Day 239: Countdown to Step 1

Today's inane image of the day:

I keep track of how many days I have left until Step 1 on my whiteboard. Eeeek - the number is too small!
This past weekend I was joined by about half my class to take a Kaplan simulated diagnostic test at school [there were two simulation days so the rest of the class will be taking it later]. Although I was concerned that I would be completely drained from the 8 hour exam, because of how quickly I tend to take multiple-choice tests, I walked out of the room a couple hours early with energy left to spare [then again, my body felt ready to take on the day but my brain didn't]. Regardless, it was good to get a sense of how a full exam would feel and to find out where my starting point was.

I have a lot of work to do in these next 6 weeks.

Wish me luck - only one more week until classes end [though I'm not sure if I should be excited or terrified about dedicated study time...]!

And thus, it begins: Day 239: Countdown to Step 1

Monday, April 8, 2013

Day 239: Countdown to Step 1

Today's inane image of the day:

I keep track of how many days I have left until Step 1 on my whiteboard. Eeeek - the number is too small!
This past weekend I was joined by about half my class to take a Kaplan simulated diagnostic test at school [there were two simulation days so the rest of the class will be taking it later]. Although I was concerned that I would be completely drained from the 8 hour exam, because of how quickly I tend to take multiple-choice tests, I walked out of the room a couple hours early with energy left to spare [then again, my body felt ready to take on the day but my brain didn't]. Regardless, it was good to get a sense of how a full exam would feel and to find out where my starting point was.

I have a lot of work to do in these next 6 weeks.

Wish me luck - only one more week until classes end [though I'm not sure if I should be excited or terrified about dedicated study time...]!

6 Comments:

At April 18, 2013 at 12:05 PM , Anonymous Rishi said...

Hope studying for the exam has been going well!!

 
At April 18, 2013 at 12:15 PM , Blogger //.amanda.eleven. said...

Thanks, Rishi! Sadly, things haven't been going has smoothly as I had hoped, but I'm just trying to keep pushing!

 
At April 21, 2013 at 7:59 PM , Blogger Rishi said...

Ah I totally understand. I'm trying to prep for Step 3 but have been utterly distracted by the NBA Playoffs, haha. Hang in there!

 
At April 21, 2013 at 8:05 PM , Blogger //.amanda.eleven. said...

I hope studying is going well for you, too! I hear that preparing for the later steps is a bit more relaxed?

 
At April 23, 2013 at 3:17 PM , Anonymous KH said...

Do you feel that being a blogger/increasing your social media presence has benefited you in terms of career opportunities/internships/etc.? Have you ever experienced backlash from professors or established medical professionals? If you are able to please do a post on this issue. As a premed myself, I have found it difficult to find that balance. For example on applications for certain programs I do not state that I blog. Thank you. Good luck on your exams!

 
At April 23, 2013 at 5:13 PM , Blogger //.amanda.eleven. said...

I don't think I'll truly know or recognize the impact of my blogging/social media presence on my career until further down the road. I can say that one good thing that came out of this has been that I connected with my current Capstone mentor through Twitter and he has been a phenomenal resource.

I've had faculty/staff mention my blog in passing to me, but I have yet to receive an outright negative remark. A dear mentor of mine did note her concern about the content I have posted in the past, but I'm not entirely sure how I will incorporate her warning as I move forward. As it stands, I already have cut down on blogging here due to time constraints and regular posting deadlines at Kaplan and The Differential.

I don't think blogging as a premed warrants a line on your AMCAS unless you've built something substantial from it [e.g. a business, a website with significant traffic, etc]. However, be prepared to answer questions about your blog as admissions committees everywhere do use Google to find out information on prospective students.

I hope this helps and good luck with your applications!

 

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