1. When should I take the MCAT? (After talking to people and my premed adviser, I'm still very confused...)
Depends on when you want to apply -- try not to take it too close to the date when you think you will be taking it, as your score release may hold your application back from being complete. Also, if your score is not as good as you want it to be, this leaves less time to re-take it and get a better score. I would say, take it when you feel prepared enough, but remember that the earlier you get it out of the way, that's one less thing to worry about when you apply.
2. What classes should I take besides the med school-pre-reqs...any other beneficial classes for mcat or med school?
Take classes that YOU WANT TO TAKE! I just graduated with a degree in Chemical Biology, but looking back, I wish I had taken more courses outside my major, because a lot of them are just so interesting! For example, I took a class last semester about neuropsychology -- it was SO interesting but I never would have found it had I just concentrated on what would look good for med schools/MCAT. After you get your pre-reqs done, take biochem/anatomy if you want, but you'll have to take those again in med school anyway. ENJOY taking a wide variety of courses in different subjects while you can!
3. What are some good places to volunteer besides usual places like ER?
Medical non-profits seconded. Look into international medical missions as well, or small free clinics around inner-city neighborhoods.
4. What are some cool ideas to shadow besides family practice and hospital, and how do you find a doctor in a hospital to shadow?
maldabrroc777 pretty much explained this.
5. What is important to know regarding letters of recommendation?
1) ASK EARLY!! Seriously, ask them at least a few months in advance of when you will be applying. It will save you a lot of trouble/stress when you have all your letters collected BEFORE you submit your secondaries rather than worrying about them after. I made this mistake myself -- I asked my professors in August, and some of them didn't return the letters until October (quite sucktastic, but I was still accepted to some places, so if this happens to you all hope isn't lost, but it would be EASIER if I'd done it earlier!).
2) Definitely try to ask for letters from professors who know you better, i.e. if you went to their office hours, corresponded with them frequently through e-mail, did research for them, etc. However, it's understandable that professors will forget you -- for one of the professors I asked to write a letter, I had been in one of his smallest classes, went to office hours everyday, asked questions during class and through e-mail. He still had trouble recognizing me when I asked him for a letter. So how do you remedy this? Give them a summary about you -- along with letter forms and pre-addressed/stamped envelopes, include your personal statement, transcript, resume, and anything else that would help them write about you with more detail.
3) FOLLOW UP! Professors are busy, busy people. Letters of rec are not often at the top of their priority list. Try to set a preliminary deadline of about 2-3 weeks, and a hard deadline of 1 month. Keep checking in on them via e-mail or visiting their office to remind them gently. They might keep pushing back the deadline, but just try to keep reminding them that you're there and that you need the letter. (This is why asking FAR in advance realllllly helps!)
6. What is important in regards to personal statements: what to include and how to write it and who should check it?
There's a lot of stuff all over SDN that's useful for writing the PS. My only major advice is to focus on one or two activities/experiences that have really helped shape your desire to become a physician and why they make you qualified to become one. Don't let it turn into a laundry list of your achievements, and try "show" how you are qualified (via examples of your volunteer/research/etc.) instead of explicitly saying it. Also, avoid absolutes such as "always," i.e. "I've always known I wanted to be a doctor." Graduate Admissions Essays: Write Your Way into the Graduate School of Your Choice by Donald Asher has some great tips for what to include/avoid in writing personal statements.
7. What is important to know in terms of applying to medical school with aamsas or aacomas?
APPLY EARLY! Submit your transcripts to AACOMAS/AMCAS before you submit the primary. It won't kill you if you don't submit it within the first 2 weeks, but it'll make it that much harder if you have to wait for over a month to get verified (it happened to me -- submitted AACOMAS/AMCAS July 24, verified Sept. 2... be warned!).
8. How do you prepare for the interview and how much should you practice?
Read up on the school's mission statement, history, and surrounding area. Know the main health issues of the school's locale. Read over your primary, secondary, and transcript and be prepared to talk about everything. Open file interview = everything is fair game. Be prepared for random and sometimes frustrating questions. But NEVER, ever lose your cool in front of the interviewers. Corollary: NEVER talk smack about the interviewers until you are OUT of the school. How much should you practice? That's up to you, depending on your own comfort level with speaking confidently in front of strangers. I would suggest at least one mock interview with a friend so that you can assess if you NEED more practice or if you can get by with just reviewing your application material. But it's better to know your ability than to go in cold and be unpleasantly surprised.
9. How do you study for MCAT and what's the best way to do well: which review course, which mcat prep book, how many hours/schedule?
I took a review course (Princeton Review), which helped me tremendously, because it kept me on a tight schedule and helped me focus all my energy on studying. However, if you're able to do this on your own, then by all means buy a few books and forgo the course (especially since courses run about $1000 each these days). Definitely invest in getting access to online practice tests. Force yourself to take the practice tests in realtime settings, so that you can build up your endurance for the real thing (it's super grueling). As far as how many hours specifically, I would say as many as you think you can do a day without burning yourself out too much. For the class that I took, it went from 9am-11am, Mon-Fri and then a couple hours at home doing practice problems. Be flexible with your studying -- if you know that you're going to need more time to brush up on some of the material, allot yourself more time. If you need less, that's fine too, but just make sure you're adequately prepared by the time the test date rolls around.
10. What else is important in knowing before applying to medical school?? Any question I didnt' ask🙂
"Be prepared to drop a lot of cash." WORD. MCAT class = $1600, MCAT = $200ish, mailing out letters of rec = $15-20 per school, submitting primary app = $1100 (AMCAS + AACOMAS), secondaries = $60-200 per school, interview costs ($200-300 per flight, $200 hotel, rental car, food...) .... the summer before I applied, I worked a job that earned me around $3000. I spent it ALL during my application process.
Take pre-med advisors' advice with a grain of salt. Do your own research, i.e. SDN, asking other pre-meds who've gone through the app cycle -- it'll probably yield more helpful/accurate results.
"Don't be "that kid" in interviews. No one cares if you think your research is amazing. Guess what? Everyone in that interview pool is amazing. Be respectful." hahaha I second this. The people you meet there could potentially be your new classmates. Just chill. Don't be a d-bag.
"Apply wisely so you only have to apply once." Seconded. I would also say apply this mentality throughout your pre-med career. Get good grades, do well on the MCAT, get good letters -- so you only have to do it once. Applying costs a lot of money and chips away at your self-esteem, so you'll want to be at your BEST when you apply.
Good luck!
