Medical School
If I ran a medical school, this is how I would do admissions
There is a ton of diversity across Canada (let alone the world) when it comes to medical school admissions processes. The following is what I would do if I ran a medical school. If there are any medical school admissions committees seeking advice, you know how to reach me . GPA / MCAT I’ve said [...]
McMaster CASPer Resources and Thoughts
Disclaimer: We are in no way affiliated with McMaster Medical School nor with anyone involved with the development or implementation of CASPer (Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal characteristics). We have also never seen or participated in any CASPer session. All information in this article is publicly available through a simple Google search. Furthermore, this article [...]
How I got a T on the MCAT Writing Sample
When I took the Princeton Review Prep Course three years ago, I got a N on my first diagnostic exam writing sample (i.e. from my full length online practice exams). After that, I got T’s on all of my subsequent diagnostic exam writing samples. I went on to get a T on my actual MCAT. [...]
Examples of Marked MCAT Essays
In case you weren’t familiar with the MCAT Writing Sample, here’s a quick rundown. You are required to write two essays, with 30 minutes each, and you are given a score from 1 – 6 on each. The possible total score of the two combined then makes 2 – 12, which is converted to a [...]
The 2+1 Rule: the Importance of Diversity in Reference Letters
Today I got an email from a reader asking me for some advice on which referees he should ask to write his three letters for medical school admissions. If you haven’t read my first article on reference letters, I urge you to do so before reading this one. If you’re too lazy, the cliff notes [...]
How to study for the MCAT (and do well) – Part 1
On the first class of my MCAT prep course, the course instructor wrote on the board: “The MCAT exists to _________ me.” He then asked us to fill in the blank. There was silence at first, and then one student bravely said “to screw me”. Funny chaos ensued for a few minutes as others piped [...]
So I didn’t get into medical school… what now?
If you applied to medical school this past year, you probably know where you’ll be this fall by now. Some of you may have been accepted into medical school and are excited for the journey that lies ahead. If so, congratulations, and best of luck as you start a brand new chapter in your life! [...]
Things I Wish I Knew before starting Medical School
It has been a month since I last blogged. To be honest, blogging has not at all been on my mind up until this past week when my “summer break” finally started (I use that term loosely because I am, like many of you guys, working this summer, but it’s a break from school nonetheless). [...]
Why GPA Should Matter and Learning the Way You Learn Best
This past Monday I took my Metabolism and Nutrition mid-term (I think I passed…) As usual (and as expected) the weekend was a major cram session, and I finally turned into bed at 4 am (where I proceeded to roll around in bed with my mind constructing random thoughts about hypokalemia which made no sense [...]
Reflection on 1st Week of Medical School
I woke up at 7:50am on this beautiful Saturday morning after sleeping at 2am. I was exhausted from the entire first week of medical school, and I was looking forward to finally sleeping in. Of course, my biological clock is apparently broken now, and I woke up around the same time I normally would to [...]
MedHopeful @ Premed101