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Stressed and Worried about the MCAT

This post is dedicated to all the people who are about to write their MCAT and may be feeling the stress of needing to do well.

Last summer, I was always procrastinated and distracted from studying for the MCAT. I worried that I would bomb the test and have to retake the MCAT the next summer. I was stressed out that there wasn’t enough time to cover all the material. I doubted my own abilities. With about one month left to go, I had a sudden turn around. One night while studying at the library, I took a break and stumbled upon an interesting titled book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. I found the title strange but applicable to my situation so I decided to read the first chapter. The following excerpt from the book spoke volumes to me and changed my attitude about how I was to prepare for the MCAT.

On Being a Summer Research Student

Most people who want a competitive edge for getting into medical school will dabble with “research.” . As a summer student the most common feeling I had was being confused and overwhelmed. There are so many things you don’t know, so much jargon, so many techniques, so many people.

For almost all students, in just the short months of summer, you won’t be coming up with any breakthrough discoveries. In fact, you probably won’t even contribute the slightest bit to furthering the collective scientific knowledge. Real science is hard. It requires dedication, persistence and hard work. So keeping all these things in mind, I will give you my top advice for making your summer research experience as enjoyable as possible.

No Chance for Med School?

The ultimate pre-med question is what are my chances for med school? We all want to know if we have a fighting chance. We want to make our application as competitive as possible, get the highest grades, destroy the MCAT, do all the right activities, kiss all the right ass. We push TA’s for half a mark more, ask professors to bump up a grade, all in the name of making ourselves a better applicant.

Before I began undergrad, I looked up some medical school statistics. Getting into medical school is not easy. In Canada, there are 2.2 doctors per thousand population. Admission rates are less than 10% for practically every school. In other words, out of 10 students aiming for medical school, I had to be top one or two. For some schools and situations (such as being out of province), the top student out of 100 applicants.

So is there a chance for you? I believe that any person, over a certain threshold of intelligence, could be a good doctor. They might have the compassion to treat patients kindly and care for the sick. However, just because you have the qualities of a good doctor, it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed you a spot in any medical school. What separates those who get in from those who don’t is dedication.

Medical schools want students who will be dedicated to their patients and their health. They want students who they know will graduate. People who will stay up late studying for exams, lose sleep for their patients. Doctors will sacrifice their personal time for their job. They will strain relationships and put a patient’s health in front of theirs. You don’t have to be the smartest applicant, but you must certainly be one of the most dedicated.

The harsh reality is that for the majority of people (90% plus), there is not the slightest chance that they will get into medical school. That’s just life. Not everyone will become a doctor. Not everyone can sacrifice these lifestyle changes. And that’s ok. There are a lot of professions out there that do good things for our society.

To sum it up, a better way of answering the question of What are my Chances of getting into medical school? is to answer the larger question, How much am I willing to give up, and dedicate to pursue medicine? Very often, this question is tied to the other infamous question, Why Medicine?

Once you have answered that questions, you will know realistically what your chances are.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the MCAT

Alright, I don’t actually love the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test), but I’m not a student who hates the MCAT either. But around this time each summer, thousands of students are stressed the hell out about the MCAT. For most, they have never written a test that will be weighted so heavily. This CAN be a single test that will prevent you from being admitted to a medical school. The MCAT will test you on a broad range of sciences, from physics, chemistry, bio orgo, and admittedly most students will be weak in at least one subject, if not more. Not only is there plenty of different concepts and facts to remember, this test will also challenge your reading comprehension and writing skills. And most people who went into the sciences, did so to escape the dreaded essay writing they did in high school. To top it off, your marks are bell curved and graded against other test takers, so even if you answered the majority of questions correctly, someone out there could have done better and your score will suffer because of it. Each year, only around 20% of test takers will receive a competitive score of 30+

I’m not an expert at taking the MCAT. I have only had to take it once. I didn’t go to a prep class, but instead, I borrowed the books from friends who had a Kaplan and The Princeton Review class and self studied off them. I had not taken organic chemistry yet, so I borrowed a 2nd year orgo textbook. Lastly, I got my hands on some AAMC, TPR, and Kaplan Full length practice tests and worked away at them. This summer, I landed a job with Kaplan teaching students how to prepare for the MCAT. With the experience of having written the first batch of computerized tests, and subsequently watching my friends study for this beast, I have made a list of advice and things you can do to keep the stress down and make the process more pleasant and maybe even enjoyable?

"Congratulations! We are pleased to … offer a position to the MD program"

There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. – Oscar Wilde

Everyone reacts to medical school acceptances differently. My parents were overjoyed, smiling and dancing when they first heard I was accepted. My siblings reacted loudly too. My sister was at the library when she found out and she later told me she made such a racket that the librarian threatened to kick her out.

I had friends who wanted to celebrate with me and friends that were sad because I was leaving them. I heard praises of, “you must be so smart to get into x school” and criticism such as, “I heard x school is easy to get into.” A lot of people swore at me, “HOLY SHIT, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GOT IN” and with words like, “SON OF A BITCH, I wish I was in your shoes.” I had friends who did not know I was applying to medical school , and even stranger, some relatives who had thought I was already in medical school.

As for me, when I read those words in the title of this post, I went through so many different emotions.

What are my Chances for getting into Medical School? – A Simple Guide

What are my chances for medical school?

To help answer all these future questions concerning competitiveness and chances, I have created a medical school admissions flow chart that will help you solve this problem. I present you the official guide to determining and assuring your chances for medical school. I originally created this flow chart for a forum, where the constant question of WAMC always came up. Occasionally there would be trolls in the forums that would post obvious false stats, I have incorporated how to deal with them in the flow chart. Enjoy!

Click to on the chart to see it in correct proportions

The Beginning

May 15, 2008

Every year, thousands of applicants are accepted into Medical schools in North America on this day. Thousands more will be rejected or waitlisted. I was one of the lucky ones this year. I am starting this blog not only to chronicle my journey through medical school, but also as a reminder of who I was, am and will be in these coming years.

I have chosen the name OpenSourceMD because this concept of “Open Source” (borrowed from Computer Software) encourages input from everyone. Before the advent of the internet, an open source approach to medicine with input from doctors, nurses, patients, students and average citizens would have been impossible. However, these are exciting times we live in and I am optimistic that with your help, together we as a society can learn and approach medicine in a pioneering way. No longer will it be a top-down approach from doctors and pharmaceuticals, but all participants will be able to contribute to create something better. Everyone becomes the Doctor.