This is Amazing!!!

Harvard Cell Animation

Thanks ADoc2Be! I love this beyond words!

Interviews - Post 1

So now I'm taking requests. Someone asked me to write about the interview process... and oh, boy do I have a lot to say about it. Much more than could possibly fit in one post... so maybe this will have to be the first of a few posts...

Here's My Thoughts...

1) On manners. Holy crap, I have seen some DOOZIES! For Christ's sake! Mind your manners. Do I sound like your mom? I'm guessing some applicant's mom's didn't spend much time on this topic... so lets do a quick recap. Most schools have a "no assholes" rule... and these things will definitely disqualify you.

-Elevators... these work better if you let people OUT before you try to get IN. Yes, we know your excited, but don't trample the faculty

-Cussing- So I have the mouth of a sailor under normal circumstances... but not on my interview day. Not to staff, faculty, nor to students. Don't get too comfortable. Everyone can hear you

-No complaining! For god's sake I don't care if you only eat omega-3 grass fed beef. Shut up and eat the bun and the pickle. No one wants to hear it on an interview.... not to mention you come off like a giant asshole.

-Bragging to other applicants about your Yale interview and 42 MCAT? Tacky.

-So you hate this school and the city and it's your last choice and you are hoping to GOD that you get into Mt. Sinai instead? By talking about it you are breaking the "no assholes" rule.

2) On outfits. Oh, the horror. Almost every applicant (guy or girl) is wearing a black suit and a white shirt. Every guy wears a red "power tie". Yes, I got the memo that you are supposed to dress conservative. That means take out your tongue ring, cover up your tattoos, and leave your zoot suit at home. It DOES NOT mean that you have to dress for a funeral. My friends and I talked about this before our interviews and we vowed to be conservative yet to be ourselves and stand out. And guess what? We all got complimented for dressing DIFFERENTLY. I wore a charcoal Tahari pantsuit (conservative, yes?) with a blue and purple embroidered tunic underneath. On another interview I wore the same suit with a pink silk shirt and a chunky shell necklace. My friend "T" wore a beautiful grey suit with a medium blue shirt and yellow tie. My friend "K" wore ivory dress pants with dark red patent leather heels and a beautiful sweater. Everyone looked professional and conservative, but we all stood out from the other applicants. Think about it. What would YOU want to see after interviewing 128 penguin college grads in black suits and white shirts?

While I'm on the subject, please make sure your outfit "fits". As in, your interviewer isn't staring at your pink bra through your gaping blouse buttons, and your lateral malleolus isn't visible because your pants are too short.

3) On TALKING - so we all know your going to get questions from your interviewer... but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the questions YOU are going to ask your interviewer. Because you better. You better act interested and involved and so thrilled to be there that you just can't stand it. Your goal is to make your interviewer excited about talking to you. You need them to remember you when it's time for them to write their review about you. You don't want some professor scratching his head trying to remember which penguin you were and what the hell he should write about you. I've found that the best way to be remembered is to make the interviewer feel GOOD. If they are having fun, they will remember you. I don't care if you have the most crotchety old geezer interviewing you... you can turn the situation around. Start asking them questions. About THEM! For instance, "So what brought you to this school?" or "What made you decide to go into oncology?". Best option, look around for something to comment on. Pictures of grandkids? Ask about them. A Navaho blanket on the office wall? Mention how you saw one just like it on the Antiques Road Show that appraised for $40k. Anything. Make conversation and make it authentic. Remember, everyone's favorite subject is themselves. Get them talking. They'll remember you, and that's less time that YOU will be in the hotseat answering questions about that C+ you got in O-Chem.

Let's Talk About ADCOM's

I've been getting some wonderful emails from non-trad pre-meds who are wondering HOW ON EARTH to get into med school with a (super) sketchy academic background. I should know, since I'm an expert on sketchy academics. Let's talk about what it takes to get into medical school if you have some SERIOUS academic deficiencies.

The trick is knowing how the system works.

Many pre-meds think "Well, my GPA is ridiculously low, but my MCAT is ok, and I have six years of research that should outweigh my low GPA. I mean, undergrad was so long ago. I've matured since then. Not to mention, I have tons of clinical work, and I know I interview well... so this should work!" Right? WRONG!

The truth is that ADCOMS don't review every application and they don't take into consideration the applicant's whole big picture. It's not that they don't think that your six years of research should outweigh your GPA. The problem is that your low GPA and MCAT aren't getting you to the "second round" so to speak of the application process. Your application isn't even making it someone's desk. ADCOMs get thousands upon thousands of applications. Usually there are only a handful of reviewers (who are busy physicians themselves). They can't possibly read every application.

Applications get read by one of two* ways...

.

1) By score. ALL applications are given a preliminary score. Every school's scoring system is different, but essentially it revolves around GPA and MCAT. For instance, one school I interviewed at outright told the applicants their scoring method for review. These numbers are arbitrary... just for demonstration purposes (please don't email me and ask if they are real and what school!) They take the GPA (say 3.2) and convert it to a two digit# (32). They then add that to your MCAT score (say 31). Your score would be 63. The school used a cut-off (say above a score of 60) to decide which applications to review in depth. From those reviewed in depth, a certain number will be selected for interviews. So you can see how if you are weak in your MCAT but strong in GPA (like a GPA of 3.7 and MCAT of 24) you could still get a full review. But if you are mediocre in both areas (or REALLY weak in one area), you'll never get reviewed no matter if you're an Olympian, Rhodes Scholar, Brad Pitt, etc.

2) The second way you can get a full review is by recommendation. And not just by anyone. This means that someone that the ADCOM values (not YOUR mentor, college professor or hometown doctor calling to say how great you are) has requested a full review of your application. This is usually a professor in that medical school, a donor to that medical school, a top doc in one of their affiliated hospitals, or someone else of consequence to the ADCOM. In some schools, such as mine, a med student can ask the ADCOM to review the application of a candidate they like.

*Ok, I lied. There is one more way you can get a review. That's if you yourself are high profile (ie. an Olympian, Rhodes Scholar, or Brad Pitt). I didn't make that an official category... I guess I figure the Brad Pitt's of the world should have to figure some things out on their own.

So the point of all this? If you can't get your application through the system via route #1 because your academics are too sketchy, you sure as heck better start making friends (route #2). My best advice is to find THE med school that you want to go to (this should be a reasonable school.... probably not Harvard... but hey, anything is possible)... and GO THERE. Move across the country, get your Master's degree there, do research at their teaching hospital, teach their undergrads, sweep their floors, do something (ANYTHING) that demonstrates your abilities and puts you in touch with the right people. After you've proven yourself (after about a year) you can start asking for favors and poking around looking for ways to get in.

Not only is this how I got into med school, its how MANY people get into med school.

Last Anatomy Lab

I thought this day would never come. Tomorrow is my last, LaSt, LAST, ever, EvEr, EVER anatomy lab. And I'm never going back.

Ella, The Patient Has the Disease... Not You

Today in genetics class a family came to present their son... who had PKU. PKU patients are unable to break down phenylalanine... and must observe a VERY restricted diet for their entire lives. They essentially cannot ingest any excess protein. Ever. No dairy, no meat, no beans, no cheese, NADA. Food must be purchased from special "low-protein" manufacturers. Severe mental retardation can occur if they don't follow this diet. Imagine trying to raise a child with such severe dietary restrictions. No cupcakes. No eggs. No hot-dogs. No roast beef sandwiches.

Then, in the middle of the presentation, I got hungry. Like REALLY hungry. Stomach growling, shaky, hypoglycemic hungry. Must have been all that talk about food restriction. I wanted to pull out my crackers... but I figured that might be bad form... since this little kiddo was running around the auditorium. What if he saw my peanut butter Ritz and decided he wanted one? What if I induced some crazy craving in him? What if he went nuts screaming about peanut butter crackers? What if his parents called me out in front of the whole auditorium and loudly said "Excuse me, could you please put those away?" I could only think about how I feel every time I try to go low carb for a while... and how much I crave crackers. Especially with almond butter. How I feel when I am on a diet and somebody tempts me with an Epoisses cheese plate and fresh baked french bread. Finally I couldn't take it anymore... I snuck one at a time when the kid was at the other side of the auditorium.