United and never divided!

Selling MCAT books, some for less than $10!

ruchirahni — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:45:29 GMT

ExamKrackers 1,001 Questions in MCAT Physics, brand new- $10 + shipping,

Princeton Review HyperLearning Physical Sciences Review, brand new- $30 + shipping

Princeton Review Hyperlearning MCAT In-Class Compendium, brand new- $20 + shipping (it's an interesting array of passages with the answers in the back, I did it before test day and it helped me a lot)

Kaplan MCAT 45- These passages are hard but they're great to challenge yourself with directly after you study a certain section. For example, when I had Genetics down pat, I did all the Genetics problems. The hard questions cemented the material in my head. $15 + shipping

ExamKrackers Organic Chemistry, gently used- $12 + shipping

ExamKrackers Physics, new- $15 + shipping

and MCAT for physics, a thin volume with lots of passages, new- $2

I'm flexible on all the prices. Please do compare on Amazon if you have issues with any of them! No books have any writing in them whatsoever. You can comment here or e-mail me at chiofruchi@gmail.com if interested. Thanks, everyone, and good luck in your grad school journey!

liizziioo — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:13:30 GMT

Hey everyone - got a quick question for all of you today.

I'm working on AMCAS, and I have listed a group I am involved in as one of my most meaningful experiences (in the work/activities section). Now, this means that I have a lot of room to write about this experience... but, I wanted to reflect a bit on this experience in my personal statement as well (how it helped me to gain perspective & motivate me). Should I just reflect on the experience in the work/activities section & leave it completely out of my PS? Or should I just touch on it briefly in the PS?

Thank you!

EDIT: Does anyone have tips on how to title experiences? Or even better, examples?

EDIT2 (Sorry): Also, does anyone know whether or not we are supposed to include courses we will be taking in the upcoming year (I'm a Junior)? Or should we leave that out?

I'm failing physics, how screwed am I?

siete_reinos — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:39:31 GMT

I am starting my premed degree this summer; my first class is Physics 1. I thought it was going well, I did well on the homework and felt like I did really well on the first test last week...but today I got it back and I failed! I also had to BS the first lab because I didn't understand it even after help from my teachers and tonight's homework I spent 3 hours on before I gave up. I'm just not getting it at all. It's like the entire class is in another language.

I don't have long to pull up the grade because the class is just 8 weeks. I'm thinking this is a bad idea. I am good at biology and always did well in biology and chemistry but never in math and I've never had physics. I want to be a doctor more than anything but all I can think is that I won't get into school because I'll fail physics. I just don't see myself understanding anything in this class. What do you all think? Should I drop it and take it again when I have the full 16 weeks? Is there a certain book that's great for explaining concepts? Or am I just screwed if I don't get physics? Help! I feel horrible about myself and like I'm going to be forced to give up on my dream. :(

liizziioo — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:59:18 GMT

Hey everyone! I'm a junior & am planning on applying for medical school this year. My college runs on a quarter system (4 in 1 year), with each student usually taking 3 (or 1/2 more) classes each quarter. I'm currently in the 3rd quarter of my Junior year and I have the possibility of getting into a spring internship, that may or may not span over the summer months as well.

But herein lies my problem - There's no way I can handle a spring internship as well as my studies for the last quarter of this year (approx. 7 weeks from now). I'm taking fairly heavy classes then - most especially, physics 4. I don't do well in the maths (especially if I don't have copious amounts of time to study for those kinds of classes). So, here's my question - I've taken Physics 1 + 2, and I need one more physics+lab class (physics 4) in order to fulfill requirements for medical school. Am I allowed to apply for medical school without taking ALL of the pre-reqs, with the stipulation that I will take the necessary classes my senior year (prior to med school). I have taken all of my other pre-req courses, and only need physics 4 to complete them.

I really would like the opportunity to participate in the internship, but am not sure if I would be forfeiting my chance at medical school by moving physics 4 to my senior year at college. Has anyone run across this situation before? Thanks in advance!

ATTN: students with a .edu email address

backstabber — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:52:28 GMT

Amazon is offering a free 1 year subscription to Amazon Prime (Which usually costs $79 a year. Perks include free 2 day shipping, and $3.99 overnight shipping): http://amzn.to/bSH8jP (url shortened with bit.ly)

This is being marketed towards college students but all you need is a valid .edu email address, so teachers and alumni might be able to benefit from this too (though the Terms of Service does say they have the right to ask for proof that you are a current student).

I apologize if you have already heard about this amazing deal. I just want to help spread the word on this before they stop offering it. I am not an employee of Amazon, nor do I gain anything from people signing up for this service.

Chiropractors

blacksummerruby — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 19:11:25 GMT

hey all! curious to know what you all think or have you all considered going to chiropractic school if getting into a med school does not work out. what are the pros and cons? it is a way to be called doctor! should one take this route or are there others that are better? thanks everyone!

Interview Questions

mvenus929 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:39:37 GMT

One of my friends just asked me for a good way to prepare for interviews, specifically regarding the questions they ask. I found this list a couple of years ago on SDN, but I can't find it there anymore, so I figured I'd post it here so other people can access it.

1.Tell me something important about yourself.
2.Why did you choose your major/degree?
3.If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
4.What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
5.Tell me about your research?
6.If you have a choice between two medical schools, what are your criteria for choosing between them.
7.What will be 3 major challenges in medicine when you graduate from medical school and how should the curriculum address those challenges?
8.Describe a specific example of how you helped another individual and what you learned from it?
9.What intellectual role did you play in your research?
10.How would your friends describe you?
11.What draws you to [insert whatever school you are interviewing at]?
12.Tell me about [insert your school] and why you chose to go to school there.
13.Which of your research experiences did you enjoy the most and why?
14.When in your life did you decide you wanted to become a doctor? Have your motivations about becoming a doctor or your impressions about medicine changed since then?
15.Why medicine?
16.How would your mom describe you?
17.How would you propose to teach students a more humanistic approach to medicine?
18.Should more money be devoted to education or healthcare?...Prevention or intervention?
19.Tell me about your leadership activities
20.What are some important qualities of a physician?
21.What are current problems in the healthcare system today?
22.I'm not saying you won't get in this year, but if you didn't what would you do?
23.What area or field of medicine interests you?
24.What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
25.What would you change about your college/university?
26.What is the most difficult decision you have had to make?
27.Tell me about your best friend.
28.How would you define professionalism?
29.What was the happiest and saddest moments of your life?
30.How can you contribute to this school?
31.What criticism upsets you the most?
32.What was the last book you read?
33.What challenges do you think you'll have in your 1st year of medical school?
34.Do you think that as we learn more about science and the laws of this world, that the need for believing in God will disappear?
35.What was your favorite (college) class and why?
36.Explain the process of cellular respiration to me?
37.How do you fix the malpractice problem
38.Do you prefer being alone or with others?
39.Do you like saying no?
40.Do you have any questions about [insert whatever school you are applying to]?
41.Why not nursing?
42.What else do you want to emphasize to the committee about yourself that may or may not be included in your applications?
43.What can I say to make you want to come here?
44.Please explain this low grade in [insert whatever class you received a C or below in]

From personal experience, a good handful of these questions are pretty common. At my recent interview at UVa, I was asked numbers 4, 12, 14, 22, 32, and 41. All in the course of a half-hour interview.

math requirements for med school

blacksummerruby — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:38:17 GMT

what is the math requirement for medical school? i have done College Algebra, Statistics, Trigonometry and Calculus 1 during my undergrad years and right now in grad school i have taken basic biostatistics for public health practice. Please...i hope i do not need anymore math. good luck to you all of you and your goals of med school and thanks!

I wrote a how-to on getting into med school.

simplycynical — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:19:02 GMT

Getting into Medical School

Let me know what you think! Feel free to rate/comment on the article page or on this lj page.

candidxletters — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:34:32 GMT

Okay, so I'm about to go into my first year of premed and I'm already tired of school.

I've been thinking about going to India (I'm Indian) for school after my first year of undergrad. It takes about 5 years or so there. But I'm worried about how hard it might be to become a doctor there and then try to come back and get my license in the US.
Does anyone know of any other ways to get through undergrad and med school in less than 8 years?

I so desperately want to be done with school.

Hit the Wall

sassalicious — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:06:25 GMT

I'm currently applying to school, but just one. Not a great idea, I know, but it's what I can do at the moment. I'm also studying to retake the MCAT because my scores are starting to get a bit old and I'm working around 30 hours a week.

I've hit the wall and can't actually make myself do any of the above, despite knowing how important each one is. What do you all do when you get a to a point and you can't actually make yourself do something, even when you know it needs to be done?

Also, good luck to everyone else with their applications.

What are My Chances?

abnoanomaly — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:43:27 GMT

Hey,

So I've recently decided that medical school is something I want to pursue. I did my undergrad in Psychobiology but I never really cared too much about my grades and did a lot of partying. Considering all that, my grades are decent. I had a 3.5 but my science GPA is like a 3.1/3.2. However, I did graduate in 3.5 years (and its a top university in the state), was the Community Service VP of my Community Service frat (that I was in all 4 years in college) and I currently volunteer doing outreach for an AIDS service organization. I have past research experience but it was in 2005 but the program was extremely competitve to get into. I worked in the top Neuroendocrinology lab in the country (or so I'm told). Also, I started my MPH this spring. To get in to med school, I will need to take physics but I have all the other pre-reqs. I should be able to knock out both semesters of physics this summer between the 2 sessions offered. I generally do decently on standardized tests but have yet to take an MCAT so I have no idea. In addition, I think it would be a good idea to start volunteering at a local hospital...unless I have enough volunteering already?

Now my question, How good are my chances of getting into medical school? Also, how many med schools do people usually apply to? Will I be able to apply for med school for next year if I'm taking physics over the summer?

Sorry if this is the most obnoxious post ever. I just never had any pre-med advising and so feel completely lost.

Question on Major

midmush — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:29:47 GMT

Hiya. I'm Ashley, and this is my first time posting. This question may sound confusing/juvenile/etc., but here it goes:

Is there a career that enables doctors to travel around the world, perhaps to observe, research, diagnose, or to treat patients? Not necessarily opening private practices as they go along, but... yeah, I don't know, exactly.

I'd appreciate all comments!
Also, this was x-posted.

Thank you!
Ashley

jenifermichelle — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:49:20 GMT

Hi there everyone!

My name is Jenifer, and I've opened up a new community for students that are either currently pursuing a career in medicine, or at least have an interest in pre-medical studies.

The community is called Pre-Med Headaches, and can be found here: premedheadaches

Anyone can join and post their questions, comments, or general pre-med/med school information. Essentially, the same thing as this community. ....Admittedly, I feel a bit stupid; I made my community because this one didn't come up when I searched for "pre-med" on the community search. However! Having multiple places to talk about our united problems will help us all out, I'm sure of it!

Sorry if this post is spammy, but I'm sure there are some great pre-med students out there that this community would love to have! Thanks!

MCAT

pinkygirlrox — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:53:34 GMT

Hi,

I was just wondering what everyone else is using to prep for the MCAT. Which companies make the best exam guides? And is there ever a too soon to be studying for the MCAT?

I know I'm selfish- rant

foreverjiayou — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:56:26 GMT

I just felt like sharing my feelings. I'm not sure if it's allowed in this community, if it isn't, please kindly remove this. Thank you.

I don't really feel the fever anymore but I do have a cold still. Sucks to be me. Drats.

You know, now that I'm in university, my future seems so much more important. It feels like every decision I make could possibly just change the entire course of my life. Not studying for a test in high school was no big deal as it was easily made-up for on the following test. However, missing a test in university is a big deal. It's a big portion of your mark gone, a big portion of your GPA gone, and possibly a big portion of your opportunities in life just gone. Like that. In a snap.

Continue Reading...

DO schools

blacksummerruby — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:35:20 GMT

thanks for the response to my previous post. that helped. i will look into DO schools, my only question is why are they looked down upon...if that is still the case to alopathic MD schools? what is the difference/similarities? thanks!

Ross University or other Carrebian Schools

blacksummerruby — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:51:53 GMT

what do you all think about Ross University and/or other carribean med schools? i know my chances are little to none in being able to get into med school in the states. just want some advice. thanks and have a great week!

typical application turn-around time

naka_sama — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:20:44 GMT

I applied to 13 medical schools this year (the maximum low-income folks like me get free). I sent in my applications pretty early, but once recommendations and fee waivers were all cleared, the majority of my applications probably didn't register as completed until mid to late October. So far I've had two invitations to interview, but no word from the other schools. Thoughts? Should I be worried yet? I've found some sites online that suggest that I shouldn't expect to hear more until after New Year - does anyone have anything to share about their experience?

Senior year grades?

atmaa — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:38:38 GMT

Hey all,

I was recently talking to an adviser about the general timeline for applying, and she said it is expected, if you intend to start the semester after graduation, to apply the summer before senior year. Does this mean that your the grades from your senior don't affect the BCPM or overall GPA medical schools see? Or will they take these into account? And if they don't, is it better to wait a year and apply late if your senior grades will bring your GPA up higher?

If any of you encountered this while applying, I'd super appreciate the input and what you end up deciding.

Thanks so much for everyone!

x-posted to med_school

A Million and One Things To Do

sassalicious — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:30:03 GMT

I'm currently frustrated with correcting a pile of short essays, so I'm taking a short break to screw around online . . . and I inevitably ended up on various travel websites. Which really started me thinking.

I want to go to medical school. I want to be a doctor when I "grow up". This is what I really want for a career. I know it's a longish road and it seems better to start earlier, but there are 100 other things that I also want to see and do before I start medical school.

Which would be fine, but I'm starting to almost feel the crunch because I took the MCAT in 2007, which means that for most schools I have to apply June 2010 (I have until 2011 with my state school, I think) and that just seems too soon for me . . . yet I don't relish the notion of taking the MCAT again (highly inconvenient at the moment), though I might in the interest of raising my score.

I guess does anyone else ever feel this way? Has anyone been in this situation before? Has anyone applied early decision with plans to defer?

x-posted

Cell Biology

cdnangil — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:24:36 GMT

Hey guys!

I'm taking a Cell Biology course right now and (long story short) doing horribly.

Anyone have any good resources, study tricks/tips, or anything they can offer that might help me out? I still have 1.5 months to pull this out of the water, and my final exam is worth 65% of my overall grade.

TIA!

Premed, opted out, now thinking of becoming a doctor again...?

o2end — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:42:20 GMT

When I started college, I was a bio/premed major. During freshman and sophomore years, I took a number of med school required classes, but did VERY poorly on them (as in, Cs would be my highest grades) - I wasn't disciplined, didn't know what I wanted out of life, etc. I was highly discouraged (by others and mainly myself) and by the beginning of junior year, I had switched to a different major as I decided to follow a different career track (I've done better in my courses since I switched, but my overall GPA is about a 2.2). Outside of academics, I know I'm pretty solid (I don't have much experience in the health field but I do volunteer in general -have an interest in social justice issues- and should be able to get some supportive letters of recommendation).

Lately, as a college senior, I've been thinking of giving myself another chance at being a doctor. I don't think I could get into med school now (which is fine) - while being efficient, I want to take my time and make sure I'm doing things properly (ie: I don't want to rush into taking the MCAT just to wildly apply to X amount of schools by Dec 1). I'm no longer afraid of hard work and am willing to do what I feel is necessary to improve my chances to get into a good medical program when the time is right.However, I'm not sure what steps/path to take now:

I thought about applying for postbac programs, but the majority say it's for people who haven't taken any of the prereqs OR for people who took the prereqs but have strong academic history (and like I've said before, I've done the majority but have done badly in them).

Should I graduate college and then retake the required courses at another school while volunteering somewhere? Or are there any postbac programs for people who are in the same boat as me? Or is it more of a should I start all over (finish at my current school, then transfer elsewhere and take said classes over again)?

What would med schools want to see from me, following a semi non traditional path? Up until a little while ago, I was perfectly okay leaving my science gpa as it was because I was planning to go into a field where it didn't really matter).

Please advise if you can (anything else -that's constructive- you'd want to share would be much appreciated). Thanks!

crossposted

Reposted Question about References

tryxkittie — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:05:06 GMT

So I've been wondering about something. For Harvard (and I'm sure some other med schools), they require that we have at least two references from science professors. The problem is, I didn't have too much contact with my science professors when I was in undergrad Biology. It's been almost two years since I've graduated. I know of two possible teachers I might be able to get in touch with, but what do I say to them? "Hi, you probably don't remember me but can you give me a rec for med school?" How exactly do I approach them for a reference? I'm thinking I should show interest in their research and maybe ask to get involved as a volunteer, but eventually I'll have to ask for a reference and it feels like it may be a little awkward to suddenly ask for something of that magnitude. If anybody has any advice of what I should do and how I should do it, I'd be extremely, extremely grateful.

Overseas Med Schools

tryxkittie — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:26:14 GMT

Hey, back again with another question.

So, I'm a Canadian who's looking to apply to med school overseas, preferably in the United States or the UK. But I'm not quite sure which of schools are reputable and which will give me degrees that will be recognized back in Canada. I'm not even sure where to go to find such information. Could someone help point me in the right direction, especially those who have applied to or are currently attending US/UK med schools?