I've been on this website for 5 years now. Starting medical school in August, AMA.

[I'm No Superman]

Hey guys, I joined this website during my junior year of high school. Now I'm getting ready to start medical school in the fall. I thought it would be nice to give back to the community by answering any and all questions you may have. So go ahead, ask me anything!

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[Optical Illusion]

Hey guys, I joined this website during my junior year of high school. Now I'm getting ready to start medical school in the fall. I thought it would be nice to give back to the community by answering any and all questions you may have. So go ahead, ask me anything!

What was the toughest premed prerequisite course in your opinion?

 

[I'm No Superman]

What was the toughest premed prerequisite course in your opinion?

For me personally, the toughest class was physics 2, which for most colleges is Electricity and Magnetism. I think what made it challenging is that going into this class, most people don't have a fundamental understanding of how these forces work. We don't grow up/interact with magnets and electric fields in the same way we do with mechanical forces like gravity, friction, etc. Once I really understood the basics, it became easier.

 

[Optical Illusion]

Any tips for getting a 519+ on the new MCAT?

 

[I'm No Superman]

Any tips for getting a 519+ on the new MCAT?

I took the old one, but I can tell you how I would study if I could do it again.
___
I took the MCAT in between my sophomore and junior year, a year before I applied. I did this because I didn't want to take the new one, and so that I could see my score well before I applied to medical school. I would recommend this option if you have completed most/all of your pre reqs before this time*, as I only had to focus on my application while other people had to juggle applying while studying/not knowing what their score was while they applied. Because of this I was able to choose schools that were appropriate for my numbers, instead of aiming too low/too high.

**

*That being said, I do not recommend rushing/overloading your schedule so that you can meet this time frame. GPA/not burning out is important.
**I will edit this later with my strategies for studying for a test like the MCAT when I get off work later tonight.

 

[DUCKTOR]

Did you use any of your AP credits?

 

[Optical Illusion]

I took the old one, but I can tell you how I would study if I could do it again.
___
I took the MCAT in between my sophomore and junior year, a year before I applied. I did this because I didn't want to take the new one, and so that I could see my score well before I applied to medical school. I would recommend this option if you have completed most/all of your pre reqs before this time*, as I only had to focus on my application while other people had to juggle applying while studying/not knowing what their score was while they applied. Because of this I was able to choose schools that were appropriate for my numbers, instead of aiming too low/too high.

**

*That being said, I do not recommend rushing/overloading your schedule so that you can meet this time frame. GPA/not burning out is important.
**I will edit this later with my strategies for studying for a test like the MCAT when I get off work later tonight.

That sounds like great advice!

I took the old one, but I can tell you how I would study if I could do it again.
___
I took the MCAT in between my sophomore and junior year, a year before I applied. I did this because I didn't want to take the new one, and so that I could see my score well before I applied to medical school. I would recommend this option if you have completed most/all of your pre reqs before this time*, as I only had to focus on my application while other people had to juggle applying while studying/not knowing what their score was while they applied. Because of this I was able to choose schools that were appropriate for my numbers, instead of aiming too low/too high.

**

*That being said, I do not recommend rushing/overloading your schedule so that you can meet this time frame. GPA/not burning out is important.
**I will edit this later with my strategies for studying for a test like the MCAT when I get off work later tonight.

I appreciate the unique insight. I will keep that in mind as I develop the specifics of my MCAT study schedule.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Did you use any of your AP credits?

Yes, only AP calculus. However, when I was in high school, I'd skip lunch and take a couple classes at the local college. So I came in with calc and 2 semesters of inorganic chemistry.

Back to work

 

[Technology]

What extracurricular activities do you highly recommend?

You can base your answer off of personal experiences, encounters with other pre-med applicants, or any recommendations others have given you.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Any tips for getting a 519+ on the new MCAT?

Alright, here goes my MCAT/Big tests strategies.

1: Make a plan. Know how you study.
-Before you even open a book, you should hash out a rough outline of how your time is going to be spent over the next few months. For me personally, I know that I like to get a lot done at a time, and then take breaks. So for the 2 months before the MCAT, I planned on putting in a fair amount of work (6-12 hours depending on how ambitious/scared I was feeling) on the weekdays, and relaxed on the weekends. I also didn't take a prep course because I didn't think it would help me. Maybe you are different, and like doing a moderate amount of study every day. Whatever works best for you is 100% how you should study for the test. I broke mine down into five subjects, and tackled them one at a time, starting with inorganic chemistry and I ended with verbal I think.

2: Study your weakest subjects first.
-You are going to be the most receptive to learning new information during the first few weeks or so before you start re-evaluating your life choices, pulling your hair out, etc. Therefore it makes sense to work on the things you don't have the best grasp on before you tackle the easier review stuff like biology (generally). Then once you get to the review stage, you'll be able to see how much progress you have made since starting.

3: Take practice quizzes earlier than you think you should.
-Full ones. Sit down and take one a month and a half out, maybe even a month out. DON'T be like me and start taking them two weeks out, because your first two will most likely suck and you will freak out a bit (a lot). Practice tests are where you figure out what you still suck at, so give yourself time to fix it. Also just learning how to take these tests helps a ton with respect to speed, looking for patterns, figuring out their expectations etc.

4. Don't get in your head, stick to the plan.
-One of the things I did/do really well when it comes to tests like these is to not let myself dwell on any insecurities I might have had at different points during the studying. Just keep chugging along, and you'll be alright. Obsessively worrying about how verbal is tricky or that you have X amount of time left is 100% not helpful at all.

5. Stay sane, take a day off once in a while.
-You can't just go full speed all the time with tests like these. Pick a day every week/every other week, and just chill. Play volleyball, go to the bar, or do both. Nothing gets the mind recharged and ready to work like drunk volleyball.

So I know that this isn't a specific "Follow these specifically and you will get whatever a good score is on the MCAT" type guide, but applying these to however you decide to tackle the MCAT should help out to some degree.

 

[I'm No Superman]

What extracurricular activities do you highly recommend?

You can base your answer off of personal experiences, encounters with other pre-med applicants, or any recommendations others have given you.

The best EC's are far and away the ones that you enjoy doing the most, and the ones with people you enjoy being around. I was a big part of Habitat for Humanity at my college. Did I like building houses, sure it's pretty fun. But I loved hanging out with the members of that club, going to the bar to work on financial stuff/plan meetings with my best friend, etc. Because of this I can talk about how much I enjoyed my time with Habitat and know that I'm sincere, and I truly think that adcoms can tell the difference between a guy who did X just to check a box, and a guy who did Y because he loved the crap out of it.*

*That being said, the snowboarding club or being on your league of legends college team shouldn't be the highlight of your EC's.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Just letting everyone know, if you still have questions, I'm still here.

 

[Gilakend]

Congrats on your acceptance! What made you choose Tulane? If you are a Michigan resident (I am, I assume you are based on your location) what schools did you apply to/get in to that were in-state?

I'm only a sophomore in college, but every one that I know (that knows what SDN is) says I'm crazy for using it as frequently as I do. Do you think SDN helped or hindered your application. So far my experience from it has been overwhelmingly positive, curious to see what an accepted med student would say reflection back.

How many on campus clubs were you apart of? I go to a school that is fairly large (20k or so) but has a huge commuter base, so there are not many clubs that I'm interested in on campus (there isn't even a pre-med club). Would you say I should focus my time doing something else I would enjoy such as volunteering for a local organization I support, or should I tough it out and try to find a club I like enough to join? I'm worried that a lack of on-campus involvement could be a red flag.

Thanks for doing this, its a positive note for others of us who also began on HSDN!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Congrats on your acceptance! What made you choose Tulane? If you are a Michigan resident (I am, I assume you are based on your location) what schools did you apply to/get in to that were in-state?

I'm only a sophomore in college, but every one that I know (that knows what SDN is) says I'm crazy for using it as frequently as I do. Do you think SDN helped or hindered your application. So far my experience from it has been overwhelmingly positive, curious to see what an accepted med student would say reflection back.

How many on campus clubs were you apart of? I go to a school that is fairly large (20k or so) but has a huge commuter base, so there are not many clubs that I'm interested in on campus (there isn't even a pre-med club). Would you say I should focus my time doing something else I would enjoy such as volunteering for a local organization I support, or should I tough it out and try to find a club I like enough to join? I'm worried that a lack of on-campus involvement could be a red flag.

Thanks for doing this, its a positive note for others of us who also began on HSDN!

Thank you! Tulane was actually my second choice school, my first being UNMC since I'm actually from Nebraska. Since I was OOS for Michigan, I only applied to U of M (my undergrad -didn't get in). That being said, Michigan is a pretty decent place to be from, since you have like 6 IS med schools. I chose Tulane because of the location, their emphasis on community involvement, and most importantly student testimonies. Pretty much everyone I know who went to Tulane, and current students had positive things to say about the school, and their classmates. Tulane is huge on fostering good relationships between students. They do not have class ranks until 3rd and fourth year, and go out of their way to facilitate peer bonding. Plus the location is awesome and I can drink wherever I want .

So I used SDN a TON in high school, and then a lot my freshman year. It started to make me a little neurotic so I quit during my sophomore year. I came back while I took the MCAT, and during the application process. While I was on a couple waitlists, I only checked the school specific threads, because the other ones made me feel bad. Now I'm back on again and hope I can contribute positively to this forum. Overall I think it was helpful by keeping me on the right path, but reading into it too much can be detrimental to your sanity, especially the WAMC threads that think they are screwed with a 3.9 / 36 MCAT or whatever the new equivalent is. My recommendation would be to use it and abuse it until it is no longer helpful to you. It's tough to help others on this site as a sophomore or Junior because you really haven't gone through the process that other people need help on.

I was apart of maybe 5 clubs total and I was only really active in two of them. I definitely would recommend finding a club you like, best way to do that would be to find out what clubs your friends are in that are somewhat philanthropic and join those. I was on the board for Habitat for Humanity at my (also large) college. I like the whole building houses thing, but I was super into hanging out with my best friend, going to bars to work on budgets/meeting agendas, and going to Habitat parties. Med schools do like to see leadership, but if you were able to find something just as meaningful outside of college then I can't imagine it would hurt you too much. Also, I joined Habitat halfway through my sophomore year, so don't think you don't have time or anything.

No problem! Anything to contribute to the site that helped me out.

 

[Gilakend]

Thank you! Tulane was actually my second choice school, my first being UNMC since I'm actually from Nebraska. Since I was OOS for Michigan, I only applied to U of M (my undergrad -didn't get in). That being said, Michigan is a pretty decent place to be from, since you have like 6 IS med schools. I chose Tulane because of the location, their emphasis on community involvement, and most importantly student testimonies. Pretty much everyone I know who went to Tulane, and current students had positive things to say about the school, and their classmates. Tulane is huge on fostering good relationships between students. They do not have class ranks until 3rd and fourth year, and go out of their way to facilitate peer bonding. Plus the location is awesome and I can drink wherever I want .

So I used SDN a TON in high school, and then a lot my freshman year. It started to make me a little neurotic so I quit during my sophomore year. I came back while I took the MCAT, and during the application process. While I was on a couple waitlists, I only checked the school specific threads, because the other ones made me feel bad. Now I'm back on again and hope I can contribute positively to this forum. Overall I think it was helpful by keeping me on the right path, but reading into it too much can be detrimental to your sanity, especially the WAMC threads that think they are screwed with a 3.9 / 36 MCAT or whatever the new equivalent is. My recommendation would be to use it and abuse it until it is no longer helpful to you. It's tough to help others on this site as a sophomore or Junior because you really haven't gone through the process that other people need help on.

I was apart of maybe 5 clubs total and I was only really active in two of them. I definitely would recommend finding a club you like, best way to do that would be to find out what clubs your friends are in that are somewhat philanthropic and join those. I was on the board for Habitat for Humanity at my (also large) college. I like the whole building houses thing, but I was super into hanging out with my best friend, going to bars to work on budgets/meeting agendas, and going to Habitat parties. Med schools do like to see leadership, but if you were able to find something just as meaningful outside of college then I can't imagine it would hurt you too much. Also, I joined Habitat halfway through my sophomore year, so don't think you don't have time or anything.

No problem! Anything to contribute to the site that helped me out.

Thanks for doing this! I'm sure I'll think of more questions!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[darknecrosforte]

*That being said, the snowboarding club or being on your league of legends college team shouldn't be the highlight of your EC's.

I related the discipline I gained climbing ranks with friends and team building in an essay and interview and got in just fine. I'm sure you meant plat and below shouldn't mention it...

 

[I'm No Superman]

I related the discipline I gained climbing ranks with friends and team building in an essay and interview and got in just fine. I'm sure you meant plat and below shouldn't mention it...

Obv. If you're not gud then adcoms will laugh at your app, tell you to get gud and throw it away.

 

[pummmpkinspice]

First off, congrats on your acceptance!

Here are some of my questions:
1. What do you think of studying abroad during the summer for internships?
2. General advice on being a college freshman!
3. What are some things you wish you had known earlier that would have helped you with your application?

Thank you so much!

 

[I'm No Superman]

First off, congrats on your acceptance!

Here are some of my questions:
1. What do you think of studying abroad during the summer for internships?
2. General advice on being a college freshman!
3. What are some things you wish you had known earlier that would have helped you with your application?

Thank you so much!

Thank you!

1. I'm going to assume the summer you would be studying abroad would be the same summer you would be applying. Personally, I never studied abroad. When I briefly considered majoring in physics, I really wanted to internship at CERN during this year. When I asked about being abroad during the app process I was told it would be a non issue provided I finished up all of the in person things before I headed out, the main one being LORs, the other being transcripts (if you can not order them online, which is rare these days). Since the majority of the application process is online, as long as you have an internet connection, you should be fine. As for internships in general, I think they are a fantastic way to learn more about your field of study/everyday life in foreign countries. The internships don't even have to be related to what you plan to do, as one of my roommates who is now an engineer at intel worked as an english teacher in Brazil. Your college may have a group called AISEC (I can't exactly remember the acronym but it's something to do with working abroad) that could give you more information on the subject.

2. Talk to anyone and everyone, especially for those first few months. Everyone is new, no one has friends (or a lot less than HS), and everyone wants to meet people. Go to several first meetings/mass meetings/whatever, of clubs that seem interesting. If you like them, stay in, if you don't just leave. If you don't like any of them, don't worry about it. I didn't join my favorite/most meaningful club until my junior year of college. Study a little more than you planned on studying and reevaluate your habits after the first exam, better to over prepare than under prepare. Don't study all the time though, since college is super fun. Don't overload your first semester. I'd recommend 1-2 pre-reqs (if two, something like bio 101 and chem 101, not Orgo and physics), an english class, and something that looks interesting. If you do poorly on a test, it's not the end of the world, you've got 3 more tests, and 36 more classes to make up for it. Explore other options. Even if you are 99.9% sure that medicine is for you, college is the place to make sure. I took business classes, engineering classes, programing classes (too late, I would 100% do comp sci as a major and do the pre-reqs instead of bio).

3. The main thing I wish that I would have known earlier is that even if you ask in February, professors will forget about your letters, and they need to be reminded (politely) about them. The other thing I wish I would have known is how much waiting, self doubt, other types of emotional damage that is a result of the endless waiting, etc. that is sprinkled all throughout the the cycle. First you wait for secondaries, then IIs, then the response, then waitlist updates (the worst). I think there was one point during the last semester of my senior year where I knew exactly when the mail truck would arrive at our house each day (the time was different if it were mon,tues,wed, etc.), and I would walk home using different streets to see if the truck was there or not. My roommates made fun of me for it. However, I felt like I understood my dogs better so there is that...

 

[supershorty]

@I'm No Superman, this is really nice of you to do this. Do you mind if I follow suit with a similar thread for students who might be interested in vet school?

 

[I'm No Superman]

@I'm No Superman, this is really nice of you to do this. Do you mind if I follow suit with a similar thread for students who might be interested in vet school?

Definitely do this.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Hey INS! What's up dog? Keeping real right? Well, I'm bored and work is dead, so I was wondering what I had to say about undergraduate research? Thanks brah, you keep on keeping on you beautiful man.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Hey INS! What's up dog? Keeping real right? Well, I'm bored and work is dead, so I was wondering what I had to say about undergraduate research? Thanks brah, you keep on keeping on you beautiful man.

Hey buddy! Not much bro, just keeping it real. Work's dead for me too! Let me drop some knowledge on me.

Research is kind of it's own weird independent part of the med school app process. For some schools, it's basically required, whereas other schools put much less weight on it. Because of this, a fair amount of pre med students apply without/with limited research experience. I myself did research for two years, and enjoyed it very much, not necessarily due to the science and stuff, but rather the people I worked with.

Should I do research?
Personally, I think that everyone who is at least somewhat interested in trying research should give it a shot. There is absolutely nothing wrong with listing 2 months worth of research on your app, and saying, "I tried it out due to curiosity, but quickly found out it wasn't for me and decided to focus on other options that are more meaningful to me". If you want to go to a top 20 research school, you better have some lab experience. If you have 3 years of research, ,2 publications, and express zero interest in research, adcoms are gonna look at you funny.

When should I get into research?
I and everyone else in the world would recommend that you wait until at least your second semester of college. Research is essentially an extra 4+ credit hours, and it can be difficult to make time for it if you are not prepared. I personally started the second semester of my sophomore year.

How do I get started?
I got into my lab by cold-emailing every MCDB lab doing research in fields that I was interested in, totaling about 20 total. I got 4 replies back, 2 saying the labs were full, and two inviting me to interview. If you have a friend who is currently in a lab, ask them for advice/help because having the support of a person who is somewhat established in a lab will go a long way. Be persistent but respectful.

No problem brochacho, I will!