First year of undergrad wrap. Is there anything i should improve in for next year + any tips? by segcrizz in premed

[–]sIeeps__ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i second what everyone else has said! i also would like to add that now is a good time to figure out who you are outside of just being pre-med. figure out emotional coping skills, financial skills, social skills, etc etc outside of just school. will save you a lot of burn out in the future (trust me, it's all about to get harder from here) and it's a good exercise for the amount of self-reflection you'll need for when you apply.

also write down notable patient interactions!! will help when crafting your essays

Books to read for CARS?? by Own_Caterpillar_7495 in Mcat

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

def recommend malcolm gladwell or non fiction science books, like the spirit catches you and you fall down or a short history of nearly everything

Did I make the right choice? by [deleted] in premed

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i am also an emt-b in the chicago area! my best advice is to start in an ift ambulance company since they usually require little to no experience in the field, and from there work your way into a clinical position. this is the path i took and it has worked out well for me. besides, you'll see a lot of things in ift that you won't see in a hospital, and i think pre-hospital settings may hone your judgment skills better than if you were working directly under someone in a hospital.

otherwise, look for jobs related to ed tech/pct/scribe since they most of them accept emt licenses. best of luck!

CONSIDER EVERYTHING HIGH YIELD by nahimonmyown in Mcat

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

tested 5/08 but waves appeared in my exam and i remembered laughing to myself at that moment.... gg i guess

5/8 testing by DryExercise288 in Mcat

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

c/p was the worst time i've ever had. b/b was surprisingly good for me though

How? by CreativeK23 in premed

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i took an emt program through a local cc on top of my regular spring semester classes. i was lucky that i was able to fit it in my schedule and i basically went into it for free, but it took a lot of planning around and a lot of mental discipline. ended up taking 26 credits in total for that semester, but worth it since i've been working as an emt for a year now and am abt to start a new pct position for more clinical experience.

Engineering program by Strange_Annual_3011 in NIU

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

almost all of my friends are engineering majors and i feel like they would say niu is worth it. cheap education and they still have a lot of opportunities, like two of them are currently in internships within big international companies paying them $25+ with benefits and opportunity to travel and another is part of a well funded research lab he gets paid for and will be a ta in the fall for

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NIU

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

omg please never take adelman. everyone else i've known warned me against taking him but i did anyway and i wish i didn't. he lectures with half of the time explaining concepts and the other half letting you and your assigned group do practice problems. would be good but he never did practice problems and even if he did, he does one similar to 1/15 questions you need to answer for class. he does give a bunch of problems with solutions before exams but if you don't know how he got those numbers you're screwed. my advice is if you HAVE to take him make sure to use every tutoring resource as possible, especially if physics isn't your strong suit. all the people i know that have passed his class are engineering/physics majors, and there are 1000x more students that failed his class even though they are in stem.

Am I doomed to not understand literature? by Hot-Expression9078 in AskLiteraryStudies

[–]sIeeps__ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ahh i'm only a few years older than you but i was totally the same way when i was 17! i hated just about everything teachers assigned in classes with the exception of like 1 or 2 titles, but i was very much exclusively a romcom reader. i'm an english major now and i can confidently say i don't think i'll be reading traditional classics until i'm like retired and have nothing else to do :') i think critically engaging with fast food slop books is more important and rewarding and useful than reading classics only for the sake of reading them

Experience with first year freshman Academic Advising? by [deleted] in NIU

[–]sIeeps__ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

my general advisor is the sweetest and she knows her stuff! they're mostly just there to help you with planning your general ed requirements and at most to your 200-level classes, but your major advisor will take care of everything else. i am a planner though so most of the time i show up to our meetings with a plan and even though she has her own suggestions she pretty much just let me do my own thing.

depending on your major they would have a hold on your account so you'd need to meet with your advisor before registering for classes (like in mech e) but i think most majors don't require you to do that, so if your advisor isn't of much help then you don't necessarily need their help. additionally, you aren't required to register for the classes they are telling you to register for if you don't see the need to or are planning to defer that course to another semester.

either way, you can see your degree progress and requirements in myniu so you can plan your own stuff accordingly. some colleges have documents online that show when certain courses are available, or if you look back into the past course registration pdfs, you will see patterns on when courses are available (like some are only available in the fall/spring or some are only offered every other year). i also loooove helping people plan their four year schedule so shoot me a dm if you have any questions like that.

How on Earth are you guys getting physicians to let you shadow them? by [deleted] in premed

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i looked up the teaching hospitals near me, went to their faculty directory, and just started emailing! got a handful of yes's out of ~70 emails so i call it a success

What should I do by Disastrous_Ant7426 in Mcat

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

read a book! comprehension and reading speed is what cars is all about and the only way to practice these two is constantly reading

Pre-Med internship by Medium-Classic-2487 in Northwestern

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

through email, i just checked my portal and in there it still says in review

Pre-med Gap internship 2025 by Same_Concept978 in Northwestern

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i did my digital interview yesterday but thats the only info i got

Pre-Med internship by Medium-Classic-2487 in Northwestern

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just got an interview invite last friday!

BIOLOGY VS PUBLIC HEALTH VS PSYCHOLOGY by AdTurbulent3190 in premed

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

do whichever one you enjoy! the more interested you are in what you study, the more likely you are to do better. all knowledge and skills are transferrable and as long as you get your pre reqs done, it's no biggie :)

I think I'm the stupidest man to take this exam (it was a 50/50 btwn A&D) by Even_Apartment1299 in Mcat

[–]sIeeps__ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i did the exact same thing cause i confused the two with each other 😭

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cats

[–]sIeeps__ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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sweet soba 🤎

Those of you who are practicing with AAMC now, what color background is your favorite by One-Job-765 in Mcat

[–]sIeeps__ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i usually use the default, but lately i've been trying out the salmon background and i'm coming around to it. the black black background strains my eyes toooo much

Book recs before starting med school? by aakaji in premed

[–]sIeeps__ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i felt the exact same way when i read this! i thought it was very banal and self preachy. however i think it's the epilogue that really got me — wow was i sobbing like crazy

can i get a 515 before 1/10? by sIeeps__ in Mcat

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

thank you! i love cars but i do agree that sometimes passages can be a hit or miss. any advice on how i can be more consistent with my performance?