MCAT Advice

5 easy tips to make the teacher like you

1. Greet every time. "Good morning sir". It sounds really simple, but the teacher does notice you 'That is nice he said that'. Simple, and it works.
2. Make your homework. Of course, you already should be doing that, but sometimes, you just can't do it because.. But you SHOULD do it. Cause if he asks 'who did do their homework' and you can raise your hand, he will notice you positively again!
3. Ask how he is doing. Just an extension to number 1. Also simple, but you have to do it in a 'later stadium'. When you said 'good morning' a couple of times you can do this. Ask how he's doing, how was his weekend, vacation, whatsoever.
4. If you want to know something about the stuff you need to learn, and you won't see him the rest of the week, email him! You show interest, and he will notice that.
5. And the last, and maybe the least, cause you might be busy enough. Ask for extra work. Say you want to improve yourself, and the work that is given now isn't enough.

FAU Non-PreMed

Students who are Pre-med and plan to go to medical school need not major in Biology, Chemistry or related fields. They may do any concentration at the Honors College, such as Anthropology, Art, English, History, Math, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, or Psychology, so long as they also take the following courses:

• 8 Credits of Biology (while any 8 are acceptable to most medical schools, the ones which will help the most with the MCAT are Biological Principles, Genetics, Anatomy & Physiology, and Cell Biology)
• General chemistry 1 & 2 with labs
• Organic Chemistry 1 &2 with labs
• General Physics 1 & 2 with labs
• Calculus I and II (required for Physics 1 & 2)

In addition, the following courses are recommended to assist with MCAT preparation:

• Biochemistry (required by some medical schools, be sure to check on the individual requirements of schools to which you apply)
• Genetics
• Cell Biology
• Anatomy and Physiology

http://www.fau.edu/divdept/honcol/academics_majors_premed.html

25 Words to Improve Your Writing

• Anomaly (noun): out of the ordinary; irregular; something different from the norm
• Circumscript (adjective): limited; confined
• Cogent (adjective): convincing; compelling; relevant
• Conundrum (noun): a riddle or puzzle, typically involving a pun or play on words; a difficult problem or decision
• Dichotomy (noun): a division into two groups; two-sided; two things or conditions that are complete opposites
• Disparate (adjective): containing different, incongruous, or distinct elements
• Dogmatic (adjective): inflexible or rigid; stubbornly holding strong opinions
• Equivalent (adjective): equal; similar in value or meaning
• Expiate (verb): to make a reparation or atonement; to make amends
• Euphemism (noun): a word or phrase used to place something that is more offensive or tasteless
• Expedient (adjective): fast; simple; convenient
• Facet (noun): piece or component of something larger; aspect of something bigger
• Germane (adjective): relevant; appropriate
• Gestalt (noun): an integrated collection of phenomena that creates a unified concept or theory that is greater than the sum of its individual parts
• Maven (noun): someone who is experienced, knowledgeable; a self-styled expert
• Nuance (noun): minor or subtle distinction; fine detail
• Paradigm (noun): broadly accepted way of thinking or framework; system of assumptions
• Paradox (noun): a theory that is contrary to popular opinion or common sense, and yet may be true; an idea that can only be true if it is false –- and vice versa
• Plethora (noun): an abundance; wide variety; excess
• Postulate (verb): to theorize; claim as true; to assert as reality
• Recapitulate (verb): to summarize; restate concisely
• Superfluous (adjective): excessive; more than what is required
• Tacit (adjective): consent by silence; implied, but not expressed in words
• Tenuous (adjective): having little substance or strength; lacking in importance
• Ubiquitous (adjective): omnipresent; widespread; everywhere at once

How to Get a Good Letter of Recommendation for Medical School

1. Give your letter writers at least four weeks to write and send the letter of recommendation. Remember, your professors and premed advisors have many students to write letters for. To increase your chances of a good letter, be the first to ask for one.

2. Step 2

   Tell your letter writer that you would appreciate a one to two page letter of recommendation for medical school. To help them fill in content, provide them with your resume (or CV), GPA, and personal statement for medical school. These will inform your letter writer of your commitment to a career as a doctor and your personal motivation for entering the field of medicine.

3. Step 3

   Write a list of three to five experiences you want your letter writer to include in the letter of recommendation. Choose wisely and appropriately, and do not write the same experiences for all of your writers. There can be some overlap, but you don't want every letter to sound the same. For a professor, be sure to include academics. Other good choices are clinical experience, volunteering, leadership, teaching, and community service.

4. Step 4

   On your list, expound on each experience as if you were writing a recommendation yourself. Do not copy and paste from list to list. Each time you write about an experience, make it unique. The content can be the same, but the wording must be different. For example, for one letter writer, you may write,
   
   'Academics: I am a strong student who enjoys learning so
   that I may use the knowledge for my future in medicine and
   in life in general. As a result, I take my studies
   seriously and excel by virtue of desire, not competition.'
   
   For another letter writer, you may write,
   
   'Academics: As a student, I strive to gain as much
   knowledge as possible from teachers, classmates, books,
   and assignments. My success in my studies is motivated
   by the belief that knowledge will be my most powerful
   tool as a future doctor.'
   
   Be detailed and specific when writing about these experiences. They should fill up one or two pages.

5. Step 5

   Ask your letter writer to include any personal experiences that you shared with him/her that shows your strong character, altruism, and potential to be a compassionate physician. The strongest letters of recommendation are the ones that use highly detailed descriptions of the applicant's personality and the positive experiences the letter writer shared with the applicant.

6. Step 6

   Give each of your letter writers a stamp and a pre-addressed envelope for the letter service you are using. Do not affix the stamp to the envelope in case your letter writer chooses to use his/her own stationary.

7. Step 7

   Request that your letter writer keep a copy of the letter. Often, letter services do not receive the letters of recommendation in the mail. When this happens, you are responsible for getting your letter writer to reprint and resend the letter.

8. Step 8

   Once they have written and sent the letter, give your letter writers a thank you card and/or small gift. You should always thank those who help you on the road to your future career as a physician.

Timeline
The timeline for the letter of recommendation cannot be understated, a delay here can completely derail your whole application. Tell your recommenders upfront when you would like to have your letters complete. Since we are allowing 3 to 4 months to write, I believe it is good to send a friendly reminder 1 to 2 months before the deadline to check in on their progress.

When doing this, you will find most writers will say either they have not started or the letter is complete. I had to push my recommenders in the last three weeks to complete the letter which they had agreedto write. Please use a lot of tact and discretion in prodding your recommenders to complete a letter because you don't want to be pushy, yet you must have the letter complete by the deadline: its your medical school application on the line.

http://www.premed101.com/refs.html
http://www.doctorpremed.com/letter-of-recommendation-advice.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12077472/Premed-Rec-Letter

Study List Priorities

1. Semester Prep: (1) Textbook separation, (2) 3 ring binder s/up, (3) Google Calender, (4) Time Mgt sheets, (5) Syllabus Review, (6) Each Subject skills review + Cheat Sheets, (7) Blank Cornell sheets, (8) Review study method (Cornell and self-study), (9) Review Cornell brainstorm Essay outline (for each writing project)
   
2. 2008 Word: http://www.uwsp.edu/it/ApplicationSupport/appSuppDocsImages/referenceGuides/word-quick-reference-2008.pdf
3. Learn a Short-Hand method - http://kitty-alana.blogspot.com/2009/09/easyscript-shorthand.html
4. Learn Medical Prefixes/Suffixes - http://www.pullins.com/BookViews/BV9781585102952.pdf
5. Read study skills on Bio, Algebra, English - http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/content/
6. Learn Cornell Note Taking - http://kitty-alana.blogspot.com/2009/11/cornell-map.html
   
7. Mentally recall & verbalize (from sentences) Cluster Map (practice)
   
8. Learn to outline an essay, brainstorm, and prioritize (write a killer thesis, collect # evidences, write a drop-dead intro sentence) - preliminary research, Google question format to collect arguments to back evidences) - http://kitty-alana.blogspot.com/2009/11/essay-outline-essay-is-about-making.html
   
9. 10 Key Typing: http://kitty-alana.blogspot.com/2009/10/10-key-typing-course.html
10. Overcoming Shyness: http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/20-ways-to-attack-shyness/
11. Mnemonic Devices To Improve Memory: http://kitty-alana.blogspot.com/2009/09/mnemonic-devices-to-improve-memory.html

College Classes Specific Study Skills

1. Biology Roots: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/asu/download/Study-RememberingScientificTerms-FlyerJun09.pdf
2. Biology Videos: http://www.learnerstv.com/animation/animationcategory.php?cat=biology
3. How To Study College ALGEBRA: http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra/index.htm
4. College Composition: http://commhum.mccneb.edu/argument/summary.htm
5. HOW TO READ A COLLEGE TEXTBOOK: http://www.ocean.edu/ReadColText/HowToReadCollegeTextDrJohnWeber.htm
6. Calculus cheat Sheet: http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/pdf/Calculus_Cheat_Sheet_All.pdf
7. Algebra Cheat Sheet: http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/pdf/Algebra_Cheat_Sheet.pdf
   

How to Ace Algebra

For each algebraic concept, solve a problem with all the steps outlined. This is your blueprint problem to solving all practice sets

If you want to do well in a technical class all you have to do is develop insight for every single concept covered in lecture. Solving the problem and knowing what it means is the key!

Keep a running list of every concept taught so far in the semester. Mark the ones that you have an insight for and the ones you don’t understand. It helps to see clearly exactly what insights you still need.