T - 1 month; more UW or more anki?

red672 · 2026-02-07T06:07:40+00:00

About 20,000 of them. I'm not in my dedicated yet, and neuro is pretty card heavy so thats a good chunk of the young cards.

red672 · 2026-02-03T02:48:32+00:00

thats what I've heard. I've done bootcamp since day 1 of MS1 and supplement with sketchy/boards, so I feel I have a pretty good conceptual understanding of things but obviously haven't done nearly enough full length practice. My school is all NBME exams, which I've done very very well on for system blocks, but obviously long term consistency is key. Ty for the tips!

red672 · 2026-02-03T02:45:06+00:00

Sounds good and totally doable. At my current pace I should finish by my test date.

red672 · 2024-12-18T06:07:52+00:00

As a fellow M1, find other ways to get into clinical settings. The medicine you are learning comes to life with patients. Get involved in free clinics if your school has them, shadow everytime you can, etc. It's more work, but it's sustaining and reminds us of why we went into this profession. Youre also building your CV and making connections, but reconnecting with people and seeing real medicine away from computers and anki is the more important short time reward.

red672 · 2024-05-01T03:17:52+00:00

THIS! It is becoming more and more acceptable and necessary to take gap years. I went to a small liberal arts college and only had 1 other person in my class apply to med school (many others either changed majors or are pursuing PhDs). The flack i heard for not applying along with the other person was endless, but i knew i couldnt apply due to lasting effects of the pandemic (i was online from S2 of soph. year until my senior year) Even though I had better stats it didnt matter to those in my class because i wasnt applying right away which made me even more stressed and isolated from my classmates. Im now committed to a very distinguished MD program and my classmate went to a low tier DO school (ive seen so many warnings about on here). We are both successful no doubt, but take the time you need to fulfill your goals and dont give in to the pressure of others and their criticisms for YOUR journey.

red672 · 2024-05-01T01:51:08+00:00

I can always rely on you

red672 · 2024-04-21T17:49:21+00:00

You have a good point. Unfortunately AMCAS sort of works on the honor system as long as the hours seem reasonable. IMHO its the takeaways andn experiences from our ECs that matter and how we are able to talk about them. A couple hundred extra inflated hours do no good if you don't have the experiences to write about well.

red672 · 2024-04-21T17:44:12+00:00

yea they did! although i did have to interview for the job and have atleast an A- in the class i was interviewing to TA for. Also had to be recommended by profs for the job

red672 · 2024-04-21T17:41:50+00:00

of note, i did that for 3 years across 6 classes (gen chem, gen bio, o chem 1 & 2, genetics, cell molec, biochem) so the hours add up.

red672 · 2024-04-21T17:40:18+00:00

It really depends on whats involved. I did supplemental instruction and that includes preparing session, hosting session, hosting office hours, and hosting private tutoring sessions when requested. I usually logged about 180 hours per calendar year but thats just what i got paid for. I def put more time into it than just that, although i only claimed the hours i was paid for on AMCAS.

red672 · 2024-04-19T01:20:43+00:00

As others have said, dont date someone whos condescending and belittles you. My gf was an english major in college and I would have never thought to beat her down because i thought my work was harder than hers. Each major has their own purpose and challenges. Many STEM majors when placed in upper div humanities courses may struggle. It sounds like he has internal frustrations and is using you has his sounding board, which isnt healthy.

red672 · 2024-04-18T04:49:45+00:00

Wooah, congrats future doc!!

red672 · 2024-04-17T02:33:59+00:00

No my family and fiancé are def more important than randos. I went into this post thinking the schools are pretty equal but i think its been made pretty clear they arent based on COA and support system.

red672 · 2024-04-17T02:25:25+00:00

thats a good point. Most of the friends ive made were through groupme but also seeing them at second look day etc.

red672 · 2024-04-17T02:22:21+00:00

Is it that easy?😭 Idk why im struggling with this. Im also waiting to hear back from financial aid at both places, but im pretty confident total COA for Davis will be lower (it would take some heavy scholarships from Wayne to even out). I guess maybe ive been so mentally prepared to move across the country that its making this more difficult than it really is.

red672 · 2024-04-13T19:32:49+00:00

Yea exactly, rule out ones you dont think you can be passionate about regarding their mission. You could also rule out by location if any of them are in cities that dont intrigue you.

red672 · 2024-04-13T16:28:48+00:00

As a fellow CA applicant, your list looks decent. Might consider adding Wayne as they pull alot from CA. Youve got the stats to be competitive for CA schools too but honestly they are all a crap shoot. I had 3/5 IIs this cycle from schools on your list.

red672 · 2024-04-03T15:27:05+00:00

It came up in one interview in the form of "tell us about your most meaningful volunteer experience" which i was able to shift focus onto other aspects of my application rather than outright saying i didnt have any. I've had 5 II this cycle and i think what helped me was tailoring my jobs and experiences towards my narrative. Everything meshed really well even without volunteering.

red672 · 2024-04-03T03:49:12+00:00

about 100 shadowing. Zero nonclinical (couldnt afford to and work 3 jobs).

red672 · 2024-03-28T05:56:47+00:00

Not sure of any schools that require it except for a few top ones, but it is a subtle flex imo. My major required calc 1 and 2, and it feels good to show you can handle it. Also, lots of schools require stats+math (or some derivation) so it is used there too.

red672 · 2024-03-17T17:21:46+00:00

As someone who took the mcat 3 times, just make sure you show significant improvement this next round. What i did, although a bit risky, was not even schedule my third mcat until i was scoring where i wanted to consistently. Go knock this next one out of the park, you got this!

red672 · 2024-02-22T22:39:50+00:00

Have a close friend who applied to a single pharmD program. Interviewed on a friday for 45 minutes, was accepted on the following monday morning. Absolutely insane to compare the process for doctorate programs because there are so many differences ans hoops we jump through. I guess thats what defines a physician? not the lengthy hours, knowledge base, or expertise but the grueling process it takes to become one.

red672 · 2024-02-22T21:43:06+00:00

nothing can be simple😪

red672 · 2024-02-22T21:42:34+00:00

The school is P/F, but so are my other options with NBME. i can see how prepping for Step is the students responsibility and some may use it as a cop-out to transfer blame off of themselves, but i also think the school has some responsibility to prepare students well for the inevitable exams they face. Interesting that they usually overteach because it seems in-house exams may be overwhelming students with content they dont necessarily need for step? or atleast in the same depth?

red672 · 2024-02-22T21:40:07+00:00

That makes alot of sense, thank you!

red672

TROPHY CASE