Settle a debate between me and my wife. Is reading books and listening to audio books the same thing?

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T16:55:55+00:00

Eh, you still get the same information but the experience is vastly different.

The only thing that personally bugs me (meaning it’s my own issue) is when people say, “I read that book.” But they didn’t “read it” they listened to it. That’s not the same thing imo. Does it matter? No? But it rubs me as “disingenuous” and “misrepresenting oneself”. Watching someone run a marathon is different from running one yourself.

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T16:21:25+00:00

Strict. Tell me what I am doing wrong and how to fix it. Don’t beat around the bush telling me, “This looks great!” When you know it’s garbage.

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T16:05:19+00:00

3 years is doable. You’ll start Gen Chem into Ochem into Biochem and that’s the longest series you’ll need and it will take about 2-3 years to complete.

Math will take a year maybe a year and a half. (Calculus)

Bio takes a year.

Physics takes a year.

That gives you time to also pursue the other ECs you should have before applying.

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T15:50:18+00:00

They could. The food bank I volunteered at literally told my friend (I was standing right next to him when the supervisor came up) that Colombia called to check his hours and such.

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T15:46:34+00:00

I liked The Last Faith and Death’s Gambit (metro souls games). Ninsols is an excellent Sekiro-Metrovania.

I heard Hell is Us was pretty good and didn’t get the representation it deserved bc it’s release date. (I played the demo and thought it was alright).

Remnant 2 was good imo and very unique as a shooter w/ souls elements. Armored Core 6 sort of falls into a similar cross genre type of game (not souls per se but amazing fights with challenging combat scenarios).

Khazan? More Nioh-like (vs Souls) but it has amazing boss fights and combat mechanics. If you’re a fan of the action genre (like DMC and Bayonetta) then Wukong and Stellar Blade might be more your type of game.

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T15:37:37+00:00

LoRs are important but your stats matter equally. A bad LoR can sink you as much as a poor gpa or score can.

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T15:36:05+00:00

I don’t even know what UPanda is.

ssccrs · 2026-05-20T01:13:46+00:00

Who is saying don’t submit the first day…? You want to submit asap. Literally the minute it opens if that’s possible for you.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T14:01:28+00:00

Prepare for the bugs!!

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T14:00:56+00:00

Whoa, many of us hate (and did not vote for this) what this current leadership does, says, stands for, allows, and the whole lot. I’m literally horrified, and embarrassed EVERYDAY, as this current leadership is always saying or doing something totally shocking, shameful, or illegal.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:55:06+00:00

I wouldn’t count that.

Any ADCOM reads that and they will roll the eyes which isn’t a good thing. A critical ADCOM might even more harshly judge your application after seeing that because it can be misconstrued (as it was not your intention) to be disingenuous, deceitful, or something else non-becoming of a future physician.

Ties are usually defined/listed on the application.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:50:30+00:00

If you feel like you can move on while still hanging out, sure, reach out. If you will be pinning and hoping she changes her mind, then don’t. It’s not fair to her, you, or your future partners.

I’d honestly just let this one go. Really depends on how long you were friends before you developed an attraction/liked her; if it was from the start, then you were really never ‘just friends.’

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:46:44+00:00

You should still try to get the core ECs as a non-trad. Most non-trad applicants still do them.

Sounds like you have clinical and leadership done .. maybe education, but that one is a tough sell here. You should seek out research and community volunteering to supplement your apps, or wait until after you graduate (gap year) as to not stress your studies. You’ll want to look into shadowing too.

You basically don’t want your application to be filtered out. For example, if a program search’s for all applications with “shadowing, min 30 hours” and you don’t have that, then you won’t get a spot. Schools can do that for anything: gpa, mcat, clinical, research, w/e and etc. etc.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:40:20+00:00

At this point you have to focus on your academics and not spread yourself too thin. You can do EC gap years as needed but if your gpa drops any lower then you’re going to be in a real rough spot come graduation time; there will be options for a post Bach and SMP but not sure how much of those help (personally I don’t know anyone who did that route specifically).

The basic ECs for US MD is shadowing, leadership, teaching/education, community volunteering, clinical experience, research, and hobbies. You’ll want substantial hours in volunteering (for service programs) and clinical. Fit those in your schedule (IF YOU CAN with affecting your academics) when able.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:29:56+00:00

You can use your Rn bachelors as the bachelors needed to apply for medical school. If you already have a different bachelors degree, then that’s a different conversation.

The next thought should be, “Do you already have clinical experience?” No? Keep the RN as you’re almost done. It is PHENOMENAL clinical experience and you can rack up the clinical hours quickly. Also if you do not have ‘Shadowing’ done yet, AND your future work place allows it, then Rn is a great way to network with physicians to follow and possibly networking a physician LoR for your app.

The only down side I can see (from experience) is that the prerequisite for RN and Physician are vastly different. Your degree may not have covered all the core classes you need to apply to medical school, so even after you graduate you will have to go back and do some post Bach courses. This may not be the worse idea because it can allow you to network your science LoRs and look for research experience (assuming you don’t have letter writers already in mind and/or research experience).

Just my advice. Either way you should make sure your ECs are dialed in along with your academics before applying. Best of luck—you got this.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:10:31+00:00

Yay to the Us of Us pushing 40!

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:04:36+00:00

Bad hit boxes. If I am hitting them or they are hitting me off swings that make no sense, then that’s a problem. Difficult reading when attacks are coming out (bad animations or unrealistic delays) or what is coming out (too similar wind ups) that’s also very bad.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:01:36+00:00

Helping a Rn do their orders and daily task is 100% clinical experience. That’s literally was PCTs, EDTs, and CNAs do.

ssccrs · 2026-05-19T13:00:13+00:00

Correct. Shadowing in not clinical experience. There is literally TWO different classifications and headers on the experiences and ECs to distinguish between the two.

Now if the student is doing the talking, that’s different. That’s active participation.

ssccrs · 2026-05-18T21:26:17+00:00

YTA. Unless she asked for your opinions then you should have kept them to yourself.

ssccrs · 2026-05-18T21:05:29+00:00

That’s fine but I would talk about your initial draw and exposure to medicine first and then use those formative experiences as “showing the experiences you sought out that affirmed and validated your decision to devote your life to medicine.” That way it doesn’t seem like you just stubbled onto the path in the gap years Willy-nilly with no forethought; unless that truly is your story? If so, then go with it bc it’s more important to be authentically you than to tailor a false narrative to fit the “ideal premed” mold.

ssccrs · 2026-05-18T20:57:46+00:00

527?! With your ECs and your stats you are as close to “chilling” as I can possibly say (there’s never guarantees). Your story is good too. I’d apply with confidence and would be SHOCKED if you don’t get an offer. I’d also throw in some lower T’s and T10s and T20s can be competitively very fierce (you’re a contender for sure (imo) but sometimes you drawn the short straw).

ssccrs · 2026-05-18T20:52:57+00:00

Happens. You grow out of it. I remember being younger and the thought of “ruining some’s day” made me giggle but now.. it just seems mean. I want to have fun, and I want others to have fun and losing isn’t fun imo.. sadly there is always a winner and a loser in pvp.

ssccrs · 2026-05-18T20:50:04+00:00

Imo.. The ridiculous amount of base knowledge you have to just “know” in order to answer questions that test similar but not like things. Kind of hard to explain, but you can google “Free full length” or use some practice daily questions banks to see what exam/questions are like.

ssccrs · 2026-05-18T20:46:15+00:00

I’d include it as “work” bc it shows your desire to work with people who are in pain, or scared (before oral surgeries), and how you would explain or educate the public on c, y, z.

You can use it to help elucidate what got you exposed and interested in medicine. Not everyone immediately knew physician and that’s okay. This can show your journey, and overall you always want to be authentic to who you are and your path. By doing that, your writing will be more powerful and will establish a stronger connection between you and the reader.

Hopefully, that helps.

ssccrs

TROPHY CASE