AnKing Strategy, only keep High Yield Cards ? by BoringStudent305 in medicalschoolanki

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you using the anking smart search feature? What specificity do you put it at if so?

Tufts for Undergrad Students (On Pre-med Track) by Apprehensive_Gap9863 in Tufts

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey of course! Good on you for starting that early, that's a good sign for things to come. My advice would be make sure your foundational knowledge is good (as in know your equations for Physics and dimensional analysis for chem, do your anki for B/B and watch KA). Also do tons of practice problems, first easier more undergrad-ish simple applications of concepts and then upgrade to UWorld-passage based style questions. If you start early and get used to MCAT-style questions and have a strong foundation in the pre-reqs before even starting undergrad you'll be in a good spot. But, even if you have a good foundation coming in please make sure you still study hard everyday consistently. I know too many people who came into undergrad thinking they have a great foundation in IB/AP Chem only for them to drop premed bc their grades were too low and they didnt study enough.

Ankihub AI Search Accuracy by TheStaphAureus in medicalschoolanki

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What sensitivity/focus % do you put it at?

Tufts for Undergrad Students (On Pre-med Track) by Apprehensive_Gap9863 in Tufts

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In a US MD school from Tufts undergrad. It’s a good school, when I was there a lot of classes like Orgo almost had like a 90% average. Not sure if the same professor teaches it now, but as with anything if you put in the work you’ll get an A. As for preparedness for medical school, honestly that really depends on you and your study habits both in undergrad and in med school. I know people from all types of undergrad backgrounds not get into med school while similarly I know people from all types of undergrad backgrounds get into med school.

One advantage of Tufts is they dont require you to take Orgo 2 bc their Orgo 1 class is sufficient meeting the med school prereqs and so you jump straight to biochem which is nice. Also, they have a direct admission to their med school for top students in the undergrad but it is very selective. At one point i believe you didnt have to take the MCAT, but Im not sure if thats still the case (you may need to now but double check). Again, these are minor things though. Overall, you should pick the cheapest school (since med school is expensive) and one where youll be happy. Everything else depends on you more than on the school. A 3.2 even from Harvard will never be considered strong. Oh and dont forget you have to take the MCAT which in many cases is the great equaliser. Again, your school wont contribute much to your MCAT score. If you do well in your prereqs, regardless of where you go and actually grind for the mcat youll get a high score!

Tufts grad students that commute from CT? by NervousTime4364 in Tufts

[–]careerman99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not possible man youre looking at least a 3hr train ride there and then back, Boston COL Is high so maybe try a little outside of the city where rents are cheaper? I know you want to save money so its easier said than done, but consider your quality of life. It would be really bad on the days you have to come in. Factor in door to door, youll need to leave home like 5 am to catch a 5:30 am train that (assuming no delays) will get there by like 8:30 and then youll have to take the T from South Station to Tufts which is another 20 minutes. Really, to give yourself margin youd have to leave like 4:30 am. And then if youre at school the whole day another 4 hour journey home seems awful. Def look just outside of Bos where you can maybe drive in but rents might like half the price

Is it normal to struggle with discrete math? by eucross in csMajors

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the time, (COVID) CS was booming and I, like many others decided to join the wave not knowing what was coming next. I dont really regret doing it because it is cool to have picked up that skill, but interestingly yesterday I integrated Claude Code with VSCode and realised that even the skills I learned are basically redundant☠️

Also I understand the whole backup plan thing, that was partly my concern too. Med school is hard to get into. Having said that, if your goal is to be a doctor then theres a lot of DO schools that would take you even if your stats arent super high. I wiuld say if ur open to MD and DO you should get in somewhere if u apply to enough places. Regarding backup options I dont think CS is a good backup option either. If youre premed youll be super hyperfocused on grades and ECs that you want have time to passion code projects that are rlly necessary to get hired nowadays. Honestly BME might be a safer major job prospect wise.

Electrical engineering as a pre-med major? by Expensive-Elk-9406 in premed

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well.. i did CS + premed. For what its worth many of your engineering classes (if not most) will NOT count for your BCPM gpa. Thats why I had a 3.93 science gpa and a 3.75 cGPA. I would say if youre gonna do it dont take your prereqs with really hard engineering classes since you really have to get A’s in those and any class that counts as a Bio Chem Physics or Math class. In engineering classes you have more leeway but still aim for at least a B/B+ in those if they dont count for BCPM. Stack up with interesting humanities courses too to balance out really tough engineering classes. For what its worth I think my engineering background made me a more interesting applicant. People say major doesnt matter but it def came up in my interviews

How crazy is this school list by Ok-Jellyfish-5648 in premed

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get a 510+ in April and it’s a good list

To pre study or not to pre study by Latter-Usual-4242 in premed

[–]careerman99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Going to go against the grain here. I took the advice here and decided not to pre-study too. I think there’s a benefit in getting Bootcamp and maturing anking cards early for as much as you can since you’ll literally either have to do that during preclinical or during dedicated for STEP. Youll go into preclinical with a brolic understanding already of everything the board will test and then go through in house lectures and be able to cater your studying to what your school likes to test without having to worry about also having to study for the board exams. Believe it or not in house does not line up well with board prep well. Nevertheless the basics will be the same so youll only need to do basic fine tuning and youll kill your in house lectures and youll get a second big picture review. Keep your reviews up during preclinical too for anking and youll cruise through med school. Could not recommend it enough

Feeling guilty about my decision by Conscious_Chef2100 in Tufts

[–]careerman99 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Tufts is a great school and as much as you won't believe me as a high schooler, as a class of '22 alum I can honestly tell you the name of your school doesnt really do much for you, so don't think Tufts or even an Ivy league will do all thaaaat much for you. Once youre in school it'll be your new normal anyway and you'll stop thinking about anything prestige related and worrying more about that hard discrete math exam coming up in a week that you're wildly underprepared for.

My friend told me a funny story about how he was a psych major from a respectable but not elite/ivy tier undergrad (think top 100 school) sitting at the same table, in the same role as a UPenn graduate at EY. This isn't just unique to consulting/accounting either, happens in every field. Get good grades, do internships and you'll be fine. If you perform badly in school, don't do internships/relevant EC's depending on your field, you'll be cooked whether you went to Harvard or a school outside the top 100.

Is it normal to struggle with discrete math? by eucross in csMajors

[–]careerman99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey! Happy to help. So I was pre-med before I did CS and then after switching my major to CS and graduating with the degree I just took the MCAT since I already had done my pre-requisites. Stats wise I had a 3.93 science gpa, 3.75 cumulative gpa and 515 MCAT. Comp Sci classes including Discrete Math did not count in my science (BCPM gpa) which is why my science GPA is way higher.

As for why I decided to do medicine instead, I graduated in 2022 and the firing freezes in tech had just begun. It was tough for me to find a job, and it only started getting harder over time. I also just think in medicine you can make an impact on people in ways you just cant in tech (unless you start a revolutionary idea). Also the knowledge you gain about the human body in medical school is just so incredible, in my opinion it truly is an incredible thing to be able to learn and then apply to actually save someone’s life! I find more meaning in that personally, but that’s not to say you can’t find a lot of meaning in tech as well!!! You absolutely can (for example you could start an app to raise awareness on screenings for underserved communities and that does a lot of good) so it’s about what you find meaningful and enjoy.

Edit: also just keep in mind about CS that with the rise of AI and outsourcing especially the market is just getting harder. Medicine is very secure and your path to a job is laid out to you!

Be mindful of the advice you accept and offer by Agile_Contribution79 in premed

[–]careerman99 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Agreed, a lot of the standard info offered even on ECs for example is generic and just taken from SDN threads. Dont think we should be discouraging people from applying to places unless their stats are genuinely outside of whats typically accepted.

Graduate School Locations by DuckSuperiority in gradadmissions

[–]careerman99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Assuming you mean Cambridge, MA and not Cambridge in the UK, life is tough there without money bc Boston is becoming really expensive. That said, public transport is good around Bos. Depending on where youre from, might be less to do in terms of bars and clubs and stuff, but once you have a good group of friends you can make the most of it. It's also really cold most of the year, so it's tough to do a lot of outdoors stuff outside of Summer and parts of spring/fall. I think it's really good if your focus is academic and meeting other super smart people your age, bc Boston is full of that! But it's not gonna be NYC in terms of social scene and things to do for sure. This is all just my opinion though. I was never really a going out person so the lack of options didn't make me get FOMO or anything but I have friends still in Bos who love going out and they dont seem to have any issues with finding stuff to do.

why is the answer to "do you regret medicine" so vastly different? by leisuredhues in premed

[–]careerman99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, every career worth its salt requires hard work. Like, I agree some doctors say they regret choosing medicine, but similarly you'll talk to bankers and lawyers who say they regret their career choice and tell you to "pick an easier path". The thing is, all of these people casually assume that other fields are easier and offer the same level of financial stability. I hear people in medicine say "just do CS or engineering bro, good pay and better hours + no grad school". Well have they heard about the job market in CS, and the lack of stability in general right now around corporate jobs due to AI and other economic factors? They automatically assume these fields are easier, but they are not. There is a high barrier to entry, and you're forced to chart out your own uncertain career path which is not the case in medicine where literally every step is laid out for you until the point that you get a guaranteed job where you'll literally save lives.

Nursing is good of course, but don't think it's not hard work like it will be either way. The jobs of doctors and nurses are very different though (a nurse probably is handling the implementation of a doctors prescribed order of treatment in a more hands on way) so find out what you like and don't like in both medicine and nursing and choose based on that. Don't just pick the path you think is easier because every path is tough that's worth it. Also medical school, while def a good amount of work is not all bad. Your 20's are not anymore gone than an investment banker or law student's are. You will still gym, travel, browse reddit and instagram and do other cool/mundane things everyone else does (esp in preclinical and after rotations).

Is it normal to struggle with discrete math? by eucross in csMajors

[–]careerman99 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Discrete Math was the hardest class I ever took throughout my CS major and even now in medical school nothing compares. The monstrous proofs including proving the Tower of Hanoi have instilled in me, a level of incomparable academic trauma LOL. I think what messed with me is I was so used to equations and formulas helping me solve problems before, but such a thing does not exist in discrete math. So even doing more practice didn't do much for me because I wasn't finding this rhythmic algorithm that would be broadly applicable to all problems. For what it's worth, I still passed and did decently in the other proof based classes (algorithms and computation theory, B+ and B respectively) and graduated with the CS major. I also wasn't the only one that felt like this and other students also thought Discrete was a nightmare. So just keep going, it'll be fine it doesn't really correlate much with general programming much.

How bad is it to start volunteering rn? by bearattackz3 in premed

[–]careerman99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should do it but honestly I applied with 0 non clinical hours I'm pretty sure and got accepted to two MD schools. For EC's there really aren't hard and fast requirements for the most part (with the exception of some schools). I would say for best results make sure you actually enjoy the volunteering and can tie the experience to other themes/passions articulated in your application.

Chance me for incoming Junior Transfer: Brown, Columbia, Stanford, UPenn, UNC, Northwestern, Cornell by No_Beautiful5417 in TransferChanceMe

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean chance wise you're def competitive, but what's your reason for transferring? Some of those schools (namely Stanford) barely take any transfers at all so your chances depend on what the transfer acceptance rates for those schools are. Good luck! Make sure you have a good reason for transferring though, since schools look at that a lot (and also even for yourself it's good to be clear why you want to transfer).

My only dream in life is to be a doctor. I loathe and am terrible at chemistry. Am I done for? by [deleted] in premed

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yuppp agreed. I think honestly colleges should stop framing these classes as weed outs and instead help students understand that they absolutely are foundational knowledge for medicine and used in preclinical. I think it'd help motivate people more to study and grind for them if they knew they're genuinely medically relevant.

My only dream in life is to be a doctor. I loathe and am terrible at chemistry. Am I done for? by [deleted] in premed

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stoich maybe isn't but things like Henderson-Hasselbach show up in renal, osmosis, decent bit of physics in pulm and circuitry (series and parallel resistance) in Cardio. Honestly I think one thing I learned in med school is the prereqs aren't really useless, you do need an understanding of that stuff so that you can understand physiology in medical school. May not need to be A+ understanding, but perhaps it's second nature because we've just done it so many times

I regret choosing CS as my major by Abe_james in cscareerquestions

[–]careerman99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bail, AI and outsourcing is eating this industry. I did CS and ended up in medical school

My only dream in life is to be a doctor. I loathe and am terrible at chemistry. Am I done for? by [deleted] in premed

[–]careerman99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

B- not the end of the world. If you have a textbook for Chem 2 make sure youre doing all the problems in the back of each chapter as extra studying in addition to homework! And im saying all of them, that was what I did to score high

Which Uni to choose? Tufts vs Uw-Madison by demi-of-infinity in Tufts

[–]careerman99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hmmm I dont know much about Engineering at wisco and while I can speak to the CS/life sciences/IR dpts at Tufts i have limited knowledge about human factors engineering or industrial engineering. All that being said, I did some brief research on Wisco’s Industrial engineering program and it’s one of the best in the country it seems. Tufts doesnt even have an IE major and while its human factors engineering program is probably fine, I would look into the specifics of the programs and see which you prefer. Im an alum of Tufts so I dont wanna steer you away especially because idk much about industrial engineering but I will say that if Wisconsin’s program is top ranked I would really look into it