The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going to Medical School

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Going to Medical School MCAT Medical School Admissions For children, it is very easy to answer “doctor” when asked what they want to be when they grow up. While their intentions are pure and honest, their innocence blinds them from the fact that becoming a doctor is extremely challenging. If you were one of those kids who wanted to be a doctor when he grew up, you’d now realize getting into and completing medical school is no joke. The fact that you are reading this article means that you might be questioning: is med school really worth it? Getting into medical school is both exciting and challenging. Before you commit to putting in the time, effort, and money for the upcoming years of your life, it’s important to consider the following pros and cons of going to medical school: Advantages of Getting into Medical School The most obvious advantage of going to medical school is that, if you graduate, you will become a professional and licensed doctor, which is a highly respected job. You will be equipped with the ability to save lives and provide health-related services to other people. Being a doctor, is a rewarding job that pays well and opens many doors. The journey to become a doctor offers continuous learning about medical science. While your classmates, who did not pursue medical school, could be stuck at their desk jobs, you will be discovering new things, interacting with senior doctors, training at several medical institutions, and practicing the science of treating patients. Disadvantages of Getting into Medical School The medical school application process is long and arduous. From studying for the MCAT to submitting your AMCAS application to developing your medical school secondary essay strategies, the process requires immense work and focus from beginning to end. Let’s face it â€" before you reap the benefits of being a doctor, you have to survive long, stressful, and expensive years of learning, training, preparing, and testing. It doesn’t come easy or cheap. Applying to and attending medical school will cost you a lot of money. You have to be prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for med school tuition, books, course requirements, and years with very little, if any, income. Applying for student loans and getting into debt are serious dilemmas that med students face. In addition, medical school is not like your typical undergraduate course that you can pass by cramming or taking shortcuts. The difficulty level is a few notches higher, meaning thicker textbooks, more technical exams, higher grading standards, and more demanding requirements. In addition, you have to retain a specific med school GPA to be able to stay in the school. Making the Decision It is no secret that medical school requires a great deal of responsibility. However, if you are able to handle all of the rigors and challenges that come your way, you will enjoy a great deal of rewards â€" not only monetary, but humanistic rewards that nobody can put a price on. This article was written by a medical school admissions expert at InGenius Prep. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6baac2ae-05a3-4610-9d1f-265c8cbd809f', {});

Tips for Staying Organized Part 1

Tips for Staying Organized Part 1 Improving Academic Performance Keeping abreast of school assignments, tests, and projects can be quite a hassle if you are not organized. Not only can good organizational skills help you complete tasks in an orderly and timely manner, good organizational skills can also help you stay focused and earn higher grades and better test scores. In this two-part article, we’ll talk about organizing your: a) things b) work space c) schoolwork and d) time. Organize your things: A first step in becoming more organized and thus effective at school (and everywhere else) could be to focus on organizing the physical things around you, like your binder, backpack, and laptop. Binder - To stay on top of all your classes, it is best to have a notebook and a binder with dividers for each class. Try to minimize losing or scattering your notes around by keeping all your notes for one class in the same notebook, preferably in chronological order. Having your notes all in one place, and organized chronologically and neatly will make locating specific notes easier. Store your notebook in a binder. Make sure to have dividers for assigned homework, documents your teacher handouts to you, completed tests, and completed homework. Having dividers for each of these sections will make it easier to review old tests and homework for test preparation, and will decrease the amount of time you spend shuffling in your backpack looking for your latest homework assignment. It is best to have a color-coded system wherein each notebook and binder for each class matches. Again, this will save you time in trying to find and identify which notebook is for what class. Label your binder and notebook with the subject of the class you are using it for. Backpack - You should never have any loose papers or documents in your backpack ever! All papers, notes, and documents should always be placed in the appropriate binder, or divider sleeve! Make sure to bring only binders, notebooks, and textbooks that you will need for your class, and store all other binders and textbooks in your locker or at home. Keep all of your pens and pencils together in a pencil bag. Also, make sure to store all of the necessary tools and implements (e.g. protractor, compass, calculator) in a case. Never have tools and pencils and pens floating around in a disorganized fashion in your backpack! By having all of your pens and pencils together in one case, and all of your tools and implements in another case, you save time having to dig and find these items that you will need in class. Having everything organized also promotes a sense of calm and minimizes stress, since you aren’t looking for necessary things, like a pencil, in a frantic frenzy. Locker - Try to keep your locker organized by creating a system of storing your notebooks, binders, and textbooks. If necessary, purchase a shelf to help you utilize the space in your locker more effectively. You can also invest in a whiteboard to hang in your locker in order to remind you of important events or upcoming due dates for tests, projects, and assignments. Also consider taping your class schedule in your locker, as well as hanging a calendar in your locker. Taking such steps will help you stay abreast of due dates for assignments, and will encourage you to prioritize tasks if you are able to see what important events are coming up every time that you open your locker. Additionally, keeping an organized locker will prevent you from losing important documents in your locker. Laptop - If you use a laptop to take notes or complete class assignments, make sure that you create a folder for each subject (color-coded of course!), and create subfolders for assignments, papers, presentations, etc. Take time to organize and clean out your folders at least once a week. If you really like taking notes on a laptop, consider a tool like Evernote for keeping virtual notes. Sometimes it may be difficult to keep or binders, notebooks, backpack, and laptop organized at all times. Try to schedule 5-10 minutes a day organizing all your notes, documents, pencils, and other implements. Another strategy is to spend 30 minutes every Friday after school organizing all of your binders, notebooks, backpack, and laptop. You can also use this time to cull and get rid of unnecessary documents, broken pencils, and leftover wrappers or junk that are in your backpack. It is very important to schedule time to clean and organize your things so that you don’t lose track of important documents or carry around unnecessary things/documents. Culling will minimize confusion and stress that may stem from losing assignments, or bringing in the wrong document/assignment to class. Organize your workspace: Many people find they are far more productive and better able to retain information and understand difficult concepts when they are working on a structured, clean environment. Try to have a designated workspace at home where you can work on completing homework assignments and studying for tests and quizzes. Always make sure that your workspace is clean and quiet. Keep your workspace stocked with note-taking paper, pencils, pens, and other school supplies that you may need to complete an assignment or project. Keep your backpack and textbooks close to your workspace. Having a clean and organized workspace will allow you to complete your assignments in a calm atmosphere and will minimize the chances of you losing assignments or important documents. Once you completed all of your homework, place your homework in the appropriate binders, and place everything you will need for the following day in your backpack. You should always take time to prepare and get everything you will need ready for tomorrow the night before.In our next article, we’ll discuss how to organize your work space, and perhaps most importantly, your time.