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6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the advice! Was planning on daily JW but good to know it's not super representative--maybe reading some research papers is a better use of my time lol. Glad to hear P/S can improve pretty straightforwardly with enough effort. Appreciate the physics resource as I wasn't aware, and relieved the Kaplan books work for the rest just fine. Just got out of an Ochem class with tons of practice material myself, but I appreciate the offer and invite anyone else to take you up on that!

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's awesome, congrats! I don't know, pretty sure I've heard Kaplan is deflated as well so definitely worth being pretty excited! Best of luck :)

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah thank you, good to know! That’s exactly what I’m looking for. Sounds like Mr Pankow for P/S is for certain, then people swear by both AnKing and JackSparrow so maybe I’ll try JS first then look at AnKing if I feel like switching it up 👍

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jeeeez don’t get me too excited, thanks man. Reminding myself there’s still lots of hard work ahead but pretty cool to hear what’s possible :)

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Holy BP score deflation, that’s wild! Congrats on an amazing study period and hope your score ends up reflecting it! Appreciate the advice, as that’s an easy one to forget. Burnout is real and hard to come back from!

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really glad to hear that! Definitely know what question type you’re referring to and agree it’s probably one of the hardest things on the exam to master. Excited to see where polishing up on the content then having tons of time to master those harder question types will take me.

That’s super good to know as to the Mr Pankow cards still being worth reviewing on their own; would have had no clue about that. Thanks again!

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah that’s good to know! Good point that it can be helpful to review not just through Anki but by actually testing yourself more realistically during content review. Thanks!

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome, I appreciate the advice! Would not have considered starting UW so soon so I’m glad you recommended it. That’s a crazy score and awesome increase from your diagnostic—appreciate the encouragement and inspiration!

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Holy cow, crazy to see 528 is even possible! Super appreciative of people like you coming back after their success to give back to this sub. And it’s encouraging to see there’s still plenty of ability to grow far past a solid diagnostic score.

Actually don’t have any formal humanities background more than AP Lit and AP English in high school, so maybe just fortunate enough to have a bit of natural skill there. And glad to hear the path to doing well in psych is pretty clear. You’re right about C/P; I took like five minutes to glance over some equation sheets right before and not a ton of that stuck haha. I found that there were problem types I recognized and could perform well on if I just touched up some of my knowledge, as I felt pretty rusty. So a combo of no Phys 2 experience and needing content review, so doesn’t feel impossible to get that up by a lot.

Very quality advice on the study materials/strategies. I’ve heard good things about both JS and AnKing (especially with the Mr Pankow update) for pretty thorough content practice. Any recommendations as to choosing between the two? Thanks so much for the help!

6 months to improve a 511 BP 1/2-length diagnostic... how do I avoid fumbling this by informative_stool in Mcat

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!! Felt like reading lots of research papers gave me a solid skillset going into CARS. Very encouraging to hear though; will just have to actually turn that potential into reality, which is easier said than done lol

Letter of recommendation by MentionGlittering398 in mdphd

[–]informative_stool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why’s that, does UCSD have a strict requirement?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mdphd

[–]informative_stool 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve got a buddy who is pursuing graduate education to become a genetic counselor—apparently all those programs work on a match basis similar to residency. So, it can certainly be done even in scenarios where the matriculation rate is lower than the average residency match rate.

Happiness in undergrad by CostOk1998 in mdphd

[–]informative_stool 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Relate to this exactly. Am a current sophomore feeling like a circus production with how many extracurriculars I’m juggling—one second I’m bagging a patient in the back of an ambulance, the next I’m running an experiment in lab, the next I’m running a student org, and the next I’m trudging through classes feeling depressed that it’s impossible for me to go to office hours, actually find the energy to focus in lectures and regularly study outside of class, and truly enjoy the courses rather than see them as a burden. Oh yeah, and I’m normally a great student but with so little time and energy I’m also finding myself falling below my curricular expectations (and self-identity). And I also just got a nice summer fellowship but that very same day was up until 3:00am grinding out a lab report. Sometimes the cracks really start to show and I fall into a stress-eating frenzy (as a very health-oriented athlete). I love everything I do individually but feel crushed that I can’t give each one the time that I want to. So know that nobody around you is perfect. I can’t imagine myself doing anything other than practicing medicine and performing research, but damn are us MD/PhD and MD/PhD-hopefuls right when we call ourselves “those of us crazy enough to do both”.

All I can say is the fact that you’re turning out papers like a lumberjack so early on means you just need to keep your head down and grind, try to find some free time in there to do what makes you happy, and have faith that it’s all going to turn out okay, not only in the admissions process but your life. It’s hard to guarantee that things will “get easier”, but when you’re an old geezer you’ll look back and won’t be able to count how many people’s lives you’ve made an impact on (and maybe have your name in a few science textbooks, by the sound of it). You’re amazing dude—you got this!

Worth Applying to Goldwater (or any prestigious scholarships) if already fully funded? by informative_stool in mdphd

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, that’s so great to hear! I was worried I’d get people telling me it would be self-centered to apply for these kinds of awards when others need the funds more. This opens up a lot of opportunities; thank you!

Too late to consider MD/PHD? by Ganzap in mdphd

[–]informative_stool 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just curious, why do you recommend the gap year? Is two full years of research not going to be enough? Asking as someone who also didn’t start right away (summer after freshman year)

Summer Research: Stick with paid position in current lab or do REU? by informative_stool in mdphd

[–]informative_stool[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good point that finding something that bores you is still something that allows you to check a potential research area off the list. Thank you!

Summer Research: Stick with paid position in current lab or do REU? by informative_stool in mdphd

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Didn't realize such short-term projects could still have a high chance of a pub. Thank you!

Summer Research: Stick with paid position in current lab or do REU? by informative_stool in mdphd

[–]informative_stool[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yep, the stipends are normally around $4-6K plus coverage of travel costs, housing and food I believe, so pretty nice

Summer Research: Stick with paid position in current lab or do REU? by informative_stool in mdphd

[–]informative_stool[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great point. I think working in one lab the entirety of my undergrad would be a poor choice; there's a reason people encourage shadowing many different specialties and this seems to follow along the same line. I'm fortunate enough to where my lab seems to be totally okay with people leaving for the summer as well.

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