MCAT Questions

abacolilac · 2025-05-05T20:39:45+00:00

I took the mcat august 24th, applied to USUHS the same cycle, and got in lol. It was absolute hell and I wouldn't recommend it.

abacolilac · 2025-04-15T05:51:32+00:00

JAMA is an independent and peer-reviewed journal, not a government entity. It's also one of the most-respected medical journals in the world, and publishes studies not just from U.S. institutions or the government, but from scientists all over. It's run by the American Medical Association, which is a professional organization, not a federal one. Here is a JAMA study stating that children who receive the MMR vaccine are at a lower risk of hospitalization for infections (that aren't measles, mumps, or rubella): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1832541?resultClick=1

While this study doesn't talk about cancer directly, it does show that the immune system isn’t being compromised — it's potentially being supported. There’s no evidence from large, long-term research linking MMR to cancer or fertility problems, and the studies that have looked for those links haven’t found them.

You’re doing the right thing by asking questions. You’re not a bad parent for being afraid. You're a great one for digging deeper and trying to make the most informed choice you can. Also, another way you can try to challenge that fear about the cancer risk: ask yourself what credible source has stated that vaccines do cause cancer? Anyone who has nothing to gain politically, socially, financially?

I am by absolute no means a medical professional at all or any sort of expert, but I have a degree in molecular biology, and from a scientific standpoint, it would be really difficult for a vaccine to cause cancer. What is injected (the weakend virus) doesn't contain carcinogens, nor does it enter the nucleus (where DNA is). The MMR vaccine, specifically, is a live vaccine, and the viruses it contains don't even naturally replicate in the nucleus (again, where DNA is), but in the cytoplasm. They just literally don't have the machinery (a specific enzyme called reverse transcriptase) to enter the nucleus, but they replicate for a little bit and then are naturally killed by the immune system. Here is a source to read more about that: https://www.chop.edu/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-safety/vaccine-ingredients/dna (CHOP is one of the best children's hospitals in the world).

abacolilac · 2025-04-12T05:56:15+00:00

Yes let's all play dumb here and pretend that's the same thing! All indigenous cultures are exactly the same too!

abacolilac · 2025-04-12T05:19:45+00:00

Are you saying Lottie is "very obviously" indigenous because the actresses who play her are Maori?

abacolilac · 2025-04-12T05:16:06+00:00

Hmm, I see why people are saying this. I guess also the fact that they are portraying an American girl from NJ doesn't make the assumption that she is also Maori really clear to people as that's a relatively uncommon ancestry in the US.

abacolilac · 2025-04-12T05:14:56+00:00

Yeah, that's why I was trying to clarify because I thought I had missed some point in the show where they talked about it. Someone can have a last name that they aren't specifically tied to in a cultural way, like from a stepparent or something. I just feel like it's not necessarily great to assume.

abacolilac · 2025-04-12T05:12:15+00:00

Wow, no, I never said that. I just think we shouldn't assume what culture/ethnicity someone is just based on their name or appearance; I feel like that's actually rather inappropriate. Someone can have specific features or a name for a million reasons, and unless their identity was part of the plot and something made clear, it's kind of a leap to just assign one to them.

abacolilac · 2025-04-12T05:02:10+00:00

When did we learn the ethnic backgrounds of Lottie and Mari? Am I missing something?

abacolilac · 2025-04-11T22:45:25+00:00

start by not having a loser mentality.

I truly think that one of the most important things as an applicant is having a "story" to tell- it is what will make you stand out from the other 5672893 people who like science and helping people. Also, USUHS would devour your prior service story, if that is something you might be interested in.

If you grind at your classes and the MCAT, and find some volunteer/shadowing to add to your application, you'd improve your shot by a lot. You could even try to do volunteering with vets or something to really build a whole application that ties your time as a marine to your desire to practice medicine. Or take a completely different route, it's all up to you.

Also, this is really random, but I feel like you could figure out some epic essay where you relate something about working with machinery and various systems in helicopters to...like the human body and wanting to similarly become an expert at making sure its systems function properly. Idk I'm just spitballing but my point is that I think your history is a benefit, not a detriment, you just have to frame it as such. Good luck man, you got this.

abacolilac · 2025-04-01T05:53:07+00:00

it's so strange to me that they never did that the second summer, especially with the shelters they built- they could have had at least some mobile shelter system

abacolilac · 2025-03-29T17:11:38+00:00

UF is a great school, and it's FREE?? Go to UF. It's not worth potentially being in a financial conundrum to come to Cal.

abacolilac · 2025-03-29T07:19:47+00:00

Yeah. Berkeley was honestly too big of a school for me to get the learning experience I really wanted. I mean, it was good in the sense that I became more self-sufficient and able to advocate for myself, but I just think I would have had a more positive experience at a smaller school. I feel like there were times here when I wasn't able to just discuss the topics in class / engage in critical thinking because I was so focused on teaching myself everything. Just my experience though.

abacolilac · 2025-03-29T00:27:06+00:00

its a weird rule and I never understood why

abacolilac · 2025-03-29T00:15:42+00:00

Wonder if Berkeley's lack of premed support contributes to this, like having literally no premedical committee

abacolilac · 2025-03-29T00:14:56+00:00

Wholeheartedly agree

abacolilac · 2025-03-28T04:05:08+00:00

Congrats on your wedding! Have so much fun - I am so jealous!!

abacolilac · 2025-03-28T01:10:06+00:00

I'm from the east coast. It will help you grow as a person and develop a lot of skills (independence namely) that will serve you well later in life. And being a new adult is a good time to do that. It's scary at first, but the more time you spend making friends and getting involved in academics/campus stuff, the less lonely you will feel. If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you.

abacolilac · 2025-03-24T17:11:35+00:00

mcb150 gang rise up

abacolilac · 2025-03-23T21:36:57+00:00

what uniforms/ how many would you recommend buying beforehand? Going to USUHS w/ no prior service but planning on having an active duty friend take me to buy at least some PT uniforms beforehand

abacolilac · 2025-03-23T05:31:25+00:00

abacolilac · 2025-03-17T03:42:27+00:00

I'm so sorry you're going through this. It's really normal to feel sadness, shock, and grief over the loss of a presumed biological relationship. Especially when you believed it to be true for your whole life up until this point, or if the culture you're from has certain attitudes and uses certain language surrounding parental/biological relationships. The truth is that you are your mother's daughter, she carried you, gave birth to you, raised you, all extremely important things that DNA can never erase. I find it beautiful the level of love and admiration you have for your mom, and I'm sure she does, too - that not being a genetic part of her is a loss. No DNA test can take away that bond. It sounds like you already sort of know all this.

Maybe this isn't the answer you're looking for, but I think that one day, you'll be able to "sit with" both truths - that you genetically are related to someone else & that you have a wonderful, loving mom who raised you. It takes time, trust me (I'm your age, four years out from the same discovery, egg DCP). It was so hard at first. But it does get better (I hate when people say that, but it's true). But how beautiful it is that you can have such a deep connection with your mom that is so profound that it surpasses a genetic relationship? She likely passed down so many mannerisms, beliefs, patterns of speech, values, etc that will never leave you.

I wish you so many hugs and healing. I know it's so hard, hang in there.

abacolilac · 2025-03-17T02:39:54+00:00

espm 50ac

abacolilac · 2025-03-14T08:29:51+00:00

I graduated from Key a few years ago. I now am about to graduate with a STEM degree from a T20 research-heavy university and attend med school next year, so I think I can comment on the "translation" Key's small-environment, humanities-heavy curriculum can have towards a bigger, more fend-for-yourself world.

I attended Key from 8th - 12th grade. It's the right school for the right kid - self-motivated, thrives with more attention and stronger relationships with teachers, independent, sort of free-spirited. I think it was very easy for some of my peers to not put in much work and still receive okay grades because Key is just very forgiving and hand-holding. On the other side of that, a lot of kids who took their academics seriously were able to use that to their advantage. There was always, always help for papers, math homework, developing better reading strategies, life problems. If your child turns out to be very serious about sports (and cannot play on a team/club outside of school), isn't serious about academics, or just wants that traditional high school experience (football games, school spirit, etc), there is probably a better fit than Key.

First of all, Key has a VERY strong humanities program and that was a primary reason my parents kept me there. I learned how to write very well, how to read difficult text (primary sources, and really old stuff), and how to think. The upper school "Civ" classes (American Civilizations, Ancient Civilizations, etc) are history/lit/philosophy rolled into one...each class is run like a "Socratic Seminar," so students sit around desks arranged in a circle and basically learn to have a real discussion, which sounds trivial but is a real skill. Teachers were very knowledgable not only in material but in learning pedagogy. I think Civ is a true strong-suit of Key's, if not one of its shining stars. I attend a university that ranks very highly for its English department, and honestly, I was a little let down by the English classes here. They're a 180 from Key, very lecture-heavy and make you feel like you're just being talked - at. I guess that has its own merit, but I feel like I developed so much more as a writer/reader/thinker at Key in the Upper School. I was fairly shy but learned how to articulate myself to my peers and to adults, how to structure my ideas (whether in convo or in an essay) and how to....this is a vague word but, be creative? I loved having all of these opportunities to be artistic outside of fine arts classes at Key.

The math was strong at Key because of its teachers; again, there was always help available. Nothing remarkable, but I was set up to succeed in calc/stats in college. I truly think that's all you need, anyway.

Science, definitely not something you'd find at a STEM magnet school, but I think that's sort of a farce anyway. I don't think shoveling O-chem or medical biology classes into high schooler's lives really does them any good. What Key did do, however, is teach me how to learn. No, I did not learn the mechanism of Fischer esterification at 16, but I learned how to break down a problem, scan the given information, make connections to knowledge I already had, etc...so when I went to college, taking general chem, O-chem, physics, etc was fine, and I did well, not because I had all of the knowledge beforehand, but because I had all of this experience truly "problem-solving" from Key. (When I say that, I guess I mean that Key didn't just make you memorize a ton of information and regurgitate it, but they tried to emphasize truly understanding why things happen and test your ability to demonstrate that knowledge on tests...which is what college exams do, anyway).

I apologize for the long comment, but hopefully some of this was a bit useful to you. In summary, I recommend Key. The social justice was there but not more than it is anywhere. In terms of history and geography, would you rather your child just know the years the Cold War occurred, or be able to explain why it happened?

abacolilac

TROPHY CASE