#nontrad

Hi... my name is G. and I’m a non-trad/mature student at a New Zealand university, currently in my second year of a double-major Bachelor of Commerce (International Business and Accounting). After finishing high school a long time ago I went straight into work in the hospitality industry and never went back to formal education until starting university in 2018. These past two years have been an incredible learning experience, both academically and personally, which I would love to share with you all.

So I decided to start this whole ‘nontradstudyblr’ thing after feeling a bit under-represented in the studyblr/studygram/studytube community. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of love for this community, but sometimes being a mature student can feel a bit lonely and I just wanted somewhere to share a bit of my experience with my fellow (and potential) #maturestudents #nontraditionalstudents #nontradstudents. I hope to start some awesome conversations and create a little support hub for all of us nontrads out there.

My last general chemistry final exam was two days ago. I studied for more than  a week, but I let anxiety get the best of me during the exam. I felt so much pressure to ace the exam in order to earn an A- in the class that I froze. I read and re-read the problems and it was like looking at a different language. I’m learning how detrimental stress and anxiety have been to my academic performance. I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect; I end up doing worse because of it. 

Here is what I’ve learned from this quarter: 

1. Perfection is not achievable. I can only be better than what I was yesterday. 

2. Studying for a long time =/ studying well. I’ve stepped up my studying by focusing on mostly practice problems, but I could have avoided anxiety if I had simulated test conditions by doing timed exams. 

3. I need to learn how to let things go. After taking an exam there is no going back to change things. I have to accept how I did, learn from it, and move on. My path to medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. I need to be okay with not meeting my mark, adjusting my plans, and executing my goals using different methods. 

Now that spring classes are over, I’m putting all my focus on my job again. I work-full time, but my boss is really understanding when it comes to my academics. This summer is going to be busy. I’m starting a new study focused on preventing preterm birth in women with a history of preterm labor and I’m writing my research paper on hs-CRP levels as a biomarker of depression in pregnant and non-pregnant women (hoping to get published by the fall!) 

The grad school applications are a bit overwhelming. I’ve detailed some of the things I wish I had known before starting my application in my blog, particularly aimed at nontrad students. Hopefully you might get something from it!

https://doggyjoneslocker.com/applying-to-grad-school-as-a-nontraditional-student/

I am the president of an organization who hosted some premeds from a nearby university for a tour of the medical school. Most of them were juniors so they were gearing up to take the MCAT and open up AMCAS. I started this tumblr in 2013, the summer right after I graduated. I had some other premeds to talk to about applying but I didn’t really seek out to ask questions because I was already embarrassed that I didn’t have a set plan. Most of my information was from tumblr, SDN, and reddit. 

The premeds had so many questions about what it was like to be a medical student, what should they be doing in undergrad to help them prepare for med school/applying, how much do we study per day, ect. 

I think most of them are thinking of doing a gap year. The couple of students I spoke to the most were ones who had to take the MCAT again or are planning to do a gap year (not by choice). They were worried about being older than their class or what it looks like to admissions that they didn’t go straight through. That they felt weird about their classmates already had acceptance letters in hand. I am the perfect person to answer these questions because I’ve been through all that. 

Maybe this advice may help y’all also. I told them that the time is going to pass anyways so might as well do something you think you love. It’s much better to take a gap year or 2 so you can apply just once and get in on the first shot instead of being like “we’ll see what happens.” I burned myself with the “we’ll see what happens” when I took the MCAT without studying and way too soon. I made sure to tell them that there’s no shame in applying DO because it’s not worth it to spend another year reapplying because you didn’t get in anywhere. As long as you are productive during your gap years, they will not be looked at as a negative ex still shadowing, volunteering, studying for MCAT, doing research, working to save up money for med school. I talked about my AMCAS and how important it is to have an interesting personal statement and to only list meaningful activities that they can speak intelligently on. Not just randomly doing habitat for humanity for 1 hour once.

A couple years ago, there was a long stretch of time where I thought I wasn’t good enough to get into medical school. But I’m thriving here now. I love my school. I still think that getting into medical school is harder than staying in, but I think most people disagree with me there.

The dean of admissions was also a part of our tour. He was actually my last interviewer. He remembered what we actually talked about, which was research I did in undergrad and that I’m first generation Vietnamese. I didn’t think that I made that much of an impression but I made it thus far.

The last bit of advice I gave the students was that you don’t need a fancy facility to be at. You just need supportive administration, solid lecturers that are clinically oriented, a place that really emphasizes step 1, non mandatory lectures that are recorded, an internet connection, and a university affiliated hospital. Even better if it’s in state MD tuition and if there’s an abundance of research opportunities.