"Funny quotes from 'less informed' pre-meds," On-Topic Edition

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I might be wrong, but I don't think that spending $200-300K on undergrad is super normal. Even at more affordable universities, though, the idea of just wasting money by taking a "practice" MCAT isn't really unheard of.

That is like ten times the cost of my B.S. degree. Crazy.

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Yesterday, I was studying in a coffee shop, and next to me were two people studying MCAT Psychology. One of them kept saying "neutrons" instead of "neurons."
 
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Yesterday, I was studying in a coffee shop, and next to me were two people studying MCAT Psychology. One of them kept saying "neutrons" instead of "neurons."
The irony being he's lacking the very thing he can't pronounce...
 
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I was perusing #futuredoctor on Instagram last night and a lot of what I found could belong here. I would check it out for some good quality pre-med nonsense
 
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Last week someone in my class asked "Why didn't they perform this experiment on male rats?" after another classmate presented on cervical cancer prevention.
 
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Also a few years ago when I was shadowing in a urology ward a girl asked why they don't check PSA for women. The attending and his two residents all burst out laughing and went about their rounds. Pretty sure no one ever told her that girls don't have prostates.
 
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If I had to pay my tuition, it would have cost me $27,000 ($38,400 without the military discount). $200k is absurd.
But let's say you didn't work or have any scholarships or grants and just took out loans for your total COA for 4 to 5 years of undergrad. You could easily get up there in loans. I go to a very affordable school (tuition around 6,000/yr) and my COA is ~20,000/yr X 5 years (because that's how long it took me) = ~100,000$.

I graduated with no debt due to scholaships/grants/work. But like I said, if you didn't have those things for income and just took out loans, and went to an average priced/expensive school, you could easily have a few hundred thousand in debt.
 
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I was perusing #futuredoctor on Instagram last night and a lot of what I found could belong here. I would check it out for some good quality pre-med nonsense
New favorite IG tag.
 
But let's say you didn't work or have any scholarships or grants and just took out loans for your total COA for 4 to 5 years of undergrad. You could easily get up there in loans. I go to a very affordable school (tuition around 6,000/yr) and my COA is ~20,000/yr X 5 years (because that's how long it took me) = ~100,000$.

I graduated with no debt due to scholaships/grants/work. But like I said, if you didn't have those things for income and just took out loans, and went to an average priced/expensive school, you could easily have a few hundred thousand in debt.

So, you work.
 
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I have been asked this many times since I got my acceptance letter and told my friends and family.

Person: so what are you doing after graduation?
Me: I'm going to medical school.
Person: oh...(pause) to become what like a PA or a nurse?

Me: well, some med schools have programs for different degrees, but I'm going to study to become a doctor.

Person: yeah yeah it's all the same. PAs and nurses do all the work anyways. The docs just show up for a little bit, make money and leave.
Me: ugh.....

Person: Good for you! You will have a nice, relaxing career.
 
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I have been asked this many times since I got my acceptance letter and told my friends and family.

Person: so what are you doing after graduation?
Me: I'm going to medical school.
Person: oh...(pause) to become what like a PA or a nurse?

Me: well, some med schools have programs for different degrees, but I'm going to study to become a doctor.

Person: yeah yeah it's all the same. PAs and nurses do all the work anyways. The docs just show up for a little bit, make money and leave.
Me: ugh.....

Person: Good for you! You will have a nice, relaxing career.

I've encountered this sentiment loads and loads of times
 
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I have been asked this many times since I got my acceptance letter and told my friends and family.

Person: so what are you doing after graduation?
Me: I'm going to medical school.
Person: oh...(pause) to become what like a PA or a nurse?

Me: well, some med schools have programs for different degrees, but I'm going to study to become a doctor.

Person: yeah yeah it's all the same. PAs and nurses do all the work anyways. The docs just show up for a little bit, make money and leave.
Me: ugh.....

Person: Good for you! You will have a nice, relaxing career.

had a similar one yesterday

"where are you going to school and what will you be learning?"

"I'm going to be attending XCOM to become a physician."

"You should try and become a male nurse because my friend's kid tried to do pre-med and then had to drop out and he's doing great now as a male nurse"

"I'm already accepted and will be attending medical school very soon"

"I'm telling you being a male nurse is great these days"
 
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had a similar one yesterday

"where are you going to school and what will you be learning?"

"I'm going to be attending XCOM to become a physician."

"You should try and become a male nurse because my friend's kid tried to do pre-med and then had to drop out and he's doing great now as a male nurse"

"I'm already accepted and will be attending medical school very soon"

"I'm telling you being a male nurse is great these days"

lol I guess "male nurse" is a separate career path from "female nurse". Do I have to go to "male nurse" school? Are all of the stethoscopes blue, is sports medicine a required rotation, is peds half as long?
 
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lol I guess "male nurse" is a separate career path from "female nurse". Do I have to go to "male nurse" school? Are all of the stethoscopes blue, is sports medicine a required rotation, is peds half as long?
This made me think of the " sexy singles in my area ad" for some reason....
 
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"What's a DO? They're like one of those eye people, right?"
 
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"What's a DO? They're like one of those eye people, right?"
Haha to be fair, "those eye people" are ODs, so I can sorta understand the confusion.

yeah reminds me of the following earlier in this thread

Dude, DO is optometry school... Duh

That would be comically confusing to have a DO ophthalmologist with OD optometrists around.

Why not get both and be Dr. Lawper, DOOD
 
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Earlier this semester, I talked to this girl (who may not have been pre-med but was definitely some type of pre-health) who believed that she needed to drop her English class because it looked like she would probably end up with a B. I tried to convince her that a W looks worse than a B, but she did not seem convinced. I haven't talked to her since then, so I don't know how that turned out.
 
Earlier this semester, I talked to this girl (who may not have been pre-med but was definitely some type of pre-health) who believed that she needed to drop her English class because it looked like she would probably end up with a B. I tried to convince her that a W looks worse than a B, but she did not seem convinced. I haven't talked to her since then, so I don't know how that turned out.

W's are for when you may get a C or lower, and only really worth it for a BCPM class.
Especially if its a med school pre req- if you get below a C, you'd need to retake anyway- but who the hell retakes English b/c they might get a B?!?!
Gonnif would be gagging at this.


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A pre-med volunteer I once oversaw stated emphatically that he was going to become a cardiovascular surgeon and that he was going to be the best without question.

I had him viewing a patient's office visit in our EMR and whilst in the systems portion of the visit (where MS, GI, NEURO, ENT, etc are listed) he saw CV and abruptly asked, "What does CV stand for...?"
 
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I work as an MCAT tutor at a university with a really large pre-med population. I got contacted by a potential client who was interested in tutoring. I asked her about which pre-req classes she was taking, when she planned to take the test, when she planned to apply, etc. She told me that she had just finished her first semester of freshman year but had aced gen chem I so she felt ready to start prepping for the MCAT since she wanted to ensure that she aced the exam by starting her prep super early. I told her that most people study for the MCAT for three months after taking most, if not all, of the required classes beforehand. She then got mad and told me that I clearly didn't know anything about how to help students prep for the exam since I was encouraging students to "procrastinate". I then wished her the best of luck as she set off to embark on two years of MCAT prep. :D
 
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:vomit:
That sounds like hell on wheels
Exactly! Hell on wheels, wings, AND water haha!

On my MCAT test day there was a student at the testing center who was drawing out organic chemistry mechanisms (electron pushing, structures, everything) ten minutes before the proctors called us back to start the test. One other student took the time to ask him what he was up to and he replied, with the utmost confidence, "I'm just making sure that I ace the written portion!" (Even the proctors looked confused lol.)

One of my pre med friends once said to me that since I'm URM, I probably didn't have to study for the MCAT since he heard that URMs could get into med school with super low scores. I had to tell him that being a URM doesn't mean a free pass to medical school and that we've got to work hard too haha!
 
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Exactly! Hell on wheels, wings, AND water haha!

On my MCAT test day there was a student at the testing center who was drawing out organic chemistry mechanisms (electron pushing, structures, everything) ten minutes before the proctors called us back to start the test. One other student took the time to ask him what he was up to and he replied, with the utmost confidence, "I'm just making sure that I ace the written portion!" (Even the proctors looked confused lol.)

One of my pre med friends once said to me that since I'm URM, I probably didn't have to study for the MCAT since he heard that URMs could get into med school with super low scores. I had to tell him that being a URM doesn't mean a free pass to medical school and that we've got to work hard too haha!
That sentiment is disgustingly prevalent. Yeah, a slightly lower score can be allowed for somebody who is URM, but really only if the GPA/ EC's are up to par.
 
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That sentiment is disgustingly prevalent. Yeah, a slightly lower score can be allowed for somebody who is URM, but really only if the GPA/ EC's are up to par.
Thank you! With how expensive and time consuming this whole process is, you've got to put in as much work as you can to have the best chance at getting accepted (no matter what your ethnic background is)!
 
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That sentiment is disgustingly prevalent. Yeah, a slightly lower score can be allowed for somebody who is URM, but really only if the GPA/ EC's are up to par.

Thank you! With how expensive and time consuming this whole process is, you've got to put in as much work as you can to have the best chance at getting accepted (no matter what your ethnic background is)!

I might be misunderstanding you because I got 2.5 hours of sleep last night, but are you saying that URM matriculants don't have a lower mean MCAT?
 
I might be misunderstanding you because I got 2.5 hours of sleep last night, but are you saying that URM matriculants don't have a lower mean MCAT?
They do, but not to the extent that a URM should just " not study for the MCAT"
 
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They do, but not to the extent that a URM should just " not study for the MCAT"

Hell... I wish. I got rejected multiple times before finally sucking it up and retaking my 28.

Edit: Actually, I don't wish. That would be awful. The point is, applicants should study their asses off regardless. I want to see our average go up for Christ's sake.


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They do, but not to the extent that a URM should just " not study for the MCAT"

Yeah. But there is a definite difference. If you look at @Lawper's post on MCAT/GPA data, URMs in general definitely get a boost.

Not saying that's good or bad (tend to lean on the "good" side in most situations). It just is.
 
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Yeah. But there is a definite difference. If you look at @Lawper's post on MCAT/GPA data, URMs in general definitely get a boost.

Not saying that's good or bad (tend to lean on the "good" side in most situations). It just is.
LOL but if someone didn't study for the MCAT, they could get like, a 501, which is lethal anyway. ( The person the original commenter was talking about, not you)
Whoever thinks URM's don't need to try needs to pull their head out of....nvm.
 
LOL but if someone didn't study for the MCAT, they could get like, a 501, which is lethal anyway. ( The person the original commenter was talking about, not you)
Whoever thinks URM's don't need to try needs to pull their head out of....nvm.
I think his point is more like:

a 508 URM will get a lot more looks than a 508 non-URM or ORM.

Which is 100% true. Not to say that URM's don't work hard because they obviously do.
 
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Oh my gawd people, before this turns into the URM v ORM debate that it's shaping up to be:

Everyone works hard at the chance to sit for an interview. Period.
 
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I think we've reached a violent agreement.
 
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It's ironic because the thread title says "On-Topic Edition" when now it's more like "De-Railed Edition"
 
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Ya let's keep the thread on topic pls. The topic is so broad. Talk about literally anything you want, except this lol.
I was at a dinner party, at somebody's house Saturday night.
This lady there has a daughter who went to community college and then transferred to the state school I'm at.
That girl claims she wants to go to PA school, then get married, and "finish up" at med school ( the mom may have been saying it wrong, but if she isn't).
I mean...does anybody know PA school=/= Med School
 
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This is why sedation is helpful

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I know someone who is currently getting a 3.0 in undergrad and is convinced she is competitive for the top schools. When I tell her that a 3.0 isn't really competitive, she tells me it is for her because she has "awesome" EC's so they have to accept her. When I asked her what her EC's were, she told me she has a research position at a lab, and since most pre-meds don't have this kind of experience going in, she was ahead of the game. I let her think what she wanted.
 
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I know someone who is currently getting a 3.0 in undergrad and is convinced she is competitive for the top schools. When I tell her that a 3.0 isn't really competitive, she tells me it is for her because she has "awesome" EC's so they have to accept her. When I asked her what her EC's were, she told me she has a research position at a lab, and since most pre-meds don't have this kind of experience going in, she was ahead of the game. I let her think what she wanted.
With a steep UW trend and amazing MCAT, she'd be okay for state/ lower tier.
But besides that....a 3.0 is '"lethal for MD, circling the drain for DO"
 
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I know someone who is currently getting a 3.0 in undergrad and is convinced she is competitive for the top schools. When I tell her that a 3.0 isn't really competitive, she tells me it is for her because she has "awesome" EC's so they have to accept her. When I asked her what her EC's were, she told me she has a research position at a lab, and since most pre-meds don't have this kind of experience going in, she was ahead of the game. I let her think what she wanted.

Such a conundrum. These people are sometimes so cocky about their chances and their ECs being better than most that you want to just watch them crash and burn. But then I feel bad that they are ultimately going to be sorely disappointed and feel horrible about themselves (although if they truly are huge dbags they'll probably pass all the blame to someone else).
 
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I know someone who is currently getting a 3.0 in undergrad and is convinced she is competitive for the top schools. When I tell her that a 3.0 isn't really competitive, she tells me it is for her because she has "awesome" EC's so they have to accept her. When I asked her what her EC's were, she told me she has a research position at a lab, and since most pre-meds don't have this kind of experience going in, she was ahead of the game. I let her think what she wanted.
Such a conundrum. These people are sometimes so cocky about their chances and their ECs being better than most that you want to just watch them crash and burn. But then I feel bad that they are ultimately going to be sorely disappointed and feel horrible about themselves (although if they truly are huge dbags they'll probably pass all the blame to someone else).

karen-Pendergrass-paleo-journey.png
 
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^^I just love that it's labelled "Mount Stupid."
 
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That's funny b/c I was just thinking of my last orgo test.
And thinking how I thought I aced the last one and got a B-.
And how the first one, I had all these doubts about mistakes I could have made, and actually did pretty well on it.
I feel the same about the 3rd one- there are mistakes I can pick out but for the most part it seems like I killed it. I'm hoping I did ( and the smol mistakes I made didn't cost much).
I was *just* discussing this at the tutoring center today, and that graph was just
*kapow*
 
I guess Trump is clearly sitting atop that mountain.
 
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I know someone who is currently getting a 3.0 in undergrad and is convinced she is competitive for the top schools. When I tell her that a 3.0 isn't really competitive, she tells me it is for her because she has "awesome" EC's so they have to accept her. When I asked her what her EC's were, she told me she has a research position at a lab, and since most pre-meds don't have this kind of experience going in, she was ahead of the game. I let her think what she wanted.

I think that you just described about 50% of med school applicants. We're talking about people who have no business being on a med school campus except as standardized patients.
 
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