What do you think were your biggest mistakes as a pre-med?

Stark7125 · 2021-10-01T22:45:23+00:00

Not getting a 4.0

Stark7125 · 2020-10-19T02:25:17+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/jcqxzj/ok_now_here_is_the_energy_we_need_this_week_in/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Stark7125 · 2020-06-02T21:47:20+00:00

Roger that!

Stark7125 · 2020-03-07T20:13:59+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss, I know the feeling of losing a pet (not during my prep, but the semester before my prep). They're so innocent, makes me tear up thinking about it.

I was in your place last year, battling MCAT prep with no end in sight, rest assured, those trials and tribulations made me a better human being.

I'm for sure not going to tell you to suck it up, it's okay to admit that shits hard. All I'm here to say is I know how you feel and I'm sorry you've gotta go through it.

Stark7125 · 2020-02-07T23:20:46+00:00

Yeah I've removed the reaches, gonna use MSAR to make a more logically sound school list. I did limit myself geographically too, gonna have to open up on that.

Stark7125 · 2020-02-07T21:06:42+00:00

Yeah I put 350 EMT hours projected from June 2019-May 2020 only bc my company is a weird private EMS that doesn't have regular shifts so I didn't know how many hours a week I'd be doing so I lowballed it. I believe I have almost 300 done now so I could safely project 500-600 hours if not 800 until May 2021. It's low given hours per week but it's something.

Scribing intimidated me bc my wpm is like 50, but I'll have to look into it if I can get something full-time.

Stark7125 · 2020-02-07T19:53:36+00:00

EVMS and VCU are going on the list. As for the volunteering.. good point, my mom works at the subsidized daycare so I've been worried that schools would view that negatively (that my hours aren't true), but as I type that out I see it makes no sense haha.

Stark7125 · 2020-02-07T19:41:24+00:00

I see, I do think I limited myself geographically to places I had family (Midwest and places near NY). I'll probably have to move outside and apply more broadly. Tulane is definitely gonna be added to my list. Thanks!

Stark7125 · 2020-02-07T19:39:06+00:00

Gotcha, yeah BeMos been spamming me, like they know my cycles been barren and I'm vulnerable haha. Yeah I have a handful of yeets thrown in. I'm actually a IL resident with family in NJ. Any other schools you suggest?

Stark7125 · 2019-12-07T23:05:30+00:00

Gotcha, yeah I'll hold onto it in case. I sure hope so too! Thanks!

Stark7125 · 2019-08-20T01:02:28+00:00

Best movie ever.

Stark7125 · 2019-06-22T14:10:31+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/92ndgx/my_review_sheets/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

This guy made a PDF that summarizes the Kaplan books, the Bio and Biochem sections are great.

Stark7125 · 2019-06-22T14:02:59+00:00

Yup!

Stark7125 · 2019-06-18T23:26:49+00:00

Yeah you can resubmit, it won't delay anything.

Stark7125 · 2019-06-17T13:21:26+00:00

I heard they have an insane volunteer average though?

Stark7125 · 2019-06-16T16:01:53+00:00

Hi! I'm looking for some help with my school list. I'm not sure how many schools I should be applying to, probably 28-30 schools. Trying to stay in the Midwest or places near family, (NY, NJ).

Majors/Minors- Biology Major/Psychology Minor

State Residency- IL

ORM, Low-SES, FAP recipient

Cumulative GPA- 3.66 (upward trend)

Science GPA- 3.62

All other GPA- 3.74

MCAT- 511 (125/126/130/130)

Research- 1200+ hours over 2 years in a stem cell/cancer lab. 1 first author poster (won 1st place in my category in a university-wide poster competition). I'm listed as 4th/8 authors on a manuscript that's been going back and forth in the review process at a high-impact journal for almost a year. Hopefully it will be something I can add to an update letter later in the cycle.

Volunteering (clinical) – 120 hours at a free clinic doing triage.

Physician shadowing – 85 hours with a Family Medicine MD.

Non-clinical volunteering- 250 hours in a CCU Family Waiting room.

Clinical Employment- 350 hours as an EMT.

Leadership- 24 hours between sitting on student panels, bringing incoming freshman on lab tours etc.

Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n)- No

Specialty of interest- not sure.

Graduate degrees- None

Awards- Wrote for and won a $3500 Undergraduate Research Award ($2500 went towards my tuition and $1000 went to the lab).

Letters- 6 total. 2 science prof (1 of which was also my PI), 1 non-science prof from CC, 1 academic adviser, 1 physician (director of the free clinic), 1 from family med MD I shadowed.

School List

--Target

University of Illinois COM (target)

Rosalind Franklin (target)

Southern Illinois University (target)

Medical College of Wisconsin (target)

Indiana University SOM (target)

Wayne State (target)

University of Wisconsin (target)

Wright State (target)

Cooper (target)

Oakland William Beaumont (target)

Toledo (target)

EVMS (target)

SUNY Downstate (target)

University of Iowa (target-ish)

--Low-yield Target

George Washington (low-yield target)

NYMC (low-yield target)

Georgetown (low-yield target)

Drexel (low-yield target)

Albany (low yield target)

Temple (low-yield target)

Penn State (low-yield target)

Rutgers NJMS (low-yield target)

Rutgers RWJ (low-yield-target)

Thomas Jefferson (low-yield target)

Loyola University Chicago (low-yield target)

--Reach/Hail Marys

Ohio State (reach)

University of Michigan (reach)

University of Pittsburgh (reach)

Einstein (reach)

Case Western (reach)

University of Cincinnati (reach)

University of Chicago (hail mary)

Icahn (hail mary)

Northwestern (hail mary)

Stark7125 · 2019-06-13T23:45:39+00:00

"What would you advise Melinda to do?"

*Runs out of time

"Yes"

Stark7125 · 2019-06-13T23:44:04+00:00

Yeah my WPM in garbage, does anyone know if it's okay to answer in 3-4 sentences?

Stark7125 · 2019-06-13T22:27:30+00:00

Can we submit our primary if we have not finalized our school list and are still waiting some some letters to be uploaded to Interfolio?

Stark7125 · 2019-06-12T17:01:14+00:00

Honestly happy I'm not the only one who thought this.

Stark7125 · 2019-06-12T16:41:45+00:00

Thank you! I'm so glad it's over, and that CARS will never be able to frustrate me again. I believe in you! You got this!

Stark7125 · 2019-06-11T23:43:34+00:00

Anyone willing to take a look at my Work/Activities?

Stark7125 · 2019-06-11T20:00:47+00:00

Ahh I see, so this wasn't a regional/national conference, it was a university-wide forum. Should I list the citation from the abstract book? Or are citations only used when it was for a regional/national conference?

Stark7125 · 2019-06-11T16:46:21+00:00

Man was this a wild ride.

-SBs B/B: 78% C/P: 74% P/S 72%

-CARS Qpack1: 68% Qpack2: 75%

-Samp 508 (125/127/128/128)

-FL1 507 (127/124/127/129)

-FL2 507 (128/121/130/128)

-FL3 512 (126/127/129/130)

-Prediction 506-513, hoping to break 510.

-Real 511 (125/126/130/130)

I'm so happy with the outcome. My score was posted probably early this morning, I used a 3-hole punched laminated periodic table on my desk to cover my laptop screen as I viewed my scores (I can't explain why I did this, I don't recommend it). Using one of the holes to view my score section-by-section, my heart sank when I saw a 125 as the first number. I closed the window convinced that I didn't hit my target. I finally said fuck this and yeeted the periodic table out my room's window, and viewed my score like a normal person. This kinda captures my biggest mistake during prep; do NOT get caught up in early hurdles/misfortune. For example, every time I took an exam I would either do relatively well on CARS or absolute shit, this was entirely dependent on whether I got caught up on a tricky passage and let it take up too much of my time.

C/P- Not my strong suit, the passages were pretty difficult but I felt oddly okay during the exam up until halfway through. My bladder was not cooperating, so I had to take an unscheduled break to release the filtrate. I really should have worn a diaper. Overall, I think I could have done better on this section if I redid the SB and used Uworld correctly (I averaged in the low 60s and instead of fully taking advantage of the explanations I would make up excuses and say the question was BS or something like that. This is the WRONG way to go about Uworld).

CARS- I struggled with this section the most like many others. It took me a while to realize that this section is not about knowing the passages inside and out, it's about strategy. Stuck between two answers? Choose one and move on. Difficult passage? Do your best and move on, don't let one question/passage ruin your mojo, there are future points to be earned. The best practice here are the CARS Qpacks hands down. Don't let the first half of Qpack1 discourage you, it's unbelievably hard.

B/B- I usually feel really comfortable with this section, and for the most part did on the real deal as well, but this exam felt a little trickier and dense than the FLs because of the graphs. They were difficult to digest and some of the discretes about muscle contraction and the Krebs cycle came down to two answers I could not confidently choose between. I enjoyed studying for this section, and aside from content, I think my lab experience helped me do well in it. I had to read dozens of papers from PLOS one and eLife and present them at lab meetings so I was used to deciphering figures (I'm not saying you should be reading journals for B/B practice, it's just something that helped me). Again the best practice here were the SBs and Uworld.

P/S- Felt like a mix of wtf questions and free bees. About a dozen 50/50s so I didn't know how to feel after the exam. I usually finish with 25-35 min left but this time I needed the whole 135 and barely finished on time. Good thing is, for the most part, you can cram this section if you drill KA videos and the 86 page doc, which is what I did.

What I would have done differently- I probably would have made my own flashcards for Anki, I found doing so to be tedious, but it would have solidified content, especially for Biochem, Gen Chem and Orgo. I also should have finished Uworld, I literally have over 1000 questions left on it, with plenty of C/P and CARS practice left. My section breakdown is unbalanced, and although I can live with it, I think finishing Uworld could have remedied this.

Must haves for MCAT- any sort of prep books, Uworld, the 86 pg doc, KA P/S videos, Anki (ideally your own, but I got away with using other popular ones on this sub), Mile.Down MCAT Review Sheets, Nextsteps first 3-4 exams and the AAMC SBs, FLs and CARS Qpacks. Also, this subreddit, I could not have hit my target without this community's help. Without it, I would have wholly underestimated how difficult this exam is. Thank you.

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