When should I take the MCAT? How long should I study for the MCAT? How do I study for the MCAT? What courses should I take to prepare for the MCAT? How do I stay motivated to study for the MCAT? While preparing for the MCAT, I relied on blog posts like this to plan how to study and so this is how I will give back 🙂 Start with a positive attitude towards the MCAT My GPA isn’t a 4.0 so I treated the MCAT as a great chance to prove that my academic abilities to medical schools. Read More
Month: December 2017
2017: A year of being grateful & self growth
2017 was a year of gratitude and great self growth. I developed greater self-confidence and courage to take action in both my professional and personal pursuits. I’ve gained a sharper picture of my own identity: what I like to do, what is important to me, who I like to be around, which traits in my mentors I want to emulate, and what I want from my life. I’ve learned both how to more independent and how to appreciate my support network. Taking the leap to apply to medical school In Canada, you are allowed to apply to a handful of Read More
A busy semester passes like a blur
Does this sound familiar at you? Each day sprints past you as you go from class to the library to a meeting and so on. Each day is not long enough for all the things you want to accomplish. You start a little sleepy Monday and before you know it’s Wednesday – one of those days so long that as soon as your head hits the pillow, you instantly fall asleep from exhaustion. Then, you’re at another end of the week and you can’t wait to use the weekend to do all the things you wanted to catch up on Read More
How to prepare an Integrated Sciences Proposal
I am in the Integrated Sciences program meaning that I designed my own degree. The concept is similar to pursuing a double major because you integrate 2-3 disciplines (essentially majors). Integrated Sciences requires a bit more initiative because you have to pick and justify every single course that you plan to take, and find a faculty member to back up your proposal. After creating my Integrated Science proposal, I was pretty excited and happy to be studying exactly what I am passionate about so I also hope that anyone lobbying for a custom design major will also end up with Read More
Applying to Medical school: Preparing your application
In Canada, you are allowed to apply to a handful of medical schools while in third year but the number of third years that get in is not very high because you’ve had less time to do extracurriculars, boost your GPA, etc. I’m not confident that I’m competitive to get in but I’m still going to try because as Wayne Gretsky said “You miss all the shots you don’t take”. If I just give an earnest effort to applying, I still get a better chance than not trying at all right? Most importantly, I’m going to apply this year to get Read More
Study Tips: How to Stay on top of your assignments and studying
Today’s post is a reply to a question posted by Shaun. ” Hi Shanna, I have been reading your posts about UBC advice and I have been loving it! You seem to truly know your stuff. Currently, I am a first-year student (just started this month), so naturally, I am curious about all sorts of things. How are Anki flashcards working for you? How do you keep track of assignments from all of your classes? and Do you find blogging to be helpful to your personal growth? Sincerely, Shaun” Thanks so much for reading and commenting Shaun. First of all, congrats on Read More
Courses and Electives useful for Premeds at UBC
Thanks to the reader who asked this question: “What electives do you recommend for someone interested in a health profession such as medicine, pharmacy, etc?” I titled this post “for premeds” but this probably applies to students interested in pharmacy, optometry, etc as well! I also named this courses and electives because what was an elective for me may be a required course for you. Full disclosure: I am not an expert and in no way a premed advisor. I’m just another student but since this was a popular question, I wanted to share my experience with my classes so far. Read More
Applying to UBC – Which program or major?
Question (edited for brevity): “I’m applying to UBC this year and there are so many choices for programs. Which one did you choose when you applied back then? Is general sciences offered on the vancouver campus or is it only at the Okanagan campus?” Ooh university applications season is such an exciting time! At other schools, I was applying to many neuroscience programs but at UBC, you don’t choose a major when you apply. You only choose a general program/faculty to apply to. I applied to Science program on the Vancouver Campus and the combined Commerce/Computer Science program on the Vancouver Read More