Monday 29 August 2011

And so it begins...

So I've decided to jump on the premed blog-o-sphere bandwagon. I think blogs are a great way for people to communicate their thoughts and ideas and personally for me, I'm planning to use this blog as a creative outlet. Come to think of it, this blog will probably serve as a personal online journal for myself and my journey in applying to medical school (and hopefully becoming successful in my applications!). I'll probably also throw in some non related medical stuff occasionally (a cooking/baking section is on my to do list at the moment).

At this particular instant, I realize that there's exactly 10 days left before school starts for me. One part of me is quite excited as this will be my last year of university but at the same time, I'm nervous because with graduation in the distant future comes the thought of having to actually plan for my future and what I'm going to be doing. Obviously, I hope to be successful in my medical school applications such that by this time next year, I would be mingling with all the awesome medical students of my graduating class =D (what's the term for first year med students attending orientation as opposed to first year undergrad "froshies"?) I've started several applications and I've realized (in my opinion at least) that there are 3 reactions when it comes down to filling out the "autobiographical sketch" on these applications:

  1. The "Man, I didn't do as much as I'd thought in the past [insert however many years] of my life" reaction
  2. The "I think my activities are well rounded. I should have a good shot" reaction
  3. The "Wow! I can't believe I did all of these things in the past [insert however many years]. *Gives self a big pat on the back"
There is something quite enlightening and yet daunting when an applicant has to list every single activity they've done since the age of 16 (I'm specifically referring to the OMSAS application) - it does give you quite the reality check when everything is typed and organized right in front of you. However, regardless of how many or how few items you are putting on your sketch, just keep in mind that sometimes it's the quality over quantity that counts and as I've learned from other premeds, it all comes down to how well you are able to articulate what you have learned from your activities that will make the most impact on the admissions committee.

Wishing all premeds who are applying this cycle the best of luck!

2 comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...