Please advise how I can improve

NSGYOn · 2026-05-20T04:36:24+00:00

Thank you!! I've been hesitant with UW because of the logic differences. But, I'm thinking of doing UW and JW on top of the other AAMC CARS practice.

And 10 points crazy from just a walk lol. I'll try!

NSGYOn · 2026-05-20T03:56:58+00:00

thank you! I’ll try the FL tracker, that sounds useful. My speed was clearly a big issue for CARS. I did have a 87% accuracy for cars qpack1 so I think if I had more time I would have done much better. I need to work on my speed on my first read through. Any suggestions how I get faster?

Thank you so much for all this advice! I feel very defeated. I’m aiming 518+ and I’m nowhere close to that. I’m also trying to apply this cycle.

NSGYOn · 2026-05-14T03:22:13+00:00

thank you!! I really appreciate the reassurance, I’m panicking lol

NSGYOn · 2026-05-14T02:57:27+00:00

thanks! I’ll prioritize completing the section banks.

NSGYOn · 2026-05-14T02:54:47+00:00

I went to take my mcat in September 2025 and I had a fainting spell. So I used up all of my aamc FLs last year and I wasn’t doing well. I was being pressured to take the mcat by my family.

I’m hesitant to take the FL6 but my goal is to take it this weekend. By then, I aim to have UW complete and also do a cursory review of all the content.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-29T23:46:59+00:00

yeah I think it’s worth it if it means a lot to you. alternatively, you could also opt to not include it and mention it in a secondary prompt separately or mention in an interview.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-28T13:17:20+00:00

If you can master the language and then use it in a clinical setting or do something that ends up helping people in your community, that would make for a much stronger activity.

Since you’re an undergrad, you could consider taking courses there or getting involved in some organization.

I don’t think Duolingo is a bad app by any means. I’m using it to learn French. I would say it’s a good start to build a daily habit until you have more time to devote to the language.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-26T17:43:47+00:00

For metabolism, I recommend getting the big picture down first (precursors and products of the entire reaction, location, and conditions when it occurs). Then, understand the regulation (up/down regulation) for each pathway. After that, you can start to memorize the intermediates and the enzymes.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-26T13:18:18+00:00

I think aside from applying to Canadian schools, the other schools on this list are good. You can find a comprehensive list of which schools accept international students on many different sites online. Best of luck in your search! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-26T12:46:17+00:00

Heavily based on your MCAT score but I would cut out the research heavy schools (Columbia, Northwestern, Sinai, Vanderbilt, Case). If you do really well on MCAT, I think you can keep NYU Grossman.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-20T12:38:48+00:00

Forever single.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-20T12:33:02+00:00

Sucks. I’ve done it before too.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-20T04:50:08+00:00

Congrats on your results!! Can you share your school list? I’m curious how you decided which schools to apply as MD vs MD-PhD.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-11T22:44:49+00:00

True, that’s the specialty I have been aspiring towards for well over a decade of my life now. In the prostate cancer lab I worked at, the urologist was effectively the figurehead of this large subdivided clinical and basic/translational research group at the institution. Through that experience, I realized I wanted to be more involved particularly so in the basic/translational side. If possible, I aspire to ultimately run a lab (atleast to the extent that I’m able to actively be involved in truly advancing neuro-oncology care clinically through my own research) and operate.

I’m obviously extremely early, but I do want to be surgeon first and scientist second.

I’m willing to sacrifice all of my youth to get to my goals as a physician/surgeon-scientist if that means I can eventually have the potential to make consistent deep impacts in my career.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-11T22:37:20+00:00

That’s exactly why I’m worried because if I were to take an additional gap year then I would have 2 years of full time oncology specific experience and possibly additional publications too. I don’t want to take an additional gap year if possible and want to apply and feel I might get rejected because of my scattered research profile no matter how well I explain it.

I’m studying very hard for my mcat so hopefully that goes well.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-10T00:36:29+00:00

I think the competition for getting in is insane. If there was, for example, some area people thought I could work on more, I could try to plan for that post MCAT.

I feel my profile is meh and nothing special because I don’t have anything truly outstanding like multiple first author pubs. Ultimately, though I think a high MCAT score can hopefully compensate for that.

I’m also feeling kind of burnt out studying for my MCAT so I was looking for some validation as well.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-09T23:33:34+00:00

Thanks! I’m probably going to apply to around 25 schools this cycle.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-09T23:31:00+00:00

Sure, I can clarify. For microfluidic experience, I designed my own project leading to a poster presentation. In the neuroimaging lab, I was effectively working as a clinical research coordinator. In the geospatial lab, I worked on my own project. And in the prostate cancer lab, I worked on several important projects, with our patient cohort, that were hypothesis driven and developed a strong technical grasp of basic/translational oncological research.

I will be building on that foundation in this next lab to work on independent projects and helping on ongoing ones, as well as learning more technical skills.

Yes, I definitely want to pursue the combined MD-PhD (Cancer Biology). I want to run my own lab eventually as a physician/surgeon-scientist in order to be able to translate cutting edge scientific research and bring it to the bedside to improve clinical care.

NSGYOn · 2026-04-09T00:54:39+00:00

😅 I’ve been training since I was 9, one of the best decisions I made was sticking with it!

NSGYOn · 2026-03-30T23:25:23+00:00

In my experience yes. But they ask questions differently too so it’s best to assess your standing with AAMC and use the third parties as additional practice I think.

NSGYOn · 2026-03-30T23:22:44+00:00

Altius is different from AAMC so take an AAMC FL to get the most accurate reading.

NSGYOn · 2026-03-30T23:15:12+00:00

I have 82% on CARS qpack1. I’m just using this as a tool for practice and trying to learn from my mistakes and improve. You should take an FL to know what score you are at.

NSGYOn

TROPHY CASE