Dear Reader 34

YOLO said...

Do you have any specific tips for Bio 1A/L?
I feel like I'm going to die in those two classes (figuratively, of course). ;___; *shudders*

Dear Yolo (haha love the name),

Most premed/science majors dread taking bio1A/L. Personally, I'm glad it's done and over with. The lecture wasn't that bad- it was like AP bio, but more in depth. The lab portion, however, i hated.. The lab grade is broken down into three components: midterm, practical (which will be different for you guys- I heard they're changing the format), and quizzes. The prelab and postlab for each lab doesn't count towards your grade so I wouldn't worry too much about those. The midterm is worth more than the practical so make sure you do well on it (not that I have to tell you haha). The worst part of lab for me were the quizzes. The quizzes are based mostly on your lab manual, but my gsi added a lot of questions from lab lecture. As far as tips go, for bio 1A lecture, focus on the lecture slides and not so much the book- use the book for reinforcement but from my experience, the lecture slides are more important. For lab, memorize the damn lab manual, do as many practice problems as you can for the genetics portion on the midterm (it's pretty difficult, but once you get it, it's not that bad), start memorizing everything from the dissections in advance (take pictures!!) as well as the analogous parts/functions from various animals, and don't fall behind!! In all, it's not so bad haha. 

Best of luck! 

-K 

Dear Reader 33

Anonymous said...

I read it on the internet and some of my friends recommend taking summer classes so that I can make some space in my schedule for other classes that I want to take. But others say don't and I'm confused whether if it's okay to take science class during summer for pre-med student or not :(

Dear Anonymous,

Personally, I see no harm in taking science courses during the summer :) Many of my friends are taking/have taken premed prereqs over the summer, and in fact, I'll be taking physics 8B this summer as well! I'm not so worried about the summer class looking bad as much as I am worried about trying to fit all my necessary classes into my schedule haha. 

All the best! 

-K 

Dear Reader 32

Anonymous said...

I was planning on taking science class/ pre-med required classes at University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) which is like Study Abroad but during summer that are connected to University of California. Credits are transferable to any UC universities. But some rumors say that med schools don't like students taking science courses during summer since its much easier. Is this a good idea?

Dear Anonymous,

I know many people who are taking/have taken their premed prereqs during summer, but it's usually at their university. I don't think it's a terrible idea to do your prereqs abroad but it might be slightly risky. Most people tend to take all of their premed prereqs at their own school since taking them elsewhere might look like a red flag to admissions. Taking the classes over the summer might be slightly easier than taking them over the semester but, once again, it should be fine as long as you take it at your college (which is Berkeley I'm assuming : ). Study abroad, i'm not sure about... If it were me, I would try to take my prereqs at Berkeley and take some other core/breadth classes abroad just in case... but that's me. To be super safe, you can even call admissions at the school you're most interested in and ask if taking the prereqs abroad would hurt your chances. Chances are, the response that med school gives you will be applicable to other med schools. At the end of the day, if you really want to take the prereqs abroad, then you should go for it (as long as it's not a community college abroad haha). It shouldn't hurt your chances all that much :) 

Best of luck!

-K 

Dear Reader 31

Anonymous said...

I heard that taking science/pre-med req courses are frowned upon and might hurt medical school admission. Is this true or just rumors trying to scare the pre-med students?

Dear Anonymous,

You're going to have to clarify a bit for me- do you mean taking science/premed prereqs at a cc is frowned upon? If so, then yes, taking prereqs at a community college might hurt med school admission chances since the science classes are so much easier than taking them at a 4 year university. For instance, a 3.8 science gpa at a cc will not hold as much weight as a 3.8 science gpa at say... Berkeley. But once again, I'm going to need some clarification haha :) 

-K 

Dear Reader 30

Anonymous said...

Hi! Do you know if the TB test must be done within a year of the interview? Because I did it about four years ago but I don't know if I have to do it again. How soon is the interview if I just got an email from them to schedule one? And what kind of questions were asked during the interview? Thanks!

Dear Anonymous,

Yes, I believe the TB test must be done with the last 12 months of the interview. You can pick the date of your interview, but it has to be on a monday or friday i think. I scheduled mine a week and a half after I got an email from them. As far as questions go, the interviewer was focused on trying to solve some problems when I got there so she didn't ask me any questions! Ah, she did ask if I had any questions for her.. haha I asked a friend who also interviewed at alta bates and she said the interviewer asked typical questions such as "What are your goals", and "Why do you want to work at a hospital?", etc. 

Best of luck!

-K 

Dear Reader 29

worried pre-med said...

that was my question actually! for alta bates, thank you!

another question: so i just got a D on chem 3a- ochem1 :/ and after the end of freshman year, i have a 2.6 GPA. basically bad. is there any hope for me?

Dear Worried pre-med,

You're welcome! 

If it's not too late, I would try signing up for chem 3a again for the next semester. Even though you can't erase that D from your transcript, your repeat grade will take the place of the D in your gpa. If not, that D will drag your gpa down for the rest of your undergrad years and might ultimately hurt your chances when applying to med school since ochem is such an important class. Since you've just ended your freshman year, there is still plenty of time to raise your gpa- don't lose hope! In my opinion, the first two undergrad years are the hardest since you have to take all the weeder classes. The last two years will hopefully make up for that since many people say that upper divs for bio majors (assuming you're a bio major) are a lot easier than lower divs. So don't worry so much for now- focus on doing well on the remainder of the pre-reqs and possibly retaking chem 3a :) 

All the best,

-K 

Dear Reader 28

Anonymous said...

Have you taken Bio 1B class? How is it like?
Also is minor necessary for med school?

Dear Anonymous,

I'll be taking bio 1B next fall. I know, really late right? haha 

A minor is not necessary for med school, and I would even advise against it if you're not sure if you can get good grades. Pursuing a major is hard enough as it is, and you don't want poor grades from a minor dragging your gpa down or taking time away from your major classes. But if it's a subject that you really want to pursue and you think you'll do well in it, then there's no reason to not pursue a minor :) 

Dear Reader 27

Anonymous said...

whats on the application itself?
like what are the questions? :p

Dear Anonymous, 

I assume you're referring to the Alta Bates application? haha Well, I don't remember exactly what's on the application, but it was just a standard biographical application- name, year in school, major, etc. No essay questions or anything like that. :) 

By the way, to the rest of the viewers: I will post an "End of the Semester Eval" shortly :)

Thanks!

-K 

Dear Reader 26

Jen said...

K, could you make a post about grades? I've always felt like pre-meds need 4.0's (or at least above 3.8) to even be eligible for a good med school, but at the same time there are so many older students who are sticking with pre-med even though they get mostly B's. Am I wrong, or are those students just aiming lower or what? I'm a pre-med dreaming about UCSF Med...... and my GPA isn't looking good, so I was wondering what your opinion was.

Dear Jen,

Thanks for stopping by! There are so many myths surrounding med school applications, and although I haven't been through the process myself, I know a lot of people who have. And from all the people I've talked to, it seems like the consensus is that you do not need a 4.0 gpa  to get into medical school. If you look at various schools' statistics, it shows that people get accepted into med school with not-so-stellar gpa's and mcat scores. But then again, it varies from applicant to applicant. However, it seems you're aiming for a top-tier med school, in which case, having a mid-tier gpa would probably hurt your chances. If you look at the statistics for top-tier medical schools, then yes, their average gpa's are up in the 3.7+ range with MCAT scores in the 35+ range. But those are just averages- which means there are applicants with lower scores (albeit there are applicants with higher scores as well). If the older premed students that you mentioned in your comment above are mostly getting B's, then their average gpa's would be around... 3.0+ I believe (science GPA i'm assuming). I think it's safe to say that these students are probably not aiming for Harvard med or UCSF. But you are :) As I was writing this post, I started writing about how your GPA and mcat score do not have to be so high to have a chance of being accepted; that admissions committees will also look at the rest of your application (letters of rec, extra currics, awards, etc) so work on making it extraordinary. But then I stopped and decided to rewrite it to what it is now. I rewrote it because in truth, I believe that you have to at least pass their numbers in order to be considered with the other applicants in the applicant pool. This is strictly my opinion. If a school has an average gpa of 3.7 and avg mcat score of 35, then you don't want to stray too far below their average. I think this only gets worse as you go up the ladder in medical school rankings. So for UCSF, you might want to try getting as close to their averages as possible. The lab tech in my lab recently got accepted into UCSF. His gpa was around 3.8, mcat score of 37, and had extra currics that I could not imagine having the time to do. He said the reason for his getting into UCSF was due to sheer luck- that he worked with someone who also happened to be close friends with someone on the interview panel. But I believe he could have gotten in without his "luck". He is one of those brilliant (and frustrating) people who can do everything without putting in an ounce of effort (or so it seems). His example might be a bit discouraging but he is the only person I know personally who got into UCSF so I'm sharing it with you. So in conclusion, if your gpa is looking a little low, then concentrate your efforts on raising your gpa and focus on getting a great mcat score when the time comes to make up for a lower gpa. If you were aiming for a mid-tier med school, my advice would be different- I would still advise to increase gpa and mcat score, but on a lower magnitude. But with a top tier school like UCSF, you want your stats to be up there and on par with the rest of the applicants. Letters of rec, extra currics, etc are extremely important too, but come in second/third after gpa and mcat (especially for top-tier schools). But once again, this is my opinion. I hope I didn't discourage you in any way. Besides, it looks like you still have time to raise your scores :) 


Best of luck! 


-K