those of you who took those two classes in high school, do you think it was worth it? do they help out in anyway? does it matter if someone takes them or not?

i heard that ap calc is great for premed or any science related major. but the problem is, i SUCK at math. like completely. for reference, im high key struggling in honors algebra 2 as a sophomore.

i think i can get at least a 3 or at max 4 on the AP exam, but im going to have to put in A LOT of time and energy into it. im taking 4 other aps so im wondering if its worth the blood sweat and tears im going to have to put into ap precalc and ap calc.

will i still be fine if i don’t take those? im not trying to get into an ivy league or into a school with a super low acceptance rate either.

edit: the college im applying to recommends taking statistics so should i take regular pre calculus and ap stats instead? i can’t take ap calc + ap stats because pre calc is a prerequisite

Hi, I need help deciding if i want to go to med or not im stressed, my grades in school are not that good i dont know if i can make it im afraid of wasting my 20s in med school while my other classmates will start working for 6 years by the time i get out of med and i dont know if its worth it im soo stressed my eyelid is twitching from that stress i just need someone to talk to

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/899

H.R.899 - To terminate the Department of Education.

sponsor:

Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4] (Introduced 01/31/2025)

cosponsors:

Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Boebert, Lauren [R-CO-4]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Brecheen, Josh [R-OK-2]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Burlison, Eric [R-MO-7]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Cline, Ben [R-VA-6]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Collins, Mike [R-GA-10]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Crane, Elijah [R-AZ-2]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Crank, Jeff [R-CO-5]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Davidson, Warren [R-OH-8]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Greene, Marjorie Taylor [R-GA-14]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1]* 01/31/2025

Rep. McCormick, Richard [R-GA-7]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-10]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Spartz, Victoria [R-IN-5]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Tiffany, Thomas P. [R-WI-7]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Timmons, William R. [R-SC-4]* 01/31/2025

Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14]* 01/31/2025

* = Original cosponsor

If you see your state represented here, you can call and express your opinions on this bill.

For context, one of my interviewers was a white male and I am also a white male. His question was (paraphrasing because I can't remember the exact words):

"With medicine being a white male dominated profession, what can you do to help future generations confront this problem?"

I was a little taken aback at the question, but I thought I had recovered and answered well. My answer included some of the books I had read recently regarding social issues (Inflamed by Rupa Marya and Raj Patel, and Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen), and how we need to prioritize education and understanding in the social issues regarding race, the history of colonization and racism in our nation, and the lasting effects. I ended my answer with something like how I have worked with many minorities at in my clinical job and in volunteering, and respect and empathy are crucial for understanding each other and achieving progress towards a more equitable, just, and accepting society, and that will spill over into every profession including medicine.

Not sure if this specific answer had anything to do with it, but I got a post-II rejection. Was this a bad answer? How should I have answered, or how would you answer? Please help me understand if I did something wrong.

When does registration for Preview and Casper open up for 2025? I can't seem to find any open spots for either of them

I got into medical school in another state, and I start in July. I want to quit my job before so I can do things that I wouldn’t be able to do with my full time medical assisting job. Would March 18th be too soon?

Would love any thoughts or inside takes on what school y'all would pick from these acceptances? I have my own PRO/CON list started and it is likely down to these three schools, but when I have seen those posts asking for help it always seem to be heavily influenced by the vibes the OP starts with. So I am curious, without that context, what are some thoughts?

Thanks in advance!!

I'm planning on reapplying this cycle and would potentially like some advice regarding if I should try to get some more volunteer hours on top of what I'm already currently juggling. Below are my stats when applying last cycle and I am currently in my second gap year.

cGPA: 3.8 sGPA: 3.64 MCAT: 500 -> 507 (taken 2022 then 2023), 2nd Quartile CASPER

Clinical Experience (Volunteer): 258 hours

- hospital volunteering

Clinical Experience (Paid): 0 hours (projected 1000-2000, got a full-time phlebotomy job when apps opened)

Non-clinical volunteering: 650 hours

- primarily volunteering with underserved in some way

Shadowing: 100 hours

Research: 0 hours

Other ECs:

- Couple thousand hours into martial arts, also did volunteering with them
- Musician (played in a local band and also did volunteer performances for the underserved)
- Club leadership (unrelated to medicine, 1 year)

LORs: 1 Physics professor, 1 Chemistry Professor, 1 Art Professor, 1 Doctor (who i did martial arts with), 1 Nurse

Cycle Progress so far:
- Applied: 25 Schools (all MD), secondaries submitted within 2 weeks of receiving
- Interviews: 1 (Currently waitlisted)
- Rejected: 7 (three of them were Pre-II holds into Rs)

-------------------------

My main takeaways from this:

- I think my school list was fine and don't need much input on it, so I didn't include it here

- MCAT too low considering I only applied MD (was planning on also doing DO, got lazy after all the MD secondaries and forgot about it lol, will reapply to DO too likely), honestly I slacked off quite a bit on studying for both MCAT attempts since I was still kinda iffy on pursuing medicine at the time but now I'm certain it's the path I want to take

- Essentially had no paid clinical since it was all projected which definitely didnt help

- No research definitely limits school selection, but I made sure to choose schools that didn't have a hard emphasis on it and plan on doing the same next cycle

What I've already done/plan to improve for the upcoming cycle:

- Began studying at the start of Jan for an MCAT retake on May 3rd (actually locking in this time)
- Acquired around 850 hours of paid clinical through a full-time phlebotomy job, currently working as a full-time ophthalmic tech with 560 hours currently and projected 550 more by the time the cycle starts, putting me at around 2000 paid clinical on my next app

For the most part I've just been dedicating time to working full-time as well as studying for the MCAT again. I feel like the lack of clinical hours paired with a low MCAT were the two main things hindering me, so I placed an emphasis on those. I'm unsure if I need more non-clinical volunteering or not, and I have the opportunity to begin volunteering later this month at a hospice for the next year. However, I am unsure if I should take it due to how much time I'm already dedicating to studying and working.

I know I'm stupid for only applying MD this cycle with my MCAT, but other than that any advice is appreciated!

Currently applying to SMP’s and started wondering if i need it. 3.1 cGPA 3.1 sGPA Major: Biomedical Engineering at a small state school, upward curve from 1.7 -> 3.95 last spring ( with 1 W) and 3.89 this fall (which is when i took Orgo 1 with 18 credits) I think i can kill it on the mcat if i gave it my all and i have a clinical job and lots of shadowing. Lmk what u think bc I want to go MD and I’ve been told by my advisor that an SMP or post bacc is my best bet. The extra 100k of debt is just scaring me

Hello!

Currently really struggling in selecting a doctor to ask for my LOR. I have shadowed two awesome and close friend physicians: a rheumatologist and an obgyn surgeon. I am applying totally neurology in mind and my whole narrative is around neuroscience and stuff...

I have shadowed a neurologist too and he was young, super nice, etc. I think the other two would write a better one about me, but then I lose the connection to the narrative I've worked for.

Wanted to hear thoughts. The neurologist recc would NOT be bad... it would probably be better than I am making it sound. But I am confident that the other two options would be stronger.

Just as a way to hopefully ease the nerves before the TMDSAS Match Day on February 14th, I want to talk to those who are applying and/or have applied through TMDSAS to gauge my odds of matching to the TMDSAS MD programs I have had the opportunity to interview with. While it's certainly better than nothing, I only managed to secure two interview invitations from the Long School of Medicine and TTUHSC Lubbock with the former being my preferred choice. I did not apply to any DO programs in Texas nor to any other programs outside of Texas (very dumb choices in retrospect).

These are some of my stats:

1. MCAT: 519 (CARS: 128, Chem and Physics: 131, Bio and Biochem: 130, Psych: 130)
2. Overall GPA: 3.99, BCPM GPA: 3.99)
3. Shadowing: 65 hours
4. Clinical: 276 hours
5. Community Engagement (nonclinical): 58 hours

I know it's not rational to expect other applicants to be able to evaluate me and determine my chances, but desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose. Thanks!

I was wondering if being a 7 cups listener would be considered a "good" EC for non-clinical volunteering? Both the crisis text line and the Trevor project applications are full atm. What do y'all think?

Hello everyone. This week, I had an interview at my first choice school, and got rejected post II. I was disappointed to hear this because I had thought my interview went really well, despite some pretty tough questions. Please help me understand what I should work on in my application for resubmission. I'm feeling stressed because application is not far away.

My stats were:

510 MCAT - should I retake? I know this isn't super competitive

2.79 undergrad GPA to 3.79 GPA with my post bacc, strong upward trend but I know that undergrad GPA is terrible

7 PREview score

~340 volunteering hours with varied sources, some clinical some not

~143 shadowing hours with multiple disciplines

~750 research hours with 2 publications and multiple awards, one award at a national level symposium

7000+ clinical hours in orthopedics and primary care for work with direct patient care (Medical assistant)

Strong life experiences, like climbing out of homelessness/poverty during undergrad, clinical experiences and such. Thought my experience passages were bulletproof as I had worked on them with premed advisors and writing centers for weeks, and they had seemed solid. Additionally, I thought I probably had pretty strong LORs, one of which was even an ex-teacher and ex-adcom member for the school I was applying to.

What were the weak spots that I can work to improve on? What should I prioritize in the time that I have? Help me understand what stopped me from getting in please.

I hope this isn't considered "neurotic" but idk where else to post this.

Point blank: Will I be penalized in interviews for wearing a face mask?

I hate that it's a question I even feel the need to ask, but I've had enough glares and snippy remarks made by classmates, professors, physicians, & premed advisors to make me genuinely wonder if I will be negatively perceived for wearing a face mask to an interview during an active pandemic. I'm not trying to proselytize or anything, I'm just trying to make decisions about my future & whether or not the risk is worth it for potentially not getting into medical school.

I've just seen how so many people, even medical professionals, who you'd think would understand it best, have acted and I don't know. I really don't know. I'd rather not risk my health and safety for interviews but I'd also like to successfully get into medical school & I worry about implicit bias for plenty of other reasons.

I just want to know if it is a realistic concern or if I'm worrying for no reason, that's all. Thank you.

Hi All,

I’m a current medical resident and I know how hard it was to apply for medical school. I’m offering free application reviews if you wanted. I don’t want to dox myself too much but feel free to message me for help/any questions you may have.

Good luck on the application cycle!

Would a student coming through a BS/MD program be in any way disadvantaged in matching to a competitive specialty. In particular, do residency programs think any less of students who did an accelerated program and thus has fewer years of actual schooling?

Also, does the tier level/reputation of the medical school attached to the BS/MD program affect match results in the same way people say a regular med school applicant is affected?

Don't know if this has been asked before, but is it ok to take some required classes after graduating from college? I'm graduating in May and just started to work on med school list and plan to apply in the 2025 cycle. I didn't take Gen Chem because I got 5 in AP Chem and my school gave me 8 credits, which appear on my transcript. However, there're med schools (quite some) won't take those credits straight up or only allow more advanced inorganic chem to substitute those 8 credits. I have 4 Analytical Chem credits that can be used. But gonna need 4 more. I'm thinking to take Gen Chem I and II in the summer or Inorganic in the fall (not offered in the summer) at a local 4-year university to make myself eligible to apply to those med schools. But I'm not sure if that's something acceptable to med schools? Any insights/advice are welcome! Thanks.

How important to an application are LOR’s if the rest of an application is pretty good? I understand why a negative LOR can harm an app, but do average really LOR’s hurt? And to what extent do good LOR’s truly boost an application? I’ve heard mixed reviews from premeds and advisors and just wanted some input!

How hard is it for a DO to match into specialties primarily endocrinology?

If GPA can go up by 0.1 with senior year grades(assuming all As in that year), is it just worth waiting to apply then? Sophomore now and GPA is 3.6 due to Bs in a lot of the premed prereqs. Haven’t taken the MCAT - should I study for and take it once anyway in junior year and then decide? Am thinking that all stats plus ECs are likely to get better with one more year anyway. Do they average your MCAT scores if you take it multiple times? And how is your science GPA weighted compared to overall GPA? Also ORM if it matters - does that mean I need better than the average stats listed for a school?

Is it true that once applying EDP your account is held until October? My school tells me they will have their “decision” in May after receiving my final mcat scores— does the decision = reopen application to apply during the regular primary app (if I’m rejected)? My plan is to apply May 28th to other schools if I don’t get the A

Title. I applied to Morehouse, Howard, and Meharry in June, but still haven’t heard anything from them. I’ve only received secondaries from Morehouse and Howard in the latter half of last year.

Sitting on the waitlist is tough. Please use this thread to vent, discuss, and support your fellow applicants through this anxiety-inducing process.

Hi everyone!

It's time for our weekly essay help thread!

Please use this thread to request feedback on your essays, including your personal statement, work/activities descriptions, most meaningful activity essays, and secondary application essays. All other posts requesting essay feedback will be removed.

Before asking for help writing an application essay, please read through our "Essays" wiki page which covers both the personal statement and secondary application essays. It also includes links to previous posts/guides that have been helpful to users in the past.

Please be respectful in giving and receiving feedback, and remember to take all feedback with a grain of salt. Whether someone is applying this cycle or has already been admitted in a previous cycle does not inherently make them a better writer or more suited to provide feedback than another person. If you are a current or previous medical student who has served on a med school's admissions committee, please make that clear when you are offering to provide feedback to current applicants.

Reminder of Rule 7 which prohibits advertising and/or self-promotion. Anyone requesting payment for essay review should be reported to the moderators and will be banned from the subreddit.

Good luck!

It's time for our Weekly Good News Thread! Feel free to share any and all good news from the past week, from getting an A in a class to getting that II to getting an acceptance.

What should I know about sending a letter of intent before my interview decision has come out? I am considering this for an uber-competitive school with free tuition pretty close to home, which I would absolutely go to should I get in. I interviewed on January 9th.

What are the harms? Is it best practice to wait until after I get a decision? The letter itself wouldn’t have too many updates, just general updates on what I’ve been up to in my gap year even though all those activities were listed on my primary and discussed in my interviews

My university (HYPMS) unfortunately doesn’t have a class called “general biology,” instead we have a couple classes that are said to be equivalent, “Biochemistry & Molecular Biology,” “Genetics,” “Cell Biology,” and “Physiology.”

Do you think this will be a problem when applying for med school? I also saw that some med schools allow you to meet the biochem prereq through either your bio or chem curricula, so do you think my “Biochemistry & Molecular Biology” class would count?

Hello! I'm beginning to request LoRs but one of my courses was taught by a PhD student who technically was under a professor. They completely taught the class (writing course) themselves and I never saw the professor. The class was also listed under my instructor's name and not his observing professor who also was never in class.

Would it hurt to get a letter from them since they're technically not a professor themselves? I'm hesitant to ask my other non-stem professors because this is the one instructor that I felt like actually got to know me (I go to a uni with 200+ class sizes) but idk if it would hurt my application.

I would appreciate any advice, thanks!

Frosh here who's looking for suggestions of things to do this summer. Could I get some suggestions or stories of what you guys did the summer after your freshman year?