365rulesforpremeds

@365rulesforpremeds

A guide to academic success and social etiquette for competitive (and non-competitive) pre-medical students. Most of the images belong to us. Otherwise, the original can be found by clicking on the images/links. Who are we? We are two UCLA alumni who majored in Neuroscience currently pursuing our M.D.s at USC's Keck School of Medicine and Albany Medical College.

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My girlfriend is studying for the MCAT for her second time now. Obviously she is very stressed. I am trying to help in anyway possible. Any suggestions? Is there anything you can think of that I could get her to help? Obviously, being as supportive as I can but I am trying to think of something creative to get her that may help her study for the MCAT and be a thoughtful gift. Thanks

That’s a hard position for you to be in, but kudos for wanting to be super supportive during this rough time.

Unless you’re already in medicine, there isn’t much you can do for her in terms of study material. Creative ideas for gifts could include cute stationary/post-its, nice pens, or really good/noise cancelling headphones. Asking her if she wants food and then bringing it to her is also really sweet.

Keep in mind, she probably feels pretty bad that she’s not spending time with you, so try not to remind her about that. Also, don’t ever show up unannounced.

It would be really sweet to plan something to celebrate after she finishes her exam. Hope this helps!

hi. so i go to school at georgetown and am in a reall pickle. im a junior and my science gpa is a 2.5 LOL. literally lol because i got c's in 5 pre-reqs (i know right!) absurd but heres the thing, i would retake them but im not trying to take too many years off before I go, so basically im gonna end up in the carribean ( i did my share of research on the schools there). by the time I apply which would be summer, it would be a 3.0 cause i know ill do well in upperlevel sciences (or bust my butt)

Most US med schools screen out candidates with <3.0 GPA. You could off set this with a KILLER MCAT score (>35), but that might not be enough. Look into a post-bacc program or grad school to prove that you can handle the med school work load.

does it matter *when* you take the required premed classes? bc I've heard that if you spread them out, they get kinda suspicious and feel like you're not rly challenging yourself enough. I'm gonna be a freshman this fall and I'm not taking any premed classes yet and I'm wondering if that'll hinder me... my major requires calc and stats so I'm just tryna get that over with freshman year before I take the classes required for premed. so would it be fine if I started taking them sophomore year?

It doesn’t matter when you take your prereqs. Most schools don’t allow much flexibility in taking these courses as you must complete them within your first two years.

Hey! So I have taken 4 gap years (traveling and working), but I graduated with a 3.48 honors in biochemistry, initial (now expired) mcat score 29. I am set to retake the mcat next year and apply for fall 2017. The problem is I have no LOR and I still have not done any research. I will be looking for applicable medical jobs when I return to the USA, but how do you think adcoms will respond to my application? Any scary questions I will be asked that you can think of? Thanks!

They will want to know why you choose to take 4 years off and what you did in that time that made you want to go into medicine. Be prepared for questions about how your time off influenced your perspective on medicine and what you did for the world during that time. Research isn’t always super important, but having something on there makes you a more well-rounded candidate.

I just finished up my third semester at Arizona State University as a biomedical science major. I am also a student in the honors college but my cumulative GPA is a 3.4, receiving B's and one C in my science classes and A/A- in prereqs. Will going to a large public university and not having an exceptional GPA ruin my chances of getting into medical school? Will graduating with honors and gaining volunteer and research experience be enough?

It’s pretty hard to determine what will stand out on your application to an admissions committee looking at just your stats/numbers. Continue to work hard at showing improvement in your GPA and dedicate yourself to extracurriculars that you truly enjoy.

Hi there, I am an aspiring premed student from Canada. Many medical schools in North America now use the MMI format for interviews. I was wondering if preparing for the MMI is effective and if so, what ways can one prepare for them (i. sample questions, MMI courses,). Thanks!

MMI is fast becoming a popular interview method for med school. Best ways to prepare are to practice, practice, practice. For my MMI interviews, I looked up the principles of bioethics found here: https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/ and made sure that I could speak about them in multiple contexts.

Otherwise, MMIs are about thinking on your feet and having an opinion! Googling MMI sample questions will give you lots of different topics to review. Just know that MMIs are notorious for giving questions that are totally unrelated to medicine, so don’t focus only on medical issues.

soybeanchen

1. Shipping warehouse data entry

2. Daycare assistant

3. Jamba juice team member

4. Victoria’s secret sales associate

5. Shipping warehouse packager

6. Dorm nighttime security

7. University social media photographer

(Teaching jobs and photography jobs in between)

15-ish. Doctor (hopefully)

fyp-philosophy

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

Benjamin Franklin (via fyp-philosophy)

hi! i'm a junior in high school and i'm really considering gynecology or pharmaceutical work as a career but i'm afraid. i have depression and anxiety and i get stressed out easily. am i cut out for the med school life? do people get used to the stress or should i quit while i'm ahead?

Unfortunately, a lot of people (especially medical students and residents) suffer from anxiety and depression, given the nature of the training. Talk to therapists and psychiatrists. Establish strong support system to help you through tough time. Mental illnesses are serious, but there are ways you can make yourself stronger and more prepared for demanding careers.

I just stumbled upon your blog which is no doubt very awesome .I am an aspiring doctor and have like 7 months left for my exam but lately I have being doubting myself a lot and not able to get over that feeling. Even my performance is going down which makes me wonder will I be able to clear the exam or not ? I am really passionate about medicine and is 91 percentile student but self doubt is making it all worse Can you please tell me how to get over that feeling of self doubt ? Thank You!

Everyone gets test anxiety and we are all our own worst critics. Try to focus on the fact that you have done YOUR BEST to prepare. Note, “your best” does not equate to depriving yourself of sleep or working your body into exhaustion. It is doing everything you can to adequately prepare while attending to your own health.

Hi! I'm in my first year of college as a Pre-Med student. I go to a small, private, liberal arts school in PA. Our science courses are rigorous and are compared to Ivy League courses but more difficult as we do not grade on a curve. However, my college isn't well known and most people have never heard of it. Would it be beneficial to transfer to a more well known undergrad school if I want to get into a prestigious med school, such as Hopkins? Or could I still get into such a school where I am?

As long as you are doing well at your school, there is no need to transfer to a more well-known school. Focus on doing well on the MCAT, developing your strengths/personality, and write a killer personal statement.

Congrats on your med school acceptances! I noticed that you both majored in neuroscience, and I myself am planning on majoring in neuroscience, so I was wondering what to expect? What kind of courses did you take? What kind of research did you do? Congrats again :D

In undergrad, a lot of basic sciences/physiology. You go into (excruciating) details on how neuron fires...how different chemical interact in the brain, etc. A lot of analyzing graphs/charts from scientific articles. You become very knowledgeable of the brain..but maybe not so much for the other organ systems.

Can I ask what both your stats were? I'm a bit confused how both of you didn't get UC interviews when UC davis has lower stats than USC, for example

Hit or miss with medical school interviews. Sometimes you can have awesome stats but your goals/interests do not fit the particular school

when you apply to med school, is it like applying to an undergraduate school where you come in with an intended major (i.e. cardiology)? So would it help if you did things related to, say, cardiology?

Not at all. You enter pretty much as an “undecided,” although some people come in with an idea of the specialty they eventually want to go into. You spend the first two years learning about every organ system. No harm shadowing/volunteering in fields you think you might be interested in. But remember that you can change your mind ANYTIME you want during medical school (a lot of people do, myself included)!

Is it really that bad to be a gunner? I personally aspire to be a gunner, like Cristina Yang.

Nothing wrong with studying hard. Just don’t be shady or backstab your classmates. Be willing to help others succeed instead of trampling other people down.