I am interested in applying to Meharry in the future but I have heard that they are changing the way they screen for secondaries and MCAT. I would appreciate any insight from current applicants who may have received a secondary or interview. I have tried contacting admissions and haven’t received any info! Thank you :)

Hey all! Pretty much what the title says. I have been working in the hospital for a while and have seen some pretty sick people at the point where their quality of life is impaired tremendously, but they are still fully conscious with full cognitive abilities. As future doctors, I am genuinely curious what you all think, should euthanasia be legalized? In addition, this is more of a philosophical approach, but should medical-assisted suicide for people who no longer desire (but no physical illness) to live be legalized as well? This is just a discussion post and I am really curious to what you all think if you have some time to respond. Much love to all either way!

Hello, I was looking for data on medical school mcat and gpa acceptance and also other requirements. I came across u\easytoremember159 who posted up a resource excel sheet whit is amazing but its from 5 years ago. I am curious if anyone has looked at it lately and if it is still decently accurate.

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rkxoRTIxnSIkV9No_ATASV67mMnvRUwjx-HD1DOWvWw/edit?usp%3Dsharing&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1730430674957697&usg=AOvVaw2YD4REyF2bkCs_tv6MVXWf

Need advice premed fam. I am inching into nontrad life, as I am 2 yrs out of college. I have taken the MCAT 3x and got a 501 my last time, with a 3.72 GPA. I have extracurriculars from college, and am currently part time research and volunteer. I am trying to figure how my time will be spent over the coming months, before the new cycle, but much is in the air. I am trying to get more hours at my job, but am questioning an MPH in the mean time, or should I start researching programs, or letters, or personal statement. Anyone have a good resource on understanding what I should be focusing now? I am focusing more on DO programs than MD so definitely looking to shadow a DO somewhere.

for one of my research its like my mini project in a lab my professor wants us to do atleast 17 pages thesis and poster and presentation.

Hi guys. I'm a freshman currently and I am in my first semester and I'm worried about my grades. And so far I am only getting grades in the 80's (B+ or A-). I am really trying my hardest. I study a lot, and I just cant get higher for some reason. I feel like anymore studying would be exhausting. I study like all day for these midterms exams and end up with just an 80. I'm disappointed in myself, and I feel really de-motivated... I would like to know some of your study tips, especially for Biology. I have my final exams which will be end of this month and in December soon. So any help would be appreciated.

Thank you so much ! ❣️

is anyone else’s job draining them? like i wanted my gap year to be relaxing but i feel like im absolutely exhausted every day and i get in no time for myself because im so tired. what can i change in my life to have my gap year be more fulfilling? i work full time as an MA but tbh i do way more than an MA does ik i am being taken advantage of so maybe that’s it and also im working overtime each week so maybe that’s it too.

but i do wanna hear from you guys how ug r feeling on your gap year bc tbh i feel like im never relaxed and i need to make changes. will going to the gym help? maybe i should eat better? cuz why am i constantly tired and i feel like ive lost all motivation what am i doing wrong.

also tbh i have nightmares abt my job i genuinely hate it so much but i also dk if im just overexaggering and if im just lazy like i come home and then i spend the rest of the day sitting in bed doing nothing or taking a nap like this is not what i imaged my gap year to be

I am in my last year of high school, and I think this is something I want to pursue(Neurologist). My only issue is that, out of the 13 years of schooling, I'm wondering what jobs l'll be able to have while in school so I can have an income. I'm just a little stressed I've been thinking about this for the past two days. I also don't know if I want to go to trade school, community college, or a regular college because I don't want to be in debt. Can someone help me? Lol, I'm sorry I'm just a little nervous.

These past two days have been extremely frustrating and upsetting for me. I won’t get into details because I don’t want someone finding this and getting back to me, but I need to vent somewhere about the absurdity of this incident.

Long story short, I’m an EMS officer and had to help a member go about reporting an incident where another officer’s neglect and poor intentions threatened someone’s wellbeing. I considered this person a friend and their actions frankly disappointed me to a degree I can’t even get into. The report resulted in a suspension from the squad and removal from their officer position.

Rather than be disappointed in themself or at the very least show remorse, they honestly have shown that they don’t care. They are far more concerned about being, and I quote, “bummed” that they can’t run for a higher officer position in the next election, because they wanted to put it on their application.

This admission has made me so incomprehensibly angry. Don’t just do things for your application, especially not clinical opportunities like EMS. Whether or not you are in it for the hours, you still have a responsibility to provide care. People’s lives are very much in your hands at the low level of BLS, just as they will be as a doctor later in life. If you can’t treat that position with respect, you don’t deserve to be a doctor. In this instance, someone’s health was on the line. If I had been removed from my position for that reason, I would be inconsolable at having nearly cost someone their life. Whatever you do to promote yourself as a good candidate should be because you are passionate about the field of medicine, not just to check off a box.

That’s just my frustrations and two cents.

While I wait to know the results of this cycle, I want to go back to college for at least 1 semester to take some undergrad courses so that I can complete some prerequisites I am missing for some schools and boost my GPA.

Considering I graduated a year ago, should I go back into a non-degree program or enroll in a degree?

Ideally, I would rather no mandatory courses so non-degree. However, I am worried as to how that will be viewed, specifically if it will be considered as an inconsistency in my undergraduate education should I need to reapply.

For context, I am a US citizen but completed undergrad in Canada. There's huge differences in prerequisite requirements across Canada and the US hence why I am missing some. My GPA (3.86) is quite good in US MD but really bad for Canadian MDs which is why boosting my GPA is secondary goal.

Hi everyone, so I made a layout of what I plan to do with my classes as well as the rest of the journey like MCAT and application. The real only difference between them is one of them includes a research opportunity in the summer at Boston's children's Hospital under a doctor who studied at Harvard, where there is potential for LOR and more hours of research as I do not have much right now. I do think this opportunity will strengthen my application, but it will make me have to apply and take my MCAT a bit later than expected. I'm not sure this opportunity will be available later on and don't want to pass on it, but I also do want to just get my classes over with so im not delaying my application, as well I want to give myself wiggle room just in case, I need to re-apply or re-take my MCAT. I rather apply and start med school earlier than later but who knows, and I'll take what I can get lol. Anyway, here is the layout of the plan, please tell me your thoughts! I hope I don't sound neurotic, I just already feel behind. I also know these months and dates will not be exact this is just a guess.

MAY 30^(TH) AMCAS SUBMISSION ( I want to apply as early as possible to increase my chances)

PREMED PLAN:

SPRING 2025: (JAN/FEB-JUNE)

-ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 2

- GENERAL BIOLOGY 1 (RETAKE)

SUMMER 2025: (JULY-AUGUST)

-PHYSICS 1

FALL 2025: (AUGUST-JAN)

-PHYSICS 2

-BIOCHEM

STUDY FOR MCAT JAN-JULY

TAKE MCAT AUGUST 2026

WORK ON APPLICATION

OR

SPRING 2025: (FEB-JUNE)

-ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 2

- GENERAL BIOLOGY 1 (RETAKE)

SUMMER 2025: (JULY-AUGUST)

-RESEARCH OPPURTUNITY BOSTON

FALL 2025: (AUGUST-JAN)

-PHYSICS 1

-BIOCHEM

SPRING 2026: (JAN-JUNE)

**-**PHYSICS 2

STUDY FOR MCAT JULY-DECEMBER

TAKE MCAT JANUARY 2027

WORK ON APPLICATION

Hello! I'm starting my personal statement and want to write about a situation I had with a patient that brought me a lot of anxiety, but I also grew from it a lot. When I first started working at a psychiatrist's office, patients would have panic attacks, dissociate, etc, and I would have to grab coworkers to help me calm them down because when this would happen I myself would panic too and would be unable to calm them down. However, as I continued in this job I asked for advice and learned how to manage myself while also managing the patient's emotions, and can now calm a patient down like nobody's business. Would me being anxious and panicking when I first started be a bad look? Or would the growth be a good idea to write about? Thanks in advance!

i did full time dual enrollment in my junior and senior year aka 6 quarters of college level classes. i did well in many of them but only two would count toward my sGPA (since i didn’t think far ahead 😞) and i’m not super confident that i’ll excel in the med prereqs at my uni.

i’m aiming for at least a 3.3 sGPA (basicallt not getting any lower than where i’m at right now), but there definitely will be a big gap between my sGPA and cGPA. is this a bad look? i’m obviously work hard to get a good sGPA, but how bad would it look if i had a sGPA of 3.3+ and a cGPA of 3.7+? and if it looks pretty bad, what are some ways i can balance this out on my app other than getting a high mcat score?

thank you in advance!

I made the mistake of prewriting Miami's ridiculous essays and then I got burned by them switching the prompts. I was absolutely 100 percent going to submit this to them. In fact, a variation of this essay got me into undergrad. Hope you guys enjoy because the adcoms never got to.

12. Provide a description of your HOBBIES and what you do for fun and relaxation. (Max 500 words)

I love writing essays. I have spent a lot of time in college writing research papers, personal reflections, historical analyses, and philosophical argumentative essays, but my favorite kind of essay is the application essay. Sometimes there have been dark periods of my life with no essays to write, and I have to spend my time in lesser endeavors, like getting eight hours of sleep or making beautiful memories with my loved ones. Sometimes during these dark days, I cheer myself up by filing my taxes early or completing some extra HIPAA training modules. Thankfully, the medical school admissions process has given me the opportunity to pursue my true passion of writing application essays.

A few weeks ago, I sat bored at my desk when I got the secondary email from the University of Miami medical school. I opened the email expecting a normal secondary. I clicked through the prompts and made an account. My heart fluttered, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. It was probably just going to be another boring application that only contains 1-3 essays. Those secondaries only give me just a few precious hours of essay writing before I would have to go back to my other interests. I desperately hoped that it wouldn't be that simple. I clicked on the section header and closed my eyes. I couldn't help it. I was nervous. I looked at the screen and almost jumped out of my seat; I couldn't believe it. TWELVE essays! On top of that, they were all 500 words! That meant I would get to write almost six thousand words for only one secondary! It would take me ages to write that much. I was so excited. The only thing that could possibly be more fun than writing twelve essays, is reading thousands of these essays as an admissions committee member. I reached over to my calendar and crossed out everything for the next few weeks. I put my climbing gear back in the closet and told my wife I was canceling our plans. I had no time for such frivolous and unfulfilling things. I had essays to write.

I have past scribing experience and just applied this week. How long has it taken for you guys to hear back, for those who’ve been through it?

As titled. Interviewed last Friday (my only II so far), got the promo yesterday. The promo gives me more responsibility and more of a mentor/preceptor role, other than that there’s not much difference. Should I send an update…?

I’m sure there is something I do not know about the application process that gives a gap year more meaning. My impression is you apply the summer before your gap year, so how can you show those valuable experience to schools? I’m just a young pre med. thanks.

Had an interview with UCSD, did ok on some questions and good on others but absolutely BOMBED an ethical question. Felt super nervous about it for weeks because I knew it had not gone as well as other interviews but people’s stories about bad interviews turning into A’s kept me hopeful that it would not be the end of it all. Anyways, I just got the R email. Obviously bummed as this was tied for my top choice with the school I have already been accepted to but grateful that I now know where I’m going and can relax for the year

Can people tell me what fun things they’ve been doing to try and enjoy what free time they have during the cycle? I’m looking for ideas and it would make me feel better if I had new things to try out/look forward to doing

Yeah, check my post history for the first part, but I soft confronted my mom (got two interviews with Caribbean med schools and I brought up the fact that the app was submitted just yesterday) which turned into a hard confrontation very quickly. Plenty of hurtful things (laziness, past faults that I made) + comparisons (which don't make sense because at 15-16 I completed half of my college prerequisites) were made and now I have to leave the house (kicked out) when I graduate (19 btw). If I do a master's (I think I have a good shot at getting accepted into a mbs-md program bc I meet the requirements and I have strong volunteering ties to the rural community), what are my living options?

Hello all!

Do most schools like to get letters of interest if they are in your top 3 choices?

For example, I interviewed at Northwestern, Cornell, and Mayo. I know Mayo likes letters of intent, but what is the consensus of letters of interest? For top programs like these, is it beneficial to send a letter of interest?

I had a good first half of October and got a couple IIs. Since then I have received 3 pre-II rejections. I really want to improve my odds at the schools I have interviewed at in whatever way is in my power.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

would a color like this be okay to wear for an II?

take some time today to relax please

So i am a non traditional and I took a separate biology lab (integrative biology) instead of my general bio 1 and 2 labs. all the courses were separate from the lab, my school was annoying about that. I do not know how to go about taking bio 1 & 2 lab in person NO places near me offer it at all and I have already graduated. I actually do not know what to do unless I take the course online since I no longer live near my old school. I do not want to have to take the course again because I have already taken both. I have done all the other prerequisites and labs.

it's literally november and i haven't gotten a single interview. i got a text from one of my close friends and she got an interview for my dream school and it was such a great moment, but a bit of a slap on the face. i feel so discouraged and i just wish i felt less anxious or disappointed. i never have free time anymore and now i feel like it's only getting later and later and i havent heard from any school :/

https://preview.redd.it/8tbponalhcyd1.png?width=776&format=png&auto=webp&s=4304aba71bf906b1691e9a358847d2f106cc9852

Hi guys. I am looking for some advice on what my next steps should be given the situation that I'm in. I do not have any family or friends involved in this process, and the advisors at my school are not known for their realistic and helpful advice. Please be completely and brutally honest as I really want a down to earth picture on whether or not this field is right for me given my current situation.

I decided pretty late into my college career that I had an interest in becoming a doctor after working in the medical field for the first time. I am pretty sure that with my current stats I do not have much of a chance at getting in, so I intend to take a gap year after graduating in Spring and would like some input on how to best spend that time to improve my chances at getting in.

RED FLAGS IN MY OPINION:

• This is the big one, and the biggest source of my doubts on my ability to become a competitive applicant. I have 8 W's on my transcript - they are mostly clustered around two semesters where I had some serious health issues that required me to fully withdraw from courses. On my university transcript, they are marked as a "WC" to denote they were withdrawals for medical purposes, I am not sure if medical schools see that or take that into consideration. I am prepared to speak about this in interviews (if I ever get there) and have all of the relevant documentation to support this.

• I have a fairly mediocre GPA currently sitting at a 3.72 cGPA and 3.60 sGPA. This will likely not change much as I graduate in one semester and that semester is mostly just catching up on elective credits that I missed. I have taken all of the required pre-reqs aside from physics which I am doing next semester, and have a B or above in all of them.

• I have 0 research and at this current point between doing classes full time, working full time, and taking care of a family member with health issues, I do not have the time to reasonably get any. I am not sure how research works after I graduate.

Other things:

• I do have volunteering experience primarily volunteering at food drives for the homeless. This would total around ~200ish hours. I intend to get more non-medical volunteering during my gap year.

• I recently started working at a clinical role in a hospital, so I will be steadily gaining clinical hours. Before this, I worked in case management (assistant) at a hospital, which I have heard from some people could potentially count as clinical hours as I had direct patient contact in an ICU setting while working on placement. After this I worked in a nonclinical clerical role at a doctor's office primarily doing check-in and authorizations which I assume does not count towards anything as far as clinical goes.

• I have not yet taken the MCAT but will be dedicating a majority of my time (outside of work) after I graduate to studying for the MCAT. I understand that the MCAT is likely my ticket to being considered at all considering my undergrad stats.

All in all, I would consider myself not very competitive as an applicant at this time, especially given the amount of people in this subreddit with way higher stats than myself getting R's. I would appreciate any advice regarding what my next steps should be, and what my priorities should be in the next year as I try to salvage what I can in order to become a competitive applicant. I am highly open to applying DO and will likely be dedicating a majority of my applications to DO when the time comes to apply. Any and all advice is appreciated, please do not be afraid of hurting my feelings! I understand that anything said on here is usually from a perspective of being constructive.

Thank you!

EDIT: I forgot to mention that my University has a SMP at a reduced cost to undergraduate students. I would like to avoid doing this program if possible (I am poor and even at a reduced cost I would have to take out loans) but will do so if necessary to show that I am able to complete coursework without needing W's.

basically, most of my non-clinical volunteer hours are remote (out of my ~600 hours, only 75 are in person, everything else is from crisis text line or tutoring disabled kids or some advocacy work which is all remote). someone i know suggested that i get more irl non-clinical volunteer hours, which i planned to do; however, i was recently offered a coordinator position with one of my remote nonprofits, which would presumably also count as leadership (which i don't have a lot of).

so my question is what would be better? – taking the coordinator position or just being a regular irl volunteer? i like the idea of both because they work with the same populations that I'm passionate about, so passion isn't really a factor in this. i'm more just wondering what would seem to be more worth spending my time in for the sake of my application because i only have enough time to do one (as i work full time and have some other volunteer stuff)

If ur sending a request on interfolio do you guys add a website??? I’m not applying until June 2025 so idk if I need to link it yet. Pls help

I just received my first pre match offer! From being a pharmacy school drop out to now perspective first year medical student! I’m stunned and speechless. I’m so grateful for everything and I need to absorb it all in.

I found out while I was at work and couldn’t contain myself. Never imagined that I would receive a pre match offer of all things. It’s the only II I’ve received so far. I struggled and stressed for years about what I wanted to do in life. I tried pharmacy school, business school, and now I’m starting medical school next year.

Anything is possible. This sub has been a tremendous help in studying and writing (also stress inducing at times). My journey has certainly not been easy but here I am. I did it!

I hope everyone else has a good cycle. Good Luck and believe in yourself! I’m going to be a doctor!!!