SCORES ARE IN ?!?

Greetings everyone!

I am going to try and keep this post short and sweet. I took my test Sept 3 ,2015. My scores were released yesterday afternoon 10-6-15. Up until this point I had done a pretty good job of not worrying too much about the outcome of this test, I knew I tried my best, I knew I changed quite a few right answers to wrong choices (how did I know this, why of course I looked up the questions/answers after the test LOL, something that I do not suggest unless you want to increase your likelihood of suffering from a premature stroke/heart attack LOL) and as time passed I reconciled with the fact that if this is for me then HE will show me the way and if not then I know HE will lead me down another path, in his own time.

This is not to say that I was not nervous to see my scores because I was. After 2-3 friends shared their scores with me during the later part of yesterday, I had made up my mind that I wouldn't look at my score until January lol and I was perfectly fine with that. But as I sat at my computer scribbling and doodling on pieces of scratch paper at 11:59pm, when I was suppose to be completing secondary apps. I said enough is enough, I would not continue to allow a test to own my life, like the MCAT has. My heart was beating so hard and so fast, I would have thought it was going to jump out of my chest. 

But I did it, its over and I will never ever ever ever never take this test again, no matter what happens during this application cycle because I have applied multiple times, tested multiple times, did summer programs, test prep, masters programs, post bacc, relocated, I am swamped in debt but despite it all  I have tried my absolute best, sacrificed not only precious time from my life but of my family as well. And if medical school/ being a physician is not for me "I am going to stop trying to swim in the ocean during a hurricane because there's so much more to life than holding on to Dreams that may not even belong to me anymore".  But right now I am happy as can be so we will see how things go!

Life Post MCAT 2015

**SORRY GUYS I THOUGHT I POSTED THIS LAST MONTH AFTER MY 9-3-15 MCAT TEST**

I am finally free, well at least for an hour! I have a health fair to attend today, secondary applications to finalize and hopefully submit, non-profit stuff to do and a long list of other things written on a napkin LOL that I must do in order to reduce the chaos in my life. Now that I have taken the MCAT my stress level has gone from 10  to 6, which is a big plus for me and hopefully now I can focus on other things.

I tend to be a worry wort when it comes to test scores and my post test feelings sometimes are more intense than my pre-test feelings. I wonder if I changed too many questions, I want to review some of the material that was presented and this only adds fuel to an already blazing fire. Well as a part of my "Recovery" I am shying away from that type of behavior, I said that I would not look over material or anything while I wait for my scores. So I plan to do a post in Early-Mid October to share with you guys my MCAT Test experience, of course I will not be discussing any test specifics but just how I felt about each section etc. 

So back to more excited things such as AMCAS applications. I submitted my primary application later than I would have liked (Aug 4). My ideal submission date was between June 15- July 1 but I had so much going on at the time, I had just started my MCAT summer program, family issues, I needed to re-do my personal statement, and update my experiences among other things. I have applied before in the past so 90% of my app was already pre-filled and just needed to be proof read to spot any typos that I may have missed in the prior cycle. I was verified in literally 3 weeks. Which is less than the 6 weeks time frame that is listed on the website, I think this was mainly due to the fact that I am a previous applicant with no course additions, so they didn't need to recalculate my gpa and the time in which I submitted. As with all application systems there are "Peak submission dates" I am sure that tons of eager students submitted as soon as the application portal opened, before college classes start back and even towards the end of the cycle, which will lead to high traffic for the AMCAS verifiers, and extended verification lengths. 

Now on to secondary applications thanks to FAP I was able to apply to 15 schools, looking at the list that I have now, I should have done more research prior to starting my summer program to ensure that my application was as strategic as possible. Like why waste time applying to schools that have a very stringent GPA/MCAT cut off, despite not have my new test scores, I still did not want to apply to schools that would not even give me a secondary merely based off of my previous stats. Additionally as an African American Applicant, applying strategically is important, some schools make it known that they are interested in diversity. Of the over 85K medical school students enrolled in Allopathic medical schools less than 10% are AA students :-(  a very small slice of pie compared to the big picture and with HBCUs medical schools diversifying more and more each year we have to apply broad.

I will have to continue my Post MCAT 2015, Secondary application talk in another blog post at a later date. And to hear more about my Nonprofit Organization check out my new blog! Thanks for stopping by

A Different New Year!

Hey Guys!

It has been a while since my last post but I am happy to be back (for the moment). 

August is always an exciting part of the year for  most students or parents, August represents a 2nd New Year, somewhat a new beginning. At least in the sense, for me August is always the beginning of a New School Year, it represents the "Relative" end of "Summer" because it means back to the books, school and/or work.

So what's been going on with me during the last 2 months???

Well last month I became one year older. Yayy for me another birthday, another year of life, more opportunities to work towards my goals and enjoy my family.

I have been participating in a summer MCAT/Medical School enrichment program. My program is coming to a close and it will be officially over next week. I am registered to take the MCAT during the 1st week of September. I am in the midst of the AMCAS application process. I am considering applying to through AACOMAS as well but considering financial limitation that may not be possible (they ran out of Fee  Assistance Waivers in early July, which I think is ridiculous but that just my opinion). Other than that my summer program these last few months have been not very exciting, just long nights, studying hours on end, and class and home.  

After Labor Day I will definitely be more talkative LOL (after my test) and have tons more information to share with you all. For those of you starting school, going back to work or just simply ready to start a new chapter this month or next, I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors. Work hard, study hard and be the best you can be because you may only get one chance to prove yourself!

Spring/Summer Update

As I discussed in my previous post I have a few things up my sleeve for the summer months. Outside of my prep course (class time, studying and all that jazz) I will be working on getting my Non-Profit off the ground. The major work will not take place until Aug after I take the MCAT and it is set to launch in the fall, after 2-3 years of working on it off and on.

I think that researching my target groups, drafting proposals etc for my Non-Profit is doable even while participating in a summer enrichment course. I don't know about any one else but after going to class (in person and/or online) for 4-8 hours a day then studying for hours on end until I fall asleep, is not how my brain operates. I have to study in chunks and give my brain a break for the  MCAT and even from school material. During those breaks, instead of surfing the web looking at useless items, on gossip sites, facebook/IG/Twitter and so on, I plan to use a small fraction of the time during my study break to give my brain a cool down and feed my soul. Outside of medicine, I am very passionate about my non-profits' mission of and helping other individuals from similar backgrounds and circumstances as myself achieve their goals.

I will periodically blog about various stages of starting a non-profit organization, learn more about my mission, goals and about me of course, take a peek!
My Non-Profit blog page!

Summer Plans

Part 1
Summer Break has officially started for me. My son's last day of school was May 22nd and I must say we ended the school year spectacularly well. He received tons of awards at his 1st grade Spring Honor's Ceremony, The President's Award for Educational Excellence for receiving A's in every subject area all year around just to name one. I was definitely happy of his accomplishments and I gladly gave myself a pat on the back as well LOL now off to 2nd grade :-) And fortunately for him mommy knows that learning is a 365 day job so his summer will include a summer reading/math camp along with fun stuff life Six Flags/White Waters etc

As for me I will not have a summer break this year. I took a leave of absence from my job in order to participate in a Summer Enrichment Course that includes MCAT Prep. My last day was this past Friday and my class starts bright and early June 1st (a whopping 2 day break). After working every day thus far in May, I can say that I am completely exhausted, but since I will be out of work for at least 12wks I couldn't pass on working as much as I could to make up for the income I will be missing. I doubt I will have a moment to breathe this summer, Transitioning back into an academic setting, dealing with declining health of close family members, cross country transitions, working on my non-profit and so much more. I have a lot on my plate for this summer but I am welcoming it all with open arms, facing my fears, confronting health challenges, and multitasking is a continuous process that is preparing me for rigors and time constraints of medical school and eventually the hectic schedule of a practicing physician.

So I'm sure that you have gathered by now that I have decided to take the new MCAT. It was not my first choice but I have to face it, despite interviewing in previous cycles, I was not granted and interview this year. The medical school application process is becoming increasingly more competitive and if I hope to get into medical school I need to have more competitive scores to back the other aspects of my application. I chose to partake in a MCAT prep course because of my previous struggles with the MCAT which is ironic because I actually saw my largest increase in PS/BS (on the flipside also the greatest decrease in my VS) when I did self study prep. But this is a new test, new material, and I need to insure that I am doing everything I can to knock this test out the park!