Game Changers

LIFE UPDATE: remember how I talked about applying to master’s programs for next year? And how I was planning for reapplication to med school for the entering class of 2016? This post has to do with both of those things.

PART A: MASTER’S STUFF.

So, having applied to about five or so programs within the past couple of weeks (I procrastinated a bit on the applications…whoops), I didn’t expect to hear anything for a while yet, most likely due to the fact that it takes FOREVER to hear anything about anything during the med school application process. However, I got a phone call last week from the program director at Loyola University Chicago for their M.S. program in Medical Physiology (!!!). He said he just wanted to ask a few questions about my application, but it turned into a half hour of unsolicited (and extremely appreciated) advice on medical school and reapplication and things I should do to improve. It was awesome, and so I was feeling pretty good about that program. Lo and behold, I checked my email yesterday and there was an acceptance letter just sitting there for me! I MIGHT HAVE A PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR AFTER ALL! And it might involve moving halfway across the country to Chicago!

Probably what I looked like when I hung up from the phone call with Mr. Program Director

(Super awesome things about this program: (a) It’s about 25-30 students per class, so the tiny size will mean I’ll get to know my instructors super well. (b) It’s only 10 months long, so I’d finish in late May of next year and have a full master’s degree. (c) It’s taught by professors at their med school, and it covers much of the same curriculum, meaning it’ll make my life as an eventual MS1 infinitely more manageable. (d) The best part, though, is that all students who choose to apply to med school and maintain a 3.5 GPA in the program automatically receive an interview to Loyola’s med school…) At this point, I’m about 90% sure I’ll go here. There’s one more school that’s sliiiightly closer to home that I’d like to hear from first, though this was my first choice.

PART B: MED SCHOOL STUFF.

Mr. Program Director also provided me with a highly convincing argument for how I’d be wasting my time and not helping myself by waiting an additional year to reapply…sooo having given it a week of considerable thought and prayer, I’ve decided that I’m actually applying to med school for 2015 instead! Life’s been slightly hectic since that decision, what with kicking the AMCAS application back into gear, especially because AMCAS is open for submission in 2 weeks and 1 day, and I hadn’t remotely considered reapplying so soon. The good thing, though, is that I’m so much more at ease this time; I know all of the ins and outs of the process, and I’ve already taken my MCAT, and my GPA is markedly higher than the one I reported in the previous cycle (though still not incredible, thus enrollment in a master’s program), and I’m definitely submitting it FAR earlier than I did last year. I have strong recommenders, and I’ve already got a working draft of my personal statement based on the master’s program application essays. Prayers for not losing my sanity over PS editing are welcomed and appreciated.

So, in summary: as of this week, I’m going to grad school, and I’m applying to med school again. GET AT ME, AMCAS.

The Irony

…of course, not 30 minutes after I wrote my post last week about learning to be patient, I received that one last decision, and it seems med school is not in the cards for next year. Not that I am entirely surprised by this, given that this application cycle is very near its end, but there had been a tinge of hope inside me, holding out for that 11th hour acceptance. Such is life.

On the bright side, even though I felt the disappointment of not yet achieving this goal of mine, that final rejection came with the release of a large weight from my shoulders. It may not have been the answer I wanted to hear, but it was an answer! I could finally say, with certainty, that I had applied to medical school and survived the process. If I could do it this time, I know I can do it again. There’s something strangely refreshing about that.

Anyway, thus begins my journey to enact Post-Grad Plan B! I am applying to eight or nine Master’s programs (mainly in biomedical science or physiology) for the upcoming fall, all of which last one or two years. Admissions stats (e.g., GPA/MCAT/GRE scores) are significantly lower than those required to get into med school, so hopefully I will be met with slightly more success in this arena (fingers crossed, prayers flying, y’all).

In the event that I am accepted somewhere, regardless of the length of the program, I will be re-applying for the entering class of 2016 for med school. Since my GPA was the primary hang-up for adcoms this cycle, I figured I’ll just go earn myself a new-and-improved GPA and try again!

Side note: I also will apply much earlier to AMCAS than I did this time. June 1st, 2015 has my name ALL OVER it.

The “F” Word

It is a demoralizing feeling to fail. All the stress, small successes, tears, determination, and borderline caffeine ODs added up, but at the end of the day, I just didn’t make the cut.

I received the rejection letter from my favorite medical school on Friday evening, bringing a whole new level of meaning to the phrase, “Valentine’s Day rejection” (bad joke, I know, but it had to be made). Given this turn of events, I have one more shot to get into medical school this cycle. My 2nd and final interview is at the end of the week. As optimistic as I try to remain on a normal basis, my (slightly more practical) inner monologue has accepted that my chances of acceptance for this coming fall are slim at best.

In light of all that, here is my attempt to delineate, with as much wisdom as a 22-year-old with a bruised ego and confused immediate future can muster, a procedure for dealing with such potential large-scale failure as this.

1. Choose immediate reaction to failure: This part is critical, especially if you are in a room full of other people when you receive news of said failure (I was. It was awkward). You can blow a gasket/scream/cry/throw things/aggressively show your frustration/etc., or you can remain composed. I suggest the latter.* I was slightly surprised at my lack of an external reaction, but it worked wonders for relieving the social tension in the room.
2. Begin to process said failure: walk into kitchen, realize there is no wine, grab car keys and acquire wine, open wine, drink. I do not recommend skipping this step. It is a very good step to have.
   

   Self-explanatory.

3. Host the inevitable pity party: mine happened the next morning, once I re-opened the envelope and the full weight of that rejection hit me. IMPORTANT NOTE! Get through this step quickly for the sake of your mental and emotional health. I prefer to have a power-hour-style pity party and permanently eject those thoughts from my mind once I emerge on the other side of the hour. No use spending any more time and energy uselessly berating yourself for what is most likely 20/20 hindsight (which, in my case, it is).
4. Self-reflect, but without the pity party this time: what do you do if your ideal plan didn’t work out? Sitting around, twiddling your thumbs and waiting for the next chance at that one plan is probably not the best strategy. Analyze the process; there is probably a reason hiding somewhere for why you failed, yes? If you can, try and find it on your own. If you can’t seem to find it, ask someone else who might know. Take all of the constructive criticism you can absorb. Identify some ways you can work towards improving that aspect (or aspects) of yourself so that you will be more likely to succeed when you do decide to re-tackle Plan A.
5. Brainstorm a Plan B and get to work: whatever you identified as potentially needing improvement in step 4, find a Plan B that will help you make that improvement. Not a competitive enough GPA? Find a master’s or post-bacc program that will allow you to start fresh and have a stronger GPA to show for it. MCAT score not that awesome? Give those old lecture notes a dusting-off and get back on the study grind. Not enough medical exposure? Find a job/internship/volunteering position/something that will allow you to gain that exposure. So on and so forth. This step is what I am currently working with, and for me, the most likely problem I’ve identified is my GPA (it’s actually quite good, especially compared to the average science major GPA at my undergrad institution, but it’s not incredible, and that doesn’t always cut it compared to medical school averages…sigh).
6. DO NOT GIVE UP! This is by far the most important step; for me, I know that I am meant to become a doctor, whether I get to start that journey in this application cycle or not. So, whatever helps me get there eventually will ultimately be a step in the right direction; I’m choosing to refer to it as the “scenic route” to medical school. Pick your own scenic route and get to work! Surround yourself with friends and/or family who will encourage you throughout this process. If praying is your thing, do it all the time; if it’s not, find some other form of meditation or self-relaxation or counseling or something that will keep your head straight on your shoulders. DO NOT compare yourself to others who may have gotten to where you want to be faster. Their successes do not imply your failures.

Hopefully some of that made sense. I’m kind of a word-vomit machine this morning, so I apologize if that was overly wordy or nonsensical.

* Unless you are not in a room full of people. Carry out the former option to your heart’s content.

The Waiting Game

Angsty Component of Today’s Post: I’ve never wanted anything worse in my life than to be a doctor. And right now, that manifests itself in the desire to be admitted to med school. I have never wanted anything more than this, here, right now. It is so close that I can taste it. After the interview, the only thing to do is send in occasional update letters and check in with the admissions offices and wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. WAIT. I’m truly terrible at waiting. It’s an exercise in patience that I woefully lack. The radio silence means I’m still being considered, and that I’ve at least made it farther than some of my fellow applicants, but still manages to be increasingly discouraging the longer it lasts.

Angsty Component, Part 2: Rejection emails suck. I got two of those in the past couple of weeks, but luckily, neither of them were from schools to which I’ve received interviews. Even still, seeing a medical school in the sender line and feeling your heart jump into your throat, only to feel it deflate all the way down into your stomach after the first line of the email, is thoroughly disempowering.

Positive Component: I started my final semester of college today! May 2014, and my diploma, are looming ever nearer. While I’m constantly reminding myself to cherish and enjoy this last bit of time here, I can’t help but be impatient (noticing a theme with me here?) to start the next phase of my education.

Happy January, everyone! The Polar Vortex/Impending Demise of North America/Other Dramatic Term for “Cold Weather” is making it fairly miserable here today, so if you’re suffering along with me somewhere, here’s a picture of my dog to reduce said suffering:

His name is Colbee and he’s a 25-pound ball of adorable, white, fluffy goodness.

ECU Interview

Y’all, I’m not sure if an interview/med school tour combo is supposed to be a religious experience, but it happened for me yesterday. I realized Brody was a great med school, but I did not remotely anticipate just how much I would love it there. The facilities are incredible (they have a new Heart Institute, which, if you’re a CV geek like me, should give you palpitations just to look at), they have ridiculously great technological advantages (the guy who pioneered open heart surgery with the da Vinci robot works there. Casual.), the medical school has phenomenal learning tools (personal favorite – the sim lab that the emergency medicine department wanted to add), and the people are SO UNREASONABLY NICE TO EVERYONE. (I feel like I’m a paid advertisement for this hospital system right now, but I’m truly not exaggerating). It’s amazing. I felt so welcomed by all of the students who interacted with our interview group. They were incredibly supportive, down to asking who our interviewers for the morning were and commenting when they heard a doctor/professor’s name whom they particularly liked.

This is an image of the entire hospital system + med school + health sciences schools (nursing, dentistry, etc.) in Greenville.

Speaking of which: the interview. This was my first interview, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I had spent the day prior coming up with outlines to answers of common questions I assumed they would ask, and it was definitely a good idea that I had done some prep, and my dad (who regularly interviews people at his work) did a mock interview for me. I think quickly on my feet, so I think I was able to effectively convey those outlines in words, and the mock interview definitely helped, but if I could go back and change anything about my interview prep, I would definitely have spent more time talking out the answers to myself in a mirror. I’m sure it would have allowed me to fit a greater density of ideas into the time I spent talking, which would be immensely helpful, given that the interviews were only half an hour long each.

The structure of the day: four of us came in for morning interviews, and four more prospective students came in for afternoon interviews. Our days overlapped for the tour of the school and lunch in the hospital cafeteria. We each had two interviews, which were 30 minutes long each, with a 30 minute break in between. This break helped us to re-group, assess how the first interview went, think about any answers we would change for the second interview, and left enough time to find the office of the next doctor with whom we were to interview.

I really liked this structure, more so than a single longer interview. I am convinced that the more people who look at your file, the less likely you are to be eliminated on the basis that one interviewer didn’t like you as much as another one might’ve, had you been assigned differently. I liked that ECU did it this way.

Moreover, neither of the interviewers had been allowed to look at my file beforehand, so they knew next to nothing about me. They received a sheet when I walked in that had my name, undergrad institution, majors/minor, and overall GPA. That. Was. It. I loved it, because, as the Dean put it, “Often, if an interviewer is allowed to read through a candidate’s file prior to interviewing that candidate, chances are he or she has already made up her mind about that person before they even walk through the door.” However, they have to read our files at some point, because we put so much time and effort and valuable information into that primary and secondary that cannot be ignored. For that, they chose two completely different committee members to review only our written files, without any input from interviewers, bringing the total number of people personally reviewing us (and eventually presenting us to the rest of the admissions committee for consideration) to four. Four is a pretty good number of people. Some schools leave this task to one or two people. I think this helps immensely to give a better overall picture of each applicant, with less of a likelihood of being removed from consideration because maybe one interviewer or file reviewer wasn’t as crazy about one of us as the rest of the reviewers were.

My next interview, which is at my lovely alma mater (UNC), isn’t until February, so I think this was an incredible opportunity for me in learning to navigate the interview trail. Regardless, if Brody were to accept me after the experience I had interviewing and visiting yesterday, I would end up on Cloud Nine and probably never come down. Here’s to hoping!

How I Got to Where I Am

I’ve been writing a lot about the application process, but I realized I haven’t written much at all about who I am and how I got to where I am. Lord knows I’ve had to write about that enough recently, given that I’m just now exiting the phase of secondary applications. So, I figured I’d share a bit more about my life.

I was born to a nurse and a biomedical engineer in the lovely, humid state of Louisiana. I walked in on my mom watching E.R. one time when I was five years old and saw a guy on the screen who was on an operating table and covered in his own blood. I had at least five permutations of recurring nightmares about that man for years afterwards, and I swore adamantly that I could never touch medicine with a ten-foot pole, because there probably is nothing more disgusting to a five-year-old fluffy pink girly girl than the sight of blood (funny how all that worked out).

I moved to Wisconsin at age 10 as a result of my dad’s job. He was relocated multiple times during my childhood, so I got a little taste of all latitudinal regions of the United States. One of my deepest, most poignant, lasting impressions of Wisconsin: it was really, really, really cold. I cannot say I particularly enjoyed the -40 degree wind chills that made walking down the street to the bus stop feel like a form of medieval torture. We can call it a character-building experience for the sake of optimism. While I lived there, though, I had two really cool experiences that started to change stubborn little Five-Year-Old Self’s thoughts on healthcare careers:

(1) I got to visit UW’s genetics lab on a field trip, and that was the first day my inner science nerd was unleashed in its full force. Not that I hadn’t exhibited nerdy tendencies previously; there was the time in 3rd grade I decided I wanted to be an astronomer, so I holed up in my room reading history-of-the-universe books from the library while the other girls my age were playing with Barbies; there was also the time I told my parents I wished there weren’t weekends so that I could go to school every day because WASN’T SCHOOL THE COOLEST?!…thank the Lord I grew out of that one. Anyway, I felt my little brain approaching its critical capacity for images of a gel electrophoresis setup and the structure of a DNA molecule and fingerprints and genetic paternity tests and test tubes full of who-knows-what until I was no longer able to control it, and I exploded in unadulterated, rapturous, nerdy 5th-grader joy.
(2) In the same year, my mom started to develop A-fib that became progressively worse until her heart was almost always dangerously out of rhythm. Not exactly the greatest thing to be walking around with. She went to a cardiac electrophysiologist and had an ablation and all was made well, so that was all resolved nicely. Being fresh off the Genetics-Lab-of-Wonder experience, I was all about asking this man questions about all his swanky tools and all the lines that were coming off on that fancy sheet of paper by my mom’s bed (the main difference between then and now being that, thankfully, I’ve figured out what an EKG is). He was one of the most patient and caring men I’ve ever met, and even though I don’t remember his name, I think his example is still one to which I strive in any sort of service capacity.

So, after two frigid years in the lovely state of Wisconsin, Dad’s job relocated one last time to North Carolina. I was less than devastated to leave behind the arctic tundra. Having achieved a minute degree of maturity since the experiences with Genetics Lab of Wonder and EKG Superman, I did a complete 180 and proudly announced, in 7th grade, that I would be a doctor. A cardiovascular surgeon, specifically. I figured it looked cool on TV, so how hard could it be? (I was a hilarious kid, wasn’t I?) I was also simultaneously going to be a principal ballerina in the New York City Ballet, so I obviously had thought very practically through the logistics of that plan. Three years later, I would realize that I actually suck at ballet and that half of the dream would be crushed forever. So it goes.

Jumping topics slightly, I was a band geek in middle school. Braces, cargo pants, bad concept of hairstyling, too much eyeliner…and a flute case that went everywhere with me. Lord, I was a catch. Long story short, I was a band geek until the band teacher publicly humiliated me in front of the class one day, and I quit on the spot. As a consequence of this mildly diva-ish moment, the only other open class to which I could transfer was choir. I hated choir with a burning passion. I hated singing. I hated vocal music. I wanted to hate every minute of time I wasted in there. Except…I ended up loving it. So much so that I continued to sing and train classically in high school, and I began college a few years later as a vocal performance major (funny how that one worked out, too).

Delving into scientific study, serving people, caring for their bodies and minds and spirits: those are my calling. Medicine is what I will do for other people once I am qualified, and I will love nothing more, but music is what I do for myself. It is a God-given talent and passion of mine, and I simply would not be the same person that I am today without that outlet. I can let my right-brained tendencies fly in unadulterated, artistic weirdness when I sing. It is so freeing. Everyone has their hobby that they love deeply and keep alive because of that love, and singing is mine. There is a level of interpersonal communication that can be reached through music and not through any sort of verbal interaction, and having found that, it is easy to channel into my verbal interactions. My ability to be transparent with people is, in large part, augmented by my ability to communicate through performance, and I intend for that to translate into my interactions with patients one day in the future.

MCAT Words of Wisdom: Part 2

Hello again, friends! I promised a more in-depth description of the MCAT study regimen that worked for me, so here it comes. Keep in mind that this is just what worked for me, and it may not be the perfect strategy for everyone. Do what suits your learning style. Pick and choose points to use in your studying, ignore others. BE SMART WITH YOUR TIME. Simple as that.

1. EMULATE THE PREP COURSE STRATEGY AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE FOR AS LITTLE MONEY AS POSSIBLE.
   This was pretty much just a planning thing, but I kept it in mind throughout the entirety of my test preparation. Focusing on the prep course’s main emphases (review content, then expose yourself to as many practice questions and exams as possible) helped me to get my study progress back on track whenever I got too distracted by any one subject. Not a huge deal, just a suggestion to help keep yourself organized.
2. TAKE A FULL-LENGTH PRACTICE MCAT.
   My first order of business was to go in cold-turkey, without having done any review or preparation whatsoever, and take a full-length MCAT practice test. The way I chose to look at it was, “If I went to take this test for real tomorrow and didn’t study for it at all, what score could I make?” That served as my baseline score for the entirety of the preparation process, and the feedback report that came with the test was super informative in regards to which subjects I was solid on or REALLY needed to review. I would strongly recommend this step for anyone planning to take the MCAT, because it gives you a bit of a reality check in getting inside the mindset of the test and figuring out quantitatively what you need to work on to achieve your desired score.
   Kaplan offers a free online practice MCAT on their website, which I used, and I would recommend it for this step.
   
3. TAKE DIAGNOSTIC SUBJECT TESTS.
   Once I had my feedback report, I chose to focus my efforts on the subjects in which I needed to make the most improvement (physics and orgo, anyone?), and for that, I used subject diagnostic tests. Basically, they’re free online, there’s a separate one for each subject, and they have a ton of questions divided up into subcategories of relevant topics that could possibly appear on the MCAT. These also come with feedback reports and help you gauge your study plan even more accurately. Diagnostic tests are your friends. DO NOT psych yourself out if you do poorly on any of these! Their purpose is simply to show you where you should focus your studying in order to improve your scores efficiently. They are time and money savers.
   For these, I used Princeton Review’s website. They have five diagnostic exams, each consisting of about 200 questions, for biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and verbal reasoning. They tell you your percentage score overall, as well as percentages in each subcategory for each subject. Incredibly helpful.
4. REVIEW CONTENT FOR ALL SCIENCE SECTIONS.
   This is a relatively broad statement, and can mean a lot of things. I chose a few different ways to do this. First, I invested in a comprehensive science review that would help me brush up on relevant topics commonly encountered on the MCAT. For me, this was a BenchPrep online course (I included a link to their home page in the title of this section), which has mini-lessons and accompanying quizzes for tons of different topics within each subject. BenchPrep does charge by the month for access to their review courses, so being the cheap person that I am, I crammed as much BenchPrep use as I could into one month and then cancelled my membership. I regret nothing.
   Second, I spent many days camped out in Barnes & Noble, because McGraw-Hill makes a series of question bank books (one each for biology, organic, gen chem, and physics) that are perfect for testing your subject knowledge. Be aware that the questions are not formatted like actual MCAT questions, so these are not what you want to use to practice your test-taking skills. Purely for knowledge review.
   Finally, continuing in the vein of camping out in Barnes & Noble, I used practice passage books for each of the three test sections to get a better idea of the format of the exam and the level of difficulty I could expect to see on the test. Kaplan makes a lot of these. Amazon search them. They were a really nice segue from knowledge review into practicing for the actual test format, and as a result, practice tests didn’t have quite the shock value that they would have otherwise.
   

   True Life: this was my bathroom mirror this summer. THE CLOCK DON’T STOP.

5. USE FLASHCARDS.
   I cannot express enough how valuable these things were. These are the tool for when you don’t have the time or access to your full arsenal of review books, question banks, or practice tests. Even if you only look at them for 5 minutes at a time, those little bits of “free” time accumulate to a lot more than you would realize, and you will have gotten that much more preparation than your fellow test-takers.
   Waiting for that fancy-no-whip-latte-concoction-thing you ordered? Flashcards. Stuck in standstill traffic on the highway? Flashcards. TV commercial break? Flashcards. Waiting for your friend to get ready so y’all can go out on Friday night? Flashcards. Live and breathe the flashcards. You will thank yourself on test day.
   I used Barron’s set of flashcards (linked to their listing on Amazon in the title). They’re about $15, incredibly sturdy and detailed, and overall awesome study tools for the times when you can’t sit down and dedicate a lot of time.
6. TAKE SEVERAL FULL-LENGTH TESTS.
   You could re-read all of the science textbooks and review books you’ve ever managed to get your hands on five times through (don’t do that. It’s stupid and wastes your valuable time), but that is a surefire way to land yourself a major case of information overload coupled with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy and discouragement. Please don’t be that person! Chances are that, if you’ve gotten to the point in life where this blog post is immediately relevant to you, you’re doing pretty damn well. No need to spend all that extra time (…which, let’s be honest, you probably don’t have) stressing that you can’t do it when we all know you can.
   Instead: calm yourself, grab a pot of coffee, find all the practice tests you can, and take them. Some are free, some aren’t. There isn’t a wrong way to do it, so budget it however you want. The AAMC has several available MCATs that were administered in previous years; one is free, and the rest are $30ish per test. Kaplan sells books with two or three practice tests and answers/explanations included. My recommendation for those: if you’re buying them, get slightly older editions. SO MUCH CHEAPER for the same quality of review. Otherwise, it might be time to break out the tent in Barnes & Noble again.

In the end, it boils down to taking as many practice tests as you possibly can. The best way to prepare for handling such a strategy-heavy test is to be familiar with its characteristics. The last thing you want is to be surprised by anything about the test at game time.

Know the length of each section. Know how long it takes you to read passages. Know how to pick out pertinent info from these passages. Know how long it usually takes you to pick out that pertinent info. Know how long you want to have leftover at the end of each section to review any questions you may have marked. Budget your time and don’t let the test fluster you. If you do that, you can’t lose. HAPPY STUDYING, FRIENDS!

MCAT Words of Wisdom: Part 1

I know I’m still in the process of applying to medical school, and as yet have not been accepted anywhere, so it’s probably slightly premature for me to be handing out “words of wisdom” to other pre-meds. However, if there is one thing on my application in which I have complete, unwavering confidence, it is the strength of my MCAT score. This post does not exist to brag about said score. If there’s anything I hope to accomplish with this blog, it’s to help even one other kindred soul succeed in trying to become a doctor. And the MCAT is definitely a major stepping stone in that. So, having been through it, I’ll write some things about it.

If you’re reading this and know absolutely nothing about the MCAT, this is what you need to know. It’s required for applying to medical school. It has three sections: (1) Biological Sciences, AKA biology and organic chemistry; (2) Physical Sciences, AKA physics and general chemistry; (3) Verbal Reasoning, AKA exactly what it sounds like. It masquerades as a scientific knowledge test, but it’s not. Don’t get me wrong, you need to have a strong foundation of scientific knowledge in all of those sections I just listed, but the key to the MCAT is not what you know, but how you can manipulate the information you do know in as little time as possible. It’s an endurance test, a strategizing test, and pretty much the bane of existence for pre-meds everywhere…not to be too dramatic.

Chances are you know a person whose desk looks like this. Please don’t be that person. Review books are phenomenal, but you really truly don’t need ALL of them. Promise. Pick a few and stick to them.

I took the MCAT in July of this past summer (2013), which may or may not have been the best time to take it, in context. I took a summer school course to get ahead on finishing one of my majors while also working 50 hours a week across two jobs, commuting, and preparing for this monster of an exam, so it’s safe to say the tensions were running high and the sleep levels low. I would not recommend this setup. However, I tend to produce my best work under high pressure, so the circumstances inspired me to put any energy I had left into exam prep. If that’s you, too, then go for it, but if you require a calm, relatively uninterrupted environment in order to succeed, be sure you have a significant chunk of time (like, we’re talking weeks to months here) in which you can focus all of your attention on preparation.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Unlike many of my fellow pre-meds, I did not enroll in a prep course. I chose to be a self-studier instead. I wish I could give a deep, insightful reason for that choice, but it honestly boils down to the fact that I didn’t feel like paying $2,000+ on prep that I could organize for myself for significantly less money. Simple as that.

The main idea behind prep courses is twofold: first, they briefly review relevant topics in biology, chemistry, and physics; and second, they throw AS MANY PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND PRACTICE TESTS AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN at you in as little time as possible. If you’re enough of a self-starter to put in a comparable level of time dedication on your own, then you can plan your own study curriculum and still have that $2,000+ to spend on other things. Like application fees…or an interview suit…or applications fees…or food for the semester…or application fees…

Enter my study regimen: I’ll highlight these in greater detail in Part 2, but for now, a general overview will suffice. (1) Emulate the prep course strategy as well as possible for as little money as possible. (2) Take a full-length practice MCAT. (3) Take diagnostic subject tests. (4) Review content for all science sections. (4) Find practice questions and do them all. (5) Use flashcards. (6) Take several full-length tests. And that’s it, in a nutshell!

Essays on Essays on Essays

My AMCAS application was verified last Monday. FINALLY. (!!!!!!!) Those were some of the longest five weeks of waiting I’ve ever experienced, and I’m sure it will only get more extreme as this whole process goes on. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that I have a looooong way to go in the patience department.

But anyway: the good news! Now that my primary is verified and taken care of, the next step is dealing with the sudden influx of secondary applications in my inbox! It’s such an awesome problem to have, and I realize just how fortunate I am to have made it even this far, but that doesn’t stop the prospect from being slightly overwhelming.

How I feel when I look at secondary essay prompts.

Depending on the school, the secondary application has any number of essays with varying degrees of word and character limits. I think the most extensive one I’ve submitted so far had seven essays. SEVEN. I’m skeptical that there’s anything that admissions committee DOESN’T know about my life, after that monster. There has been some overlap in essay topics, so getting to recycle some for different schools has been a major time (and sanity) saver. A couple of them haven’t even had essays at all, leading me to wonder why those schools even have secondary applications. But, I digress. Another topic for another day.

Let me tell you about some APPLICATION FEES, though. These things are pricey. At anywhere between $50 and $150 a pop, my bank account dies a little bit every time I even think about looking at one of these applications. I guess that’s the price of wanting to be a doctor.

Probably how much I’ve spent on application fees thus far.

BUT ANYWAY, my application update: I submitted my primary to 16 schools. I received 14 secondaries, got straight up rejected by one school without being offered a secondary (still not sure why that happened, since my GPA/MCAT were in the upper portion of the ranges that school typically accepts. Oh well), and am currently being screened by one school. It’s progress, y’all.

Introductions

As you probably can already tell by the title, I created this blog to help myself sort through the complexities of applying to medical school. The process is long, arduous, EXPENSIVE (can I get an amen?!), and stressful, and expressing myself in words has always been an effective strategy for me to sort out the million and one thoughts swirling around in my head on these kinds of things. Besides for my own benefit, it is my hope that my experiences documented here will be able to help anyone who happens to stumble upon this blog and is also going through the med school application process.

The only prescription I need.

I suppose I should introduce myself: I am a 22-year-old senior in college. I’m double-majoring in biology and chemistry, as well as minoring in music (vocal performance). I decided in middle school that I wanted to be a doctor, even though I didn’t have a clue at the time as to what that actually meant for my future, but since then, my desire to practice medicine has only grown. People are my passion. I want my legacy to have been one of improving quality of life for anyone I came in contact with, and wellness is one of the most fundamental human needs I can think of. I believe that God created each person on this earth with a specific set of talents that benefit others, and my talents in critical thinking, working well under pressure, and empathizing are well suited for a career in medicine.

OKAY SO. Basic run-down of where I am in this process: I took the MCAT in July of this past summer and was extremely happy with my scores. I submitted my primary application to AMCAS at the end of September, after excessive battling with the registrar’s office to send my transcript and writing/editing/trashing/re-writing of the sadistic monster that was the Personal Statement. My application is still in line to be verified, so this means I have yet to receive the majority of the secondary applications I plan to submit. I have, however, received and submitted two secondaries so far: University of Cincinnati and Rutgers.

This stage in the process involves an insane degree of patience, patience, and MORE PATIENCE. And unfortunately, patience is one virtue that I severely lack. Impatience combined with a vivid imagination and a tendency to think about the “what-ifs” are making this a particularly unbearable season for me.

“What if I don’t get in? What if I’m really not good enough? What am I going to do?” This is my current mindset. Dark and twisty, I know. My plan is to update this blog any time something significant happens in this application process, either good or bad, so be on the lookout.

On the bright side: I asked for an interview suit for my birthday. And it looks damn good, y’all. Here’s to hoping I get to wear it sometime in the next few months!