Archive | October, 2012

McMaster CASPer 2012 – 4 Sample Videos and My Thoughts

Categories: Application


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This year, McMaster medical school has done something interesting with CASPer. They have provided this year’s applicants with 4 sample CASPer videos with 3 questions each. They also state that 2 of the 4 videos will be used in the actual CASPer – however, they make no mention of whether the questions will also be re-used.

Why are they doing this? I’m not really sure, and given their propensity for testing new models and concepts, I would imagine this is also for testing purposes – I see no other reason to provide applicants with advanced knowledge unless they were trying to see whether advanced preparation affects applicant scores or something like that. Who knows?

In any case, I thought these cases were interesting. While I’m not going to write out my own answers (for obvious reasons – you should be trying yourself!), I do want to share some random thoughts that hopefully will help some of you think about the scenario in different ways. Hopefully, seeing some different perspectives on the same scenario will help you when approaching new situations in the actual CASPer.

Video 1: Affirmative Action

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10 Lessons for Undergrads: #4 – Surround Yourself with People with the Same Goals

Categories: Undergrad

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn

When I was in undergrad, I had 5 good friends who also wanted to go into medical school. All 6 of us eventually got into medical school. I didn’t know any of them before I started undergrad. They were all people that I randomly met somewhere in undergrad, most of them were in my classes. Still, what are the chances?

Of course, that’s not the whole story. All 6 of us were well aware of our shared goal of getting into medical school. But we didn’t act as rivals. We didn’t see each other as competition. Instead, we kept each other up to date on medical school news and deadlines. We discussed our trials and tribulations with the MCAT. We helped each other with essays and interviews. We worked together towards our own individual but identical goals.

The fact that we all go into medical school is honestly a statistical anomaly. It was by chance that I met these 5 people. But what wasn’t chance was that we chose to motivate, encourage and support each other towards our shared goal. It wasn’t chance that we chose to remain in close contact. And I am sure all of us would agree that these relationships, in some way or another, helped us towards our goal of getting into medical school.

You are the product of the people you surround yourself with

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