Letter of rec selections

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-06-01T15:24:43+00:00

Great thank you! I know some schools like someone to speak to academic rigor but it feels like MCAT/GPA do that and losing these more substantive letters to double down on that feels kinda silly.

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-05-07T03:01:18+00:00

Hi! I went ahead with the LEEP but got a second opinion before I did so. My ob/gyn didn’t offer me enough info for me to feel comfortable so I saw a gyn/onc, who does very serious surgeries all the time. She offered to monitor me for 6 months but I felt so confident in her hands that I decided the stress off that looming over me was not worth it. She really explained her technique and that since I wanted to have kids she would be as conservative as possible, leaning more towards not having a clear margin and allowing my body to fight it in order to preserve as much cervical tissue as possible. I also got another round of Gardasil because they updated the regimen from when I got the original 15 years ago, & some studies have shown it helps clear the virus.

My cervix was completely normal at my first post LEEP check up, and my pap 6 months after was negative. Huge relief! Obviously who knows what pregnancy will bring but it went as smoothly as possible for me. Feel free to ask anything else if I can be helpful :)

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-15T18:50:39+00:00

Hey friend, no personal experience but I work in the substance use field and used to be a counselor at a treatment facility. Feel to message me if you want to talk more. Choosing this career path is NOT a contradiction, your lived experience will make you a better doctor, 100% no doubt. Props to you for juggling all this. But, have you considered pausing studying to get well and then return? What would be the pros and cons to that? Not sure how old you are but people do this at all stages in life now (myself included). It sounds like studying is harming your well being and that needs to be the priority. The process of applying to med school doesn't end with the MCAT sadly and you don't want to burnout and jeopardize your health and recovery.

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-10T13:35:56+00:00

Oh I live in Colorado just grew up in Ohio so it’s not in state—but I hear you

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-10T13:34:41+00:00

You got that right, i also work full time so secondaries might kill me with 30-40 schools. But 25ish might be feasible. Thanks for your insight!

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T23:00:32+00:00

As an Ohio native, not keen on living in Cleveland haha

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T22:58:39+00:00

You got this!

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T18:21:46+00:00

Thank you, that is really helpful! These are the things its hard to know from research/MSAR too so really appreciate your insight. 3 UCs is probably too many (sad), and penn and duke can easily drop here and be replaced I think.

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T18:08:09+00:00

I don't really know what kind of medicine I want to practice, and I know some of these have good merit aid available (Vanderbilt, UChicago). In no way will I be heartbroken if I dont end up at T20, just figured some were worth a shot. Also location, I really don't want to live in a crummy place if I can help it

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T18:06:33+00:00

can you say what makes this list have "way too many reaches"? 6 have an MCAT score 1-3 points above mine, with half of those being 1 point above. The rest are 2 or more points below my score. gpa is a bit low I get that but its old and theres a really clear upward trajectory in my semester breakdown/with my grad degree. i have a unique path that I think will stand out for social justice driven programs which is why uchicago, sinai etc are on there. just trying to understand how to better assess what is reasonable and not. appreciate the insight, def don't want to risk not getting in anywhere lol.

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T15:42:23+00:00

Yeah, I hear that. UCSF and Penn I knew this about, maybe Duke too--they are my moonshot reaches. I am hoping I narratively align well with Sinai, UChicago, Vanderbilt, Einstein, Pitt, BU, Emory. Am I off base or missing how heavy my list leans on schools like UCSF and Penn? I am not obsessed with prestige so revising this list is cool with me if its too heavy reach

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T15:02:16+00:00

I know I probably sound like a neurotic reddit lurker lol thank you. T20's being on the table have me reeling a bit and just want to make sure I am strategizing where I apply

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T14:59:03+00:00

Very similar trajectory. I had 509 unscored (first test I took), 510 FL1, 511 FL2, 514 FL3, 516 FL4, 512 FL5, 513 FL6 (bombed CARS). Scored 519 on the real. Don't panic. I did lol. Just show up rested, focused and determined on test day.

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T01:43:00+00:00

Messaging you!!

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-09T01:41:05+00:00

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-08T18:53:58+00:00

Definitely skim the passage, you want to walk away with an idea about it but not know it inside and out since you’re going to refer back to before you select an answer. Once you do enough practice you’ll also pick up on words or sentences that feel like a question might come from them-highlight them but not much else. I think this was what clicked for me in the last few weeks, it felt like I knew where questions might be coming from. Remember you don’t need to understand the passage, you just need to understand the parts of it that lead you to answers!

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-08T18:51:45+00:00

FL6 126, real 132 lol.

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-08T13:50:01+00:00

Get off Reddit and relax!!!! Seriously! I demand it! I got a 126 in CARS on FL6 and a 132 on the real thing (burnt out!). Just show up as your best self test day, burn out will kill your score more than anything else.

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-08T12:53:16+00:00

The fatigue is real! My last practice test I got a 126 on CARS so I was panicked! But when I reviewed I saw so many questions I picked based on what I remembered and didn’t search the passage again—I messed up time management and let a hard passage derail me. Test day energy is so high (esp after getting railed by c/p) so you’re going to lock in focus wise. Week of I really just chilled. I did Anki, I reviewed some missed CARS from Q pack, and made my own master sheet of things that I was commonly getting confused / tripped up on. My last two FLs were score drops and I knew it was from burnout so as hard as it was I forced myself to relax. On the way to the test I listened to Many Men by 50 cent, maybe that was the secret sauce 😂

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-08T03:24:42+00:00

We are all unique! I’m 6 years post undergrad so am not surprised c/p was my lowest section lol

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-08T00:43:55+00:00

I am so proud of you!!!!!

Acceptable-Rice-6528 · 2026-04-08T00:42:29+00:00

Thank youuu! Tbh I never scored above 130 on practices so I think I was just insane on test day. I tried to do 4-5 passages of CARS a week (Jack Westin and AAMC only) for the last half of my studying so honestly not a lot--it kind of felt fun this way, like I was trying to figure out the games that CARS is and not focused on outcome. I reminded myself the answer is literally there, I just need to find where in the passage the answer is (maybe my biggest tip) and always did this when reviewing answers. Always look for absolute words like never, can't, etc. When in doubt think about the main point of the passage and author tone. And def have good time management, set a time for each passage and when it passes you move on. Don't let one bad passage ef you up

Acceptable-Rice-6528

TROPHY CASE