I am just starting my journey towards becoming a doctor this year. I have signed up for Chemistry 1 for this Spring and I hope to complete Chemistry 2 and Bio 1 over the summer. I am a DIY-er so my whole goal is to bring home the A’s!!! I have my B.S. in Communication Science Disorders (2.73) GPA due to being a struggling single mother, battling homelessness, and a abusive relationship. Funny enough I did so horrible in my first semester at college that it took the last 3 years trying to make it up -- (LOL) I went on to obtain my M.B.A graduated with a 3.66 and I work full time. I am married now and my kid is in high school. Hence now is the time to go for the gold. My husband is an MD and he is very supportive and honest about the hard work and discipline that is required to make it through medical school. I am very dedicated to making this journey and I look forward to interacting with all of you. I am still looking into medical school and comprising a list of which ones I hope to apply to. In a perfect world I would go to Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta ^^ However, I have other schools that I am interested in as well. Any advise you have to offer will be helpful. Does anyone have any study guide information they wish to offer about the new MCAT? Any websites for chemistry or o-chem help? Also any math sites to test your algebra and per-calculus skills would be helpful.
Honetly if I were in the ATL area I’d be looking at PCOM GA because they LOVE OPMs and because Morehouse only has about 30 or so seats. Now if you have an inside connection then by all means USE THEM like EVERYONE else, but I’d keep my options open.
OMG! PCOM GA would be IDEAL there and Morehouse were the two that honestly occupy the number 1 spots (DO/MD) on my list. I really do think that I may want to go DO as I really like the idea of learning manipulation as a part of practice. My husband took some alternative med courses as electives (He is an MD) but since I have not made the final choice on how I will apply, I have not cemented my list. My husband is a Georgia boy and we would really like to return to the area. His family is there as well. If I could find a connection to get me into PCOM GA trust me I would USE IT LOL!!! I read on another board that you did a program at GW, I am doing my classes at Howard Community College, but am considering switching to UMD’s science in the evening program. Do you have any advise about that? Does it really matter if your classes were done at a CC, providing you score well on the MCAT? I hear the courses at HCC are pretty difficult and most instructors have taught at UMD, UMBC etc…
I actually attended Georgetown but GW has good programs too.
I’ve heard that the SIE program at UMD has a solid rep for getting folks into med school. So with that in mind and assuming cost isn’t a factor, I’d go with that program over ANY CC program.
Yes, Georgetown not GW (smh) but yes, I am considering that UMD program…Money is a factor though. My hubby is in his residency so my income pretty much is carrying all of the bills at this time. However, I am willing to sacrifice to make sure I give myself the best shot at this as possible. I am looking for some volunteer, shadowing and research opportunities. I have my HIPAA, FirstAid and CPR certifications so if you know of any places I can send my resume to, that would be helpful. I really would like to get involved with a research project of some sort, even if its just grunt work. I work at the Library of Congress so I am always pulling different journal articles and reading up on different things. I have not read your blog yet but I am well on my way to doing that! You seem to be a very dedicated and disciplined person. So inspiring. Have you been accepted into a MD/DO program as of yet?
I’m finishing up chem 1 (oops, I should probably be studying for my final right now…) You’ll hear Khan Academy over and over again for extra support. For me, it’s hit or miss only because I really don’t like Sal’s asides when I just want to hear more about the topic and move on.
A lot of professors put their exams online, I find. So when I need extra practice, I Google a sample problem, see what exams come up and take those for practice.
For bio, I really dig this site for animations of transcription/translation , cellular respiration, etc. etc. http://vcell.ndsu.edu/animations/
I have not read your blog yet but I am well on my way to doing that! You seem to be a very dedicated and disciplined person. So inspiring. Have you been accepted into a MD/DO program as of yet?
First thank you for the compliment!
I've posted my "story" a couple times on OPM, so as not to bore the oldtimers on this site, please do a search under my username using the key words MD/PhD and pathdr2b. My acceptance years ago was to a dual degree program and that's STILL my goal!
You'll find this site to be VERY inspiring and they'll likely be a few "stories" you relate to. I'd like to think that the acceptance rate among OPM's is near 100% for those that hang in there, and do what they need to do. This is anecdotal of course, but I think it's accurate just the same.
Thank you for the site information I will check out both of the links. Any and all information will be helpful for me. I have realized that with this medicine thing, you have to really mentally be strong and focused. I hear a lot of horror stories but I realize that for the most part you can lose the race unless you quit. There is always a way if you do what needs to be done… The primary thing is to forget about going fast or finishing quickly but to score the best grades possible in the premed classes. Hence I am taking chemistry by itself. I have taken other biology courses in the past and I know that I like that subject but I wanted to see how I would do with chemistry. After I see what that feels like then I may take two classes in the next semester… Never the less the goal remains the same, high scores.
How much time did you find yourself studying for the chemistry course? I am trying to build a study schedule so that I can be prepared to cut down if not out social media and hanging out.
It seems like you really need to know how to schedule and balance family time while in medical school and I want to get into that habit now. Or should I say refine that habit now since I do that to some extent already
Yes I have been reading and it is very inspiring to see someone know what they want and go hard for it. Often times people just settle for whatever they can get… I can’t do that! I have come too far and I’m making too many sacrifices to settle for just any thing. I believe in putting in quality work and so I plan to give this journey all that I have got. I can see from the post that span years that patience is virtue So I am suited and booted and reporting for duty on the 25 of January at HCC for the chemistry class. I plan to swap over to the UMD program soon thereafter to utilize their resources and get the rigor of their program. Its going to challenge me… but if it doesn’t challenge you then it doesn’t change you, right!!! lol
You have a great attitude - the marathon, not a sprint saying gets tiring, but it’s a saying for a reason. Pull A’s, do what you can and need to bolster any other area of your app and you’ll be golden.
For chem, I would try to do practice problems every day because I started to lose what I was learning otherwise. My professor had online problem sets assigned, plus practice problems so there was plenty of material to review. Before an exam, I would start to lightly study 2 weeks before then kick it into high gear a week before. For my final (today! done! yay) I probably put in 20 hours over the past week.
I truly surprised myself this semester. I started out dreading chem. I really, really enjoy it now. I look at it like a puzzle and then it becomes fun.
Unlike others on here, I don’t have children but I do have family responsibilities. I agree that you just need to pace yourself and be disciplined. We had a family emergency right before my last exam but because I had started studying ahead of time, it didn’t totally derail my prep, for example.
One thing that really worked for me was reading ahead. Even if I was like “whhhaaaat?” when I got to class, I knew what my professor was going to hit. It just made the lectures, labs and study sessions that much easier.
Those are all great points! I will employ them all as I really want to do my best. I also realize that prep for the MCAT starts with day 1 of this journey I am excited and motivated but most importantly I am DEDICATED <3
You have a great attitude - the marathon, not a sprint saying gets tiring, but it's a saying for a reason. Pull A's, do what you can and need to bolster any other area of your app and you'll be golden.
A very belated welcome!! I’m not so great with the web sites, but you really want “Organic Chemistry as a Second Language” for first semester O Chem. I didn’t find the volume for 2nd semester quite as helpful, but first semester it was invaluable.
MCAT prep…I did Kaplan which is time consuming and somewhat irritating but helpful. Have heard very good reviews of Examcrackers for some of it as well.
If you can take some non-CC courses as well that would be helpful to round out your application and at a university setting the chance of being able to connect to some research experiences thru the science faculty is greater.
I identified with your story as I also came at this after my kids were older (in my case, thru college )
A very belated welcome!! I'm not so great with the web sites, but you really want "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language" for first semester O Chem. I didn't find the volume for 2nd semester quite as helpful, but first semester it was invaluable.
MCAT prep...I did Kaplan which is time consuming and somewhat irritating but helpful. Have heard very good reviews of Examcrackers for some of it as well.
If you can take some non-CC courses as well that would be helpful to round out your application and at a university setting the chance of being able to connect to some research experiences thru the science faculty is greater.
I identified with your story as I also came at this after my kids were older (in my case, thru college )
Best wishes in your journey!!
Kate
Kate429,
would you recommend trying to read through the O Chem as a Second Language before taking O Chem 1? From what I have heard, that class is intense and wondering if there would be enough time to reference the textbook and the O Chem as a second Language book. I have also heard good things about this book. Thanks for your insight!
Also, I am a BSN as well so your path definitely intrigues me. Nurses to doctors, hope to follow your footsteps ASAP.
No, don’t read thru it ahead of time. It is short. What it offers is a breakdown of some of the fundamental concepts, and some practice in applying those to chemistry problems. Figure on using it in 1/2 hour to 1 hour blocks a couple times a week during the course to prep those ideas! It’s paperback, not real thick, but very helpful.
Yes, saw that BSN. Nursing is not (in my opinion) a plus or minus by itself. Nursing experience can be a big plus as long as you can a) talk about what led you to medicine and
b) (IMPORTANT) do NOT badmouth nursing. You have no way of knowing what member of the adcom/interviewer was themselves a nurse and just in general, you need to avoid negativity.
Some NP’s I know talked badly about doctors that they had worked with --very unwise - not going to help!
If you like, you can check on my diary in the diaries section to see more of my story.
Hello Everyone at OPM!!!
