Hi Everybody!

It's good to be back here at MacInsiders and posting again! My name is Mitch, and I was an active member here in 2008/2009 when I was finishing my 4th year at Mac. I've always talked about getting into medical school as you can see from some of my posts in the Ontario Medical School Thread. I'm happy to say that I'll be coming back to Mac for medicine this year!

In the past, I've given out advice to incoming students all about the trials and tribulations that lead up to medical school. This year, I'm hoping that I'll be able to help out around campus to talk with undergrads in person during my time off. I'd be happy to discuss and answer any questions anyone has about medical school if they're thinking about pursuing it in the future. The generic piece of advice I'll give out right now is that university is a long and difficult road, that at times seems frustrating and hopeless, but if you put in the work and dedication anyone can achieve the impossible!

-Mitch

Congratulations! It's encouraging for us undergrads to see that with time and dedication, med school is actually attainable. Have you decided on a specialization or are you just gonna wait and see where med school takes you?

Congrats. Did you want to come back to Mac?

@Mike - I absolutely agree with you about it being actually attainable. I've been asked the specialization question a lot during interviews, and I give somewhat of a specific answer. I'm not actually sure yet and I'm always open to new things, but my experiences have revolved around children so I'm thinking paediatrics. Mac would be perfect for that with the Children's Hospital on site!

@Fight0 - I applied throughout the US and got in there first, so I was planning on moving southbound. When I did get into Mac and had time to think about it, I think it is one of the best and most innovative schools, and I consider myself very fortunate. I think I'm most happy that I'll be back where I started university, cause Mac is really a great school! I missed being here last year!

Congrats!

Congrats Mitch!

I do have a question, although I'm not applying to Medical School I'm applying to Optometry School. I just wanted to know how the interviews were like for Medical School since it should be relatively the same. I am planning on going to Careers to inquire about it, but it would be nice to get some first person information.

Thanks!

@Jhan - Great choice for optometry! That's a really good profession as well I assume you will be doing interviews in Canada? They are very different in Canada and the US. So I'll just talk about Canadian medical interview style for now. Are optometry interviews all MMI? Some medical interviews are panel although most are MMI. I'll speak about the MMI, but if you want info on panel I can give that too.

The MMI is very unique to say the least. There are around 8-12 stations (which are usually doctor's offices or something similar). You can around 8 minutes for each station. The bell rings and you stand in front of an office door with a paper on it. You get 2 minutes of silent reading time where you read the question on the piece of paper and brainstorm ideas to yourself (or think about how screwed you are Just kidding!) Then the bell rings and you go inside the office for 8 minutes to discuss with the topic with 1 person. The bell rings and you move on. There are usually 1-2 break stations.

The questions range from ethical issues, to role playing situations, to group situations, to critical analysis, and to general questions about yourself. There is no right answer and it's more important about your way of thinking and communicating than the actual answer you give.

The interviewers usually do not speak to you AT ALL during the interview. They just nod their heads. Except for when you finish talking, then they push you with follow up questions. It's very important to finish talking by the 6th minute or so. You don't want to keep rambling for 8 minutes without having the opportunity to ask the interviewer if he/she has any follow-up questions. Because they do. And they want to ask you them.

The first MMI I did at Dalhousie was so-so. For some of the questions, I didn't know much about and had not much to talk about. I think I spoke pretty well, but my lack of things to talk about was my downfall.

I decided to use a professional interview coach and I believe he really helped with my confidence and technique in speaking with the interviewers. I also really researched many topics prior to the interview and all the top medical stories in the news. So when some questions came up about things I had researched, I had TONS of stuff to talk about! At my Mac interview, I was much more relaxed cause I was used to it by then, and I think that really helped. I spoked clearly and joked with some of the interviewers. Again, it was all about communication and how we got along.

Wow, I've said so much already! If you want any further details about the MMI, my experiences, my suggestions for you, or other types of interviews let me know! Here's a link to McMaster's MMI training PDF. It contatins some practice questions that are similar to the real thing. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/mdprog/docume...e rs_2006.pdf

-Mitch

Wow, congratulations! I've had the chance to talk with several Mac med students and they've told me nothing but good things about the program, so I'm sure you'll have a busy but extremely rewarding experience!

Now, in regards to the MCAT, when did you decide to take it? What did you do to prepare for it? What was the MCAT-writing experience like?

What other Canadian med schools did you apply to?

Thanks in advance =)

Wow, that's really helpful. Sounds like the interviews are pretty fun! I think I would enjoy them, although I'd probably be really nervous right before XD.

I'll actually be doing a lot of my interviews in the States. Sadly there is only 1 English optometry school in Canada (Waterloo) :(. I'm actually not quite sure what style of interviews they are :S. I honestly didn't even know there were different kinds! I thought they were all the same, good thing you came back to MI .

I'll do some research on the interview style and then ask again when I figure it out.

Thanks again!

I'm really looking forward to it! As for the MCAT, I took it after second year. Most take it either then or after third year, but I decided that if I did poorly then I could always re-take it after third. I took a Kaplan course to prepare right after second year, which I highly suggest to anyone taking the MCAT. It was extremely helpful! The MCAT is unlike any exam you have ever or will ever take in University, so normal exam prep is not very useful. The first time I took a practice MCAT without prep it surprised me and it didn't go so well! If you're not aware, it's out of 45...IMO >37 is genius, >32ish is average to get into Canada nowadays, >28 for US, >25ish for Australia/Caribbean. After Kaplan I managed to snag a decent score. I was pretty satisfied. I also suggest that students take the courses in university, that will be tested on the MCAT. This includes, first year bio, physics, chem and second year orgo. Some people say that you don't need orgo, but I believe you will be in trouble for the MCAT if you don't. Orgo is usually considered the hardest course in university. I also highly suggest preparing your writing skills with some english-style classes and reading skills by reading intelligent magazines/newspapers. The writing experience was an endurance to say the least! It's around 5 hours straight. The time constraints were the hardest part for me.

I applied to everywhere I could in Canada with my prerequisites including Dalhousie, Memorial, McGill, Mac, UofT and Ottawa.

Hey Jhan! If you're going to the US, they most likely don't use MMI there. They use traditional panel-style. That's where there's 1-3 interviewers there, and you sit there talking with them about a variety of things for 30-45 minutes. There's no stations. I can give you suggestions for that kind of interview as I did a lot of them! Basically be yourself, but make sure to talk with them and ask them questions. Don't ramble on about yourself. They want to see that you know what you're talking about, but that you are down to earth. They are looking much more for your personality than for a right answer. I didn't get into EVMS because she said, although I was really smart and nice, I talked a bit too much myself. I didn't spend enough time asking them about themselves! Oh well, it was a good lesson Let me know if this is what your interview style is going to be and I can help you out if you want!

I'll be out until later today, so I'll get back to more comments tonight!

-Mitch

Congratz on getting into Mac Med! I'd imagine it was a great moment when that acceptance came through. Just wondering...you did mentioned you're not the one to get over 80 in every course but what was your overall GPA range? Since Mac tends to accept applicants with 3.8+

Originally Posted by mitch

__________________
Mitchell Wright MD Candidate, CK, B.Sc.
McMaster Medicine 2013

haha is doing this kinda thing part of being a doctor?

Hey Mitch, I actually have one more question for you:

I know that Mac has no pre-requisites, but which of the typical pre-reqs did you complete? The reason I'm asking is that I'd rather avoid taking physics and would prefer to just self-study for that portion of the MCAT. I'm wondering if you did the same type of thing or whether you think that this is a bad idea, based on your experience.

Well I wasn't out all night as I'd hoped So let's get back to MI!

@Chucaugon - It was absolutely one of the best moments when I got accepted! I'd like to consider my gpa a source of encouragement for anyone else trying to get into med that don't get perfect marks. In first year, I was sure I wasn't getting into med as I got some B's and ended up with a lower than expected final average. Hearing about everyone getting into med with >90 overall and 4.0s .. it just wasn't encouraging. And I think the medschools are putting more emphasis on extracurricular and personality from what they used to.

Somehow, things changed as I progressed to more specific courses in upper years. My gpa increased over time. So although I got many B's and thought I was going to have to do something else, I still managed to pull off a great average. Most people say that if you get any B's you can't do med, so I say otherwise. Also, don't feel down after first year, because it's a difficult year to get used to unversity.

@Andrew - Absolutely! It's part of doing any degree! You as well now have the right to put it as your signature on your e-mails like B.Sc. Candidate or whatever you're doing. It really helps with resumes, jobs and talking professionally to people. And it just feels good!

@Mike - Let me tell you something Mike, I never took university physics! I just didn't want to. It wasn't a prereq for most Canadian med schools. It just helps for the MCAT. So I took Kaplan and studied the entire university physics myself at home after second year. And you know what? My physical section was my highest mark! So absolutely it can be done! But unfortunately I can't recommend it just because the smart thing to do would be to do everything you can to prepare for the MCAT, and taking that course is part of it. So you shouuuuuuuld take the course....but you don't need to As for other prereqs, I got a minor in bio, so I took tons of bio courses, I took general chem and orgo. I also took a bunch of other science courses that weren't required, with a smidgen of bird courses.

-Mitch