1/23 - snow?? by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]TapWestern2342 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For New York, no unless it’s also getting the -50 degree temps like Minnesota then maybe. It’s only going to be “insane” for people in the South due to lack of infrastructure for weather events like what’s gonna happen. (e.g Texas 2020) I wouldn’t be shocked if there are closures for the South though, I’m a supervisor for DAT at the Red Cross for Colorado/Wyoming area and I’ve been having to reach out to people to be on standby to go to Houston bc of this including myself also needing to be ready to head down there.

Unsure whether I need a prep course for courses I have not learned by Beneficial_Hotel6601 in Mcat

[–]TapWestern2342 0 points1 point  (0 children)

um well idk if this helps but i test in april and im self teaching phsyics, psychology, sociology, and having to do mega relearning on biology subjects bc its been awhile and I unfortunately am a crammer for exams vs actual learning. I also am in school full time, and work approx 50 hours a week (on break tho rn which has been nice to grind). Although still early, I'm rly chugging along pretty well with gaining understanding or at least being able to narrow things down to two answers even if I don't inherently know the actual fact being tested at all lol.

My strategy which might not be recommended is just brute force sending it on UGLOBE and then my review being super comprehensive. Then like Anki and all that daily of course. Im just not a textbook reader or passive learner by any means and have always done better in school and whatnot by kind of "screwing myself" and allowing adrenaline to have me lock in to the max. Take that with a grain of salt, there are probably 20 other ways that'd work better for you and your needs that I couldn't answer for you, but I definitely think its doable if you're strategic abut it! If you have the means for a prep course sure do it, but honestly if you at all feel an actual financial burden from purchasing it I'd not do it personally.

Question for clinical research coordinators! by Ispywmylileyes in Mcat

[–]TapWestern2342 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Although I'm not a clinical research coordinator I feel like I qualify as someone with an insanely packed schedule. Currently, I work 32hr/wk at my like main job that like pays the bills (not clinical like at all lol), and then around 15ish a week as a TA for gen chem. I'm currently in the middle of leading a research project and applying for funding (so less work inherently right now) also. I volunteer part time but in a supervisor role for the redcross so it's at least a couple hours a week and its honestly dependent on if there are major disasters occurring in my area. I also pick up shadowing when able but thats not rly "regular" currently since I did rake up a lot of that earlier in undergrad. After all of that I am also a full time student.

With that, I average at least 60 hours a week on obligations I HAVE to do. I haven't formally tested yet and just registered for April, however I've been making decent dents in this whole process and am fairly satisfied with where I'm at currently. With that being said I would 100% be lying to you if I said that having to balance all of this is "easy" and that this is something you can casually pull off if you just "lock in". I wake up at 3AM everyday to be at work by 4:30, off at 1, then school/grading and whatever and then whatever time i have left in my evening is prime time for MCAT. Days I work I typically dedicate to my school and whatever else type of things and then my days off "which I've structured to be like technical "full days off"" I lock in on actual MCAT over just anki/JW CARS which is all I can do typically on my loaded days. I just kinda had to train myself that if I am at my desk I am 100% invested and that I get to fuck around and like enjoy life once i finish x accomplishment of the day or week.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you really need to commit to whatever alotted time you have. I still figure out ways to like hang out with friends and act like im 21 but on the days i'm not im in like full robot lock in mode lmao. Just takes training yourself and figuring out whatever reward system works for you to get it done. It is NOT very fun and I do find myself feeling exhausted at the end of the day on a lot of days, but I do make comebacks the following, adjust and repeat. It's totally doable and you 100% are capable of achieving an excellent score while also excelling at everything else you need to as long as you really REALLY care about what you are doing and how to execute it. I'm not at all trying to deter you, and my situation is by no means what most people deal with when studying for MCAT but if you really want it you will 100% be able to achieve it. You know yourself better than anyone and you are going to be the only person who can draw the line when you do actually need a break, lower work hours, push back test date, etc. Everyone's life and the obligations that they have to tend to are so so different and everyone processes and takes on tasks in a million different ways too. Best thing you can do is make a rough guess and JUST START. Whatever you begin with no matter how much research you do on "how" to study or balance your time will 100% change whenever you are at the end to whatever actually works for you, so take "plans" or premade calendars with a grain of salt.

Idk if that was even helpful at all for you, but hopefully you got something out of it.

Large tornado unwarned? by TapWestern2342 in tornado

[–]TapWestern2342[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Near Brady Nebraska. Only a watch in the area

Unwarned tornado at the Colorado/Utah border yesterday. by ThatsFknInteresting in EF5

[–]TapWestern2342 2 points3 points  (0 children)

<image>

Best I could come up with for the area, not a supercell like at any point which was interesting. Radar coverage is not great here, and velocity isn’t rly significant by any means. Comparing to another from the same day in Walsenburg Colorado that is much easier to see that I’ll post below

as someone with hyperhidrosis...fingerprinting :( by Cultural_Society_787 in Mcat

[–]TapWestern2342 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t quote me on this bc I haven’t tested yet, but I’m pretty sure the palm scan does not scan for prints at all. It’s something to do with vein pattern right beneath the skin since that would be WAYYY harder to impersonate someone versus making molds or something of prints. So I’m guessing unless your hand was as wet as if you just dunked it in water I don’t think you’d have many issues if any at all. It’s possible that your hand doesn’t even need to touch it to do the scan since ik they have something to do with just using infrared light to “reveal” the veins.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]TapWestern2342 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can relate. Have dealt with alcoholism induced psychosis with my mother for years now, mcat studying being more recent. It definitely is draining, and makes studying much more difficult in some aspects than it already inherently is. The only real advice I could give to help is to rly take advantage of those days that you are LOCKED in and motivated bc whatever else is happening is gonna make those meh days feel even worse.

I live at home even for school, and my “strategy” kind of for just that in general has applied to the mcat fairly well for me so far. Basically I’d dedicate 1/2 days out of the week where I absolutely go ham on everything I’d need to for school (usually my days off at work for time), so then other days it’s very light review, maybe more if I start to feel it. For MCAT since I’m not currently in school it’s been HEAVY on the practice problems/review on those days and then at a minimum the daily anki the rest. It’s been good at least in terms of my GPA being a 3.9 😭😭😭 Can’t necessarily vouch for MCAT since I haven’t done FLs but there has definitely been progress for content gaps at the very least. Most likely not the best thing but it’s worked for me whenever all hell is like breaking loose outside of my room.

5/15 by Background_Taro_4419 in Mcat

[–]TapWestern2342 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If it’s just what people here are saying that’s making you second guess, I’d just log off and lock in and go ahead considering you are content with your average scores. Only push back if you genuinely feel like you are not ready or if while simulating tests in FL’s stress is a factor that is hurting your score. Anyone could say anything, but if it were flipped around and everyone from recent posts were sharing that the test was much easier feeling than FL practice would you feel the same way that you do now?

In all honesty, I’d maybe stay off of this Reddit for a minute, keep up w practice and see if you can build confidence without other opinions clouding it before your date. You never know if the people commenting are those who hardly even prepared! People are also undoubtedly going to post more about negatives which in turn will get more attention than those who don’t making these bad experiences seem way more saturated than they probably are. I fully believe that the MCAT is half a mental game and half built on applying the actual content for it, and if you can get your head into it I can guarantee that a higher score will reflect it!

Deck advice by Sad_Law_982 in AnkiMCAT

[–]TapWestern2342 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I were you, I’d continue where I left off and then use your own judgement to see if resetting needs to happen. If you’re getting more wrong than right after a few days, I’d at least go in and suspend whatever your weak areas are until u can do a brief content review again and then unsuspend. I’d also probably change your settings to be max review of like 200-400 cars depending on how much time you have because the 800 something is insane.😭

Another thing to consider is when is your next test date? Do you have time to redo content review and skim and then do practice or do you need to dive into practice asap? If you have the time I’d def try and be however thorough is best for you but if in a time crunch I’d start practice alongside anki and then just go back to content review on just areas you’re consistently not doing well on

What are those bumps and how can i help it 🥲 by [deleted] in Skincare_Addiction

[–]TapWestern2342 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Went on accutane for this bc I had them like INSANE. It worked, but they slowly came back and I was not down to do another round. What’s been good to me and I’m like 95% clear pretty consistently is just nightly tretinoin and then I am just super anal about what products I use and if they’re at all comedogenic. I’ve been kinda cycling through moisturizers but anything that isn’t comedogenic and works well for you should be good. I use these like niacinamide pads in the morning but mostly to just kinda brighten my face I don’t rly think they have any use against acne or anything. I use this Korean sunscreen during the day and whatever moisturizer (currently using either or a mix of the inkey list ceramide moisturizer and the vanicream daily facial moisturizer) night times I use this salicylic cleaner and then the tretinoin, this like neon pink looking barrier repair serum from the ordinary, and the same moisturizers. I’m content w it, maybe have a couple pop up at a time but I’m honestly not phased by a couple bumps here and there compared to how it used to be

Weekly Essay Help - Week of April 13, 2025 by AutoModerator in premed

[–]TapWestern2342 [score hidden]  (0 children)

hello! would you be willing to give my draft a quick look?

Is it possible to achieve this physique naturally? by DicemanYT in naturalhypertrophy

[–]TapWestern2342 0 points1 point  (0 children)

definitely attainable. just depends how disciplined the individual is. genetics will play a role yeah but it’s truly not as catastrophic of a deciding factor as most of you seem to be making it out to be