My MCAT Journey Part 1 - Page 5

On July 15 2010 11:33 Biochemist wrote:


I'm not sure what to say about verbal. Counting all my practice tests (first two were TPR, rest were official), my VR did something like 10-9-11-10-11 so no real change. I haven't studied it at all, since I've been focusing on the sciences.

I've been using process of elimination to great effect. I mark every question where I'm either unsure of the answer or am curious to see how they explain the answer, and my %correct of marked questions is between 60 and 75% most of the time.... so that's really where I pull ahead of the 30 crowd. Process of elimination saves you a lot of time. If you go through a question and you can't decide on an answer, read it again and then cross out all the WRONG ones. that usually gets me back to one or two, and if there's two it's a lot easier to compare them because I'm no longer distracted by the other ones.

Sometimes the MCAT likes to put really hard answers on there that they don't expect you to know, but they DO expect you to understand that the other three potential answers are wrong. A lot of people panic and guess on those when they shouldn't have to.

Given my attention span, I'm surprised that I haven't really had problems with running out of stamina on BS. Having a good system for the writing sample helps, because then the writing sample turns into an hour-long break instead of a stressful event. Don't worry about writing 6s, just get a solid three-paragraph-system down that'll usually get you a decent 4 or 5 essay. Medical schools don't care about the writing sample unless you get a K or something, so don't stress yourself out over it.

On July 15 2010 12:50 sutureself wrote:
In my opinion, MD/PhD is good for one thing: the free tuition. If four years of your life is worth that, more power to you. I'd say about 75% of my MD/PhD friends regret doing it.

You don't need a PhD in addition to an MD to contribute good research to the medical community. In fact, a lot of my friends got so burnt out by the time they finished their PhD that they really despise doing research now, which is not ideal if you want to stay in academia.

Just some musings from a 3rd year resident...

On July 15 2010 12:27 Biochemist wrote:
A lot of the BS stand-alones and passages are really easy for me given my background; I actually miss most of my BS points on the OChem. I did ochem in 9 weeks over the summer last year and don't remember most of it. I'll probably study it a little more tomorrow and go over my practice tests again, but other than that I'm just going to take the day off and relax.

Big day on Friday!

On July 05 2010 17:24 illu wrote:


It's actually because there are very few Canadian medical schools. The rate of acceptance for Ontario is about 4%.

Also Canadian medical schools are cheaper.

Anyways, I am still considering doing PhD/MD. However I really don't think I will have time to do MCAT this year (I haven't even started on GRE yet.. I need to take it before this November, pretty much). I might just try to get into a PhD program first then reapply.

On August 18 2010 05:47 GreatFall wrote:


Keep in mind the average Ph.D. takes 6 years to complete. It took me 5 1/2 years. After that you are probably close to 30 and will want to settle down, not begin spending 200K on a new degree. Food for thought.

On August 18 2010 06:25 Try wrote:

MD/PHD's are completely different from getting a traditional PHD and then an MD. You're entire education is subsidized with stipend, and everything is condensed into a single 7-year program that can be completed in 6 years for a select few because the MD and PHD curriculums are partially integrated. Still, from a monetary standpoint, its a terrible deal. However, its a great option if you want to be a academic doctor/medical school professor in your future. Amazingly, even though many people who go through this program don't finish their residencies until age 37, MD/PHD programs are very competitive.

On August 18 2010 06:28 GreatFall wrote:


Yea, I understand that, but he was saying he wanted to do a Ph.D. 1st then do MD. That's just not a good idea IMO. When you do an MD/Ph.D. you actually are 'fast-tracked' through the Ph.D. part and it usually doesn't take more than 4 years. Strait-up Ph.D.s; however, have to spend an average of 6 years just to get their degrees because their committees don't want to let them go.

On August 18 2010 06:34 Try wrote:

Ah, ok. I didn't read his post all the way through.

From what I understand (both my parents being PhD's), the reason alot of PhD's take so long is because students start working other jobs, and put off writing their dissertations as long as possible .

On August 18 2010 07:55 duckett wrote:
Umm what? PhD's dont take so long because students flake out and work other jobs, its mostly just the luck of the draw with how relevant and effective your lab is, and how your results come out, that dictate whether or not you can put out results and publish enough to complete your dissertation. Entropic is right, from my experience with the sciences.

A few exaggerations and issues also with what people are saying about MD/PhD: the average right now is 8 years, though there are many 7 year programs, and the PhD portion (which is supposed to take 4 or 3 years) is usually dependent on all of the above factors as well, and sometimes can prolong total time to degree to 9+ years. MD/PhD offers a little bit more than an MD degree for those with a strong interest in translational or clinical research.

Money wise while you do end up pushing off your serious earning years another 3-4 years, you avoid a very large amount of debt that you usually incur as a MD student, so it's debatable. On the other side, you will almost certainly make more than a PhD student and have a much better chance of scoring an academic faculty position than him.