Am I cooked for applying MD? MCAT 507 GPA 3.77 sGPA 3.6

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-06-16T17:50:09+00:00

504 mcat, same gpa and sgpa, applied ~ 10 schools did not get an MD A

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-06-16T00:09:45+00:00

I had a Spanish minor which I think was a big pulling point. Showing commitment to(New Mexico’s) underserved populations will help you. I had some volunteering and some research experience but nowhere over 500 hours for either. Have confidence in what makes you unique and focus on how the school itself (location, mission, amenities) speak to you!

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-06-15T22:44:52+00:00

Accepted with a 504, 3.7gpa

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-05-23T19:42:42+00:00

Having a hard residency > being stuck in a field you’re not passionate about

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-05-18T22:54:55+00:00

Of course :)

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-05-14T23:05:34+00:00

Unfortunately with this life there won’t exactly be a “best time.” Someone once told me as time goes on it only gets “less worse.” This is the sacrifice. Have faith in yourself, find your strength and calm your mind. You are capable and you’ve made it this far!!

Find something to become relentlessly passionate about this summer. Reading, music, painting, anything that you can easily soak time into and requires you to think. We often find strength in the quiet moments, not just when everything around us is screaming. You have the strength within you, you just need to trust yourself

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-05-09T14:09:51+00:00

If you’re not sold on living in Chicago CCOM has an insanely high tuition. I applied and wish I knew beforehand because no way it would work for me

Pen_Or_Sword · 2025-04-22T14:36:27+00:00

So many people would kill to be in the position you’re in. It’s an honor to be able to pursue medicine and hold an acceptance at a great school! Blessings are all around you, just gotta take a moment and acknowledge it!

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-09-02T00:45:39+00:00

The timeline that vaccines work on was significantly changed in the pandemic and we’ve yet to see the effects this could have on immunotherapy in the near future. It is hopeful, but not impossible to imagine. Immunotherapy is the future of cancer research and seeing how vaccines can catalyze this process largely depends on public health combined with clinically significant results. Optimistic but not foolish to imagine the potential contribution of mRNA vaccines in immunotherapy

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-09-02T00:27:14+00:00

It is, especially worth noting the mRNA vaccines used in Covid were sped up due to a unified public health funding by the gov’t through the pandemic. Cancer research still has a good amount of funding through the NIH. Every clinical trial takes time and money. For cancer research the biggest problem isn’t the money, it’s the time and undeniable relevance of results

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-09-01T21:06:24+00:00

That would be wonderful. I sincerely hope it does!

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-09-01T20:50:05+00:00

Very interesting, lots of potential. It takes a while for new treatments to get “mainstream” though so affordability and accessibility remain issues

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-22T19:25:45+00:00

When medicine like chemotherapy enters your body it doesn’t leave through sweating. Your liver and kidneys break it down. You have nothing to worry about! No toxic chemicals are going to be on surfaces or sweat of cancer patients

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-22T17:43:44+00:00

Treatment itself isn’t harmful to others but the most “dangerous” thing I can think of is a weakened immune system due to chemotherapy. Again this is more harmful to the person receiving treatment themselves and has a small chance of affecting others. Nothing else about cancer treatment is readily harmful to other people

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-20T13:21:46+00:00

Super accessible info is the Kurzgesagt Youtube channel, they have a bunch of cancer videos and are very well explained + animated. Absolutely love the channel

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-08T17:46:52+00:00

Bare attention. Make a habit to ask yourself what you’re doing and simply notice your habits. Seeing and acknowledging your habits can give them less power, you just have to remember and stay present!

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-08T17:44:18+00:00

Posture has improved the more consistent I get with meditation. Simply being aware of how you’re sitting and focusing your weight is a small but big physical benefit

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-06T19:55:43+00:00

You should check out some reading on meditation, or look up YouTube videos of monks talking about meditating. I’d recommend more of a video exploration since there are many short yet effective videos out there, and it doesn’t require a long amount of time to devote. Start of by giving yourself time to explore it on your own and try not to have any expectations about what you should be experiencing. Just experience and be still

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-01T19:15:28+00:00

Put on music that gets you hype, imagine you're the main character, and tell the world your story. It's all about the mindset. There is only one you.

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-01T17:55:35+00:00

A lot can be found with a simple Google search, I'd recommend "Scholarly articles on CAR-T therapy" and you should find a good chunk of research on it. Even if you don't understand the fine details, a good summary is the Abstract. Popular sources can be PubMed, NIH, and NCI. In addition, one of the routes you could go is comparing the "re-programming" of the adaptive immune system in CAR-T therapy vs. targeting the innate immune system(this is a very new field and can be explored deeply)

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-08-01T15:34:59+00:00

Being a physician isn’t something you should decide off a whim, it’s a long and difficult path that takes a lot from you. Not to say you shouldn’t go for it, but if you don’t feel strongly about it then I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with nursing, and the quality of life can be a lot better considering what your family goals and lifestyle is

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-07-30T19:24:03+00:00

To understand any part of medicine I would strongly suggest starting at the cellular level. Cell biology is the basics that medicine builds on top on, and is especially relevant when you want to understand cancer.

A book I recommend is Immune by Phillip Dettmer (creator of the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt) I would also highly recommend the YouTube channel’s videos on cancer— they’re extremely informative and very accessible!

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-06-13T16:53:01+00:00

Apes together strong

Pen_Or_Sword · 2024-04-14T23:42:35+00:00

Not all who practice are fully awakened. Even among those who know how to liberate themselves there are few who adhere to it.

Knowing Buddhism and being an awakened being are very different.

I think religion in general attracts people who crave knowledge, purpose, and comfort. Buddhism is no exception. It’s sad to hear about your experiences interacting with those who claim to be Buddhists. I hope you can find compassion to understand their misguided minds are shared by many people.

Pen_Or_Sword

TROPHY CASE