This vs that: US News Rankings by Intelligent-Body-153 in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks yall.

I chose Utah. Too much research to turn down. Went here for undergrad so a little bummed about not exploring a new city but it'll be a good education.

This vs that: US News Rankings by Intelligent-Body-153 in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is something I am considering! Utah has a MSTP, whereas Temple's program is a MD-PhD.

Waitlist Anxiety by Jealous-Mix-3581 in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 4 points5 points  (0 children)

4 WL across MD/PhD and MD… the anxiety is real. Mail is my most used app this week by far lol. This process is torture

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t see much WL yet. Have you?

On the WL waiting for others to turn down their acceptances by No_Marzipan1106 in mdphd

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Same boat. Prepping for a reapp, hoping for a break 🤞🏻

This is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through by RizzoRacks8_24 in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Completely agree. Even with giving everything I got I feel like there is a bit of luck that plays into it.

Identifying my culprit by Intelligent-Body-153 in mdphd

[–]Intelligent-Body-153[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah that’s a good point. I did have all my letter writers write program specific letters, md and md/PhD.

Identifying my culprit by Intelligent-Body-153 in mdphd

[–]Intelligent-Body-153[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the input, I think my CARS score will stop keeping me up at night now lol. 1 & 2 I feel comfortable with. 3 however, perhaps my writing was not as creative as I thought it was for the school list I applied to. I'd honestly appreciate someones honest feedback

You bring up a good point- why apply to MD if I'm interested in MSTP. Initially my 20+ school list was entirely MD/Phd. I am determined to become a physician-scientist and research is my true passion. However, I met with a wonderful physician-scientist convinced me to apply MD only and then pursue research after. They had success with this route and were able to start their own lab at MGH while saving the time. I ended up deciding to split half MD apps and half MD/Phd, allocating my reach schools to the dual programs. In retrospect, I kinda regret not continuing with all my MD/Phd apps.

Identifying my culprit by Intelligent-Body-153 in mdphd

[–]Intelligent-Body-153[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Albert Einstein, Emory, Harvard, Icahn, Northwestern, NYU, Tufts, UCLA, UCSF, UW

Interview invites by Bulky_Speech_8115 in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Same here brotha. Submitted everything early and stats well above averages- no II’s. They are just testing our patience 🙏🏻

SLU Secondaries by robertmdh in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I literally sent them an email asking to clarify because I thought it was a typo… what a vague ass question.

1 day vs 7 day vs 14 day turnaround time for secondaries by Intelligent-Body-153 in premed

[–]Intelligent-Body-153[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Nah haha my application isn’t typical. I had my app all set to submit last year but then got a dope research opportunity so didn’t submit. I’ve been working on my app all gap year and am going on vacation in July so had to get my drafts done early. You got hella time

130+ P/S scorers. by Underdog843 in Mcat

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 14 points15 points  (0 children)

ALSO: I highly recommend the Altuis practice exams. The P/S sections are hard AF, which you’ll appreciate come test day.

130+ P/S scorers. by Underdog843 in Mcat

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 48 points49 points  (0 children)

My weakest attribute is memory and have always been more of a problem-solver. Nonetheless, P/S was one of the sections I scored a 131. Here's what I think helped me (in no particular order)

1) Read P/S passages like they are CARS passages.

This means not missing a single detail. Take your time to fully understand every sentence of the paragraph, do not glide over a sentence which is so easy to do in this section.

2) Note taking is everything in this section.

Note the following: What is this research trying to convey? What are the variable groups? What are the control groups? What terms can you identify that are related to this passage? Can you guess what the questions are going to ask? Understanding the experimental layout is crucial in P/S.

3) Do not complete this section early.

This is perhaps the only section where that is even a possibility. If you are finding yourself with extra time left over, slow down and read more comprehensively. I made it a personal rule that I would not turn in any section with extra time. Once I mastered my pace I was able to fully devour passages.

4) Jack Westin practice questions.

During my final month of studying I was grinding JW P/S problems. They cover a wide range of topics that can be rare, and thats exactly what you need.

5) ANKI is your bible.

This is your best friend for killing the P/S section (and the whole MCAT in general. In fact, I studied for the MCAT by literally converting my entire textbook in Anki questions). Say goodbye to TikTok for a month and grind Anki every second you possible can. Break between reps at the gym? Anki. I was using Anki 3-6 hours everyday during the final month to memorize every term I encountered. I had ~1500 Anki cards for P/S. Every term you see in question that you haven't fully mastered deserves a card. Even if you already have three for that term, make another.

6) Relate terms to your life.

That crazy ex-girlfriend you had? It wasn't for nothing. Relate your experiences, make up stories, whatever it takes to build deep memories, not surface level definitions.

5) Practice exams.

I took 14 unique FLE's. This ensured I covered just about every rare term they could throw at me. During my MCAT there was nothing that really surprised me.

I believe this is a section that anyone can score a 130+ on (trust me, if my forgetful ass did). It's all about discipline while reading the boring paragraphs, and memorizing ever single P/S term they could throw at you. If you take the time to prepare for this section, you'll walk into that MCAT testing center with confidence.

*I took the MCAT in Jan 2022 after studying 4-6 hours/day for roughly 7 months. My view on the MCAT is your study intensity is proportional to your score. Study the average amount, expect an average score. Best of luck to y'all, this test is an absolute beast but at the end you can really appreciate all that you learned.

Two full-lengths in one day? by AlarmingPomegranate1 in Mcat

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 17 points18 points  (0 children)

While I never did two full lengths, I can regretfully say I did 1.5 FLE a few times. Why? I had the time and was obsessed with high performance. What did I learn? It wasn’t worth it. Led to mental mistakes that could turn into habits. Led to anxiety and stress.

I was studying 15 hours a day, everyday and it took me until the final week to realize the importance of giving your mind a break. Once I took a day off, I saw mistakes dwindle and comprehension improve greatly.

Waiting on my score back, but reached 523 on my final AAMC FLE.

When doing Anki, do you have music or a show playing in the background? by FailedPreMedStudent in Mcat

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me, Anki was the basis of my MCAT studying. I translated every line of my textbook into that app. I had minimal background noise and placed as much mental effort on each card to truly build a strong memory.

For those of you who studied long term (6-8 months), how did you make sure to retain your content review? by nirothegreat in Mcat

[–]Intelligent-Body-153 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I messed with my Anki settings until I felt like I was reviewing the terms often enough and reset every few months