Tip #3 For Becoming A Great Medical School Candidate: Maintain Your Hobbies, Interests, & Activities

 Tip #3: Maintain your hobbies, interests, & activities

This tip is extremely important, because devoting all of your energy to medical school will only work for a limited period of time—then you'll hit Burnout. Hard. If you want to maintain your physical and mental health, you need to take breaks from studying, use different parts of your brain, learn new things, and move your body: you need to be a human being, not a robot.

(If you are of that rare breed that plans to become an MD/PhD, perhaps this tip doesn’t apply to you. You all seem pretty content to live in a lab for 40 years straight. In fact, most of this blog probably doesn’t apply to you; you should just come back in a month and read the interview tips I put up.)

Why you need hobbies and commitments

First of all, if you want to become a physician, you need to learn how to work toward a goal while living a healthy life. Face it: you will be working hard for the rest of your life, starting right now.  – That thought is terrifying only if you’re spending all of your energy on one goal. Once you realize that you are able to devote time to ballet class, weekly movie nights with friends, or what have you, the hard work won't seem as daunting.

Second: medical schools want to find intelligent, emotionally stable, and diverse candidates. Having hobbies and non-medical commitments is a sign of emotional health, because your whole life doesn’t revolve around applying to medical school. (Think about it: someone who has only one interest seems a little bit crazy.) You need to show whoever reads your application that you’re capable of managing commitments to a wide range of activities; after all, that's what you’ll be required to do as a doctor.

If you don’t have any hobbies, find some—NOW

You do not want to be boring—as a human being or as a medical school candidate. Something about you should be memorable. It doesn’t matter how cool, challenging, or silly your interests are, just have some. They don’t need to be typical interests, nor do they need to be “sanctioned” (i.e. being part of an official club). Just consistently do something that you enjoy.

Note that the key difference between a hobby and a random activity is consistency, especially if your hobby is something you do alone. For example, if reading is your hobby, be prepared to talk about the books you enjoy with your interviewers. (Reading one book per semester is not a hobby! If you haven’t actually read much, your interviewers will be able to tell.) But, also note that trying new things can be a hobby, as long as it’s a consistent behavior. (For example, a group of my friends started a pizza club, and they tried a new pizza place every Wednesday night.)

It’s also okay—great, in fact—to point out that your interest is new and you’re just starting to explore it. This demonstrates that you’re open to new ideas, that you enjoy learning, etc. In an essay or interview, you’d say something like: “I’ve always wanted to be more of a reader, so a couple of months ago I committed to reading one book per week. I haven’t been able to do it every week, but I have finished a lot of books that I enjoyed.” Then you might talk about what sort of effect the new hobby is having on your life. Say, you’ve noticed you’re sleeping better because reading before bed relaxes you.

How your interests affect your demeanor

It’s a lot easier to be interesting when you're interested. During my interviews, I spent a lot of time discussing my minor (philosophy), how I use exercise to relieve stress, and other semi-random things. That’s what my interviewers wanted to know about, not my GPA, MCAT score, or shadowing experience. (I am aware of how obnoxious this paragraph sounds. Please realize that I'm not claiming I'm interesting, just that my interest, in one-on-one conversation, is engaging.) Plus, when I sent my interviewers thank-you notes, I could remind them specifically of who I was by writing things like, “I really enjoyed our conversation about Nietzsche and medical ethics. And thank you for telling me about Charles Taylor. I plan to look into his work when finals are over next week.” –You get the point.

I’ve always heard that people only remember what you tell them if it’s in the form of a personal story. And I’ve also heard that people tend to remember how they felt while they were with you more than what you actually said. I think both of these are true. When you talk to interviewers, doctors you shadow, professors, etc., you want them to feel like they’re talking to a colleague. You want to be interesting, confident, personable, and professional. Having interests and being a normal yet unique person is a good step in this direction.

(Of course, becoming confident is easier said than done. More on that in the future.)

Tip #2 For Becoming A Great Medical School Candidate: Get Organized & Start Taking Baby Steps

 
Tip #2: Get Organized & Start Taking Baby Steps

If you want to actually turn in a complete medical school application on time, you need to get organized, pronto. (To my surprise & dismay, this continues well past getting accepted: you have to submit a criminal background check, ID photo, immunization records, white coat size order, etc., etc., etc. So just get used to it now.)

What I did

I made an excel document listing every single thing I needed to do. (Make sure you go through your pre-health requirements, application deadlines, MCAT dates, etc. very carefully.) I used the following columns: Task, Deadline, Priority (high/medium/low), Status (in-progress/not started/complete), & Notes (details you need for completing it). Then I sorted the list fist by priority, then by date (oldest to newest). Now I had a [very long] to-do list, in order. 

What to do with your list

If you create such a list, you should have at least a couple of items due every week, but some weeks will be crammed with deadlines. During weeks when not much is going on, look ahead at future tasks to get them knocked off the list. I bet you’re thinking, Easier said than done. Here is the trick to accomplishing everything on that list:

Take 3 Baby Steps every day

A Baby Step is a small task that you [alone] can accomplish today. For example, “Do a mock interview” is not a Baby Step. “Call career center & schedule mock interview” is a Baby Step.

Take 3 Baby Steps every day—the earlier in the day the better. Some days you will get to take HUGE steps (taking the MCAT! Submitting your application!), but, on most days, you will just have latent stress that leaves you crabby, tense, and probably a little bit depressed. The Baby Steps allow you to tackle the list, while maintaining a balanced life.

Stop saying “I should…”

If you think you should do something, put it on your to-do list and break it down into manageable steps. Stop saying things like, “I should find somewhere to volunteer.” If you think you ought to do something, take action to make it a reality. Every time you tell yourself you should do something and you don't do it, you are wearing away at your self esteem. You will eventually stop trusting yourself, just as you start ignoring friends who say over and over that they should lose weight but never actually do anything to make that happen. It's annoying, right? Don't be that person!

Take care of business

The baby steps apply to all aspects of your application. So if you think having work experience will improve your application, a baby step might be: “Submit online application to XYZ Company,” or: “Update & print 20 copies of resume.”

In observing the two doctors that I shadowed for almost two years, the most invaluable lesson I took away was this: finish tasks as soon as they come up, whenever possible. The cool kids call this TCB, or taking care of business.

This does not mean you should stay glued to your email all day. It means that whenever you do check your email, take 5 minutes to respond to important emails instead of putting it off. You do NOT need to add anything to your to-do list! Whenever possible, save yourself from making the list longer; take care of it now.

Preparing for the MCAT: An Overview

Decide if you want to take a prep course.

This is a decision that you have to make for yourself. I don’t endorse or oppose prep classes, but I did take a Princeton Review class, which was the right decision for me. (This blog is not sponsored by the Princeton Review. I've also heard great things about Kaplan. And I know people who scored 40+ without taking any course.)

My reasoning was: 1) It had been 2+ years since I took Gen Chem and Bio, and I couldn’t remember any of that stuff; 2) I couldn’t take Physics II before I took the MCAT, so I basically needed to learn all of Physics II in a few weeks; and 3) I was in summer school, volunteering, and working part time; going to the class forced me to study at least 4 days a week when I was extremely busy.

These classes are very expensive; if you don’t think you need the review, don’t waste your money. If you can’t afford to take a prep class, you can find a set of Princeton Review or Kaplan books at Half Price Books or on Amazon. Prep classes are a luxury, not a necessity.

Get access to practice tests.

The most important thing you need to do is to get access to online practice tests. You need to take online tests because you'll take the MCAT on a computer and you should get used to it. There are features like highlighting, crossing out answers, and marking questions to come back to; these are really useful and you should learn how to use them to your advantage. Plus, you get your test score immediately, along with the ability to review which questions you got wrong (and why). 

Online practice tests come with prep courses. If you don’t take a prep course, you can buy practice tests on the AAMC website. And I’m almost certain you can buy access to Princeton Review and Kaplan online tests without taking the class. (I don’t know about pricing.)

Start reviewing & practicing.

I do NOT recommend studying for the MCAT. I suggest that you review, not study, each subject broadly, and then start taking practice tests as often as possible. Or just start taking practice tests.

Remember: most of the MCAT is in the form of passages. Knowing how to take the test is key. The MCAT doesn’t test what you’ve memorized; it shows medical schools how your brain works. It tests your ability to make associations, draw logical conclusions, and spot errors.

This means that what normally works for you will not work for the MCAT. Don't waste time making study guides. I know. Believe me, I have a color-coded highlighting system, I understand. But just stop. Put down your highlighter. It can't help you with this. 

Use your mistakes on practice tests and passages to guide you. Study ONLY the topics that you consistently have trouble with, and study by reviewing the passage or question, then figuring out where you went wrong. You cannot B.S. your way through the MCAT—you actually need to be comfortable reading passages and using them to answer questions. They only way to be comfortable doing that is by practicing.

Basic tenets of MCAT-taking:

1)   Look for Wrong Answers. Don’t look for the correct answer! Find answers that you know are wrong and cross them out. (Obviously the goal is to cross out 3.)
2)   Read the Passages and the Questions Quickly but Carefully. Once you misread a question, it's very unlikely that you’ll catch your mistake. Read it correctly the first time.
3)   Use the 10-Minute Orientation to Write Down Equations. During the time they give you to practice using testing tools, write down every equation you need on your scratch paper. Do this when you take practice tests and write them down in the same order every time. This will become a habit, and habits are much easier to remember than facts on test day. I created a master list of equations that I knew I’d need. After each practice test, I compared what I was able to write down during the 10 minutes to my master list to figure out which equations I was forgetting.

What Helped Me:
·      Take practice tests at the same time you will take the actual MCAT (8 am or 1 pm). Get used to using your brain intensely at that time every day. This tip is probably the most important one that I can give you. Just do it.
·      Take the entire test, in the correct order, with breaks, every time. This includes the writing section! (Bonus: both of the writing prompts on my actual MCAT were ones that I had done on practice tests—I didn’t even have to think of new examples. You might get lucky, too.)
·      Wear earplugs or head phones. If you plan to bring your own earplugs (I did), get used to having them in. If you’re going to use the noise-reduction headphones they supply, wear some at home, too. I suggest using one of the two options for sure. You never know if someone in your testing room will have bronchitis; don’t let someone else’s noise distract you from taking your test.
·      Figure out which foods give you the right amount of energy. I found a protein bar I really liked and always ate half during the first break and the other half between Writing and Physical Sciences. I also needed a jolt of caffeine to overcome my 3:30 pm energy dip, so I drank ½ a soda before Verbal. The goal is to give your brain what it needs. Don't go nuts with caffeine or anything else. (Especially not anything that is not legally prescribed for you to take.)
·      Go to the testing center a few weeks before your test date. Park, go inside, walk to the bathroom, and look at the testing room. Now you know if it’ll take 5 minutes or 20 to park (my testing center was downtown on like the 16^th floor of a building). You can also ask them if they allow you to bring an unopened package of earplugs (apparently this varies between testing centers, but I was allowed to).

A final note: Once you are really good at taking the test (you score double digits on every section on multiple practice tests), then you can start trying to memorize facts. I would absolutely not move on to this step until you are already getting a respectable score. If you get a 10 or higher in all 3 sections, you have an extremely good chance of getting into medical school. I would get yourself to this point before you start worrying about the isoelectric points of major amino acids. The chances of you seeing that question are very slim. Learn how to read the passages first.

(This topic is, of course, really important and there is a lot I could add. I will definitely write more on this in the future.)