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Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Didn't get much done secondary-wise this weekend :\

Going to the zoo with my niece in a bit, though!
 
Anyone else feel a little inadequate after reading the ralty specials? :laugh:

Don't get me wrong, keep them coming, ralty. They're great, but they make me feel lacking in areas (research obviously and now I'm concerned about the strength of my clinical experience as a result of that last ralty special).

Any ralty specials on work experience? That one would make me feel 😀

Vandy Premed said:
You still have plenty of time sir. Have fun at the Zoo. Best zoo ever = San Diego Zoo.
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Yea, I def have a lot of time left. Would love to go to that zoo some day.

Vandy Premed said:
Gracias.
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Welcome!
 
Steve we all have different things to offer. Your work experience will definitely be a plus. It's not like we all have to check off some giant master list of activities. My only clinical experience is a one day each year volunteering event at the children's hospital (unless you count shadowing). It was really fun though 👍.
 
Planning my retake, so I thought I would get advice from my friends on here--
I was thinking of studying the content with my EK materials since they are concise. How does everyone feel about purely EK? I don't think I have time for PR :/
as for practice tests, I did all Kaplan and official exams. I was thibkin of getting the BR exams. I'm also taking exam donations from anyone completely done with the MCAT 🙂

Any other words of advice appreciate to kick start my studying 🙁
 
berriesandcream said:
Planning my retake, so I thought I would get advice from my friends on here--
I was thinking of studying the content with my EK materials since they are concise. How does everyone feel about purely EK? I don't think I have time for PR :/
as for practice tests, I did all Kaplan and official exams. I was thibkin of getting the BR exams. I'm also taking exam donations from anyone completely done with the MCAT 🙂

Any other words of advice appreciate to kick start my studying 🙁
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Kaplan sucks so much.

Where do you think your weaknesses lie? Content or passage-mapping?
 
Whatyousay said:
Kaplan sucks so much.

Where do you think your weaknesses lie? Content or passage-mapping?
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Hm, honestly, I was scoring about 33 on AAMC because it hit all my strong points. So, on the real exam, I was extremely nervous, and it was "let's give berries all the sh*tty topics." that's why I want to do a quick content review again so I feel stronger. I know in bs, the micro/viro always gets me though!
 
berriesandcream said:
Hm, honestly, I was scoring about 33 on AAMC because it hit all my strong points. So, on the real exam, I was extremely nervous, and it was "let's give berries all the sh*tty topics." that's why I want to do a quick content review again so I feel stronger. I know in bs, the micro/viro always gets me though!
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Heh, one thing I didn't like about BS was that I didn't know what topics I needed to memorize completely, and what topics I just needed general information about.

There's always at least one really strange stand-alone question that requires you to know some obscure information.
 
berriesandcream said:
Hm, honestly, I was scoring about 33 on AAMC because it hit all my strong points. So, on the real exam, I was extremely nervous, and it was "let's give berries all the sh*tty topics." that's why I want to do a quick content review again so I feel stronger. I know in bs, the micro/viro always gets me though!
Click to expand...

I would definitely recommend EK. I used all of their content review books as well as 101 VR and 1001 bio. The 1001 bio had me kicking butt on the BS sections of AAMC practices, but on the real thing they did not test me on any of my strengths (neuro, hormones, or immunology) which may be why I tested under my avg. for that section.

The micro/viro was my weak point too :laugh:. I can't recall if I had any of those on the real thing. I just remember really awkward and difficult passages. They were hard to comprehend tbh.

I would take the CBT tests over again even if you've already taken them. A great deal of the test is knowing the format and style intimately.

Throwing some encouragement your way...YOU CAN DO IT! 👍🙂. I hope you hit that 33 average of yours.
 
Vandy Premed said:
Steve we all have different things to offer. Your work experience will definitely be a plus. It's not like we all have to check off some giant master list of activities. My only clinical experience is a one day each year volunteering event at the children's hospital (unless you count shadowing). It was really fun though 👍.
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This. I know people who have gotten into high-end places like UCSF without having a nature publication, a nobel prize, over9000 patents, etc. etc.

I'm kind of at the point where I get even more silent than ever when people ask me about applications. I've been writing, taking notes, and figuring out about each school that my brain feels like mush. My friend asked me the other night if I wanted to go out for drinks and I was like derrrrrrpaderrrrrrrrrrrrpcanIcalluback?!
 
n3xa said:
This. I know people who have gotten into high-end places like UCSF without having a nature publication, a nobel prize, over9000 patents, etc. etc.

I'm kind of at the point where I get even more silent than ever when people ask me about applications. I've been writing, taking notes, and figuring out about each school that my brain feels like mush. My friend asked me the other night if I wanted to go out for drinks and I was like derrrrrrpaderrrrrrrrrrrrpcanIcalluback?!
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Applications.

Herp derp.
 
Whatyousay said:
Heh, one thing I didn't like about BS was that I didn't know what topics I needed to memorize completely, and what topics I just needed general information about.

There's always at least one really strange stand-alone question that requires you to know some obscure information.
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This!

Plus, there's always two choices that make sense because it's so reasoning based. Like, if you want me to reason it, please give me more than 70 minutes 🙁
 
n3xa said:
This. I know people who have gotten into high-end places like UCSF without having a nature publication, a nobel prize, over9000 patents, etc. etc.

I'm kind of at the point where I get even more silent than ever when people ask me about applications. I've been writing, taking notes, and figuring out about each school that my brain feels like mush. My friend asked me the other night if I wanted to go out for drinks and I was like derrrrrrpaderrrrrrrrrrrrpcanIcalluback?!
Click to expand...

Lol yea. I'm getting burnt out on secondaries already, and I've completed less than ten. If you look at my list you'll see I have a ways to go. Let's hope there are plenty of generic "why medicine?" or "is there anything else we should know?" prompts that I can recycle from earlier secondaries :xf:. I don't go out much anymore anyways, so that's not a problem.
 
Vandy Premed said:
I would definitely recommend EK. I used all of their content review books as well as 101 VR and 1001 bio. The 1001 bio had me kicking butt on the BS sections of AAMC practices, but on the real thing they did not test me on any of my strengths (neuro, hormones, or immunology) which may be why I tested under my avg. for that section.

The micro/viro was my weak point too :laugh:. I can't recall if I had any of those on the real thing. I just remember really awkward and difficult passages. They were hard to comprehend tbh.

I would take the CBT tests over again even if you've already taken them. A great deal of the test is knowing the format and style intimately.

Throwing some encouragement your way...YOU CAN DO IT! 👍🙂. I hope you hit that 33 average of yours.
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Bah, thanks vandy!!!! 🙂

Mine had a ton of micro/immuno. Like I said, my luck they tested me on my weak areas 🙁
 
Vandy Premed said:
Lol yea. I'm getting burnt out on secondaries already, and I've completed less than ten. If you look at my list you'll see I have a ways to go. Let's hope there are plenty of generic "why medicine?" or "is there anything else we should know?" prompts that I can recycle from earlier secondaries :xf:. I don't go out much anymore anyways, so that's not a problem.
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That's still a lot!! Impressive for June 26th.
 
berriesandcream said:
Bah, thanks vandy!!!! 🙂

Mine had a ton of micro/immuno. Like I said, my luck they tested me on my weak areas 🙁
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No problem! Yea, that sucks. That's why I think the MCAT is accurate to maybe + or - 3 when you get around 30. I think I could've got a 35 had they given me a neuro passage or something (got a 14 on one of the AAMCs-I forget which-but it was neuro heavy), and I also think I could've got a 29 had they given me a micro passage.

Just don't psych yourself out! We're all pulling for ya.
 
Whatyousay said:
Nabada, it would be easier to hate you for your success if you were more of a jerk.

Just FYI :laugh:
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I know dude (Nadaba). Be more condescending. That way we can all marginalize you much more easily. But thanks Nadaba. I think I've just gotten a lot of them nice and early. A lot of people are still waiting.

I think I've gotten so into the habit of sitting at my computer all day and waiting for secondaries that I've forgotten none come out on weekends...
 
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Vandy Premed said:
Lol yea. I'm getting burnt out on secondaries already, and I've completed less than ten. If you look at my list you'll see I have a ways to go. Let's hope there are plenty of generic "why medicine?" or "is there anything else we should know?" prompts that I can recycle from earlier secondaries :xf:. I don't go out much anymore anyways, so that's not a problem.
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Yeah when I'm home in CA around Christmastime I spend a lot more time at home, so summer is usually my catch up with all my old friends on the west coast time.

Whatyousay said:
Nabada, it would be easier to hate you for your success if you were more of a jerk.

Just FYI :laugh:
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Awwe. There's always somebody who's smarter, better, faster, hotter than you in this world. :laugh: 😛
 
Whatyousay, you need to fix up your MDapps so I can more effectively stalk you. Thank you in advance.
 
Vandy Premed said:
Whatyousay, you need to fix up your MDapps so I can more effectively stalk you. Thank you in advance.
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This is true. Unfair if you can continue to stalk us, but not vice versa 🙁

EDIT: iPhone autocorrect always makes me look like an idiot 🙁
 
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Whatyousay, you're STILL 10 with an MCAT score of 35+ 🙁 way to make me feel stupid while I gear up to restudy 😡
 
Vandy Premed said:
Whatyousay, you need to fix up your MDapps so I can more effectively stalk you. Thank you in advance.
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I tried to log in the other day, but I forgot my password. Looks like I'm going to have to reset it :laugh:

berriesandcream said:
This is true. Unfair if you can continue to stalk us, but not vice versatile 🙁
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One way stalker :ninja:

berriesandcream said:
Whatyousay, you're STILL 10 with an MCAT score of 35+ 🙁 way to make me feel stupid while I gear up to restudy 😡
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I'm all grown up!
 
Damn, you guys are already filling out secondaries and I haven't even submitted my primary. I'm still finalizing my PS, anyone want to critique it?
 
Buttermellow said:
Damn, you guys are already filling out secondaries and I haven't even submitted my primary. I'm still finalizing my PS, anyone want to critique it?
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I'll be willing to take a look at it. Send me a PM.

*Disclaimer - working on the 100000000th revision of my PS as well :laugh:
 
nadaba said:
Hi berries :hello:
I hope you're enjoying your trip.
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Hey nadaba :hello: a big congrats on all your achievements 😀 ...not that we doubted you or expected any less 🙂

My trip is okay, was a lot better before I got my score. Now it's just worries and waiting to get back so I can start studying again 🙁 I also need to retake ochem (not a good grade since I had a death in my family..low mcat score might also be due to this since everything happened at almost the same time). So ochem is august 8-26 and my mcat is aug 23. This could end badly but I'm certain I can put in the hours before aug 8 🙂 Besdies that, ugh I need motivation to finish my app and start non-screening secondaries as they come in 🙁

/end rant

Besides that, we all need a socal get together with socal peeps when I get back. I may or may not (pretty sure may) need a drink due to overload of stress 😡

EDIT: I'm awesome at being horrible. I forgot to ask; how was the trip?
 
Whatyousay said:
BHaus called dibs.
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Yea, that might look a little suspicious. You might have been automatically disqualified.... :ninja:

Edit: Just so you don't think I'm a serious gunner, I will write you a PS 🙂
 
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Vandy Premed said:
Was this for me? I need a best e-friend...
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E-migos 4 lyfe? see what what i did there?

phnerd1105 said:
My cell bio prof was ridiculous. Each exam had about 600 detailed slides of info on it and they tested the most minute details. I was doing fine on them, until the final. She had 1/4 of the cumulative final over two articles that we spent 30 minutes in class discussing, amidst the other 2000 slides we had to know. Needless to say, I did not do well. asdfkljasdflkajsdf I think that class dropped my gpa's by .1 in itself
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In Gen Bio I, I was victimized by a typo on the syllabus. I got a 93.75% in the class, and on page #1 of the course outline it said, in bold letters, that a 93% was the cutoff for an A. After receiving my final grade (A-) I wrote the prof an email, to which he responded that it had been a mistake and that 94% was an A. If I had gotten just one more question right on our 150-q final, I woulda hat that A. Now, I'd frequently gotten many worse grades than an A-, but this one was particularly frustrating. Whatevs. I didn't know I would be applying to medical school and I didn't fight it. On a side note, at the end of the semester, this prof felt the need to send a very long, very indignant email to the entire 200-person class, wherein he claimed to be a top virologist in the world and renowned educator with numerous teaching awards, and that all the whiny premeds in the class needed to stop complaining about details and focus on the important things in life. He kind of had a point - there were some knobslobbing tools in that lecture - but it made me wonder how many people had taken issue with him over the course of the semester.

Vandy Premed said:
I would take the CBT tests over again even if you've already taken them. A great deal of the test is knowing the format and style intimately.
Click to expand...

Best advice out there.



Since people were griping about clinical EC's, I'll just say that the extent of my experience is like 2 months of volunteering in the children's hospital ED for 3 hours/week. I do work on a university medical campus and spend a lot of time in the teaching hospitals, though, so I'll try to spin that the best way I can.
 
Whatyousay said:
I'll be willing to take a look at it. Send me a PM.

*Disclaimer - working on the 100000000th revision of my PS as well :laugh:
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yeah, i had a good 2nd attempt going, and i trashed the whole thing last night. it started out way too heavy and became very anticlimactic. eff my uneventful life
 
berriesandcream said:
Hey nadaba :hello: a big congrats on all your achievements 😀 ...not that we doubted you or expected any less 🙂

My trip is okay, was a lot better before I got my score. Now it's just worries and waiting to get back so I can start studying again 🙁 I also need to retake ochem (not a good grade since I had a death in my family..low mcat score might also be due to this since everything happened at almost the same time). So ochem is august 8-26 and my mcat is aug 23. This could end badly but I'm certain I can put in the hours before aug 8 🙂 Besdies that, ugh I need motivation to finish my app and start non-screening secondaries as they come in 🙁

/end rant

Besides that, we all need a socal get together with socal peeps when I get back. I may or may not (pretty sure may) need a drink due to overload of stress 😡

EDIT: I'm awesome at being horrible. I forgot to ask; how was the trip?
Click to expand...
Darn!! I'm sure you'll do great the second time around, and you already kind of know the ochem 😀 A good month is plenty of time!

Let me know about the get together! Sounds like fun.

My trip was good. Just a few days. Being away from my e-mail made me realize how addicted I am 🙄
 
BHaus9 said:
In Gen Bio I, I was victimized by a typo on the syllabus. I got a 93.75% in the class, and on page #1 of the course outline it said, in bold letters, that a 93% was the cutoff for an A. After receiving my final grade (A-)
Click to expand...

I stopped reading there.

Med schools expect perfection.
 
BHaus9 said:
yeah, i had a good 2nd attempt going, and i trashed the whole thing last night. it started out way too heavy and became very anticlimactic. eff my uneventful life
Click to expand...
This PS is going to be epic. I think you'll put in about 10x more time than I did.
 
Whatyousay said:
I stopped reading there.

Med schools expect perfection.
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Durn. I'll have a tough time explaining that C+ then.

nadaba said:
This PS is going to be epic. I think you'll put in about 10x more time than I did.
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You'd think that... but I don't think staring at a flashing cursor in Microsoft Word really counts as time put in
 
BHaus9 said:
Durn. I'll have a tough time explaining that C+ then.
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Speaking of which... in a secondary "anything else" essay, would it be wise to attempt to justify a C+, or is it better just not to draw attention to it? I don't want to seem.... like I am really torn up about it.
 
BHaus9 said:
Speaking of which... in a secondary "anything else" essay, would it be wise to attempt to justify a C+, or is it better just not to draw attention to it? I don't want to seem.... like I am really torn up about it.
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You seem really torn up about it.

I wouldn't draw attention to it.
 
nadaba said:
Darn!! I'm sure you'll do great the second time around, and you already kind of know the ochem 😀 A good month is plenty of time!

Let me know about the get together! Sounds like fun.

My trip was good. Just a few days. Being away from my e-mail made me realize how addicted I am 🙄
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Yeah, honestly, with everything that has gone wrong already, I'll rejoice even if I get into one school 🙂

Well, I'm not much of a planner, but I get back on the 8. Sooooo, I guess we can hit up somewhere fun when everyone is free 🙂 In that case, if you're a socaller, let me know when you're free? Haha

Oh! Cool! Yeah, I was away all weekend too without internet and it sucked...sure the interview was a nice surprise though!
 
Whatyousay said:
I stopped reading there.

Med schools expect perfection.
Click to expand...

Well, then well give them a perfect PS. Here we go sir:

"My path to medicine was not the typical one. In my younger years I had some really interesting extra-curriculars unrelated to medicine. I was involved in an amateur sleuth gang, and we often solved some intriguing mysteries. It was through these sleuthing activities that I realized my passion for helping others. My gang included two girls- Daphne and Velma -, a man named Shaggy, and our dog. We were often given cases that truely tested our intellectual abilities, and this really helped give me a knack for analytical thinking. Daphne was a pretty red-head though, and I often was distracted by her bangin' figure. Shaggy and our dog were often very talented at solving crimes as well, but only if we laser-beamed some snacks into their mouths. Eventually they both developed many health problems due to over-eating Scooby Snacks (Obesity, type-two diabetes, etc.). This sparked a passion in me for scientific research involving nutrition and diet. If it weren't for us meddling kids I would have never known my true calling in medicine."
 
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