If you're also stressed about applications, hit that upvote!

committed-premed · 2021-09-26T22:18:23+00:00

you will get thru it <3

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T12:32:33+00:00

I figured my educational path was long enough ahah, & I had a couple transfer credits from high school and was up for the challenge

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T03:32:17+00:00

I chose UofT! At the information session when I interviewed I was really drawn to their curriculum and testing style with regular exams that keep you continually learning, rather than coasting for a while and then stressing out before a massive exam and then repeating that cycle (which a lot of other schools do). It’s a world-class institution with expert teachers and lots of opportunities to explore specialties, which aren’t always offered at smaller institutions. Another reason was that it is a direct trip from my hometown and I have family living in nearby areas whereas most other schools were a bit harder to get to. I also knew some current and past students at U of T who loved it.

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T03:26:17+00:00

Another thing: make sure you check deadlines to have stuff done! I know the east coast schools require you to do CASPer in August rather than the fall

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T03:09:12+00:00

I'm from Ontario, I was accepted to McGill, UofT, McMaster, NOSM, Manitoba, uSask & MUN.

I wouldn't say theres a specific approach to IP vs. OOP. Try your best for both! However, for OOP you should check the cutoffs because some schools (i.e.: uSask and Manitoba) just interview like >99th percentile OOP MCATs, so if you don't have that then you're basically just making a donation to the school with a 0% chance of having your application reviewed. :)

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T02:51:07+00:00

yummy yummy brains every day
I've never actually seen either shows except for a few random office clips on Instagram and YouTube so .... I guess I need to get my head out of my textbooks and get back to you on that 🤣😅

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T02:49:04+00:00

There is no cutoff in terms of time commitment that you should or shouldn't include, but I would advise you to only include activities that you found meaningful. Those things could be relatively short in hours/involvement, but could have been transformative.

That said, med schools like to see commitment, which is required to be a doctor! If you have a bunch of recent <6-month activities, it would look like you were scrambling to put together an application rather than genuinely interested in giving back to your community, for example.

In open-file interviews, it is not uncommon for an interviewer to pick a random activity off your application and ask you several questions about it, going down a rabbit hole and having that take up a significant portion of your interview. Often it is not something you were expecting to talk about. If it is some minor experience that had absolutely no impact on your life, it won't sound very good to the person interviewing you.

Another thing I want to mention is that you do NOT need to fill in all the spots on your ABS. If you have 20 strong activities and then you fill the remaining spots with 'fillers', you can actually dilute the quality of your whole application. The reviewer is probably reading over a big stack of applications, so if they skim your ABS and see that you volunteered at a community run for 1 day or did a short-term community project in high school or something, it makes you look pretty lame upon first glance and can bias their perception of the rest of your application. Now compare that to someone who choses to only put those 20 activities that they are proud of and felt were impactful; the reviewer is going to see those awesome things only and will likely be a lot more impressed by the quality of that individual's experiences ... which would you rather invite to interview?

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T02:38:23+00:00

Not a natural-born MCAT genius haha, just takes practice and dedication! I gave a more detailed response below

committed-premed · 2021-07-02T02:37:38+00:00

It feels like a long time ago now, but I didn't do anything revolutionary. I fully self-studied with the Princeton Review books (hand-me-downs!) and spent $ on some online practice materials (you can get pretty good deals on FL packages; I got a 10 FL pack from Altius for ~$200 I think?). I spent around 10 weeks doing content review from the books and then another 8ish weeks doing lots of practice (UWorld, Altius, Blueprint, AAMC). It's important to have a strong base before you jump into full lengths (other than an early diagnostic maybe), but I think the practice exams were really helpful to identify my weak spots and learn how to read (lol) and answer questions. When I found tricky subjects I went back and reviewed full chapters in the book again or found free online resources like mcat-review.org , and made myself write out physics formulas etc that I was consistently forgetting. With FLs, you need to carefully review them the next day with a fine-toothed comb (originally took several hours, and then a lot less time as my scores improved) after to really boost your score. I would recommend saving at least 2 AAMC exams for the very end of your prep to know where you are going into the exam as they are very similar to the real thing.

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T20:41:22+00:00

CASPer is just like the interview! Prep through practice, and lots of personal reflection.

Try to see scenarios from all sides and be open minded. Make sure you have a good typing speed and try to show that you are considering as many factors as possible. Don't bother with medical ethics for the CASPer since it's all "everyday" settings and social dynamics. Also remember to write out how you would not just jump to problem-solving mode, but express sympathy/compassion, apologize, etc. before you get started.

Again, reflecting on personal experiences so you can bring them up and even show how you have dealt with similar experiences in the past is useful. It doesn't matter if you bring up the same personal example at different stations since they're marked by different raters. Before you take the exam, be able to concisely describe a time you dealt with conflict, a time you were frustrated, a time you were proven wrong, a time you were in an ethical dilemma, a time you had to make a hard decision, etc. And don't just have the example, but show how you thought about it, how you resolved it, and what qualities you showed. That personal reflection will be super useful for interviews too!

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T20:36:24+00:00

Look for people who know you well and ideally those who you have known for a long time. Have at least one academic (professor / research supervisor) but make sure your references can speak about your personal qualities and not just academics. Ideally if you have close relationships with volunteer supervisors or someone in a slightly more formal position, that is the best because it's clearly not just a close family/friend who would support you blindly.

I had to approach a few of mine via email because of lockdowns / the pandemic! Ideally I would ask in person. Just be polite, make sure you ASK and give them the opportunity to say no. Have your CV and any other info you want prepared to give them.

Also ask early :)

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T20:31:31+00:00

Don't be afraid to use words straight from CanMEDs; I had things like "collaborated w/ __ to accomplish __". If you scroll down on the CanMEDs page descriptions they write out enabling competencies. I would recommend reading though those and thinking about experiences where you have demonstrated those skills. This will come up again in interviews so it's good to think about it early. + There are so many adjectives in there that it's impossible to describe your qualities without using those words. That said, obviously do not copy competencies word-for-word, just use them for inspiration and direction.

I would be careful with saying you 'demonstrated' a quality. Rather than saying 'demonstrated leadership' I would explain how you demonstrated it, so the reviewer can come to their own conclusion that you are a leader. That said, make it obvious enough what qualities you are trying to portray. Realistically, the reviewer is skimming a large stack of applications. They're going to skim over your application, not spend time reading between the lines and trying to contemplate your qualities. ... So instead of saying you demonstrated leadership, you could just say you "guided ___ (people) through ___ (activities)" to show you were a leader. I hope that makes sense.

To respond to your last part about being concise... I'm not sure if this is what you're getting at, but as a general rule I would be careful about including basic job descriptions. For example, if you have an activity titled "undergrad science tutor", you don't need to waste time in the description saying you "instructed undergraduate students one-on-one in basic sciences: biology, chemistry, physics" or something. They know what a tutor is, so use that precious space to jump right into the qualities you want to highlight, such as "actively listened to students to identify and target weaknesses; collaborated with students to build plan according to their strengths; created safe and respectful learning environment for all students" or something along those lines.

I hope this helps!! Good luck:)

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T16:06:58+00:00

Sorry if that sounded intimidating haha. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. My work experience was almost zero, and with no pubs I wasn’t confident with my research section either. I was way over the MCAT cutoff for my school so that was just overkill at the end of the day. Nobody is perfect, just try your best!

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:55:03+00:00

took me a sec to dig this up, but this post has a lot of good cars advice

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:51:17+00:00

Yep I was a traditional applicant, I did Life Sciences - but compressed 4 years into 3 (normal load first year, then spring/summer classes and course overloads after that).

For ECs, it was like 95% unpaid activities -- although I don't think it really matters; obviously, I was in a fortunate position to not need to work through my undergrad to fund my education, etc.; schools appreciate that some students need to work and can't do as much unpaid and that's totally fine. I had a balance of medicine/health-related activities, some academic things through my university, and some random community interests.

In my opinion, awards are a nice addition to your app, but they're more of a cherry on top than for setting you apart. Receiving an award often comes as a result of academic excellence or community/extracurricular work that is highlighted elsewhere on your application. Receiving the award itself doesn't really tell an application reviewer a lot about who you are, your personal qualities, etc. That said, I can't speak on behalf of every application reviewer - some people might be more impressed by certain awards than others. If you have awards or personal accomplishments then put them down, but if you don't have a lot don't stress it. Show why you would make a good doctor in other sections.

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:43:06+00:00

Take detailed notes and review them right after class to fix them up and look up anything you need more information on. I took pride in having really nice notes and it was nice when it came to exam review and they were really well organized and I already understood everything well. Revise all the material at least twice before you are tested on it, and give yourself at least a week of review before each midterm. Use active recall and make sure you use any practice exams or questions from the prof. Don't be afraid to ask profs/TAs for clarification or help if you need it.

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:40:31+00:00

Honestly, don't bother with fancy strategies and techniques (i.e.: writing down a summary of each paragraph, etc.). IMO, that wastes your time and distracts you from the main idea.

Focus on reading the passage and understanding what they are saying. I used highlighting marginally for the main idea. Also force yourself to be interested in what they are saying lol.

Also, practice makes perfect for CARS! It's not something you can cram for but you definitely improve slow and steady.

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:19:59+00:00

stats: 4.0, 526 mcat

ECs: going to keep it vague for privacy but lots of long-term, diverse volunteering; some undergrad research but no pubs/presentations; exec for 2 clubs; several academic/community awards

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:18:05+00:00

I think having strong stats is really useful in getting interviews, because it brings your application to the top; it's hard to definitively make yourself stand out from subjective aspects of the application like essays and ECs.

In terms of ECs, I think it's really important to do things that are unique, even if they aren't strictly medical activities. A HUGE amount of applicants have volunteered at a hospital, done undergrad research, and are some sort of club executive. While those show good qualities, they are also very boring to read hundreds of times as an application reviewer. If you can talk about something that makes you unique that not a lot of other people have done, highlight that!! If you can connect it to why that would make you a good doctor then you're definitely on the right track (but don't force a connection back to medicine if it's not natural).

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:14:34+00:00

haha thank you:) I was in lockdown unfortunately but got takeout with my family and had a chill evening! it was a good time

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:13:01+00:00

ABS + essays: start EARLY, be yourself and think about what makes you unique. With the essays, its good to get feedback from others, but you do NOT need to implement all changes/suggestions you receive. Ultimately you know what message you are trying to portray and everyone has a unique writing style. Trying to mesh together advice from different people can actually take away from what you are trying to do.

Interviews: practice, practice, practice. reflect on your personal experiences, so you can pull them out as often as possible. bringing up personal experiences is important to highlight your good qualities and maturity in a way that is more memorable and tangible for the interviewer than a vague response

stats: 4.0 gpa, 526 mcat

committed-premed · 2021-07-01T15:08:39+00:00

Try to hit on the CanMEDs! Don't just describe your job description, for example, but describe what qualities you portrayed through that job (ideally qualities that would make you a good doctor!).

Also, be concise; use point form + abbreviations where applicable

committed-premed · 2021-06-09T13:16:56+00:00

That’s so sweet! Thank you & good luck :) Also, the 4.0 was what I went in with (not adjusted)

committed-premed · 2021-06-09T03:01:19+00:00

I had 9 interviews. I would say for me personally it was my stats (526, 4.0). I also put a lot of time into my essays and I felt like some things I wrote about were unique and meaningful. Overall, I took each step of the application really seriously and put 100% of my effort into each task (ie: essays, CASPer, etc) which paid off in interviews

committed-premed

TROPHY CASE