Your biggest pre-med mistake

[NicksMD]

Biggest mistake was getting in a relationship during undergrad and not studying right/hard enough for the MCAT. I only took three practice test and did a small amount of questions. It was enough to get in but I know I didn't score as well as I could. Nonetheless, I'll be an MD!


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[NotaCop]

.

 

[NotaCop]

My biggest mistake?

Definitely that one time, at band camp... *shivers*

 

[osckey]

I had a brief stint as a cigarette smoker

I'm pretty embarrassed by that too...

Haha. Better than a 16 year stint.

GUYS. COME ON.

 

[Mad Jack]

GUYS. COME ON.

but making friends on cigarette breaks was just so hard to resist! I don't miss smoking at all, but I really miss having cool as **** lighters.

 

[NotaCop]

but making friends on cigarette breaks was just so hard to resist! I don't miss smoking at all, but I really miss having cool as **** lighters.

You can still have cool af lighters, just use them for candles. Show off your sensitive side homie

 

[osckey]

but making friends on cigarette breaks was just so hard to resist! I don't miss smoking at all, but I really miss having cool as **** lighters.

zippos?

 

[Mad Jack]

zippos?

Zippos sometimes. Had a pretty great torch lighter back when those were a new thing, a few random lighters I'd picked up traveling over the years (had one that looked likea couple of fairly authentic bullets I picked up in the CZ that made my international checkpoint interesting lol, probably the one that comes to mind the most).

 

[avgn]

The biggest regret is Angela. The one that got away because we weren't on the same page

The academic one is getting a little too involved in a non-medical field. Thought it would show that I had real passions but all it did was cause adcoms to doubt my commitment to medicine. Maybe they cared a little, but on interviews all I got picked on was why medicine and why your clinical exp so short. Really? I hardly consider 2 years short...bleh. Missed out on IIs from a lot of schools imo bc of this

 

[PriamTRH]

Not hiding the bodies better. That'll definitely come back to haunt me.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

but making friends on cigarette breaks was just so hard to resist!

Made so many friends at 3am outside the library this way lol

 

[NoRagrets]

@NoRagrets gives a seal of approval

affirmative

 

[dreee]

Couple mistakes I made:
-pledging into an org while taking heavy science classes. RIP my GPA for that semester...and a few semesters after that.

-taking the MCAT for the first time, while taking 6/7 classes and finishing a thesis, along with other ECs I'm too lazy to list.

-completely re-writing my personal statement a day before submitting my app into AMCAS. Yikes.

-and as many have said, consulting my pre-med advisor too much. If I had listened to her, I wouldn't have even applied and spent my money on a post-bac/SMP. Good thing my Pre-med self had just the right amount of stubbornness and arrogance to throw that advice out the window.

 

[JustAPhD]

Getting black out drunk and waking up in a different state.

Not specific to being premed...but it's not something I recommend

Reminds me of an article I read about some guy in Britain who blacked out and woke up in France.

Edit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2509837/Teenager-went-drunken-night-Oldham-woke-PARIS.html

 

[FutureD.O]

Not living in the moment and constantly looking towards the future.

 

[caffeinemia]

I'm fricking amazed that you suckers have not put this down yet -- my biggest regret was applying to medical school, accepting the offer, and being stuck in this eternity of enslavement. But in exchange, I play with tits and fix face fractures and replant fingers all day.

 

[Sardinia]

I'm fricking amazed that you suckers have not put this down yet -- my biggest regret was applying to medical school, accepting the offer, and being stuck in this eternity of enslavement. But in exchange, I play with tits and fix face fractures and replant fingers all day.

Resident spotted.

 

[Medgrant]

Not working harder/underestimating courses . I could have had a 3.99GPA isntead of a 3.92. Not majoring in biology to begin with, even though I knew I wanted to go to med-school.. Would have graduated in less than 3yrs.

 

[bannie22]

A piece of advice would be to ensure all mail correspondence be sent in sturdy envelopes.

 

[Medgrant]

Not living in the moment and constantly looking towards the future.

I feel that i'll never get over this behavior haha

 

[TehTeddy]

Not working harder/underestimating courses . I could have had a 3.99GPA isntead of a 3.92.

 

[iqe2010]

Being lazy.

Now I'm paying for it, I've set myself back 3 years. That's over half a million dollars in earnings.

 

[Medgrant]

 

[starspells]

Oh god I don't even know where to begin

 

[Chelsea FC]

I had a brief stint as a cigarette smoker

I'm pretty embarrassed by that too...

but making friends on cigarette breaks was just so hard to resist! I don't miss smoking at all, but I really miss having cool as **** lighters.

 

[AvacadosAtLaw]

My biggest mistake was choosing to binge watch whole seasons of TV shows in a single day when I should be studying. Curse you West Wing for taking over my life.


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[XxThaDoggxX]

Not taking the old MCAT and being a guinea pig for the new one.

 

[AlphaBeta<3]

GPA.

it's okay though, I did some retail therapy. I'll feel better temporarily in 3-5 business days.

 

[kanda1o]

This could be one of the best threads I've ever came across during my time here.

 

[MoDiddy]

taking an 8 AM class where the only thing your graded on is 3 exams and attendance...

 

[frosted_flake]

Taking the MCAT before becoming a TA in both general and organic chemistry. I can't beat myself up too much because I didn't know I would get so into teaching, but I look at some practice MCAT chemistry questions now and I could do them in my sleep. I still did fine, but I wonder about the road not taken.

Being a TA helped me so much. I fly right through biology problems in MCAT practice now!

 

[Dandine]

Thought about this topic for a bit. Here's what I got so far:

Had I done it over I probably would have pushed my music ensemble credit to either earlier or later in my undergrad. Rehearsal and ochem do not a nice schedule make. But then again, I was able to take on busier schedules in the future so...make of that what you will.

Also, getting better-quality sleep. I got enough most nights but it was difficult to concentrate when I didn't. And coffee would just make me nervous or cranky even if I tried to get over it.

Finally, to be more mindful. It was only in my last year in undergrad I had to tell myself to stop thinking about if my future wouldn't work out, or else it would have only made me less eager to work on the things I had to do. So I let myself work in the moment, no judgment, stress or no stress. Think it worked, although let's see if it works for next year.

There are other things, but these are ones that have stuck.

 

[0dee]

Wasting those 20 mins I spent talking to a premed adviser at my state school.

 

[Lannister]

Am I the only one who actually had a decent pre-med advisor?

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[AvacadosAtLaw]

Am I the only one who actually had a decent pre-med advisor?

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Seems like it. I go to a large public school and the pre med advisors are terrible. I can never make an appointment with them and they never respond to emails. It was clear after my first meeting with them that I knew more about the process than they did so I never went back.


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[Avicenna]

falling for the idea that to have any success in this med career, i'd better take on the hive minded opinions of everyone else in the premed track and bruit the same bs every sdn member here and every premed at my school says. it took until the third year to realize there's nothing wrong with maintaining my own identity/beliefs and still going med. best to be real to yourself, even if you have to hide that in front of some important people like interviewers.

 

[Fossa]

Taking too many honors courses early in my college career. Some were definitely enjoyable and worth the extra work, but I often find myself wishing I would've shed my freshman premed ego and protected my GPA.

 

[37Base]

So true. All those people I thought were so cool when I was 16 are working at Panara bread and living in their parent's basements now lol

Panera bread is ****ing delicious though.

 

[eoan]

Probably staying in a lab where the PI was a jerk (he was later fired and most faculty even disliked him!) for a 1.5 years before realizing it was pointless staying. Now it seems like a waste of time but I guess I still learned a good amount about research.

Side note: I wonder if anyone regrets taking a gap year? I doubt this needs another thread - so many people ask about gap years already.

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

falling for the idea that to have any success in this med career, i'd better take on the hive minded opinions of everyone else in the premed track and bruit the same bs every sdn member here and every premed at my school says. it took until the third year to realize there's nothing wrong with maintaining my own identity/beliefs and still going med. best to be real to yourself, even if you have to hide that in front of some important people like interviewers.

lol what are you on about? Advice here is typically very general, nonspecific and pretty solid. Most of it really falls on the safe side rather than compulsive.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone say not to maintain your own beliefs, but when every mark you earn depends on someone else perception of you its probably advantageous to just go with the flow.

 

[Avicenna]

lol what are you on about? Advice here is typically very general, nonspecific and pretty solid. Most of it really falls on the safe side rather than compulsive.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone say not to maintain your own beliefs, but when every mark you earn depends on someone else perception of you its probably advantageous to just go with the flow.

There's a servile mindset behind most of the people who post here and going against any opinion is quick to earn you quick disapproval. I'll give you a bunch of examples of things I don't agree with but SDN opinion centers around, just don't argue them with me cause I've already made up my mind about them.
Big things like: everyone should take a gap year to mature "as a person." the validity of the application and the importance of some things like lor. the benefit to the pageantry behind the applications. the idea that most people are going into this field to help (sdners/med students/docs are the most self righteous kids I've seen). how much sdn underplays the importance and value of the doc salary. the irrelevence of DO vs MD.
small things like: the importance of taking biochem before the mcat.

i could go on and on. sdn clusters around one specific mindset, some opinions of which i don't agree with. and though i'm not saying everyone should agree with my opinions, i'm saying ppl should be real and true to themselves and not be afraid of dissent (as long as it's not in front of authority).

 

[raiderette]

I did most of my volunteering through a student group and my sorority. I was wait listed at one of my top schools and was asked about it at multiple schools.

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[Chemdude]

Doing a difficult major at a notoriously difficult school. Do yourself a favor and major in something that won't tank your GPA. A 4.0 from a state school>>3.5 from a prestigious institution.

 

[Old_Mil]

1. Sending them the deposit to reserve my spot in class.
2. Actually showing up on the first day.

 

[Pyruvate]

-

 

[Mad Jack]

Mine is that I did virtually nothing during my gap year, apart from working very (very) part-time and posting on SDN a lot. This was especially stupid because Canadian applicants often take 2-3 cycles to get in. Oh well, doesn't matter now!

974 posts in 10 months? Nah, you post a moderate amount, 4 and some change posts per day. High quality tho.

 

[BluMist]

you are assuming that he does all the posting on this one novelty account

974 posts in 10 months? Nah, you post a moderate amount, 4 and some change posts per day. High quality tho.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

you are assuming that he does all the posting on this one novelty account

I am absolutely not @WedgeDawg if that's what you're implying. I don't even know why you'd think that, it's completely absurd to claim that I'm @WedgeDawg . Why would you even bring up the fact that I'm @WedgeDawg when it's simply not true? I should report that comment to a moderator like @WedgeDawg who is a different person than I am.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I am absolutely not @WedgeDawg if that's what you're implying. I don't even know why you'd think that, it's completely absurd to claim that I'm @WedgeDawg . Why would you even bring up the fact that I'm @WedgeDawg when it's simply not true? I should report that comment to a moderator like @WedgeDawg who is a different person than I am.

 

[Boogy'sChick15]

Choosing Physics as a major. Granted I am really enjoying my major, but it is not providing me with the most ideal GPA for med schools. Choose wisely people.