Goodbye 305

Warning: Cheese ahead.

Apartment 305 is home to many of my favorite memories - nights where we refused to go out and stayed up to hours that grandmas wouldn't dare, crafting away and crocheting patchwork blankets endlessly. Nights where we would sit around eating cereal (this happened so often we deemed these occasions "cereal parties") laughing about things, both silly and serious. That moment we decided that a pen club really was necessary, and that we had to be the ones to start it (and then convince others that it was not only cool, but that they wanted to join it). The nights of buzzing worry and anticipation before our half marathon, Half Dome hike, 5K, and our respective grad school tests. Our champagne and "strawberry shortcake" cake night to celebrate acceptances to schools and the beginning of our lives' dreams. The time Annie impressed us by cooking an omelet.

A Year Well Spent

I have been working at the Clinical Research Center at the School of Optometry for almost 3 years now and in my time here, I have developed close friendships with my co-workers, a couple of which are now first year optometry students at the UC Berkeley School of Optometry! I would be lying if I said I didn't wish I could be them. I see them drop by between lectures to squeeze in a couple hours of journal reading or office work and then head off to pre-clinic. Seeing them together and sharing their first year experience with one another has definitely made me think about whether or not I should have taken a year off between graduation and the start of optometry school. Was I just being lazy or did I really need this year off to strengthen my life experiences and application?

Now, almost an entire year after graduating, I can confidently say that taking a gap year was one of the best decisions I have ever made. :) I wanted to take the year off to focus on myself for once and try new things that I never had time to try during undergrad. This past year was all about personal and professional growth, stepping out of my comfort zone, and making new memories. 

How I Studied for the DAT

This is just what I did to prepare for the DAT. I had a not-pretty GPA (both science and overall), and figured the DAT was my one chance to prove to adcoms that I'm actually very smart! lol. Some encouragement - I had a low GPA but a pretty high DAT and received enough interview invites to choose a school that really fits me. In my experience, a high DAT can open doors that were previously closed. Moral of the story? If you study hard, this score can really make or break you. 

Also, I started out being HORRIBLE at OChem, pretty good at Gchem, and pretty decent at bio (I'm a bio major). That in mind, these resources served me very well. 

RESOURCES

• Kathleen and Annie. Seriously, study buddies make life sooo much better. All three of us will tell you that our summer studying for our MCAT/DAT/OAT was actually really fun.. It sounds so nerdy, but being with your friends, asking each other questions, and encouraging each other will really help you through studying that could otherwise be extremely dull/stressful. 
• DAT Destroyer (I swear, worth its weight in GOLD. I literally learned ochem from the ground up using this book.)
• Crack DAT PAT 
• TopScore tests (8 tests, but you need windows for this I think)
• Kaplan class - Kaplan online materials (5 tests, math review, online class support, Kaplan Blue Book)
• Kaplan Blue Book
• Princeton Review MCAT Biological Sciences Review Book
• My college bio book
• Freelanceteach on youtube (love this guy! so cute and nerdy)
• Sample DAT from ADA website
• **Resources I didn't use, but people liked: Chad's videos, Cliff Notes AP Biology, DAT Achiever, this link (seems to have lots of helpful stuff.. but it's kind of weird ahha)

Do You Fit? Factors to Consider at Interviews

factors to consider when you go to your interviews:

here are some things to look out for, or ask about at your interviews. 

• weather - dress appropriately. i went to university of michigan in a skirt instead of pants (i never thought to buy a pair.. -.-) and literally froze my ass off. it started raining and wind chill made it around 30 degrees outside. im a california girl, so this was not smart. 
• cost of tuition AND cost of living - some schools will wayyy underestimate COL, while others overestimate a bit. make sure your figures are right. in the end, dental school debt is daunting for everyone (unless you live in texas..)
• how much time do students spend in clinic? do D1's/D2's get phased into clinic slowly, or do you just go blind in your 3rd year? do you spend 4-5 days a week in clinic, or 2-3? 
• what are clinic requirements like? what do people dislike about them/find unrealistic?
• are the students happy? do they feel like they're learning things that are necessary?
• what's the board pass rate like?
• grading system? is the school P/F or H/P/F (fake P/F lol..) or graded?
• are students ranked?
• are there places to blow off steam nearby, aka yummy food, jack in the box, bars, clubs.
• do you want to live near your family? i think this is a big factor that people underestimate.. DS is stressful, it's good to unwind and go home every once in a while.

Why I Decided to Take a Gap Year

For Berkeley students, its pretty typical to take a gap year before plunging into a health professional school. I think its becoming more and more common, as people begin to realize the amount of debt they will be in as soon as they finish med/dental/opto/whatever school, and see that there's significantly less room for simply enjoying life. Plus, Berkeley kids are usually burned out from 4 years (or more) or camping out at the library, being constantly caffeinated, and just getting too little sleep.

So why take a gap year? Here were my reasons:

Sleep, play, and learn. 

Becoming a doctor, fully explained

In high school and early college years, I've met many pre-meds who only think about getting into medical school. But what about after that? Med school is really only the first step. It's important to think about the entire process of becoming a doctor, before committing yourself to the long and arduous journey.

The path to medicine in the U.S. requires...

1. Undergraduate education (BS/BA). 4 years.

2. Gap year, post-bac program, or master's program *if necessary*. 1-2 years. I only add this is because it's increasingly common these days for pre-med students to take time off between college and med school in order to improve their competitiveness for med school. Most people I know took a gap year.

3. Medical school (MD). 4 years - 2 years in the classroom, 2 years clinical (in hospitals/clinics).

4. Residency. 3-5 years, depending on the residency. A residency is where you receive the training to specialize in the specialty of your choice. You pretty much need to complete a residency in order to practice clinical medicine. Those who don't do one might go into research, teaching, or working for some biotech company. *Note: sometimes people get confused about an intern year. An internship refers to the first year of post-med school education, but this is usually incorporated into residency. In other words, "intern year" = "first year of residency".

MCAT: choosing a prep class

*Disclaimer: these are my own opinions, but hopefully they are useful if you're making these decisions. I took Princeton Review for 10 weeks during the summer before my senior year, and am happy with my decision.

To take a prep class or not...
This depends on three things: money, time, and self-motivation.
1) Money: A prep class costs anywhere from $1000-$2000. Honestly, this is not that much money compared to the total cost of med school applications/interviews. But if you really have trouble affording this, then it's not worth it. Anything you learn from class you can learn from books that you can borrow from friends for free, or buy online.
2) Time: Lectures are not time efficient. You'll end up reviewing any material you learned in class anyway, unless you are the type of person who only needs to see something once to know it forever. I  devoted most of my summer to MCAT-ing, so many hours a day to spare. However, if you are are studying during the school year, I would recommend NOT taking a prep class. I believe your limited time is better spent self-studying.
3) Self-motivation: I ultimately decided to take a prep class because I knew I needed the extra motivation to keep me going all summer long. If you are very self-motivated and can stick to a schedule, then you'll be fine without a class (again, just buy/borrow books). Looking back, this is the sole reason that I am happy with my decision to take a prep class. I stuck with the class homework/study schedule and it helped pace me for the whole 10 weeks.