk a little. Most doctors are busy I guess. You might want to try getting some business cards around the hospital and checking them for e-mails/contact info. Usually they are at the reception desk in whatever clinic/area the doctor works. I'm not sure if e-mail would be there either, but it's worth checking.

 

[thamsenman]

2015, I hope you have a smooth ride.

Yet again, let me say how glad I am to be done with the application **** and dealing with those thousands of belligerent, entitled, self-righteous pre-meds who would sell their grandmothers into slavery for a medical school acceptance.

 

[Tatastrophy]

Just popping in for a minute to say that if the PSs I've edited are any indication, you 2015ers write some pretty fab PSs. Keep up the good work and maybe by this time next year you will be as awesome as 2014ers...but only maybe. 🙂

 

[FloatOn]

This is what sucks for me.. none of the hospital websites have emails for their docs =(.

Yea, the doctors' emails aren't on my hospital's website, but this is a good email to use, thanks 🙂 It's not that I have trouble meeting them, it's just I can't find any around to meet haha!

That does suck. I found email to be very convenient for both me and the doctors I shadowed. Do you have any friends who have followed doctors at the hospital and could introduce you? If the hospital is affiliated with a med school, you can contact a random med student and ask him/her to help you out.

 

[faith2]

hopefully you will be apart of the third class good luck

GO ARMY!!!!!!!!
ACCEPTED UCF 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats! I would like to go to UCF, my sister goes there for ROTC 🙂


Yea, I do have time to shadow, just need to find doctors willing to let me :-\

 

[RogueUnicorn]

hopefully you will be apart of the third class good luck

GO ARMY!!!!!!!!
ACCEPTED UCF 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!

you know you can do signatures automatically, right?

 

[Hoody]

you know you can do signatures automatically, right?

I was just gonna refer to your avatar.

 

[brooklynblunder]

hooooday

 

[RogueUnicorn]

dry ice makes me feel like a scientist

 

[brooklynblunder]

dry ice makes me feel like a scientist

put your finger in dry ice and pour ethanol in it

 

[RokKidA]

dry ice makes me feel like a scientist

fyi did you know that dry ice can burn skin even if you wear latex gloves? I had to learn that the hard way in the lab. 🙁

 

[Hoody]

hooooday

Im just chillin here on "standby". If I'm not "deployed" by tonight, then its off to work at the hospital I go.

So in the meantime, working on my 46G bowfront tank. Its still in the infancy stage though....salt is mixed, water is heated, lights are up, sand is in, filters are going. As soon as the water clears, I'll add live rock. In a month I hope to have my giant eyed squirrel fish in there.

Fishing as a hobby takes tons of time and patience. I think it should be counted as an EC. 👍

 

[Artimacia]

That does suck. I found email to be very convenient for both me and the doctors I shadowed. Do you have any friends who have followed doctors at the hospital and could introduce you? If the hospital is affiliated with a med school, you can contact a random med student and ask him/her to help you out.

Another thing that sucks about this area, no medical schools within 2-3 hours. I do know the Director of the Health Department for the county (although she's very busy and probably won't respond) maybe I can ask her about some doctors, but I figure I'll look for some local clinics.

 

[IndianVercetti]

artimacia, good luck on finding a doctor to shadow..

but regardless, you blow everyone away with your EC's, my goodness
you make all of us look bad
good job lol 👍

 

[whimsical]

artimacia, good luck on finding a doctor to shadow..

but regardless, you blow everyone away with your EC's, my goodness
you make all of us look bad
good job lol 👍

+1 Looking at people on this site makes me scared for my app!

 

[afugazzi]

Hey I was accepted to med school a year ago, but due to crazy (but good) circumstances it looks like this is my class!

 

[Myuu]

Apparently the Japanese like spam?

Dunno about that, but it sure is popular in Hawaii.

I happen to like spam, personally, but I am neither Japanese nor Hawaiian.

 

[BlueElmo]

By spam you mean the canned spam? I love spam!!

 

[Artimacia]

artimacia, good luck on finding a doctor to shadow..

but regardless, you blow everyone away with your EC's, my goodness
you make all of us look bad
good job lol 👍

Really? Haha, I look at people's apps all the time and get really nervous and feel like I wasted time doing nothing 🙁 I mean, I love what I've done and enjoy doing service, I just hate the loops we all have to jump through that make us feel like we have to do something or we won't get a chance, instead of wanting to do something for the sake of doing it, ya know what I mean?

 

[Appless]

Really? Haha, I look at people's apps all the time and get really nervous and feel like I wasted time doing nothing 🙁 I mean, I love what I've done and enjoy doing service, I just hate the loops we all have to jump through that make us feel like we have to do something or we won't get a chance, instead of wanting to do something for the sake of doing it, ya know what I mean?

I did a few activites because I had to not because I wanted to. You just have to jump through the hoops it is what it is. I had a friend who had a great app but had no acceptances all because he sorta went off the wall with his activities and didnt do some standard things. he applied next year after doing things he didnt want to do, and then ended up with 5 acceptances. Now instead of pre med well just have hoops for doing what is needed to land that top residency of choice 🙂

 

[vc7777]

...it sure is popular in Hawaii.

...AND Monty Python!

 

[vc7777]

Oh, and Hi Everybody (Hey Myuu!)! I AM Class of 2015! Ask away! 😀

 

[FloatOn]

I did a few activites because I had to not because I wanted to. You just have to jump through the hoops it is what it is. I had a friend who had a great app but had no acceptances all because he sorta went off the wall with his activities and didnt do some standard things. he applied next year after doing things he didnt want to do, and then ended up with 5 acceptances. Now instead of pre med well just have hoops for doing what is needed to land that top residency of choice 🙂

This will be interesting...

 

[Artimacia]

I heard someone say this the other day. They told one of their friends that they were applying this year, and that they hoped to get accepted, and that once they did, they were going to defer the acceptance for the year after and before they actually start at the school, they were going to reapply. They concluded by saying this was a great plan. I wouldn't call that the brightest idea...

 

[Appless]

I heard someone say this the other day. They told one of their friends that they were applying this year, and that they hoped to get accepted, and that once they did, they were going to defer the acceptance for the year after and before they actually start at the school, they were going to reapply. They concluded by saying this was a great plan. I wouldn't call that the brightest idea...

that is stupid on so many levels but to each their own...

 

[Artimacia]

that is stupid on so many levels but to each their own...

Wouldn't they have to decline their acceptances before they reapply anyway?

 

[Hoody]

Oh, and Hi Everybody (Hey Myuu!)! I AM Class of 2015! Ask away! 😀

Is this because you are deferring for a year or is this cause CCLM is a 5 year program? 😕😳

 

[rHinO1]

I'm in the 2nd quarter of my senior year and I guess I have some senioritis. I feel like the last two quarters of classes is just one more hoop to jump through in this process. I can't wait until June! It's going to be awesome! 🙂

Anyone else feel this way?

 

[JJMrK]

Hi 2015.

 

[FlowRate]

Hi 2015.

Hey there!!



So tonight I'm finally actually WRITING my PS instead of just thinking a lot about it. This is a lot more difficult than I anticipated. Sometimes I start writing and then realize that I'm moving toward a list of my EC's and then other times I start rambling about things that aren't powerful and pertinent to my point. Ugh!

 

[BlueElmo]

Hey there!!



So tonight I'm finally actually WRITING my PS instead of just thinking a lot about it. This is a lot more difficult than I anticipated. Sometimes I start writing and then realize that I'm moving toward a list of my EC's and then other times I start rambling about things that aren't powerful and pertinent to my point. Ugh!

Yeah, I know how it feels. It can be hard to not revert to the old listing your EC accomplishments.

 

[JJMrK]

Hey there!!



So tonight I'm finally actually WRITING my PS instead of just thinking a lot about it. This is a lot more difficult than I anticipated. Sometimes I start writing and then realize that I'm moving toward a list of my EC's and then other times I start rambling about things that aren't powerful and pertinent to my point. Ugh!

Try to just think about why you want to go into medicine, not necessarily all the things you've ever done. It can be a little rough, but you'll get there. The good news is you're starting plenty early.

 

[FlowRate]

Yeah, I know how it feels. It can be hard to not revert to the old listing your EC accomplishments.

Yeah, I think part of my problem right now is finding a theme. There's a bunch of okay stories I can use, but not much to tie them together.

Try to just think about why you want to go into medicine, not necessarily all the things you've ever done. It can be a little rough, but you'll get there. The good news is you're starting plenty early.

Thanks! I actually just sat here and stared at my reply for 10 minutes and realized the other part of my "problem." I don't have crazy good emotional reasons/life changing events for wanting to be a doctor like in lots of the PS' I've read but I feel like that's what adcomms want to see from all the stuff I've been reading.

 

[rHinO1]

Yeah, I think part of my problem right now is finding a theme. There's a bunch of okay stories I can use, but not much to tie them together.



Thanks! I actually just sat here and stared at my reply for 10 minutes and realized the other part of my "problem." I don't have crazy good emotional reasons/life changing events for wanting to be a doctor like in lots of the PS' I've read but I feel like that's what adcomms want to see from all the stuff I've been reading.

I'm working on my PS too.

I've heard from a couple of sources that your PS doesn't have to be some dramatic tale that brought you to medicine. In fact, stories like that often come of as being immature or smelling of B.S. You don't want to just list your EC's and experiences, but discussing what you have done to prepare yourself for a career in medicine, explaining your motivation, and how you got to this decision is important. You want to let your personality come through and be interesting enough to interview.

You want to be somewhere between "I want to help people. I did blah blah blah" and "If I wasn't going to be a doctor I would be a ninja."

 

[Artimacia]

Yeah, I think part of my problem right now is finding a theme. There's a bunch of okay stories I can use, but not much to tie them together.



Thanks! I actually just sat here and stared at my reply for 10 minutes and realized the other part of my "problem." I don't have crazy good emotional reasons/life changing events for wanting to be a doctor like in lots of the PS' I've read but I feel like that's what adcomms want to see from all the stuff I've been reading.

Yea, I don't have a crazy life altering story either, but I found one story in particular, linked to my grandfather, that's very close to me and really drove me. It's a very interesting story, so I figure it can also keep interest. What I was basically told (from above and from others) is that think of why you want to be a doctor and what really drives you. Don't go into a list of EC's and stuff (atleast not in detail, maybe touch on a few things depending on if it ties into your main theme, etc...) because that's already in your file and they'll see that. Use the PS to really show a side of you that isn't seen in your application, so it only adds more of yourself to share to the school (that's what I got out of advice haha)

 

[JJMrK]

Yeah, I think part of my problem right now is finding a theme. There's a bunch of okay stories I can use, but not much to tie them together.



Thanks! I actually just sat here and stared at my reply for 10 minutes and realized the other part of my "problem." I don't have crazy good emotional reasons/life changing events for wanting to be a doctor like in lots of the PS' I've read but I feel like that's what adcomms want to see from all the stuff I've been reading.

Neither did I. It's important to make everything you've done fit together, if that makes any sense. I sort of used the PS as a way to let whoever was reading it follow my "journey" through undergrad. I tried to be really honest, and I didn't have any dramatic story or anything. I just sort of explained my thinking. Also, I think one thing that makes a great PS is a sort of recurring theme throughout. For example, you mention something at the beginning, touch on it in your activities/story, and then come back to it at the end.