INSIGHT INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL

THINKING ABOUT APPLYING? There isn't a month or day where I ask myself if going to medical school was actually a good idea. The best site I have found that gives you true insight into a medical student's life is The Diary of a Third Year Medical Student. This student's diary not only gives you an idea of the amount of studying you have to do in medical school, but more importantly, all the politics and social issues you endure as a medical student.

MCAT. You must take this test before applying to medical school. I highly recommend The Princeton Review or Compass. Please, take this test seriously. If your score is bad or mediocre, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Your residency application will post this score and everyone in med school will ask you how you did. That's how medical students are.
Some say it is good to take this test in April of your junior year so you can have the scores in your application by the fall or so that you can retake the test in the fall if needed. If you take the test in April, try to take a lighter load of school courses so that you will have time to study for the exam.
Many friends have told me they'd rather take the test in the fall so that they could study for it during the summer. This is a good idea if you are able to take the test during the fall of your junior year and if you have already taken the required courses tested on the MCAT. If you take the MCAT during the fall of your senior year in undergrad, you will not have time to retake the exam before you turn in your application.
An average score on the MCAT is a 28. To get a lot of medical school interviews, it is best to try to score a 28 or above (for top schools, score above a 30).If you have a good application, however, you will still get interviews, even if your score is below a 28 so DON'T WORRY.

USMLE STEP1. All I can say is I passed this exam and am glad it's over.
There are so many websites on this subject. My advice is to stick to the review books and question books. DO NOT study from your syllabus. You should also do the questions provided by the National Board of Medical Examiners in your application. These questions are way too easy compared to the actual questions on the exam, but one of my friends said a few questions from the practice exam turned up on her actual exam. This wasn't the case for me though.
Review books include:
First Aid for USMLE Step I. (this is a must have).
Gross Anatomy. High Yield Anatomy
Embryology. High Yield Embryology
Neurology. High Yield Embryology. This book is extremely verbose so focus on the clinical correlations. The exam will seldom ask you the actual pathways, but know each one's importance. That is where clinical correlations come into play.
Behavioral Science. Board REview Series. Be sure to know your statistics: odds ratio, prevalence, etc. Also, focus on ethics stuff like what you would say to your patient if you wanted them to do something in particular. (BTW, I have to be general cuz I heard about people getting busted for saying specifics about the USMLE on website.) I got a lot of questions like that on my exam. It all seemed subjective to me.
Physiology. Board Review Series (BRS)
Pathology. BRS (red book). You will be shown some images on your exam. For a quick review days before your exam go to WEBPATH. This site has an excellent review of images as well as practice exams. Another path exam is at www.pathtest.com.
Biochemistry. Lippincott. There were tons of Biochem questions on my exam that were "way out there." That is why I suggest you do a lot of practice exams.
Question books. The best way to prepare for the exam is to do questions. Reading through the answers after you have completed the practice exams, helps you review the concepts tested on the actual exam. I did Appleton and Lange's questions for step I as well as from the NMS Review for USMLE Step 1. These questions were easier than the actual step, but like I said, they test on the same topics as the exam and are good for review. Other people say the Board Simulator Series books are good, but there are tons of books in this series. If you choose to use these books, you must have ample time to review, otherwise, it is best to focus on only using Normal and Abnormal Processes and General Priniciples in the Basic Sciences.
I have heard some good things about Kaplan's question bank offered online. The question bank is available to you for one month at around $80.

QUESTIONS? Write me at my guest book and I'll try to reply as soon as I can.