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Hey guys since I got accepted somewhere thanks to the help and support I got from people on here I feel like I should share some of my experiences to hopefully help others. I'm going to list some advice here and answer questions.
Do not be afraid to start out at a community college. If you are not competitive out of high school or have financial restraints, going to a community college is alright. Do as well as you can and try to transfer to a university in a year if you are able too. If you go a second year like I did because you got scholarships that will transfer with you that's fine, but understand you will have a harder time at the uni you go to because a lot of your easy pre reqs will be taken at the cc.
Go to a university that is the best fit for you. My biggest regret in college is that I didnt to this. I went to the closest university for convenience and it honestly wasn't worth it. I came from a socioeconomic status that was well below the average student and had a hard time fitting in. The way I learned did not sync well with the university's way of teaching and I constantly felt like I was a square peg trying to go into a round hole when I was trying to learn. If I could go back I would have changed universities and saved myself from experiencing so much stress and frustration.
Pick your friends wisely. You tend to take on the traits of your friends so pick ones that are as motivated as you. My friend group was small but motivated and diverse so we coached each other through our hard classes and tutored each other in subjects we were best at.
If you have group work join a group carefully. If you work with a 35 year old nontraditional that's focused and wants to do well you're going to have an easier time than working with someone who's happy with a C minus.
Schedule your semesters wisely. I did not do this and almost screwed myself one semester when I took a 5 day a week physio course, biochem, and physics in one semester. A prof I talked to said I was lucky I didn't fail and was shocked at my decision making skills.
Be realistic with your time line. If you are working through college a gap year or two is likely. You're grades and MCAT are permanent and it's not worth trashing either one to be done "on time".
Don't be afraid to ask for help on here. I lurked for a while before I signed up because I heard that this site was toxic and full of mean people and perfectionists. Some of the people here can be a little rough, but you will encounter this a lot in medicine. As a nurses aide for 3 years, I have experienced this a lot and you need to have a thicker skin to be in this field. I have seen terrible wounds, life changing events, people dying, this can make someone blunt or cold over time. When you see someone's musculoskeletal system in their back because a facility never turned them and other things like this over the years you tend to get a tougher personality.
Another thing don't be afraid to switch classes if the prof is giving an unrealistic amount of work. You should be spending about 3 hours a week outside of class for every credit hour or less to reasonably expect an A, and this is a hill I will die on. 15 credit hours will be about 15 hours in class 45 out of class for 60 hours a week. If a prof expects more than this, if you can run far away from them. I had some profs who I honestly think were narcissistic that would try to give like 10 hours a week worth of work and projects and then expect you to study at least 5 hours a week on top of that for a 3 hour course. I noped out of that fast af.
I hope this helps and please don't hesitate to ask or add to it!
Do not be afraid to start out at a community college. If you are not competitive out of high school or have financial restraints, going to a community college is alright. Do as well as you can and try to transfer to a university in a year if you are able too. If you go a second year like I did because you got scholarships that will transfer with you that's fine, but understand you will have a harder time at the uni you go to because a lot of your easy pre reqs will be taken at the cc.
Go to a university that is the best fit for you. My biggest regret in college is that I didnt to this. I went to the closest university for convenience and it honestly wasn't worth it. I came from a socioeconomic status that was well below the average student and had a hard time fitting in. The way I learned did not sync well with the university's way of teaching and I constantly felt like I was a square peg trying to go into a round hole when I was trying to learn. If I could go back I would have changed universities and saved myself from experiencing so much stress and frustration.
Pick your friends wisely. You tend to take on the traits of your friends so pick ones that are as motivated as you. My friend group was small but motivated and diverse so we coached each other through our hard classes and tutored each other in subjects we were best at.
If you have group work join a group carefully. If you work with a 35 year old nontraditional that's focused and wants to do well you're going to have an easier time than working with someone who's happy with a C minus.
Schedule your semesters wisely. I did not do this and almost screwed myself one semester when I took a 5 day a week physio course, biochem, and physics in one semester. A prof I talked to said I was lucky I didn't fail and was shocked at my decision making skills.
Be realistic with your time line. If you are working through college a gap year or two is likely. You're grades and MCAT are permanent and it's not worth trashing either one to be done "on time".
Don't be afraid to ask for help on here. I lurked for a while before I signed up because I heard that this site was toxic and full of mean people and perfectionists. Some of the people here can be a little rough, but you will encounter this a lot in medicine. As a nurses aide for 3 years, I have experienced this a lot and you need to have a thicker skin to be in this field. I have seen terrible wounds, life changing events, people dying, this can make someone blunt or cold over time. When you see someone's musculoskeletal system in their back because a facility never turned them and other things like this over the years you tend to get a tougher personality.
Another thing don't be afraid to switch classes if the prof is giving an unrealistic amount of work. You should be spending about 3 hours a week outside of class for every credit hour or less to reasonably expect an A, and this is a hill I will die on. 15 credit hours will be about 15 hours in class 45 out of class for 60 hours a week. If a prof expects more than this, if you can run far away from them. I had some profs who I honestly think were narcissistic that would try to give like 10 hours a week worth of work and projects and then expect you to study at least 5 hours a week on top of that for a 3 hour course. I noped out of that fast af.
I hope this helps and please don't hesitate to ask or add to it!
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