How I Aced my DAT with 2 Months Prep – A Student’s Guide
Get Started Today Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] 20 Minutes Free Consultation How to Ace the DAT – Advice from a Student By Sarah D. The time has come to begin thinking about your DAT. In this post I will share my approach to studying for the DAT and review what I would do differently if I had to take the test again. Most importantly, I am here to tell you that achieving a good score is very much doable if you put in the time and study strategically. Thanks to the tips I will share below, I finished the test with a score of 22 in the sciences, 25 in the perceptual ability test, 22 in reading comprehension, and a 23 in quantitative reasoning. If you are like me, one of the first obstacles you might encounter is coming up with a plan to effectively cover all the material you need to know. When I first started planning my DAT preparation, I took advice from several people who had used CrackDAT as a resource and found it very helpful. I began the CrackDAT study program 8 weeks before my planned test date (note: you should register 90 days before you intend to take the DAT). In hindsight, I am glad I chose an 8-week plan because my scores dramatically improved in the last two weeks of studying. One of the first steps in the 8-week program was to take a few diagnostic tests to assess my baseline performance. These diagnostic tests were not full-length tests but comprised a group of 8-13 questions in each subject. On the first...
Becoming a Competitive Applicant for Medical School Part III: Clinical Experience for Premeds
Look No Further. Get Started Today. Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] 20 Minutes Free Consultation Part III: Clinical Experience for Premeds Gaining Clinical Experiences in Medicine: Having clinical experience in medicine is absolutely essential for premedical students. As we mentioned earlier, medical schools do not want to take their chances on someone who does not know anything about the medical profession and has not thoroughly explored the field. The more thoroughly you explore the medical profession, the stronger your application. Remember, shadowing a parent who is a physician or having clinical exposure during high school is not sufficient clinical experience. Does Paid Clinical Experience Count Both volunteer and paid clinical experiences add value to your medical school application. We encourage students to choose the experience that affords them the greatest opportunity to observe medical care in action and get an understanding of the medical profession. Volunteer experiences tend to be better in this regard, but some paid experiences can be valuable. When Should I get Involved in Clinical Experience as a Premed? It is always wise to get involved in clinical experience early on. We recommend that you begin gaining exposure to clinical medicine during your freshman year. The good news is that you only need to spend 4 hours per week shadowing, volunteering, or working in a healthcare setting. What matters more is how long you have been involved in the experience and how consistently you have been doing it. If you’re in need of help with your premed application check out our consulting services. Which Type of Premedical Clinical Experience is Best? There are many different ways to...
So, Wou Want to Ace Your MCAT: Tips and Tricks for Successful Studying
Need Advice on Medical School Admissions? Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] Get a 20 Minute Free Consultation By Jessica White “Ah, the dreaded MCAT – the test every pre-med fears. You’ll find through a quick Google search that there are endless ways to study and countless people with opinions on how to get your dream score. After taking the beast myself, however, I realized that the following advice of a close friend ended up being the most helpful (and least anxiety-inducing – looking at you, Reddit). First thing’s first – when to start studying? Delay too long, and you may not leave yourself ample time. Start too soon, and you risk getting burned out. So, what’s the sweet spot, then? Obviously, it’s different for everyone, but a good length of time to start with is 3-4 months. To have a more accurate estimate, it’s a good idea to take a practice test around 5-6 months out, prior to having studied, to see what your ‘baseline’ score is. Don’t be shocked if you’re far from your goal score, but if so, you may want to start studying earlier! Another approach to MCAT preparation that has its proponents is longitudinal MCAT study. Even with this approach, the suggested timeline here applies as most students find they have to ramp up their prep in the months leading to the exam. Now, for the studying itself. There are seemingly endless resources out there to help you study for the MCAT, but It’s important to remember that you’ve gotten to this point by knowing yourself and how you study best. Are you a visual learner?...
Why do my identities belong in medicine? Considerations for pre-medical students.
Need Advice on Med School Admission? Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] 20 Minutes Free Consultation By Katelyn Cooper, PhD Historically, personal identities were largely unwelcomed in medical education (Lapinski and Sexton, 2014; Jain, 2019). Doctors, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals discussing their identities, such as gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ status, or having a disability, was likely discouraged. This is largely because science and medicine are championed as objective disciplines devoid of identities and therefore free of bias (Intemann, 2009). However, this perception is simply incorrect and can be harmful to the progression of medical discoveries and healthcare more broadly. Healthcare is influenced by the identities of the scientists conducting medical research, the identities of healthcare providers, and the identities of patients. As a result of the falsehood that identities do not belong in healthcare, medical school applicants (and applicants to other health professions) may feel as though discussing an identity on an application or in an interview is inappropriate, even if the identity is an integral aspect to who they are. However, navigating life experiences with these identities will likely influence how the student ultimately practices medicine, and can be integral to developing competencies valued by graduate programs. The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has defined core competencies that individuals in their profession benefit from: AAMC’s 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students. Individuals with marginalized or stigmatized identities may have had unique life experiences that have led to them developing some of these core competencies. Three core competencies in particular may be influenced: Resilience: This refers to one’s ability to quickly recover from stressful situations and implies persisting...