A Person Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Hey guys! As the tittle suggest, I want to know -the things that you wish had done different, -or the things that you wouldn't change. -I am also SUPER confused about CASPer and how they grade it, moreover, how it works. Like you would be on your own with no supervision, what stops someone for asking for help? (not asking cause I wanna do it but I am pissed off that other people might) -HOW do you prep for CASPer? The idea of prepping for something like that seems impossible. -How much volunteering should I do? Advise on the best places to volunteer. -Did anyone do the new MCAT 2015 and can give me some insight to the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Section. How different is it from VR? ...thats about it for now! THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR EVEN OPEING THIS POST AND THINKING OF HELPING ME ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_ _ Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 1) Breathe 2)take another deep breath 3)Don't even worry about casper for another 3 years. It might not even exist then 4)VR is literally the same as CARS. Again, this has zero importance to you because you have never writen VR and have no means to compare this to CARS 5)volunteering is one of many things people include on applications. There is no 'better' volunteering or set number of hours. Some people are wealthy and volunteer lots all summer, others volunteer a few hours a week around jobs and undergrad. Again there are NO BEST PLACES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotASerialKiller Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 RUN, RUN NOW AND DON'T STOP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Underwood Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 You won't have time to ask for help during CASPer - you essentially try to type as fast as you can with the answers that come to mind! For CASPer prep...I'd say it's helpful to work on your typing skills (not that it's judged on quantity over quality - but it doesn't hurt to be able to fully type out and explain all of your points/reasoning). A lot of people read Doing Right, did practice questions beforehand and read up on some current news / ethical issues! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Person Posted October 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 1) Breathe 2)take another deep breath 3)Don't even worry about casper for another 3 years. It might not even exist then 4)VR is literally the same as CARS. Again, this has zero importance to you because you have never writen VR and have no means to compare this to CARS 5)volunteering is one of many things people include on applications. There is no 'better' volunteering or set number of hours. Some people are wealthy and volunteer lots all summer, others volunteer a few hours a week around jobs and undergrad. Again there are NO BEST PLACES 1) 2) lol, thanks, I kinda needed that. 3) I HOPE SO! 4) I used to be study buddies with my sister, like 2 years ago, who wanted to go to med school and I only studied with her in VR part cause I knew I wanted to go to mac so I just wanted to know how different would it be. (honestly, that shit was kinda hard to comprehend and the passages were a bore) 5)So true. I work to pay rent and save as much as I can to pay off school, I don't have any time for volunteering this year so I was kinda stressed about it... RUN, RUN NOW AND DON'T STOP Thanks for the advice, I will keep that in mind. But I am pretty sure MEd school is the way to go for me. You won't have time to ask for help during CASPer - you essentially try to type as fast as you can with the answers that come to mind! For CASPer prep...I'd say it's helpful to work on your typing skills (not that it's judged on quantity over quality - but it doesn't hurt to be able to fully type out and explain all of your points/reasoning). A lot of people read Doing Right, did practice questions beforehand and read up on some current news / ethical issues! Thanks for the advice. My typing speed is okay, I guess, but I can type fast, but when I do I spell things wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedGoals Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Hey guys! As the tittle suggest, I want to know -the things that you wish had done different, -or the things that you wouldn't change. -I am also SUPER confused about CASPer and how they grade it, moreover, how it works. Like you would be on your own with no supervision, what stops someone for asking for help? (not asking cause I wanna do it but I am pissed off that other people might) -HOW do you prep for CASPer? The idea of prepping for something like that seems impossible. -How much volunteering should I do? Advise on the best places to volunteer. -Did anyone do the new MCAT 2015 and can give me some insight to the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Section. How different is it from VR? ...thats about it for now! THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR EVEN OPEING THIS POST AND THINKING OF HELPING ME Regarding your first question, I would recommend that you apply in third year regardless of how good you think your chances are. This helps you to learn the ins and outs of medical school applications and, if you don't get in in third year, you will have a much stronger application the second time around. The same goes for the MCAT. Make sure to write it in time to apply in third year in order to have the time to re-write before fourth year, if needed. As for Casper, as someone mentioned above, you barely have any time to type out your own thoughts, let alone ask anyone for help. The only way I can picture anyone cheating is by having someone else write it for them. I highly doubt that Casper will be scrapped, especially not by McMaster, but if anything, I expect that eventually applicants will be required to have their webcam running for the entire duration of the test. In terms of preparation, you really shouldn't be worried about it yet. Just make sure that you're involved in different kinds of volunteer/extracurricular activities that help you to grow as a person and become more open-minded and well-rounded. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykern Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Hey guys! As the tittle suggest, I want to know -the things that you wish had done different, -or the things that you wouldn't change. -I am also SUPER confused about CASPer and how they grade it, moreover, how it works. Like you would be on your own with no supervision, what stops someone for asking for help? (not asking cause I wanna do it but I am pissed off that other people might) -HOW do you prep for CASPer? The idea of prepping for something like that seems impossible. -How much volunteering should I do? Advise on the best places to volunteer. -Did anyone do the new MCAT 2015 and can give me some insight to the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Section. How different is it from VR? ...thats about it for now! THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR EVEN OPEING THIS POST AND THINKING OF HELPING ME 1) I wish I would have sought help for my mental health issues early on in undergrad and/or went into nursing right away and applied for med after some experience. 2) What I wouldn't change? Going into nursing (wonderful experience), all of the volunteering and EC's I've done, applying to med later in life (well not super later, I'm 25) 3) Casper you write in the comfort of your own home. Nothing is really stopping you from asking for help, you're right. That being said, the time crunch is brutal and you really don't have time to seek counsel from others. with respect to the marking scheme, nobody really knows unless you directly ask someone who has marked it, and even then they are not allowed to divulge any information. PM me if you want my strategy to study for it as I found it quite straight forward. 4) Volunteer and do EC's as much as you can implement it into your schedule. I would get direct physician experience such as shadowing for sure. I'd try to get experience with different vulnerable populations (children, elderly, mental health and/or crisis management). Take a look at the CanMEDS and brainstorm different volunteering opportunities that would provide you insight into each cluster. 5) I did the MCAT 2015. CARS is no different from VR, just longer. Again, feel free to PM me , I would love to help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wongr Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 CASper should be the last thing on your mind at this point as others have said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_ _ Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 CASper should be the last thing on your mind at this point as others have said! I know right! haha I didn't know the MCAT existed in first year, let alone CASper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Person Posted November 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 1) I wish I would have sought help for my mental health issues early on in undergrad and/or went into nursing right away and applied for med after some experience. 2) What I wouldn't change? Going into nursing (wonderful experience), all of the volunteering and EC's I've done, applying to med later in life (well not super later, I'm 25) 3) Casper you write in the comfort of your own home. Nothing is really stopping you from asking for help, you're right. That being said, the time crunch is brutal and you really don't have time to seek counsel from others. with respect to the marking scheme, nobody really knows unless you directly ask someone who has marked it, and even then they are not allowed to divulge any information. PM me if you want my strategy to study for it as I found it quite straight forward. 4) Volunteer and do EC's as much as you can implement it into your schedule. I would get direct physician experience such as shadowing for sure. I'd try to get experience with different vulnerable populations (children, elderly, mental health and/or crisis management). Take a look at the CanMEDS and brainstorm different volunteering opportunities that would provide you insight into each cluster. 5) I did the MCAT 2015. CARS is no different from VR, just longer. Again, feel free to PM me , I would love to help! Thanks for answering my questions. I will hit you up if needed, thanks again for the insight. CASper should be the last thing on your mind at this point as others have said! I know right! haha I didn't know the MCAT existed in first year, let alone CASper I'm just being proactive guys. I REALLY wanna get into med school and I wanna know what I have to do to get in from day 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicardoKaká Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Just focus on getting a high GPA during your undergraduate years, and write the MCAT after your 2nd year - no need to worry about CASPer or anything else at this point. Focusing on the GPA and starting to prep for the MCAT will be the two biggest things for you within the next 3 years. Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 I started uni with the intent of getting into med school and while, yes, it was helpful to keep my goal in mind because it certainly helped with the motivation, there's a difference between being proactive and obsessing from the get-go. Best thing you can do is make sure you take care of yourself so that you can put the energy you need into your school work to get the grades you need. Do things you enjoy; don't do stuff just to look good on your application. Relax. Enjoy this time in your life. The next few years are not just something to suffer through until you move onto better things, they're time you'll never get back so try to have some fun in that time instead of just focusing to the exclusion of all else on this goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.