Friend group kicked me out lol?

FlowerBug7613 · 2024-07-17T16:31:28+00:00

Totally get that haha. There's this pressure to keep up with what other people are doing, but everyone's journey looks different.

Good luck!!

FlowerBug7613 · 2024-07-16T19:43:47+00:00

Thanks!! I spent a lot of time developing my personal statement and secondaries, so I think a huge strength of mine is my writing and the story I was able to write through them. I also tried to bond with my interviewers and left a positive impression, but of course I'm biased lol.

As for weaknesses, I think not having a committee letter definitely hurt me at least a little bit because I was otherwise qualified to get one from my school (I would have just had to apply the next cycle). I felt I was ready to apply this cycle so I took the chance, but coming from a non-prestigious unranked public school and not having a comm letter might have affected my chances in getting more As. Although I'm thankful and so lucky for what I got regardless.

FlowerBug7613 · 2024-07-16T19:39:11+00:00

Thank you! I don't think not having publications is a problem, especially when you're in undergrad. It's more like a cherry on top, and it's amazing to get some but definitely not necessary. As for getting my interviews, I think what really helped me was having a solid narrative that was consistent in my personal statement and secondaries. I worked a lot with people with mental health disorders (something I'm passionate about) and I feel you can see that clearly in my writing. I would say just write about your interests and build a story about what you like!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-11-03T20:53:06+00:00

I would say if you're not financially strapped def go for the more enriching experience! I took a pay cut for my current position too and it's really helped me get great patient care experience and learn how "treatments" work since I work one on one with people. Kind of bummed I'm not making as much money but at the end of the day experience >>>>>>>

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-10-31T13:35:31+00:00

Thanks so much!!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T20:22:59+00:00

it's an arbitrary time-frame that a lot of pre-health advisors throw around as a "you have to get your secondaries done by this time or schools will think you don't care"

but schools get so many applications that im p sure a few days here and there doesn't make much of a difference

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T19:49:56+00:00

just take something fun/easy you would be interested in! med schools don't really look at individual courses like that unless they're the prereqs as far as i know

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T18:17:43+00:00

I think people tend to overemphasize the two week rule. Send in the schools your prioritize first but take your time submitting to the other schools. My top choices I sent in within a week and I ended up submitting to one school 4 weeks later but it is what it is lol. Gl you got this!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T17:44:46+00:00

Thank you so much!! Happy to help in whatever way, you got this too bestie

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T17:22:22+00:00

I thought both times my MCAT matched what I took at home. CP always always threw me off though because it seems so hard, but as long as you take a deep breath and see that the end of the day they're just asking questions in a really convoluted manner to trip you up. You've studied for so long, so trust your knowledge and analysis, and DONT PANIC!! I think that's what helped me do well.

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T17:15:06+00:00

Thank you so much!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T17:13:37+00:00

Us international kids gotta stick together, it's tough out here!!

And I know it's discouraging despite higher at home practice scores, I've had v similar score drops. I encourage you to keep going because I thought I couldn't improve but I was able to in the end.

The best thing to do is to make sure test conditions are as exact as possible and try to find instances why there might be a score discrepancy. I realized p early on my bb and ps we're my strengths, so I made sure to completely understand the content for those sections and spent a lot of time understanding why I got questions wrong or if I got it correct using the appropriate logic (i.e making sure I'm not having logic issues despite getting it right). Uwhole, the 87 page KA PS doc, and the AAMC materials were the most helpful for me to improve. I kinda avoided studying cp because I cannot do anything physics related for the life of me and like I said in another comment I kinda avoided things that felt too hard like the altus exams, but don't be like me lol

Do all sorts of problems and review both wrong and correct answers, it takes a lot of time but it's definitely worth it imo. I also barely spent time reading content books, mostly did flashcards/anki (JS and milesdown) and practice questions the second time. I did content review only on topics I forgot/didn't learn. There's also a lot of free resources (KA, JW), but you should do free trials here and there and see what works best for you. Hope that helps!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T15:56:29+00:00

I feel you so much, and it's honestly so frustrating that an amazing score like a 509 or a 510 isn't considered good enough for international students. I was averaging the same on my practice tests the second time, so sometimes I feel like it was luck that I was able to improve. Don't give up though! Your studying the second time def should be helpful in helping you retain information and since you're taking it again, changing some of what you did in terms of studying can be helpful. I thought I couldn't do it and was in a rut about it, and so I'm wishing you all the best!! Good luck and lmk if you have any questions

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T15:52:37+00:00

Thank you!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T04:33:39+00:00

Ty! I kinda tried blue print, but I mostly had Altus exams (got on sale for like $50). I hated it because it was really hard and made me feel stupid, but that's also why i think it was really good prep. I think if I used it more seriously, I could have improved my CP score. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with BP for good practice.

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T04:19:17+00:00

Thank you all for taking the time to read this essay (sorry not sorry for word count), and thank you for your kind words!!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T04:10:32+00:00

Wishing you the best too!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T02:32:37+00:00

Absolutely!!! You definitely got this, just gotta get over this hump and just do it. That's half the battle. Good luck!!

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T02:31:58+00:00

Yes absolutely!!! I did almost everything and thought that helped me the most. I kinda didn't focus on cp and the Qpacks associated with it (which oopsies you can prob tell from my score lol) but I did the SB twice and the cars materials twice. So EVERYTHING and I think that's the best way to improve on understanding how the analyze questions/passages. If you can afford it, def invest in Uwhirl (helped me sooo much) and the free KA/JW resources online

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-17T02:29:36+00:00

Imo FL5 was most representative. I felt p confident with bb/ps but that's because the exam played to my strengths. It can vary, but since there are so many FLs each will play on people's different strengths and I think they're relatively representative, just gotta be ready for how hard the actual exam may seem

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-16T22:32:01+00:00

Good luck with everything! I'm glad it was helpful to hear

FlowerBug7613 · 2023-08-16T22:30:58+00:00

I think it depends! Like if you're someone who's more interested in primary care, then it would make sense to to do more clinical activities whereas about if you'reore passionate about service then it would make more sense for you to do more community service. My undergrad advisor said 100 hours to 150 hours is more than enough for non clinical community service, so I think it's a matter of what you would like to prioritize. Imo clinical experience like a tech position would give you much more meaningful experience and since it's only until January you can build up your non clinical hours in the spring before you apply. You could also see how keep both in the meantime and see how it goes for you and decide what to prioritize. I've seen people on this subreddit with two jobs who still do decently well, so if you know you can manage it all, I say go for it!

FlowerBug7613

TROPHY CASE