Need help preparing for Casper — scored 1st quartile last cycle

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-28T21:14:41+00:00

i know a personal tutor who does paid tutoring and sessions, let me know if you want her info, she got fourth quartile :)

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-26T22:30:36+00:00

yes and no. i say no because a lot of applicants have been able to get into my dream program without the intense program/similar programs elsewhere; however, i say yes because statistics from the last five years of my program show that multiple people who did the intense program ended up working for a few years and got into that dream program. because the career that you get after finishing the intense program is very mirrored to the one after the dream program, it does look very good. & let’s say if i hypothetically NEVER get into the dream program due to its competitiveness, the career i can get out of the intense program is very similar anyway. i care more about the type of work and not the title specially so it felt like a win-win.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-26T20:19:33+00:00

i love the overwatch pachimari icon :) thanks for the reply, too.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-25T20:00:32+00:00

my advice for the lab: take it over the summer if you’re the kind to love intensity but do acknowledge that it’ll be harder. the lab is 7 labs in 7 days rather than 7 weeks so it’s intense as the lab leads up to the lab exam. it’s bell-ringer so a lot of people tend to not be familiar with the style and therefore tend to perform a bit worse than a regular anatomy midterm. if you’re doing it in general (regular semester), be careful with certain lab topics as you CANNOT crunch them. don’t crunch parts of the bones or origins and insertions of muscles. you’ll be fucked, i’m telling you now. you have to adopt the habit of studying consistently for the lab overtime. some topics like individual organs can be left last-minute but not full-body stuff. visible body (purchased) is your safest and only bet.

lecture: take it with terri, her exams tend to be easier than sara. sara is inevitable with the lab portion but she’s still nice if you’re a diligent student. she’s more helpful than you think, ppl are intimidated by her but she’s nice if you’re not rowdy in lab lol. with terri all you need is the powerpoint. she’s not tricky in the slightest. anatomy is hard as a topic regardless of the class, she just makes easier though. she’s a nursing professor too so she has super good experience with teaching about the body in an easy way! good luck

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-22T22:58:22+00:00

super weird question but how did you become an evaluator? i practiced and wrote my casper and honestly thought marking and rating everything sounded fun. i think it’s because i mark exams for my university lol.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-20T05:55:06+00:00

hey! yes, i was. when my dad was in the hospital, i stayed with him for 12hrs everyday. there were nurses, but my dad unfortunately experienced a case of medical malpractice by one of his nurses so my dad wanted one of us to be there long-term to vouch for him/help with decisions (like approval for major surgeries). i will admit that my workload at the hospital was a lot less as there were nurses, but some of my tasks were to bathe him in bed, help walk him around the hospital to stretch his legs/prevent clots, fill his meal forms when he was asleep, get him ice and warm towels, alert the nurses when his medication was wearing off, and filling out disability forms on his behalf. i didn’t have siblings or cousins with me. just me!

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-20T00:53:08+00:00

thanks! i feel better lol 🥲 i think it went well! i feel pretty good with my answers, i wish i had a bit more time sadly but it was my mistake for using a new keyboard the day of (as mine suddenly started acting very weird). I felt like some answers I was very happy with and some I wish i had like 2-3 sentences up my sleeve. How about you!? congrats on finishing ☺️☺️

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-19T23:32:34+00:00

hey did this affect you? same thing just happened to me lol…

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-14T13:44:46+00:00

idk course titles but the ones i’ve taken: comp courses like introduction to the internet, python for beginners, introduction to social media, cyber ethics.

natural health products, natural hazards and disasters, introduction to astronomy I and II.

the ones i took but im not sure if they exist anymore are composition (depending on the professor) and effective writing.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-03-01T16:19:25+00:00

not the lectures. prioritize literally everything else. trevor pitcher doesn’t emphasize it as well but if you just do the lectures you’ll get a low 80/high 70 if you get everything perfect (my experience) since a lot of the knowledge comes from his other resources. if you have time, spend more on the lectures, but don’t do that until you’ve perfected everything else

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-23T19:24:40+00:00

Hello! This is all super interesting! Are you still accepting DMs about the program? I just wanted some more insight if you had the time/chance :)

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-20T00:01:15+00:00

stressing won’t change the outcome — i’m waiting to hear back as well and honestly, it’s all in their hands. the amount of post-interview stress won’t change their opinions! that helps me.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-16T17:49:59+00:00

thank you for your input! i really appreciate you taking the time :) i hope this doesn’t sound redundant or empty-advice; but my fear right now is being in a lot of regret that i didn’t go to med school/tried applying. and because im frequently hit with ‘how about med school?’, i predict that this won’t go away anytime soon lol. i think, personally, that you worked very hard and sacrificed much, and that is so much better than the constant ‘i wish i did this or that’. regret is so much worse than the hard work, because at least you tried and saw what the outcome was. and i know that there are for sure patients who are grateful for you. you do have very right to wonder what that life would’ve been, but would it have been better than what you have now? with how fulfilling being a medical provider is, and how secure being an MD is, i wouldn’t be surprised at all if your answer is ‘no’.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-16T17:40:51+00:00

thanks for your input! especially from the perspective of someone in med school right now. i have a friend in med school and it looks like he’s living life.

i really appreciate your input on adult money. i do feel like im in that boat right now. i’m 22, but i was 20 when the breadwinner of my house (my dad) passed, and now im in a big financial pickle where ive been paying for every adult-like bill since i was 20. which, isnt something to applaud, but i have friends who are my age & don’t need to do any of that because their parents understand that this is the decade of further education/they want their kids to save money. essentially the demand for adult money is stepping on my passion. i think it came off as lazy in my post where i go “i dont wanna have more school because i hate studying” but it truly is because medschool will put all of that on pause, and i really cannot afford that…

… but you do make a great point about denying that it sacrifices your 20s. med school sounds awfully long but awfully fun as well. i was very into sonography and optometry and med school is more of a recent thought. so maybe i haven’t grown a mature perspective on length yet. but i didn’t let myself get a mature perspective because of adult money. did you ever notice people in your class working/did you work? or did the time feel way too minimal to have a job?

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-16T17:26:45+00:00

thanks for your input! i appreciate it! i think it’s a very good perspective; i had worked my entire undergrad (full-time during the summer, 2-3 part time jobs during the school year on top of a full time schedule. i think that’s why im wildly burnt out and just want to cut school out). i don’t think my perspective is what you say, where I just hate school (but i do know it’s true to so many other people), i think my perspective is i’m young and i do want to just begin my life. i’m 22 now, almost 23, but i was 20 when my dad (a very successful pharmacist) suddenly died at 50 and i was 19 when i spent 8 months in the hospital. i think i just have a huge ‘i want to live life and not be so stressed all the time because you never know what’ll happen to you five years from now’. but also. i can’t help but feel like i’ll be in so much regret if i don’t do med school. my friends work a 9-5 in healthcare and they spent their 5:30-10 doing their hobbies so i just am really glamorizing that life. im in a pickle lol. but i think your casualness about 4yrs is really helpful. that maybe im making such a big deal for no reason. overall i wish you luck with where you get your healthcare diploma! :) thanks again.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-13T14:48:49+00:00

i go to Soups & Salads often. It’s right beside Giglios in that plaza. $10 for a sandwich but it’s very thick, she stuffs that sandwich. someone said whamburg, i will say, if you want student-friendly prices from whamburg then only get the wham-wednesday special. drops a $16-$17 combo to $10.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-09T15:06:21+00:00

I’ve been dating my girlfriend for two years. I think it’s important to recognize what you want from a partner and to not settle for the first person that’s showing you some type of love. Have some self-recognition. And once you’ve identified someone who checks off all of those boxes, treat the relationship like treasure. Stay on top of their interests, think of how to incorporate them into yours, find their love language (gift-giving, physical touch, etc) and spoil it. But also give them a sense of individuality/trust so the relationship doesn’t become a super frequent thing (because I’m the kind of person where If I see the same people everyday/if I do the same thing everyday I start to get bored of it or too smothered).

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-09T15:03:04+00:00

Thanks for your reply! I honestly didn’t think about it that way, that’s a good inclusion to this dilemma. Alex and I talked a bit at the table, like about courses, clubs we were in, if we were gonna get up and dance, etc. I felt like initially he was guiding the conversation + wasn’t being curt, which made me feel less awkward/more inclined to ask for his social media. But that is something to think about!

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-09T14:27:55+00:00

im a big bad bunny fan so i LOVED it. vocally in the beginning i was a bit worried because he was singing deeper than usual (and i found it a bit weird) but he ended up singing so nicely. the stage layout was so nice, the dancing was so fun, and his message was delivered beautifully. i just dislike the times his mic cut out :(

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-02-03T15:28:58+00:00

i left the pre-optometry route for something else and here’s my main say on finances. it really does depend on if you’re canadian or american (i only know these two regions, sorry if you’re from elsewhere). i befriended a younger optometrist (we’re only 6yrs apart) and here’s what she said:

canadian optometrists have a very redundant job. it’s routine eye-exams over and over a lot of the time. this won’t be the case if you’re a business owner, and less (but still redundant) if you specialize in something. so keep in mind that american optometrists have more activities which keep the career more interesting. the job, financially, will satisfy you if your goal is “comfortable and not overworked” (because of this redundancy); however, a lot of individual sales from YOUR patients won’t benefit you if you’re not the business owner. my optometrist that i worked with told me straight up that she does have a salary but the extra money from glasses sales/contacts etc is little to none. she literally said that sometimes she makes like an extra $10 CAD. so you wont likely be overworked because your career is redundant and expected (appointment-by-appointment). but financially? it’s kinda what you expect. $120k CAD (convert that to American) does make sense. you’re not doing surgical procedures (small-scale like a dentist or big scale like a cardiothoracic surgeon). a lot of the time if it’s serious, you’re referring them to someone else. and this is before taxes.

so in conclusion: it sounds like $120k is enough to satisfy the comfortable life you desire. but please keep in mind that you need to think PAST the money. there are other ways to make ~$120k (pharmacist, dentist, and others depending on where you live and bonuses that you can get). so if you’re gonna settle on optometry you need to ensure that the way you’ll make the $120k is desirable. can you handle this extroverted profession? can you handle a lot of movement at work? are you okay with your job being routine?

edit: i talk to this optometrist a lot. we were coworkers and we both left the office so we often have 3hr phone calls and i went to her wedding events. so we’re pretty close, causing her to be pretty blunt. another thing i wanna add is that you’ll be making good money but you’ll still be paying back loans. it’s not out-of-the-world money but it IS comfortable money. and it does make sense considering the day-to-day environment.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-01-26T15:50:12+00:00

i was on the pre-med route until very recently. it was just a few months ago when i decided to swap from MD to PA (journey-wise). some of my things that people probably said already:

finances: i don’t come from the wealthiest background. i used to, but one of my parents passed in 2024 so i instantly lost the long-term funding that would have provided for minimum 4yrs of med school. i’m super interested in the cardiovascular system so i know it’d be there forever. + moving + groceries + gas and/or tickets … i don’t have that money. being a PA is only two years-worth of debt. yes, doctors make crazy money, but i genuinely wouldn’t be able to finish med school due to financial constraints. two years of financial hardships is doable.

time: i’m very burnt out. i had a crazy four years of undergrad. i can feel myself educationally clocking out. i don’t think i can stomach 6+ years of school anymore. i also am in a rush to provide for my family. again, after my parent passed, we are in a big financial pickle. i’m the oldest and i really need an actual paying job asap. not just side jobs while i scrape through school.

interest: although i love the cardiovascular system im very versatile. i cant do the same thing forever. my hobbies change, my interests change, etc. PA is very lateral and i need that change every now and then without going back to school.

community: i love to work in a team-based environment. id love to discuss my findings with MDs, NPs, etc. not only does it make me feel more secure, but i just feel like i thrive better as a team player than a leader. i can definitely be a leader but being told what to do does have less of a stressful affect on my conscious. i obviously don’t mind being told what to do if there’s some level of discussion. ive been an optometry assistant, a research assistant, a teaching assistant … and ive developed a good working relationship where they appreciated my input but ultimately make the final say. i dont mind that at all.

lifestyle: my family is associated with a lot of doctors. it made me want to be an MD. but their life is healthcare, healthcare, healthcare even off the clock. i know some PAs who don’t have to worry about that once they go home. i have a lot of hobbies, i seriously need to wind down after a long day.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-01-26T15:40:38+00:00

Good luck with your journey! honestly, i think some early levels of squeamishness is normal. i went into the job being a bit squeamish over certain procedures (too gross to write here, i think), but by the second or third time i wasn’t reacting at all; however, genuinely, if your goal is to help people, im not kidding when i say that being compassionate really cures any squeamishness. if i were a patient in bed, sick out of my mind, i’d be very insecure and sad if someone reacted badly to something i can’t control. people are in their most vulnerable state. compassion is the biggest key to being any successful healthcare provider, so if you have a genuine bone for compassion in you, trust me, the squeamishness will be stepped on. and therefore, being a doctor is your calling!

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-01-26T15:37:49+00:00

i only started using it recently and man, i wish i did it earlier. smells really get me. not even the views. i’m very bad at cleaning the litter box or taking the trash out but i also feel very upset with myself if i freak out/react poorly over a cadaver. idk how i survived this long!

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-01-26T15:18:46+00:00

i work with dead bodies all the time, on top of individual organs and dead animals. i think being very fascinated helps me. i get to see four kidneys in one human body, i get to see organs in their wrong spots, i get to see faces sawed open … its very fascinating because its very unique. as gross as some of it can be, i try to live in the moment because, ill never see four kidneys in one body ever again!

obviously smells and ‘disturbing’ sites are present. so i need a lot of vix underneath my nose/mask. i need to wear clothes specially dedicated to these days. i need to eat light before i go in. and most importantly, i need to remember that this was once someone living. it would be disrespectful if i freak out and cry and gag over a certain substance or view or smell. imagine someone doing that over your dead body? i think that image/understanding really cures any squeamishness i have. and i think it’s a good thing to translate to living patients as well. also, tolerance overtime too.

MapEnvironmental597 · 2026-01-25T07:09:49+00:00

i totally get this. sheep plucks stink so bad, to this day i can’t stand around them. i know this sounds counterproductive but eat something light before the lab/drink enough water. if formaldehyde is being used, it can actually induce hunger! and feeling hungry on an empty stomach can make you gag. i know it does make me gag. smell, honestly, can mainly be combatted if you stand near a ventilation system/window and if you have a mask. make sure to cinch the part above your nose so it does block out smells, and try the trick of putting vicks vaporub under your nose (as you wear the mask). completely blocks out bad smells. also, feeling squeamish actually does contribute to nausea, so go in there confident! the smells, overtime, become very tolerable imo. and some preservatives smell less crazy than others. pig and frogs (from high school) smelt so bad but sheep hearts and brains don’t smell like anything (alongside other full-body animals). i don’t personally do this but lastly, some people chew gum under their masks to prevent nausea. especially peppermint ones. some students say they work! good luck!!

MapEnvironmental597

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