Originally posted by mefistofel
Hi, guy!
I need a little advice from those who went through this ordeal! I work full time and also taking premed classes so in the fall of 2006 I could start med school (hopefully) Now, the questions are:
1. when should I start taking Kaplan/Princeton?
2. which out of those two is better?
3. when should I start volunteering?
4. for how many hours should I do that?
Thanks a lot for any input!
This is kind of long so be prepared to read:
1) Definately take kaplan or Princeton 3mo before the actual exam. However, do not wait to start your prepartions. I highly recommend to buy EK books. They are great. I live in Memphis, and unfortunately they did not have classes to take. Now, I strongly suggest for you to begin your MCAT prepartion in November of your junior year or prior to the April Administration. BEGIN with verbal. Alot of people falsely belive that they will do well on this section. It is hard. MCAT verbal is unlike any other form of verbal yo have seen. Read up on articles from the Economist, literature and art reviews, Smithsonian, Wall Street, Social Sciences, Humanities, AAMC past verbal passages. And, remember your verbal skills are developed throughtout your life, do not assume that they will magically appear when you begin to prepare, 3months is not enough for the skills necessary to succeed. Once it is time for your review course such as Kaplan or Princeton, then you can concentrate on timing. Trust me, anyone can do well on verbal if they had the time, but I swear when you crack open that real MCAT before you know it, it will be over. And, remember the big concepts and facts from your Chemistry, Biology, and Physics courses. A good example of what I meant by intergrating is Bernoullis equation and it's realtion to blood flow (definately purchase the EK biology book, it is superb). Of course this is one of 1000's of kinds of stuff you can expect on this test.
2) I did both Kaplan and Princeton (this was done as part of a research thing at my school, paid for by the school) , and each has its pros and cons. For example, where I took it, princeton had better instructors, books were great. Kaplan, the instructors sucked but their videos were really really good. But, at the same time the kaplan center was always so busy so it was hard to find the video I wanted or a video station. Overall, kaplan was good. I did mention above that I used EK material and it really helped me. Find someone who is willing to give it to for free or just ask people on SDN if they want to sell theirs. I promise I do not work for EK, princeotn, or kaplan. Just giving you my honest advcie.
3) Start volunteering now, One experience can build upon many. For example, my first volunteer job was at a high risk OB/GYN clinic. They let me do all sorts of things such as testing urine, listing to fetal heart, measuring the mother's uterus size, taking blood pressure, weighing in patients, etc.. But, the two most valuable things I took away from this single experience is one: it opened up many doors for me b/c I got to meet so many other doctors from other specialties, I also got a really cool research intership with one of the MD/PhDs. from that clinic which won me a publication and an award and 2) It proved to me that I really wanted to pursue a career in medicine. It wasn't so much that I wanted to do this to impress some admcomm, instead it was to prove it to myself. And, of course, the more volunteer work you do the more experience you have compared to other people. And, you certainly do not have to incline yourself to a clinic or hospital. I did alot of volunteer work with kids at ST. Jude research Children's hospiatl. I painted with them, threw parties, help them do many things. It was a great experience in that it showed me how important communication skills are. And, yes communication is a skill the more you do it the better you get at it. And, it truly shows on the day of your interview.
4) If you start doing volunteer work early, you can put in a few hours a week. And, over the couse of a few years you will have a sufficient amount under your belt. Besides, I do not know how admcomm look at your application and they see that you started doing volunteer work a year before you apply. I think if you are serious about a career in medicine you need to prove it yourself right away. And, by being around sick, sad, or dying people your true colors for the field of medicine will show.
I hope I did not bore you too much. Alot of what I say truly comes from experience. I am not some genious kid or anything. I definatley had to work my a$$ off to get where I am today. And, as for the MCAT just take my advice and read what others post. I scored a 34R on the MCAT. I am not saying this to brag b/c I basically dragged myself screaming and crying to that score. I struggled alot both undergrad and preparing for this exam. And, it definately paid off. Good Luck.
