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Tuesday, June 22

Taking the MCAT & Applying for Med School

*ahem* I do believe it’s time for a little bragging on behalf of Adam:
MCAT score pre-med
Oh yes, I’m married to an MCAT-ass-kicking-machine!!!
So, for the unfamiliar MCAT scoring can be very confusing. Here’s more info:
Four separate scores are derived from the MCAT, one for each section and the total score. Each score that you achieve on the multiple-choice sections (Physical Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, and Biological Sciences) is based on the number of questions you answer correctly. This raw score is a reflection of your correct answers only…The scores for the multiple-choice sections—Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, and Biological Sciences—will be reported on a scale ranging from 1 (lowest) to 15 (highest)…Your raw score on the Writing sample will be converted to an alphabetic scale ranging from J (lowest) to T (highest)...In addition to scores for the individual sections, a total score will also be reported. This total score will consist of a combined multiple-choice score conjoined with the Writing Sample score, e.g., 42T. {via the AAMC}
So, just to clarify, Adam got a good great score. I am not surprised, but I am proud, very proud. He is very smart and he worked very, very hard.
And now, I’m pleased to announce the start of a new series of posts which will be ongoing for the next million 8 or so years here on Domestic Dork:
medschoolmama
Seeing as this is the inaugural post in the “Med School Mama” series I’ll give you some background info {for those of you who don’t already know it}. Adam has a bachelor’s in film. In his final year of classes he realized the film industry was not where he wanted to spend the rest of his working days. He spent some time in construction before deciding to go back to school. For the last year and a half he’s been taking pre-med classes with the intention of attending medical school. It was a big decision that we made together. We both knew that if he was going to pursue this dream I would need to be on board. Well, I am. And I’m doing what I can to help, starting with making the application process a little smoother.
Applying for med school is kind of a big deal. It’s exciting, and scary, and expensive and stressful and confusing. Different schools have different requirements. Some schools want your MCAT {Medical College Admission Test} scores to be this good other schools want them to be that good and some schools don’t care at all about the MCAT. This summer the med schools begin accepting applications for school beginning in fall 2011.
There are 17 accredited medical schools in Canada {versus 132 in the United States}. The Quebec schools were easy to eliminate.It didn’t take long before the list of schools Adam was interested in applying to was whittled down to 5 {though we’re not yet completely ruling out the others…except the ones in Quebec}. They are {in Adam’s current order of preference}:
  1. University of British Columbia
  2. McMaster University
  3. University of Calgary
  4. University of Alberta
  5. University of Toronto
Basically, this is how the application process goes:
medschoolflowchart











We’re not even to step one yet and already we’ve done plenty of the “cross fingers and try not to freak out” bit. See, we had to wait about a month before we knew how Adam scored on the MCAT. Since he did well we’ll move on to applying. If he hadn’t done well he would have had to write the test again and we’d start applying under the promise of sending in his scores after the retest. The MCAT is a big pain. It’s not cheap to take {$230 ouch!}. Plus it required that Adam drive to Edmonton. And, of course, it’s an important and loooong {5 hours!} test that required a lot of studying. So we’re both happy he won’t have to re-do all that {Adam especially is happy about that fact}. But either way it’s time to start preparing for the application process. So look forward to more Med School Mama posts. Next time I’ll show you how I’m helping Adam keep himself organized!
And again, a big, fat congratulations to Adam! Way to go, Love!
siggy

9 Stubborn Stains:

Jenn said...

Congratulations to Adam!! That is quite the feat and a lot of studying. WTG!

Cluttered Brain said...

Congrats to your husband!
Those are excellent scores!
i hope he gets in to the school of his choice!

VM Sehy Photography said...

Congratulations on the great score. I think it'll be interesting to read about the whole process. I'm sure the work will be well worth it!

Crystal HW said...

Way To Go ADAM!!!

Lisa R. said...

WOW! That's so awesome! Send my congratulations! I'm interested in hearing about this process and life decision from your perspective--thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

You go Adam!!! If you're looking at 2011 and get McMaster...maybe we'll actually end up insome classes together! Yes the midwifery students and the med students cross over...wouldn't that be cool? Best wishes for the application process...it takes FOREVER...as I waited 4 months for an interview and then another 6 weeks for an answer, only to be wait-listed!

Anonymous said...

Many Congratulations to your husband! That's a really big achievement!

Good luck with the applications! One of my friends at school applied to go to med school at Stanford in California and he's already gone through three interview sessions since February. Who knew that applying for med school would be so involved?

Brittany said...

WOOHOO! That is super fantastic. Congrats to your hubby - looking forward to more Med School Mama Posts :)

KK said...

Congratulations and good luck!

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