I'm so glad that Reese won the Oscar for Best Actress. She's a triple threat: a Harvard lawyer, a doctor, and an Oscar winner!
She's so cool. I love how she used that June Carter quote: I'm just trying to matter. That's so true. We just want our lives to have meaning, no matter what we do.
On the law school front, I went to a Pre-Law Forum sponsored by The Princeton Review. I sat in on a mock first year law school property class (the case had been emailed to us a few days before). The prof was a woman and I found the class and the way that she presented the material to be so enjoyable. Later we had a panel of reps from SMU, TX Wesleyan, and Berkeley law. The thing that really got me was when they said what qualities they wanted: analytical thinking and problem solving. Those were the exact qualities I had been writing about in all of my med school secondaries - finally, here is an institution that would appreciate those qualities!
I think I would be happy as a doctor and as a lawyer. I like them because it will let me help people using research and intellect, and they play up my skills. Hopefully, I can get into an SMP and then later apply MD/JD. That way I can be sure that I have no regrets about giving up on my dream of med school or regrets that I let a great field like law go unnoticed.
3 comments:
Not trying to be mean or anything... but although you did write about analytical thinking and problem solving in your secondaries your MCAT score does not really support this. The MCAT is largely a test in your analytical thinking and reasoning capability. The BS and PS parts require some understanding of material but still are mostly testing your problem solving skills and not specific knowledge. The VR part is, of course, almost only a test of analytical thinking. You can not only write that you possess those qualities but you have to prove it with a substantial MCAT result. Same for law school where the LSAT tests your capabilities.
The semester I took the MCAT, I was working 15 hrs a week, taking 19 hrs (7 of which were science), and in MCAT class 10+ hrs/wk. Needless to say I was not up to par and had too much on my plate. My score is pretty good considering all that I went through that term. This summer I won't have any classes and I'll minimize work, so I can study for the MCAT full time.
On the LSAT, I scored a 158 without any preparation and without even really trying that hard. I can definitely get 160+, prob even 165+ if I actually prepared.
My basis for analytic and problem solving come from my health care experience and English classes. I have a 4.0 nonsci GPA, which consister of honors classes and graduate English classes. I'm able to hold my own up against grad students, and I have won awards for this in my department. I've blogged about how I've used analytic reasoning in health care and English lit. I'm sort of more at the crossroads about whether I want to continue pursuing medicine or switch into law.
then good luck.... all I was saying is that you did not show much of those skills on the MCAT. You can't blame the medical schools for not recognizing them if you don't show them on the one school-independent measure they have.
Regarding the law vs. medicine debate it really depends what you are looking for in your career. I'd say that if you really want to do medicine you will not be satisfied in law.
From a more practical point of view you will have much higher job security in medicine and higher earnings. If you happen to be at the bottom of your medical school class you will still be able to open a family practice and have a successful career. If you are at the bottom (or even the bottom half) of your law school class you will be doomed for a life of mediocrity and ambulance chasing. And unlike in the medical field the name of the law school you graduate from is extremely important. I am obviosuly not from the law but the medical field. However, I have weighted the options at one point and if you like medicine, it is a much better choice. Don't underestimate the importance of things such as job security in your consideration.
Anyway, good luck!
Post a Comment