Advice from a Medical Student [ENDORSED]

[Chem_Mod]

Ashley thank you so much for sharing your experiences and for your advice! Do you have any tips/strategies on how to study that helped you for this class?

Thank you, Jeremy. For this class in particular, I would focus on lecture material and taking advantage of Chemistry Community and all the other resources such as office hours and UA/TA sessions. You will soon find that no other course on campus has even close to the amount of supplemental material/additional help that Dr. Lavelle provides. He genuinely wants each and every one of his students to do well and so he gives you all the resources you need to get an A. Just make sure you take advantage of them and never be afraid to ask a question. Good luck to you this quarter!

[Jonathan Malau 1F]

Thank you for your advice Ashley. It has inspired me to truly want to become more proactive in my studies. Hope all has been well. Do you have any tips for an incoming Freshman as to how to be more consistent to avoid "burning out"?

[Jalyn 3G]

Thank you so much for the advice! Good luck in med school!!

[Hailey Kang 2K]

Hello!

Thank you so much for this! I'm not sure if this was already asked, but how long would you say you studied for the MCAT before taking it?

Thank you!

[Chem_Mod]

Thank you for your advice Ashley. It has inspired me to truly want to become more proactive in my studies. Hope all has been well. Do you have any tips for an incoming Freshman as to how to be more consistent to avoid "burning out"?

You will face burnout in every part of your life if you continue to just go with the flow and study or work everyday. You need to make sure that you find time or set aside time for things that you enjoy. Every weekend, I go hiking or find some outdoor fun activity to do to break up the monotonous schedule of work/studying that is my Monday-Friday. Prior to covid, UCLA would have tons of fun activities to get involved in which would be great. But with what's going on, it's important you adjust too. Find things you love doing and set aside one day each week to do it. Sometimes, if I get out of the hospital somewhat earlier than normal, I'll experiment with a new recipe knowing perfectly well it's going to take much longer and force me to eat dinner late but I enjoy doing it and find it's worth it. As a freshman, do your best to set aside study breaks so you don't get too overwhelmed by all the resources and classes you need to study. Everyone uses the phrase work-life balance and it's really true. It takes a while to find what works for you, but I can't stress enough how important it is to set aside non-study "me time" to relax and do something that makes you forget about school for a chunk of time. Hope this helps!

[Chem_Mod]

Hello!

Thank you so much for this! I'm not sure if this was already asked, but how long would you say you studied for the MCAT before taking it?

Thank you!

This is a really tough question to answer because it is dependent on the individual. I took a gap year so I had more of a "dedicated" time to study so I took maybe 1-2 months to study. However, if you are trying to study while taking courses, you need many more months because it will be difficult to MCAT study when you end up having midterms or projects you need to finish. It is completely up to you. Just don't rush studying. If you need to take a gap year, go for it. I actually recommend it, now looking back. So many people are in their mid to late 20s (some even in their 30s) when they start medical school and those students (from my personal experience) do a lot better with patient care as they have more life experience than students who are younger. Not to say that you shouldn't go right in from medical school, it's just from my experience, I'm glad I took some time off before applying.

[Francesca_Borchardt_2D]

I am looking forward to attending medical school someday. Your advice was very helpful. Thank you so much!

[Lizbeth Garcia 1F]

Thank you so much! The MCAT makes me terrified (pretty sure i'm not the only one), but this sure does give me reassurance.

[Megan ODonnell 3F]

Thank you so much for this post! As a pre-med student I find this very helpful.

[IreneSeo3F]

I planned to be a premed student, but I never had the opportunity to talk to a real med student. This advice really helped me and I feel so relieved. Thank you!

[905579227]

Thank you so much, do you have any tips for us corona online students?

[Chem_Mod]

Thank you so much, do you have any tips for us corona online students?

This is a tough time for everyone. But it doesn't mean that you cannot still succeed and do well this quarter. I would take advantage of all the resources you have. You have office hours and TA/UA sessions. But the best thing to use would be Chemistry Community, which is basically 24/7 office hours. Now that it's online, it's pretty cool because there are people all across the US using this and answering questions. So ask at any time and your questions will get answered. Don't let it being online scare you, if anything it might make it easier to use more resources because you can log into a zoom session at any time and not have to worry about physically making it to a location on time. Even though lectures are online, don't be scared of finding ways to still ask questions. Hope this helps!

[Emma Healy 2J]

Thank you so much for sharing all of this information! This is all so helpful! I am so grateful for all of the UAs and all of the extra resources in this class; it's pretty amazing. Best of luck in your future!

[Claudia_Danysh_2B]

This post has guided me during this quarter. I've been doing everything you said and I feel comfortable with the material and ready for the midterm!

[Angel Gutierrez 2E]

Would you say your major holds heavy weight when applying to med school? Is there a contrast between an applicant who has a degree in psych and another with a physci degree? Thank you so much for your advice!

[Matlynn Giles 2E]

I've been so stressed about school so this such a relief. It is so nice to see that someone is doing so well and so happy. Thanks so much for sharing! It means the world to us!

[Chem_Mod]

This post has guided me during this quarter. I've been doing everything you said and I feel comfortable with the material and ready for the midterm!

I'm glad to hear my advice was helpful. If there's anything else I can assist you with or advise you on, feel free to ask! Good luck this quarter!

[Chem_Mod]

Would you say your major holds heavy weight when applying to med school? Is there a contrast between an applicant who has a degree in psych and another with a physci degree? Thank you so much for your advice!

I don't think your major matters at all. Everyone needs to take the same pre-reqs when applying to medical school so if you are a science major, then your UCLA graduation requirements will cover more of your pre-reqs. If you aren't, you'll have to take additional courses to meet the requirements for medical school. However, those who aren't science majors have a unique background that set them apart during interviews. I loved talking to applicants who were art or French majors. Their background was so fascinating that they were teaching me things even though I was the one interviewing them. So really, there's no wrong answer. You may end up having to put in a little more work and do a few extra classes if you aren't a science major, but you have a little more uniqueness when it comes to your application. Hope this helps!

[305614361]

Thank you for this advice, this really eases my mind especially after taking the first midterm

[Anastasia Yulo 1C]

Thanks so much for your advice! I will definitely keep my notes handy as I go through my UCLA journey. Can you tell us a little bit more about your gap year? What types of clubs/ internships/ research opportunities/ etc. you were involved in that helped strengthen your medical school application?

My gap year was spent volunteering in an autism clinic in the mornings and assisting in some research in the field of autism during the afternoons. It was just a couple days a week because I needed time to study for the MCAT and then get my application for medical school ready. I also continued to UA for Dr. Lavelle for his Chem 14A and 14B courses. I wouldn't say that research is a must. Many applicants don't have research on their application. The reason I was involved in some research was because it went hand in hand with the volunteer work I was doing in the clinic. Everyone is always very interested in what is needed to strengthen one's application, but it's important to know that your GPA is probably the most heavily weighted item, so I would focus on that first and then worry about extracurriculars.

I hear very many good things from taking gap years before grad school. It gives an opportunity to work a job that doesn't require homework, just a headspace for the scheduled shift. Thanks for this post.

[305614361]

Thank you for this!

[Giselle_zamora_1L]

thank you so much for your advice! But as someone who is struggling in this class and fears that will not do good, do you have some tips on how to improve from here on forward?

[Michelle Nguyen 3F]

This was a great read for some advice not just for chemistry class, but for classes overall! Thank you so much. :) Time management has probably been the most difficult thing due to the remote transition, but with the resources in the class, I think it is manageable!!!

[905579227]

Thank you so much for this information, is there anyway we could contact you for anyothe tips and tricks about med school, I feel like we can all agree that we are very stressed and anxious.

[Chem_Mod]

thank you so much for your advice! But as someone who is struggling in this class and fears that will not do good, do you have some tips on how to improve from here on forward?

To do well in this course, reach out for help. Go to office hours or peer learning sessions and take advantage of chemistry community. Even if you aren't posting a question, read up on some of the endorsed posts. Those usually include good discussions of various important topics. And lastly, don't be afraid to ask questions. I can't count the number of times I've asked a question that I thought was too simple that many other students also had confusion on too. And remember, it's up to you to do well. So use as many resources as possible, do the practice problems and study the answer key. It's more important that you understand the underlying core topic of the question rather than getting the exact numerical answer correct. If after all of this, you're still struggling, talk to Dr. Lavelle. He is amazing at mentoring students. Also, don't be too hard on yourself. This is likely your first quarter at UCLA. It's fast paced and needs some getting used to. With time, you'll get more comfortable and figure out what study strategies work for you. Good luck!

[Chem_Mod]

Thank you so much for this information, is there anyway we could contact you for anyothe tips and tricks about med school, I feel like we can all agree that we are very stressed and anxious.

All of you are welcome to reach out and email me at smileysarquiz@ucla.edu. I'm happy to offer advice and help in any way that I can. You guys can also post your questions on chemistry community and I will always respond to them.

[505352202]

Thank you for this. It is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture (the bigger goal) when there is so much work to do.

[Sheryl Ocampo 1D]

This was so helpful, thanks for sharing :)

[805421690]

Thank you so much Ashley!!

[305405193]

Thank you so much for this! I think a lot of things that we might have not seen as normal are now very normalized and I feel more secure as a pre-med student :)

[Chem_Mod]

Thank you so much for this! I think a lot of things that we might have not seen as normal are now very normalized and I feel more secure as a pre-med student :)

Just know that everyone is in the same boat and we are all figuring it out together. Feel free to reach out and ask me any and all questions you may have. Good luck this quarter and throughout the rest of your UCLA career!