Borborygmi

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.
(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.
Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

Reading through the comments on the admissions blog is beyond infuriating. How selfish and self-absorbed are many of the applicants this year. Sometimes it's ok to realize that there is something bigger than you going on (LIKE AN ACTUAL F*CKING GLOBAL PANDEMIC) and to sit down and shut up. The entitlement in the discussion thread is absolutely nauseating. Get some perspective. Honestly...

Tell the patients in ICUs fighting for their life or people whose bodies are stacked in the back of trucks in blocks-long military convoys that "it's not fair". Be embarrassed. Unbelievable.

Reading through the comments on the admissions blog is beyond infuriating. How selfish and self-absorbed are many of the applicants this year. Sometimes it's ok to realize that there is something bigger than you going on (LIKE AN ACTUAL F*CKING GLOBAL PANDEMIC) and to sit down and shut up. The entitlement in the discussion thread is absolutely nauseating. Get some perspective. Honestly...

Tell the patients in ICUs fighting for their life or people whose bodies are stacked in the back of trucks in blocks-long military convoys that "it's not fair". Be embarrassed. Unbelievable.

I would suggest thinking about the interests you have and about pursuing those interests. The way your question reads makes me wonder if you're looking for something because it would look good on a cv. 

The opportunity provides growth. There is no prescription for admission to med school, but more than that I would suggest doing things that are enriching, fulfilling, and that genuinely interest you. You can spin anything as a strength for med applications, but that really shouldn't be what it's about, in my opinion. Cool opportunity! 

I had to do a second undergrad degree before thinking about medicine and began my second degree at 29; accepted to medical school at 35. There was another student in my class who was older than me (either 38 or 40... I don't recall at this point). 

The average age of people accepted to medicine seems to be increasing. If it's something you really want to pursue, go for it! There were many people 30+ in my class. Best of luck!

I had to do a second undergrad degree before thinking about medicine and began my second degree at 29; accepted to medical school at 35. There was another student in my class who was older than me (either 38 or 40... I don't recall at this point). 

The average age of people accepted to medicine seems to be increasing. If it's something you really want to pursue, go for it! There were many people 30+ in my class. Best of luck!

Really, nothing about the interview process or day. I think the interview is something you just need to attack in the moment, like you would any other situation. There are too many unknown variables on interview day that you're unable to control. You just need to be in the moment and go with the flow. What I do wish I had known was that there was a young kids' hockey team staying in the same hotel I had booked. It made for loud hallways and a really busy breakfast on the day of the interview (when I was already feeling a bit nauseous). Would have preferred to have started my day quietly & calmly. Sorry, that's probably a lame answer. 
 
Following interviews, I wish I knew how much energy I would need in order to take on a ton of huge life changes between the "yes" and walking into the first day of classes. This isn't the same for everyone, of course.
 
Just a general suggestion would be to scope out the HSC building and find the atrium in the evening before you interview. Just knowing where you need to go and the amount of time it will take to get there will save some stress on the day of the interview. 
 
 
 
Like nick mentioned, there are a bunch of small, scrap pieces of paper with pencils outside of each station (there will be ample). I don't recall exactly how large the scraps were, but let's say about 10cm x 10cm. If you feel you need more than one, use more than one. If you do choose to make little notes, be sure to leave your paper in the garbage can inside the interview room before you exit. Do not bring them out of the scenario with you as you move to the next station. Personally, I found making notes cumbersome for most of the scenarios given the small amount of time you have at each prompt. I only used paper at one station where I needed to remember a series of specific items, but do what works best for you.

I was able to do both organic courses in 8 weeks. Good resources, fair exams, good tutors. It's a fair workload, but doable quickly if you focus! Just make sure the course is transferable to McGill.

Interviews are upon us shortly and I know the class of 2018 (us Goats!) are excited to see all of you here on your respective interview dates. If you have any questions about what it's like to study med @ UofC, ideas of where to stay in the city for your interview, or anything else, feel free to ask away!

Accepted off waitlist!
 
OOP
GPA 3.96
MCAT 518
 
I'm just being paranoid but the email says I should be seeing an "Offer" tab and it's not there for me. Is it going to show up today?
I've never sent a bank deposit before. Sending one there before Jun 1 shouldn't be a problem if I do it tomorrow, right?
 
Please help so I can ease my paranoia and enjoy this acceptance.

Accepted off the waitlist 11:25am Alberta time!!!!!
 
Yahoooo!!!

This needs to go in the "How to be a Good Clerk" presentation lol

SHC: block just south of Marriott is free parking and I always get a spot.
RGH: the neighbourhood across the street (across Crowchild) and the little road that goes to the bridge over the reservoir are both free for parking.
PLC: parking lot in the strip mall across the street is also free.

Seriously?! Please share with me your free parking wisdom!!!!   
 
This is why you have to find yourself a good student mentor, folks. They carry with them the wisdom of generations that will save you some LOC room! 

You can park at that park at the intersection of Memorial and Shaganappi and walk up the hill. Not explaining this well but I know some of the animal famjam parks there.

1) Our days are typically 8:30-5:30, but we often have times that are flexed. Ie: we might have a day that goes 10:30-5:30 or another that goes 8:30-12:30. Typically, it is 8:30-5:30 with a one hour lunch. The day is often a mix between lectures, physical exam groups, conducting interviews in communications, anatomy labs, etc. It's less frequently a day of 8 hours of lectures and is much more often a mix of different learning modalities (as I mentioned in my previous post). That said, the lectures are usually not mandatory. I personally do not attend lecture unless it is something like x-ray interpretation. Instead, I study at home or in the library and just attend mandatory sessions. So this frees up a lot of time to take care of business, so to speak. I have also met classmates to run to the gym at lunch, workout, and run back. I hit the gym 3-4 times a week, ski, participate in interest groups at the schools, hang out with friends, go cycling, visit family on weekends, etc. It's quite manageable to maintain a healthy balance, but it does require some effort and good organizational skills.
 
2) I feel like I answered this question in (1) and in (6). Let me know if you'd like me to elaborate further.
 
3) Assessments differ somewhat between our course blocks. For example, our first course (Heme&GI) consisted of a multiple choice midterm and cumulative multiple choice final exam. We also had a midterm and final exam in anatomy/pathology in the format of a bell-ringer in the cadaver lab. In addition to the actual exams, we are given "formative" exams that don't count as marks. These exams are provided to us as a way for us to gauge how we're feeling about our knowledge prior to the actual exam, but also to give us a sense of the style and format of the questions on the actual exam. In course 2 (derm/ortho/rheum) we had group and individual quizzes throughout the semester, a summative multiple choice final exam, and anatomy lab bell-ringers similar to course one. In our pop health class, we had a summative multiple choice exam at the end of the term and one large group project in the second term. The exams are not easy, but I would also call them pretty fair. Outside of a traditional style of exam, we have OSCEs (objective structured clinical exam) which are actually somewhat similar to an MMI. You walk up to a door, are presented with a situation or physical exam task for a couple of minutes, you walk in the door and begin.
 
4) Correct
 
5) It's actually really great. There are tons of social events that are planned throughout the term--both formally through the school/committees, but also through casual drop-in sports clubs, FB groups, and similar. We have a squash club, a badminton club, multiple volleyball intramural teams, basketball teams, beach volleyball, etc. Our outdoorsy group gets together to hike, run, ski throughout the year. There is a class ski trip and the Icebowl--a multi-medical school hockey tournament that occurs yearly [this year it was in Saskatchewan]. Outside of the extra-curricular events that happen very frequently, UofC med also has a strong sense of community in the academic sense. When you become a UofC med student, you become part of the animal family or menagerie. The naming ceremony where you get your class's animal name is a pretty huge deal (super secrets!) and is put on by the previous 1st year's class. We are the Goats, the second year's are the Humuhumunukunukuapua'as (yes, really), third years are the Narwhals, etc. When you run into doctors when shadowing, you're often asked what animal you are. We also have a naming ceremony where everyone in the class is given a nickname. The event is super fun and the nickname you are given goes on the back of a class jersey that you and your classmates design--complete with a class animal logo, arm patches, etc. We have the med olympics, and tons of events during orientation week, and we have second year and faculty mentors that really take the time to help you throughout your training. Tons of academic and social clubs, learning nights, skills training and leaderships seminars, and each year UofC and UofA come together at AMSCAR (which happened this past weekend in Banff) for a wellness retreat. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
 
6) It ebbs and flows. I think this is really an individual thing. People have different ways of dealing with the stress. Overall, I find it very manageable. This relates back to your first two questions. It's quite easy to get bogged down and study every hour of every day. The volume of information thrown at you in med is definitely much higher and at a much faster speed than what comes at you in undergrad. You have to really make the time to do things that are good for you, but I find making the time to be quite reasonably easy to achieve (with the exception of during exam weeks, maybe). There are people in my class with kids and large families and they seem to be doing quite well. It's important to maintain some semblance of balance so you don't burn out and that comes down to how you effectively manage your time. Outside of the schoolwork, many of us still take on shadowing opportunities, take on committee and executive work, volunteer in the student run clinic, maintain a physically active lifestyle, etc. That said, I do know some people that struggle with the workload and with balance. 
 
7) There are many opportunities for you to arrange shadowing. There are also skills training nights, journal nights, and interest groups for each of the specialties that put on pretty awesome evenings for learning. You also get hands-on clinical exposure in your core group training throughout the year specific to the course content you're working through at the time. Overall, I would say that you have many opportunities, but you also have to seek out those opportunities yourself.
 
8) I'll respond to this when I have a bit more time, but perhaps amichel or other classmates can help me out here as well.
 
Don't apologize. Your questions are thoughtful!

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