Arts Grad With A 520 Mcat Ama

[kbinners]

Hi folks!

 

I have a BA in drama and scored 520 on the MCAT in September, so I thought I'd start a thread to encourage all you arts grads out there!!

 

My final score was 128 in Bio, 128 in Chem/Physics, 132 in Psych/Soc, and 132 in CARS.

 

To prepare for the med school applications I went back to school to take a few pre-req courses. I took:

• 1 FCE biology
• 1 FCE chemistry
• 0.5 FCE organic chemistry
• 0.5 FCE biochemistry
• 0.5 FCE kinesiology
• No physics, no psychology, and I did not take the second half of ochem
• I also took high school bio and chem 12, because I didn't have those (it took me 10 days each FT to do them online)

After these classes I started studying for the MCAT itself. I started studying at the beginning of May and wrote the exam September 3rd. While I studied, my life looked like this:

• I worked 3 days a week on an urban farm in Vancouver (to keep myself moving!)
• I took several trips back to Ontario to help my mom, who has a terminal illness (during which I did not study)
• I did a 4-day course on being a doula
• At first my aim was to study at least 8 hours each of the 4 days I wasn't working, but by the last month I recognized that I was more efficient if I took one day completely off each week. I would spend it hiking or sitting on the beach. Especially with the stress and sadness related to my mom's illness, it was worth taking the time to re-engergize.

I used these things to study:

• Exam Krackers 2015 complete study package -- I used this for content review and for practice questions
• Princeton Review 2015 complete -- for the 4 practice exams INVALUABLE
• AAMC chemistry and physics question packs

Things I did that I think were a good idea:

• I set a time limit for practice questions from the very beginning. I tend to like to work slowly and carefully, so I was sure timing would be a big problem. Actually, I never failed to finish a section, either on practice exams or test day. I think this is because right from the start, when I was doing content review with EK, I would set an 8-minute time limit on the 8 practice questions interspersed throughout the chapter and stuck to the 30-minute time limits on the EK practice tests. I always went back and reviewed correct and incorrect answers, but the time limit helped me learn to keep the pace up and not get stuck on questions that were hard. 
• I alternated content review and practice questions from the very beginning. I read and took notes on an EK chapter, then I did the 3 sets of 8 practice questions within that chapter, then I reviewed material I was weak on, then I did the 30 minute test and reviewed that. Next chapter.
• I did 4 full-length practice exams with the correct timing and break schedule. This helped with stamina, focus and confidence, but it also helped me get my priorities in order. I found the Princeton Review exams were similar to the real exam in that they were less about testing minutia and more about your ability to read an unfamiliar passage, not panic about all the new terminology, and trust that between your knowledge and the info in the passage you will find the answer. Learning not to panic was definitely a skill worth practicing. By the way, I scored between 505 and 510 on the practice exams, but in general it seems that people scored about 10 points higher on the real exams than on the Princeton Review practice exams, so keep that in mind!
• I accepted that there were a few subjects I just wouldn't know. This was a hard one. I started out wanting to learn every possible fact and formula they could possibly include. But especially with the time and energy I felt I needed to process what was happing to my mom, I started to triage. I used the AAMC info on the exam content to prioritize what to drill, and what to leave. I knew the both ochem and physics, my weakest subjects, were comparatively small portions of the exam. I did study the physics, but after gaining a basic level I stopped beating myself up for not being a superstar on those passages. I rocked the first half of ochem, but after reading through the content for the second half I basically accepted that learning that material would take more time than it was worth on the exam. 

How I got 132s: 

• CARS: unfortunately I really don't have much advice here. I didn't really study for it. I didn't really take any of the advice from the prep books. I always read every passage and answered every question. On the real exam I actually went through the entire section a second time. I do not consider myself a fast reader. In middle school I had a teacher who mocked me for being the slowest person in the class. Dunno, guys. I do read a lot. I read fiction, I read non-fiction. My BA is in drama with a minor in English. Text analysis is just a thing I do. Honestly, I think the best piece of advice I read in a prep book on this section was to actually be interested in the passage -- or find a way to be interested (pretend a guy you like recommended this essay and wants to talk about it later, for example).
• Psych/Soc: so much of this section is just a vocabulary test. This is one part where I did use multiple companies for content review. I learned the EK terminology really thoroughly, and then I skimmed the Princeton Review material for unfamiliar words and concepts, and I also used some Kaplan flashcards (Christmas present) but in general I found them way too detailed and a waste of time. I kept a list of terms I forgot or mixed-up and review it, and added terms that appeared on practice tests. There were quite a few terms I did not know on the real exam. Just had to put my best guess.

So that's a start! Feel free to ask me stuff!

 

Kathryn

[nibaco]

I'm an English major -- this gives me hope! Thanks for posting     

[kbinners]

Right on -- good luck!!

[medhopeful22]

Congrats! How helpful did you find it to take the pre-reqs?

 

I am currently in law school but planning to apply to med next cycle (I want to write my MCAT in August and study all summer) I am trying to figure out what pre-reqs are worth taking. 

[Siefer1322]

Congrats! How helpful did you find it to take the pre-reqs?

 

I am currently in law school but planning to apply to med next cycle (I want to write my MCAT in August and study all summer) I am trying to figure out what pre-reqs are worth taking. 

What makes you want to leave law school/ not practice and instead pursue med?

[kbinners]

I definitely found the prereqs I took helpful. Consolidating all that material for the MCAT and working on approach and stamina is hard enough without starting from scratch on the material. Although it wasn't my original plan, I ended up mostly abandoning the physics and ochem I had not taken in school because it just took too much time to learn it from scratch. I wouldn't want to have to do that with everything.

 

That said... I feel like most of the 1st year bio material you need for the MCAT is repetition of grade 12 bio... so if you took/take that and feel good about it, that's a solid start in itself. Some biochem was definitely helpful. Good to be really comfy with the amino acid names, various abbreviations, major structural features, and whether they are acidic or basic. Personally, I think I needed the general chem courses, but it's not my strongest area so I needed the extra time on that. I was glad for the 1st half of ochem, too, and kind of regretted not taking the 2nd half. (I only took kin to satisfy U of T's requirement of 2 FCEs of life sci; it wasn't a good choice.) Psych/soc prolly not needed.

 

It's tricky to do everything you need within one year because they are prereqs for each other, eg can't take biochem without bio and gen chem. It took me 3 part time semesters to get them done.

[kbinners]

Some schools require that you have courses with labs (eg Ottawa U), in which case you have to take them on campus. But if you aren't applying to those schools, you can try to take a bunch online. 1st year lectures and commuting to campus are often a waste of time for those of us who are older and already have our own study habits. If you can get your credits online you may save a looooot of time.

[potatohead5]

Kathryn - you're my muse! 

 

I'm just starting my studying now - so overwhelming at first. I am using EK and I find the books pretty interesting and enjoy the change between text and questions. Did you study for one subject at a time (i.e. with EK, did you go through one book at a time) or did you switch and try to hit each subject in a week for example?

[kbinners]

Aww, thanks potatohead -- I hope I can be an effective muse!

 

I switched up the subjects, but I changed my approach a few times. I started out alternating chapters of chem, then soc or CARS, then physics, then soc or CARS, etc. Then I dropped the CARS replaced it with bio. I always tried to keep my mind on the big picture as much as possible. I did a few specialized days in a row of reviewing all the chem and doing the AAMC question pack for chem (and then reviewing that); same for physics. I left the bio to the end because I'd just done the courses in it and figured I had a reasonable grasp of the material. I prioritized the chem and physics because I figured I would need the most time with those.

 

I liked the EK books. I felt they helped me keep my mind on the big picture concepts, too. I like how they put necessary terms in red so you know what to really drill and what to simply be familiar with. I found the Princeton and Kaplan materials overwhelming -- they always made me feel like I'd never know it all. The only thing I really didn't like was those dumb drawings Here I am trying to feel proud of myself for sweating over some physics, and the woman beside me in the café is like "it looks like a book for children!' 

 

I went over all the content before doing any full length exams, but I was doing those in-chapter questions and 30-mins throughout (timed) and I'm happy I did it that way. Don't see much point wasting time on a FL before going over all the content -- but some people disagree.

 

The TPR full-lengths are a different style from the EK questions -- and based on my very limited experience I'd say more similar to the real exam. EK can be quite detailed and require more math/formula manipulation (I found); TPR focussed more on passage comprehension/application. So probably worth doing a FL right after content review before doing too much review drilling based on EK's questions.

[medhopeful22]

What makes you want to leave law school/ not practice and instead pursue med?

If I’m being honest with myself I went to law school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and it seemed like a good idea at the time (not a good reason I know!). 

 

I’ve always been interested in psychology and mental health -  I was a psychology major in undergrad, and most of my volunteer experience and work experience is in that area -  and even in law school I am focusing all my courses on health law. The more I learn about what it is like to practice health law the more I feel like I would rather be working first hand with patients as opposed to working on a more administrative or legal level. 

 

I definitely found the prereqs I took helpful. Consolidating all that material for the MCAT and working on approach and stamina is hard enough without starting from scratch on the material. Although it wasn't my original plan, I ended up mostly abandoning the physics and ochem I had not taken in school because it just took too much time to learn it from scratch. I wouldn't want to have to do that with everything.

 

That said... I feel like most of the 1st year bio material you need for the MCAT is repetition of grade 12 bio... so if you took/take that and feel good about it, that's a solid start in itself. Some biochem was definitely helpful. Good to be really comfy with the amino acid names, various abbreviations, major structural features, and whether they are acidic or basic. Personally, I think I needed the general chem courses, but it's not my strongest area so I needed the extra time on that. I was glad for the 1st half of ochem, too, and kind of regretted not taking the 2nd half. (I only took kin to satisfy U of T's requirement of 2 FCEs of life sci; it wasn't a good choice.) Psych/soc prolly not needed.

 

It's tricky to do everything you need within one year because they are prereqs for each other, eg can't take biochem without bio and gen chem. It took me 3 part time semesters to get them done.

Thanks so much for the advice! It's good to know it can be done!

[kbinners]

Those sound like good reasons to me Makes me think of a character on a show called Hard Rock Medical who went to med school after being a lawyer. (Show's dialogue isn't always the best, but I love it anyway: it's based on NOSM, filmed in Northern On, and you can watch it here!)

[medhopeful22]

Those sound like good reasons to me Makes me think of a character on a show called Hard Rock Medical who went to med school after being a lawyer. (Show's dialogue isn't always the best, but I love it anyway: it's based on NOSM, filmed in Northern On, and you can watch it here!)

Awesome! I'll check it out  

[Sammm]

Hi there, 

 

I was wondering, is it realistic to succeed (get a 125 in each section) on the MCAT having taken two introductory bio courses, a physical chemistry course and then using a prep course, prep books and Khan Academy to study about 4 months. I am doing an undergrad in engineering and don't have much space to take Orgo and Biochem. I have taken Grade 12 U Bio and Chem. Thanks. 

[kbinners]

Hey Sammm,

 

Good question: I don't really know. You only want a 125 in each? Are you only applying to U of T? If you're going to pay the money to take a prep course, I'd suggest aiming higher than that. I don't think the ochem is 100% critical; it's just not worth that much of the exam. Biochem is definitely helpful but I know people who've done excellently without it, too.

 

If you can rock the CARS, my best guess (and it is only a guess) is you could definitely hit 125 in each with the prep you describe. CARS really throws some people for some reason, but there's no specific course to take that will teach you how to do it either.

 

Good luck!

 

Kathryn

[Sammm]

Hi Kathryn, 

 

Thanks for the answer! The reason I asked about the 125 is because it's what seems like I could hit without uni prep (also the UofT reason, but I do want to apply to more places - Queen's, McMaster, Western, etc). With engineering it is really hard to fit stuff in to your schedule, but I am serious about applying to medical school. I am going to start a bachelor of engineering in Sept 2016 (I know it seems a bit early to be asking about the MCAT, but if I want to apply, I need to have a well planned schedule so I have a good shot at med school since engineering is so time consuming). 

 

I have a vague outline of a plan, I would appreciate it if you let me know what you think (any suggestions would be appreciated). 

 

I will use MIT OpenCourseWare to do one semester of organic chemistry and biochemistry in one of my summers before the MCAT.

 

Then, after first year of engineering, I am going to take 3 life science courses in the summer, to satisfy the UofT prereqs (I have 1.0 FCE for social sciences and 0.5 for life sciences in my engineering curriculum, so I should be good for that). Any suggestions on what courses I should take for the 3 in summer? They can't have any prereqs besides high school bio and chem. I think cell biology, physiology, and something else would be helpful?

 

In the summer after 2nd year, I will have to go to survey camp for 2 weeks (as per the engineering curriculum). Should I study for and write the MCAT in this summer? I don't think I will have enough time. 

 

In the summer after 3rd year, I think I will study for and write the MCAT. However, I will only do this if my grades are good. (I am planning to go to UofT engineering and if my grades aren't great, I probably won't apply. Although I don't love engineering as I do medicine, I still like it a lot). After the summer I will do a PEY, during which I will send in my application. 

 

Throughout my undergrad, I am going to continue volunteering at my local hospital and at a program where I help kids who have trouble reading. I am hoping to do some med related engineering research (is it okay if its not med related?). If there are any clubs I like, I will join those (maybe a student paper - I like writing). Do you know any ECs I could do that would really show me if I would like medicine or not? I want to be really sure before I apply. 

 

As someone who's already gone through it, is this a good plan? Would my ECs be sufficient? 

 

Do you know anybody who has done an undergrad in engineering and then gone to medical school?Also,  I am curious to know if there are any civil engineers in medical school, since that's what I am going into. 

 

So sorry that this is such a long post, but I don't have anybody I can really ask about this stuff. Thank you so much!!

[kbinners]

Hey Sammm,

 

Woooah my friend -- why are you studying engineering in undergrad if you know you don't want to use it going forward? Or do you have ideas about combining engineering knowledge with a medical career? (If so, please tell -- intriguing!)

 

I know there are people who have gone from engineering to med, but I don't know anyone personally. Check out the non-trad forum, do a search there. But usually people do that when they change their mind about what they want to do. I know I've seen a number of people post that their marks in engineering were lower than those of students in other programs. Just something to keep in mind.

 

I have a degree in drama, so you know I have no problem with doing an undergrad in a non-pre-med field, but why do it if you already know it isn't your passion? (AND its super hard AND will make achieving a killer average almost impossible AND will limit your ability to research, work, and volunteer through undergrad.) This is not to say don't do it -- unless your only reason is 'because it's hard and I got in'.

 

I think using opencourse to do ochem and biochem is genius. Power to you.

 

Just a heads up: the OMSAS application (like OUAC for med) includes 48 spaces for extracurricular, work, awards, research and other experience. Number, variety, and duration all count -- or so I'm told.

 

Not sure about life sci courses to recommend... I would have liked to take an anatomy course, but worth remembering that those are notoriously difficult. By all means take one if you can, but don't shoot yourself in the foot by taking three super challenging courses simultaneously in the condensed summer term. There's some good stuff going in health studies at U of T -- no idea if any count as life sci, but worth a look anyway.

 

Think about making room in your degree for understanding the world. Things I've done that I wouldn't trade include taking courses in anthropology, geography, literature, and doing a lot of reading on my own about ... well, all kinds of things. Fiction and non-fiction...  

 

Why do you want to be a doctor? What problems do you want to solve (for example about the health system, not just one patient)? What kind of skills will you need to be the person who can solve those problems?

 

Yes, medicine is a technical discipline. However, so much of it is about communication, teamwork, reading and critically analyzing a lot of material, understanding systemic oppression, understanding specific challenges faced by certain communities in Canada... these things are being emphasized more and more by the schools and I think rightly so. Don't take them for granted in your training. 

 

No recommendations on specific ECs -- heck, I'm hoping that I know I'm cut out for medicine, but none of us really know til in it I think. I'd recommend learning more about issues in medicine and the health care system, and about good initiatives out there. White Coat Black Art is a great program.

 

Below is some stuff I've read/watched or listened to that relates to medicine. But learn about lots of things that aren't directly medicine, too! Thw two in bold are related, but also two of my favs.

 

Honestly -- who am I to give you advice? I'm not even admitted yet. Just some stuff I wish more proto-docs would keep in mind, speaking as a potential patient as much as a pre-med myself.

 

Feel free to ask me anything you like -- but keep in mind I don't know if I know what I'm talking about

 

Kathryn

 

 

 

White Coat Black Art, Brian Goldman

 

Doctors' Diaries, Nova

 

A Nurse's Story, Tilda Shalof

 

Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder

 

Street Nurse, Shelley Saywell

 

Postgraduate Year One: Lessons in Caring, Kenneth Heilman

 

Pathologies of Power, Paul Farmer

 

Recognitions: Doctors and their Stories

 

Anton Chekhov, Donald Rayfield

 

A Fortunate Man, John Berger

 

Nurses: If Florence Could See Us Now, Kathy Douglas

 

Hard Rock Medical, TVO

 

CBC Ideas on War, Peace, and Health

 

Birth, Karen Brody

 

Haiti After the Earthquake, Paul Farmer

 

The Bedford Murder: And Evidence-Based Clinical Murder

 

Dying at Grace, Allan King

 

Pioneers of Hospice: Changing the Face of Death and Dying, Madison-Deane Initiative of the Visiting Nurse Association

 

Designing Healthy Communities, Dr. Richard Jackson

 

Arrowsmith, Sinclair Lewis

 

House Calls, Ian McLeod

 

Getting On

 

ER: Vancouver General Hospital

 

Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese

 

Dying for a Home, Cathy Crowe

 

Randomized Controlled Trials: Questions, Answers and Musings, Murray Enkin and Alex Jadad

 

Northern Ontario Medical Journal

 

The Birth Partner, Penny Simkin

 

The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth, Sheila Kitzinger

 

Maladjusted, Theatre for Living

 

Canadian Medical Association conference, 2014

 

Cartwheels, Amy Doolittle

 

Dying Wish, Karen van Vuuren, (Dr. Michael Miller)

 

Being Mortal, Atul Gawande

 

Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom

 

The Reason You Walk, Wab Kinew

 

The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch

 

Keeping Canada Alive, CBC

 

Laugh, I Thought I'd Die, Dennis Kaye

 

The Caregivers, Nell Lake

 

The Secret Language of Doctors, Brian Goldman

 

An Imperfect Offering, James Orbinski

 

Canada's New Doctors, Sasha Djurkovic

[Sammm]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Honestly, the info is great. I hope you get in to medical school! When do the offers go out?

 

Anyways, I guess I made it seem like I have no reason for going into engineering. I actually though about this a lot. I really love math and physics and I love application based learning, which is why I know I will enjoy studying engineering. 

 

Medicine appeals to me because I love biology and chemistry, but the added appeal is because of the component of patient care. Engineering doesn't really involve  listening to patients, but the other things it involves will, I think, make engineering a fun career for me. I know for a lot of people, medicine is the only thing they can imagine doing, and for a while I felt that way. But once I realized how hard it was to get into medical school, I started thinking about a Plan B that I would like. 

 

So engineering is still a passion, but medicine interests me more. I assume you studied drama because you like it and because you knew that you would like a career in it if you didn't get into medical school? Anyways, that's why I chose engineering. 

 

I realize it decreases my chances of having an awesome application, but medicine is hard to get into anyways. I don't want to do a degree that I think will be easy, end up not getting in and then having to do a job I don't like. 

 

I have done a bit of light reading on medicine and the two issues I can remember are: 

A - Medical staff are very sleep deprived and tend to make mistakes they wouldn't have if they were a bit more awake

B -  Some specialties don't co-operate as well as they should (tend to focus on what relates to their job, such as orthos who will fix bones, and miss the intense internal injuries

 

I think to fix those, we need someone who is a critical thinker, charismatic and well-liked. It has to be someone who can change people's minds about existing beliefs and practices. 

 

Also, I think you were hinting at problems in the health care system that disadvantage people of a certain socioeconomic status, and I kind of understand how this would work, but I haven't done any reading about that/ haven't come across it. 

 

Thanks for the list of resources. I definitely will check them out. 

 

P.S. I love reading too! Have you read any good fiction lately? I just finished A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab which is amazing. 

[kbinners]

Hey Sammm,

 

Well, I certainly wish you the best with your number one and number two career options!

 

I had never even considered trying to be a doctor when I chose my major. I just liked drama. I was aiming to work in theatre. Part-way through I felt over-dosed by fiction and crammed in some anthro, geography, and other courses. It became increasingly important to me to at least try to make things in the world a little more equal, and sought role models of how to do that... and I found a lot of them in medicine. And then swore a lot and had an existential crisis  

 

I totally get that you want a major that could turn into a job you'd love -- of course! Don't take stuff you're not interested in just because someone tells you to or even because you think you have to... I don't suggest the socsci and arts courses because they are easy -- in fact sometimes it's practically impossible to get As and A+s in arts courses, because the grading is a lot more subjective, or because they simply aren't given. I suggest them because I believe they can make you a better person and a better doctor. That statement may be cliché, but I really mean it. [Not all of them do, but some will blow your mind in the best way... you just can never be sure which ones...] Now that's just what I think. However, the med schools are starting to agree with me. OR here's a better idea: don't pay for arts courses at U of T, check some out in the opencourses online! Or even just read some of their reading material.

 

The best novel I read recently is A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiongo. I've mostly been reading non-fiction recently, but before that I read a number of novels by Native Canadians -- Monkey Beach (Eden Robinson), Indian Horse (Richard Wagamese), Green Grass Running Water (Tom King). Haven't read anything resembling fantasy in a long time I don't think... Cutting for Stone (above) is a novel written by a doctor and I'd definitely recommend it!

 

I did my undergrad at U of T, too btw I loved it. Are you from TO?

 

Kathryn

[Sammm]

Yeah, I am from Toronto! Isn't it awesome? 

 

 

For sure, I understand what you mean when you say taking social science courses really make you better. One of my favourite teachers told me the same thing. So I took a grade 12 social science course (it combines anthro, socio, and psych) and it was amazing. It was quite eye opening and I loved all the open minded people in the class. We had great discussions. I would love to take a class like that in undergrad.  I will probably fill the few electives I'll get with social sciences, business and maybe creative writing... I'll see. 

 

Yeah, I could check out the reading material, but I really like the in-class component of social science courses. But maybe uni courses aren't quite as interactive as high school social sciences and that makes my point moot? 

 

I checked out the non trad part of the forum as you suggested. I found some engineers now in medicine! They definitely had great grades in undergrad. The discipline of engineering I'm choosing typically has class averages in the 70s at UofT, which is pretty reasonable (I don't think it'll kill my chances of getting good grades, esp since I like the material). At Waterloo, they tend to fall 10-20 percent lower, so that'll probably just ruin my GPA. 

[kbinners]

I'm glad you've found some engineers in medicine

 

I hope you have a blast at U of T!

[Wasteman]

An Arts Grad with a 520 MCAT? Nice. As a fellow arts grad you've given me hope! I'm studying at Waste-man U (aka York U) and just started. You sound like you really liked your arts education. I can't wait to start mine.

[kbinners]

You're studying fine arts, right? There's a character in a show called Hard Rock Medical (TVO) who's in med school after a degree in visual arts (mad anatomy skills). Dialogue of show pretty thin, BUT worth watching for the Canadian content -- and it's based on NOSM so if you're interested in health care up north...

 

I'm pretty confused by the 'waste-man' thing. Why label yourself that way? (also ...are you from London?) Especially why label York that way -- there's some excellent stuff going on at the second-generation universities like York, Simon Fraser, Carleton that in some ways are more progressive, flexible and inclusive than the old boys schools (U of T, UBC, McGill, etc). [i did my undergrad at U of T, but my med prereqs at SFU; my husband did his undergrad at U of T, a masters at York, and another masters at UBC] Docs need to know how to communicate with people who aren't upper-middle class, and it can only help for more physicians to come from a wider range of backgrounds themselves. 

 

In Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone a character receives this advice: "What's the hardest thing you can possibly do? ... Leave no part of your instrument unexplored. Why settle for Three Blind Mice when you can play the 'Gloria'?...Not Bach's Gloria. Yours!" His response is: "Surgery was the most difficult thing I could imagine. And so I became a surgeon."

 

Are you aiming for neuro because it seems like the hardest thing you can do? Or why?

[CC36]

Hey Kathryn,

 

First off thanks for all the info. That MCAT score is amazing! How did you go about tackling the CARS passages exactly? 

[kbinners]

Hey CC36,

 

I really wish I could tell you more -- but I honestly just read the passages and answered the questions. I didn't use any tips or tricks. I read all the passages (no skipping). I read the whole passage, then started in on the questions. I did go back to the passage for questions about specific sentences, inferences, etc... The only advice I liked was from EK: actually be interested in the passage. Read it to learn about its subject instead of skimming for names or dates. Feel free to form an opinion of the author -- what are they like and what's their attitude to the subject of the passage. I used TPR's practice exams and I think their CARS passages are more challenging than the ones on the real exam I wrote (one TPR included a passage on postmodernism and one on Gertrude Stein. Honestly! Ugh.) so that probably helped me practice. I finished and reviewed my entire CARS section on the real exam. Found all the language very readable (compared to TPR -- no Gertrude Stein yaaaas)

 

Wish I had more specifics for you!

 

Kathryn

[Wasteman]

Hey Kbinners,

 

I'm just a wasteman. I dunno what else I can tell you. Lol, I'm just joking. I'm actually really excited to dive into what York as a University has to offer me, and I honestly believe I'll love it there more so than any other University in Canada. 

 

I refer to myself as a wasteman as a sort of weird joke, kinda like an oxymoron. If you think about it, would a person that's a loser really want to devote so much time in school and studying if they really were a drunken f*** up? And I'm planning on doing really well in UG, on the MCAT and in Med-school, so it's something I do to help me keep level headed when I finally do start to succeed.  And Lastly, you're partially right. I want to become a neurosurgeon because I think the human nervous system is really amazing and also I've wanted to be a doctor longer than anything else. The fact that it's hard is a bonus. 

 

In the words of a Canadian Doctor I recently read, "I want to see who I am when everything else is stripped away." Or something like that. It's just something I really want to do, so why not go after it with everything I have in me, right?

 

 

Anyway enough about me, you mentioned that your husband did TWO master's?  Why is that? Does he want to become a doctor as well? What about you kbinners, what do you want to do? Why did you become a doctor?