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GUIDE: Personal Statement

May 1, 2007 by Leave a Comment

The other day someone posted a comment asking if I had any “words of wisdom” regarding these things called “personal statements.” So I thought I would add a post about this topic. Now I don’t know whether or not I do have any words of wisdom, but I will offer suggestions.

The first suggestion is to be congruent. When applying for medical school, or anything for that matter, it is often easy to “stretch the truth” to make the applicant look good. But being congruent is important. Writing that your desire to become a doctor stems from your burning passion to help orphaned children with cleft lips in third world countries is fine — that is, if that is the reason behind your wanting to become a doctor. But if it isn’t DO NOT write that. The key is to be honest and sincere. Every individual has a unique background. Bring that out. Show that. If you truly have a desire to help cleft lip patients around the world, then, by all means, do write it! It will shine through in your interview that this desire is genuine and not some fluff meant to tug on the emotional strings of the readers. Honesty and sincerity is key.

The second suggestion I have is to find someone with excellent English skills to read over your statement. And it would be preferable that the person have some knowledge of the application process. I was lucky that my Kaplan instructor had a Master’s degree in English and had already gone through the process of applying (had an acceptance to UCSD School of Medicine). He graciously offered to read my paper over and make comments about it. And this bioengineering major was sure glad to have an English major help. Another resource to use would be Premed advisors. They, in theory, should be knowledgeable about the whole process and would be a great resource to use. Just make sure that they don’t have terrible English!

That, my readers, are my two cents regarding personal statements. If you have any more advice for budding personal statement authors, feel free to post and add.

And a good luck to those writing the statements!

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MCAT Prep Course: Yes or No?

January 27, 2007 by 5 Comments

About a week after I had taken the MCAT in August 2005 I wrote a review of the Kaplan Preparatory course that I had taken. That review can be found here. Almost a year and a half later, my opinion of the prep courses is unchanged. But I decided to write some more about preparing for the MCAT because this is one of the most pressing concerns for Pre-med students.

One thing about any of these courses is that they are all pretty expensive. When I took the course, the going rate was about $1400 — and this is in addition to any AMCAS or secondary application fees. So the decision on whether or not to take the course weighs heavily on those applying to medical school. In this post I won’t discuss study methods. I assume Premed students preparing to take the MCAT will have a pretty decent G.P.A. and some study skills. So I will just restrict this post to discussing prep courses.

The first thing to remember when thinking about taking one of these courses is that it is a REVIEW course taught by people who most likely are not as qualified as the professors who taught you the material in the first place. When I took the course, Kaplan’s requirement to teach a subject was that one had to score at least an 11 on that section in an MCAT. So don’t expect to go into the class to learn the material in-depth. It should be a review of things you have already covered in Biology, Physics, G. Chem, and O. Chem classes; so study the material well while in those classes.

The second thing that one should do is assess his or her ability to get motivated to study. The MCAT covers four science subjects: Biology, Physics, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. One useful thing about these courses is that they force you to cover a certain amount of material for each class. It keeps students moving along. For some, this structured approach can be very useful. If you find yourself as one who needs the structure of a class to get you studying, then take it if possible. Others may be able to self-study and keep a healthy pace without the structure provided by a class and these peope may be better off saving their money instead of enrolling in a review course. Plenty of students who take the MCAT without going through a prep course and score very well. And while it can be difficult, this assessment is crucial.

The third thing to consider is practice exams. Practice MCAT exams are extremely important for preparing for the real deal. I think the real value of a prep course is in putting the students through a full-length MCAT under “real-life” conditions. For an exam as important as the MCAT, one does not want to go in not knowing what to expect. Taking practice exams under simulated conditions will helps in pacing. The worst thing that can happen is to have the proctor call time before finishing a section. These practice exams are also important because they build stamina. It is a long test. Sitting for 8 hours gets tiring on the neck. Believe it or not, you build neck muscles in these practice exams! However, I hear the MCAT is going electronic and will be taken on a computer and will be shorter. But you still should be able to sit through a whole thing without fidgeting and as they say: practice makes perfect.

Alright, so you’ve read to here. Should you take an MCAT prep course or not? This is a question each individual must answer on his or her own. A prep course offers structure and an environment in which a simulated MCAT can be administered. But this can also be done without a course. So if you feel you can go it alone, then by all means do so and save the money! If not, then take the plunge, go to class, practice the MCAT and get as much as you can out of it.

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GUIDE: Shadowing and Volunteering

May 29, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Peter Pan and his shadow had a somewhat antagonistic relationship. It made me want to have a shadow like that. Looked fun. Just don’t have an antagonistic relationship with the doctor you end up shadowing. I never got a chance to do it, but “they” say you should. In theory its a great thing to do. It will give you the chance to see firsthand what it is like to work in a hospital as a doctor. So try to shadow the specialty you’re interested in.

Now on to volunteering at a hospital. For some reason ADCOMS absolutely love this. I’ve heard that it shows your desire, compassion, and other qualities they are looking for. It also gives you exposure to hospital life. Most people end up volunteering at the
emergency room because that’s where the action is. I guess that’s fine.

As you volunteer think about what you see. You might think that volunteering is the most useless way to spend your afternoon because all you do is sit around waiting to change the bed sheets. But at least think about the things you see and hear. When I had my interview with Loma Linda, I was asked about my volunteering experience. The interviewer wanted to know what lesson I took away from my experience.

Again, shadowing and volunteering are good in that they give you some exposure to hospital life. But take advantage of the proximity to doctors. Talk to them about medicine. Ask them for advice. Ask them how they chose their specialty. Most doctors are eager to talk to young people who are hoping to one day become doctors as well.

Related Post: More on Shadowing (Not a serious post)

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GUIDE: Thinking about Medicine?

May 29, 2006 by Leave a Comment

So you’re in college. Your whole future is ahead of you and now you’re thinking about becoming a physician. You’re probably really gung ho about it and want to run to the Records office and officially declare yourself “Pre-Med,” right? Well that’s fine. But there are things you should know.

The quest for the M.D. initials after your name begins with college. Every single class and grade will be up for review by the Admissions Committee (ADCOMS) of the medical school you apply to. Talk about pressure, right? So make sure that you do your best even when you think the class is a waste-of-time-general-study class. It does show up. But everyone should choose the major that they enjoy. DO NOT choose Biology if you’re not interested in studying about plant and animals. If you’re interested in business than pick that. If you’re a thinker, be a philosophy major. If you’re good in math, think about Mathematics, Physics, or Engineering. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A BIOLOGY MAJOR TO GET ACCEPTED INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL. Actually, one book I did read (which is maybe ten years old) claims that the ratio of those accepted to those who applied is highest for philosophy majors.

Getting into a medical school is not easy. You must stand apart from all the applicants — and your undergraduate grades are probably the first criteria ADCOMS will look at (unless you’re like the Dean of Medicine’s son or daughter). For those non-geniuses out there, you might have to sacrifice nights where you wanted to hang out with friends to study for a test.

My point is that you need to be sure that Medicine is something you wish to pursue. Be persistent. As an engineering major, I saw lots of people declare themselves engineering majors during my Freshman year. Before the first quarter ended the mass exodus had already begun and by the end of the year almost 1/3 had switched to business. I see the
same thing with people who declare “pre-med.”

Someone once said this about working hard to become a doctor: “You do it because underneath the surface of a young person who loves life and fun there is a compassion to reach others. Medicine is something you can envision yourself doing. You can picture yourself in that respected white coat and you hear the sacred calling of the profession.”

Some view Medicine as just a career choice. Some view it as a calling. I think the way you view it will have huge impact on the success you have in getting into Medical School, in excelling in Medical School, in being a physician, and in the happiness and satisfaction you feel as a physician.

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Kaplan MCAT Prep Course Review

August 31, 2005 by 4 Comments

It’s been a little over a week since the MCAT (August 21, 2005). I took the test on a Sunday at U.C.L.A. After about a week of semi-relaxing — I’ve had jury duty and computers to work on — I thought I’d take a few minutes to post my thoughts about the course.

First off, Kaplan’s Pasadena facility was definitely adequate. My only complaint is that finding parking was difficiult and it was a bit far from home. However, those factors did not affect the quality of the actual classes.

Although located in an office building, it was designed as a classroom. There were four classrooms and a lecture hall that could be split into two smaller rooms. A computer lab, conference room, and “student lounge” were also available to students.

The first day of class was spent with an introduction to Kaplan’s policies for their higher score guarantee, parking locations, and other relatively trivial things. Then we were all given a Diagnostic test to establish a baseline score. We did not meet our instructor until the second class session.

Our instructor met us on the second day of class. Fortunately, at least that’s the way I feel, we had one instructor for the entire class (although we did have substitutes a couple times). This was because the instructor scored high enough in all of the categories when He took the MCAT.

On a personal level my instructor was really good. He was really friendly and easy to get along with — and he kept us on our toes by randomly calling on people in the class to answer questions. He said that it was better to be embarrassed now and remember, than to… uh… not…

Anyways, while he was our instructor, he was not someone who had done extensive study in any of the four basic sciences. He was a person who had done well on his MCAT and was now teaching it.

Instruction-wise, the course was okay. I think it was a good reveiw for those who have already covered the material more fully in the school setting. I’d say that the strength of the course lies in the practice exams.

There are five proctored exams given as part of the course. In addition to the five, students may take six more Kaplan tests and 10 MCAT exams previously released by the AAMC. The additional tests are not allowed to be taken from the center and cannot be written on. So it would be best for one to print it out at home (from Kaplan’s website) so that the work can be done on the test booklet instead of scratch paper.

The practice exams are crucial to preparing for the MCAT. It allows students to practice pacing so that come test day, they will be able to finish the real MCAT in time. Being familiar with the length and format of the test will make it so much easier. The MCAT is not something to approach without preparation. A future career depends on it; it also costs about $200 ($210 for Sunday exams).

The Kaplan course I took did not cost me anything since I recevied a free voucher. However, had I not had the voucher I think I would still have taken it. The practice and the pressure to study the material for each class was a huge factor in the score that I will be getting. I’m sure that had I not taken the course, I would not have been as prepared as I was.

My recommendation? Well, the course is expensive. Can you review the material without taking a prep course? Yes you can. However, for some the structure of the classroom lecture is what is needed to push them to study. At the same time, others might be so highly motivated that they can spend hours a day studying and managing their own time leading up to the test. I think that if you need the help getting motivated to study, $1500 is a pretty big motivation. You don’t really wanna waste that much money.

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