Secondary Application

So I have finished drafting my responses to the secondary application essay prompts.  Need to have them reviewed and edited, polished and ready in a few days.  I also need to get a picture of myself and write a check for the secondary application fee. 

The application fee is quite controversial.  While some schools aggressively weed out applicants based on their primary application, and only request secondary applications from candidates they are likely to interview, many schools use the secondary application as an easy money-maker.  Since the schools charge anywhere from $50 to $100+ for the honor of sending them a picture and a few essays, and the typical school has thousands of applicants, an unscrupulous school can pull in an impressive chunk of change for minimal work.  Sure, there is effort involved in reviewing the applications, and they have every right to charge a fee to process the secondary application, but how often are the secondaries really necessary?

Schools should only request secondary applications from those they are likely to want to interview.  This doesn't mean they should base their first screening only on GPA and MCAT, but the primary application consists of MCAT score, GPA, full transcripts of all college-level work attempted, a listing of work experiences and extra curriculars including research and volunteering, family history and income, and the personal statement essay.  It is hard to justify charging an applicant a fee by saying "sure their GPA and MCAT are low, and they don't have any extraordinary life experiences to compensate, but you know, their essay in response to "how will you adapt to a changing medical landscape?" could really wow us and make us want to interview them."  It is virtual fraud to collect these fees when the chances of interviewing the candidate are in the sub-10% range.

The good part of the secondary application is the letter of recommendation system.  AMCAS has an applicant enter the information for letters of recommendation into the primary application when it is being filled out.  They do not, however, need to receive the letters before the primary application is made available to your schools.  You therefore have some extra time for your college to write a pre-medical committee letter, or your professors to write individual letters before they have to be in.  Medical schools review letters of recommendation as part of the secondary application, so their review is not delayed, and they can simply access the letters online when they receive your secondary application.

The important part, though, is having passed the first weeding-out of the application process.  I was fairly confident that I would not be chucked immediately this cycle, since my MCAT and GPA are slightly above average at the single school I am applying to, but receiving the secondary application request is comforting none-the-less.  Sure, I will probably not make it in this year, but at least I was not summarily rejected.  Now I get to wait and worry about whether I will be invited to interview.

My MCAT prep

There is a thread over on the Student Doctor Network that asks those who achieved 30+ on the MCAT to post how they prepared as advice to others getting ready for the exam.  The typical student, upon reading through the thread, would have to feel like a moron.  It seems that at least half of the people who post there have 35+ MCAT scores.  To the new pre-med or anyone new to SDN, this is an inaccurate perception.  First, the people most likely to post their scores are those who scored the highest.  The thread, therefore, selects for that top 1% of MCAT takers, and there are plenty of people who, while they scored above a 30, are disappointed with some aspect of their performance and thus choose not to talk about their score. 

Second, there is at least some portion of the population, and I can't even guess at the actual percentage, who feel better about themselves when they lie about their accomplishments.  While I would be surprised if a majority of the super-high scores were not genuine, there is certainly some number of immature individuals who make up fake, highly-impressive statistics about themselves and post them online.  It is pretty pathetic, but spend a little time in a few internet forums and you will see evidence of this.  Don't let the seemingly high scores of others intimidate you, though, since most of those who are accepted to medical school do not have those incredibly high MCAT scores.

I chose not to post to the thread not because of any inadequacy in my score, but because sharing my preparation would not help anyone.  My studying for the MCAT, both times I took it, was non-existent.  The first time was in 2008 as I was finishing the pre-reqs I was taking as a post-bachelor student.  I glanced through an old MCAT prep book (published before the MCAT was computer-based) for a total of 2 hours or so.  I basically read through the genetics section of the book (since I didn't take genetics) and took a few practice problems.  I didn't buy any MCAT sample tests, nor did I take advantage of any free ones.  This was stupid on my part.  My MCAT the first time was 32R with 12bs 9ps 11v.  If I had gone through a thorough review of every subject, or even taken all of the available practice tests, I could have increased my score at least a point or two in each section.

The second time I took the test I was equally foolish about it.  My decision to actually apply to medical school was made in early 2011, which put me in an awkward spot.  I checked with the schools I can commute to and not all would accept scores from 2008 for 2012 matriculation.  This meant I could take the MCAT immediately and apply this cycle, or give myself lots of prep time and put off applying until the 2012-2013 cycle.  I chose the former, so I registered for the March MCAT and took it without any real prep.  I was taking two courses, Calc III and P-Chem at the time, I was working full time, and our son was still in the NICU.  I was convinced, however, that the P-Chem course would make up for my biggest deficiency the last time I took the MCAT, in physical science, and I ended up with a 32Q on the MCAT, with 11bs 10ps 11v.  I was happy that the score was more balanced, but again, if I had actually prepared, I would have been able to do much better. 

It remains to be seen whether my choice to rush into the application season was a waste based on whether I am admitted this cycle.  I have no real expectation to get in this time, but the low chance was still worth applying in my opinion, and I thankfully did not bomb the MCAT which would greatly reduce my likelihood of being accepted anywhere.

Attempted behavioral break-out

I haven't been working as a volunteer in the emergency department for very long, but I am glad we are actually able to do something.  I have read about some volunteer assignments, even in emergency, that consist of sitting behind a desk and nothing more.  At my hospital, while I am certainly not doing anything glamorous, there is at least the ability to interact with patients.  Volunteers here relay questions from patients to nurses, clean and make beds, bring food and drink to patients, get pillows and blankets, etc.

The interaction with patients, while certainly not providing the ability to observe procedures that shadowing would, still allows us to see some interesting things.  My first volunteer day (after the "training" in which a long-time volunteer showed me what volunteers do and how) I heard yelling down the hall.  Running toward me was a gowned patient with a nurse chasing after her.  Just before they reached me the nurse caught and tackled the patient, and every nearby tech, nurse and doctor converged to subdue the woman and get her on a gurney in restraints.

It seems that when the nurse was exiting the "Behavioral" room, where the emergency department psychiatric patients are held, evaluated and treated before being admitted or discharged, the patient took advantage of the opened door to try to escape.  The door to this room has a code preventing the patients from escaping, so when the nurse opened the door, the patient hit her from behind to push past her and get away.  Her attempted escape earned her being tied to a gurney, probably some pharmaceutical sedation and the nurse threatening to prosecute her for a felony.  Always something interesting going on in the emergency department.

My Introduction

Welcome to my blog. I am writing this mostly as a journal, as I doubt I will have much of a readership. I am starting this as a 28 year old graduate from a state school (class of 2005) with a BA in history. I decided to pursue medicine after becoming disenchanted with law, so I began taking med-school pre-reqs. By the time my pre-reqs were completed, I had met my wife. I took a good job doing chemical synthesis with a biomedical supply and instrument company and put my med-school dreams on hold. I believed that a family life was incompatible with pursuing medicine, so I planned to make my chemical synthesis job into my career.

My (then future) wife and I bought a house in 2009 and were married in 2010. After the honeymoon we found out she was pregnant. Her pregnancy progressed well until she was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia at 31 weeks one day. Our son was delivered at 32 weeks and spent the next 5 weeks in the NICU.

This intense exposure to hospitals, doctors and medical problems did two things. First, it re-ignited my desire to go to medical school, which though I hadn't stopped wanting to attend, I had resigned myself to not entering that career path. Second, my actions, attitudes and the comments of the doctors and nurses at the hospital convinced my wife that I should not give up on my dream, and would not have to completely sacrifice my family life to be a doctor.

With her encouragement I re-took the MCAT and began the final steps toward applying to medical school. With any luck, this blog will not only document my attempts to gain admission, but my progress though medical school and beyond.