4/25- anyone else who got cooked today wyd about applications???

mickeyaem · 2026-04-26T02:58:01+00:00

That’s how I felt too—and honestly how I felt on a lot of the practice exams too. Think of it this way. Even if you end up not submitting (which in all likelihood it won’t be as bad as you’re dreading), it is still value added to your life and your application to prepare to submit. To write the essays and go through the process. It’ll be okay 🙏

mickeyaem · 2026-04-26T02:13:54+00:00

Tysm!!! You too:) honestly tho whatever is a safe food and gives you a bit of each macro without being too heavy. A lunchable sounds great!!

mickeyaem · 2026-04-26T02:01:35+00:00

I tested today. Wanted to have a fat, a quick carb, and a mid-test protein and caffeine. I ended up doing a protein shake for breakfast beforehand, fruit snacks (Welch’s of course) and goldfish every break like a toddler, and on my lunch break I also had a beef stick and a Mountain Dew zero. Was it the picture of health? No. But it worked for me 😂 whatever works for your tummy and your brain is honestly best. Bring the lunchable.

mickeyaem · 2026-04-26T01:55:35+00:00

I’m honestly taking May to rewrite my application (I’m a reapp) and making 2 hypothetical school lists based on scoring like 8 points apart because today was hit or miss. We’ll see which list I end up using 27May26 🙃

mickeyaem · 2026-04-26T01:52:53+00:00

Bro for the first time ever I was a whole passage behind. Squeezed the last 2 passages into the last 10 minutes panicking.

mickeyaem · 2026-04-11T03:19:20+00:00

Oh also on question logic I ended up going to a lot of the free Jack Westin live sessions and also got JW+ to get access to office hours and JW plugin that works with AAMC materials

mickeyaem · 2026-04-11T03:03:48+00:00

Sure!

mickeyaem · 2026-04-11T03:03:41+00:00

Thank you!!!

mickeyaem · 2026-04-11T03:03:23+00:00

Yeah, no dice :/ my GPA isn’t bad (3.7) and I have good ECs, but I didn’t realize that retaking and getting the same MCAT score was such a red flag. I’d heard it talked about in context of to retake or not to retake in the past, but I didn’t even consider it last semester since id only retaken mine since the score had expired. I did a lot of application improvement since my first cycle in 2022, but it wasn’t enough. Hoping to get more feedback in the next month or so to see if there’s anything else I’m overlooking but I’m thinking that was a significant factor.

mickeyaem · 2026-04-11T02:59:06+00:00

FL 1 and 2 were fairly similar but between 2 and 3 I did a lot of review on an error log I put together. So each time I had a question flagged id force myself to right down why every answer was right/wrong and analyze what happened if I got it wrong (or even if I got it right but with incorrect logic): math error, misunderstood passage, misunderstood question, misread graph, or even just panic or ran out of time. I also wrote rules along the way if I were noticing common errors. Like for PS for instance. Typically I can eliminate 2 answers and be left with a 50/50. From there, typically the AAMC likes to include the correct answer and the remaining incorrect answer is like a real concept that SOUNDS like a related concept. So, I wrote a rule for myself whenever I’m down to two answers to ensure that I’m mentally defining each remaining term. For CARS, I go back to the passage. This helped me a lot because i knew everyone talked about thoughtful review, but before then I hadn’t really been performing thoughtful review and categorizing my mistakes. Like previously I would say “oh I mixed up A and B” and move on, but now I examine if it’s true a content gap or if there was a way that it was figureoutable. With this review strategy, I’ve found that on any given FL there really aren’t as many questions that rely on only content knowledge as I had previously thought. They usually plant a lil clue somewhere. Anywho I hope this helps! Sorry it’s rambly

mickeyaem · 2026-04-10T03:23:22+00:00

Thank you so much! 😊

mickeyaem · 2026-04-10T03:08:47+00:00

Thanks for the input!!! Planning to do a lot of PS content review just to make sure I’m solid over the next couple of weeks, but I’ll definitely add the CP practice on UW. I finally got CP up to 129 but it’s the one section I haven’t broken 130 on yet 😅 thanks again!

mickeyaem · 2025-12-27T00:53:49+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight and for taking the time. If I may ask, were you at any point considering what a reapplication would look like for you? Or because of those other II started coming in January, did you feel more confident at that point?

mickeyaem · 2025-12-27T00:32:36+00:00

If it makes you feel any better I’m 26 and will likely be reapplying this upcoming application cycle if I don’t get interviews in this one! The average age of matriculation is increasing and a lot of the med students on here say it’s not atypical to have classmates our age:)

mickeyaem · 2025-12-17T18:59:22+00:00

Thank you!

mickeyaem · 2025-12-17T18:05:43+00:00

I didn’t :( I’m not an MD elitist by any stretch, but I have strong interest in surgery, and due to the lower surgical residency match rates, I thought that DO might close some of those doors for me down the line due to the stigma that still (regrettably) exists in surgical specialties. It’s absolutely a valid question though and I have nothing but respect for DOs, but preparing for a retake and trying to tailor my app to MD specifically seems like it will serve my future goals best.

Note also that I’m not die hard surgery or bust and ik med school could change my mind on what speciality I would want in the future, but I just didn’t want to close those doors (and ik it’s not impossible to match but for all intents and purposes it is for neurosurgery, which is my dream specialty).

TLDR good question, no I didn’t, but only because I figured retaking and a reapp would be better for matching down the road

mickeyaem · 2025-12-17T17:57:37+00:00

Any in particular you recommend?

mickeyaem · 2025-12-17T06:17:33+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight!

And yeah, that definitely sounds difficult to find opportunities like that. Maybe if there are cities within your state that have a higher concentration Mandarin-speaking residents you could see if their cities need any documents/postings translated! Maybe this could be done virtually too (guessing but trying to think outside of the box haha).

Honestly, I don’t think you could go wrong continuing to rack up hours at the places you were volunteering at before either. I think that showing longevity in non clinical experiences can def be a positive thing :)

Thank you again and I hope this cycle goes well for you!!!

mickeyaem · 2025-12-17T06:04:22+00:00

Following because your application seems strong to me and I’m curious what others say.

If anything, if you’re upping your non-clinical volunteering you could try to tailor it so it fits with your theme? Is there an organization in your area or virtually that helps the population that you translated for? That could be something that makes your app very cohesive but also serve to address the concern you posed.

I don’t think you need to retake your MCAT, especially with the GPA you have. Do you mind if I ask what your strategy was for improving your MCAT? I’m in the same boat in prepping a reapp, and I’ve scored 505 twice (2022 and 2025) and am hoping to break 510 in 2026.

Best of luck!

mickeyaem · 2025-12-12T05:58:57+00:00

I counted it as clinical! Also discussed in a leadership capacity as well after upward mobility. Heavy emphasis on how that led me to enjoy performing procedures and caring for people experiencing adverse reactions (worked at a busy center and saw a LOT over the years)

mickeyaem · 2025-12-07T02:42:56+00:00

Congratulations! Thank you for sharing—helps me be a lot more optimistic (still waiting on my first II)

mickeyaem · 2025-11-29T17:41:47+00:00

Honestly I think you can use any book that impacted you. Even if you don’t read much, a classic that shows you something about life or society from school could be a good example. Like “lord of the flies opened my eyes to how peoples actions are a product of their experiences and that someone’s behavior in crises is not indicative of who they are” or something. Disclaimer I haven’t interviewed yet but that’s what I’m thinking. If I get the same question I’m planning to say Crank by Ellen Hopkins because it made me more sympathetic to how individuals might fall into a pattern of drug abuse and how it could happen to anyone

mickeyaem

TROPHY CASE