H
HCHopeful
Hello you beautiful people,
I attend a small liberal arts college in Nebraska, and we don't have an official pre-medical (or pre-health) group. There is a student health council, but it is for overseeing the health of students on campus. What I'm interested in is creating a group that will help pre-medical students along the way!
Let me be clear. There is a certain amount of guidance we pre-meds receive at my college, but it is a small amount. It is mostly our Biology department that picks up this slack, but even then, most of us are left going at this daunting task independently. I was fortunate enough to find this website, and it has helped me through my most difficult problems.
The most aggravating aspect of not having a formal pre-medical committee is no doubt that lack of guidance given with regards to preparation for the MCAT or clinical experience. I kid you not, I asked my advisor where I could get clinical volunteering in my hometown, and she had no idea what clinical volunteering was nor had any student of hers ever partaken. To be fair, UNMC (in-state public med school) is on the low side of students with clinical volunteering on an application at 69%. I have been hard-pressed to find another school with lower than 80%. I had no idea that clinical volunteering was expected of me until about May of last year. Talk about late to the game...
When I began preparing for the MCAT, my advisor told me to just allot three weeks before my test date and study hard then. That was when I started searching the internet and found the 3-month study schedule on SDN. I took the MCAT twice, eventually receiving a score of a 31. I am confident that had I had been more aware of the work it took before I was a junior, I could have done much better. My classmates, who took the advice of the professors in our department, did not fare well. There were four others who took the test, and there were three scores of 26 or below, and one score above 26. In last years' class (seniors now) of those taking the MCAT, the highest score was a 28, with a 26, 25, 21, and 23. Knowing these students well, I am positive that it is simply a lack of preparation that caused these subpar scores.
It is my hope to create a group that focuses on what an applicant needs for the application process, what makes one stand out, and how to prepare oneself for the MCAT. I believe it would be fill a gap on our campus and it has become somewhat of a passion of mine.
What I'm curious about is what you all think would be important in addressing in such a group. So far I have the following:
I attend a small liberal arts college in Nebraska, and we don't have an official pre-medical (or pre-health) group. There is a student health council, but it is for overseeing the health of students on campus. What I'm interested in is creating a group that will help pre-medical students along the way!
Let me be clear. There is a certain amount of guidance we pre-meds receive at my college, but it is a small amount. It is mostly our Biology department that picks up this slack, but even then, most of us are left going at this daunting task independently. I was fortunate enough to find this website, and it has helped me through my most difficult problems.
The most aggravating aspect of not having a formal pre-medical committee is no doubt that lack of guidance given with regards to preparation for the MCAT or clinical experience. I kid you not, I asked my advisor where I could get clinical volunteering in my hometown, and she had no idea what clinical volunteering was nor had any student of hers ever partaken. To be fair, UNMC (in-state public med school) is on the low side of students with clinical volunteering on an application at 69%. I have been hard-pressed to find another school with lower than 80%. I had no idea that clinical volunteering was expected of me until about May of last year. Talk about late to the game...
When I began preparing for the MCAT, my advisor told me to just allot three weeks before my test date and study hard then. That was when I started searching the internet and found the 3-month study schedule on SDN. I took the MCAT twice, eventually receiving a score of a 31. I am confident that had I had been more aware of the work it took before I was a junior, I could have done much better. My classmates, who took the advice of the professors in our department, did not fare well. There were four others who took the test, and there were three scores of 26 or below, and one score above 26. In last years' class (seniors now) of those taking the MCAT, the highest score was a 28, with a 26, 25, 21, and 23. Knowing these students well, I am positive that it is simply a lack of preparation that caused these subpar scores.
It is my hope to create a group that focuses on what an applicant needs for the application process, what makes one stand out, and how to prepare oneself for the MCAT. I believe it would be fill a gap on our campus and it has become somewhat of a passion of mine.
What I'm curious about is what you all think would be important in addressing in such a group. So far I have the following:
- Address requirements needed such as GPA and MCAT
- Create a timeline for course work as well as community and campus involvement
- Clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering importance and how to become involved
- How to find research opportunities
- Preparation for the MCAT (materials, schedule, etc.)
- An application timeline
- Personal statement workshops
- Tips on how to apply successfully and raise your chances of being accepted
- Time management skills
