TragiComic., or ‘How MTC Got Their Blogging Groove Back’

To my follower (singularity intended) out there, I feel as your faithful blogger I must put into musically crafted words to explain my absence from the cyper-sphere for the last 3 months.

Firstly, I did not accept my offer for the DMD at the University of Sydney. One who is up to date with this blog wouldn’t be judged harshly of character to paint me with an indecisive brush. I have not one, not two, but THREE blog posts relating to my flippancy between accepting the DMD and undertaking Dentistry or giving Medicine one last heave-ho. A few factors came into play and I hope by the end of this post, you’ll see me as rational and not as an indecisive elitist.

Firstly, my year of honours research; it was character building to say the least. I did end up finishing and graduated with a First Class Honours (given to an overall mark of >80% for the entire year). Due to some lackluster performance on my part on the early coursework, I had to get at least an 85 for my thesis alone to get a respectable overall mark, which thanks to 3 all-nighters in 5 days and a seemingly endless supply of Mother energy drinks, I achieved.

The first thing I did after graduating was e-mail GEMSAS to see what my confirmed ‘new’ GPA would be with my honours mark. I am happy to report that thanks to my honours year, my previous GPA of ~5.85-6 has been bumped up to an estimated GPA of 6.5. Combined with my previous GAMSAT mark of 62 (63 Melbourne Weighted), this combination of 1.56 whilst probably placing me in the lower half of candidates at University of Melbourne or ANU, would have probably got me at least an interview.

This leads me to the ‘why’; why did I reject an offer some would clearly bludgeon me with an iron-plated toothbrush? After consulting with a few members on the PagingDr forum who were in similar situations to which I was in a year prior, I decided that the cost of relocating to Sydney and paying almost $5k for equipment I might not even need the year after for a course I only initially applied for as interview practice wasn’t the right decision. After all, the spot I gave up could’ve been given to someone who truly has a passion for dentistry; I know that if I’m ranked next down for a spot and the person above me is only accepting the offer out of necessity rather than desire, curse them!

Also, given that the GPA I have now will be the best I will ever have applying for Graduate Medical school, I would be beset to give up an opportunity to get into my dream course all because I didn’t have the courage to go through the 12-month long grueling application process. The irony is not lost on me that I cannot use my 2011 GAMSAT (my best score so far) and must rely on my 2012 GAMSAT (a culmination of mind-numbing stress) of 58 overall, lest I decide not to tackle the GAMSAT one last time.

And that brings me to the ‘what’; ‘what’ have I been doing since I finished honours and decided to pass on Dentistry? I have been consistently studying for the GAMSAT, namely SIII. It took a little soul searching and harsh honesty to realize all my previous attempts at studying were attempted in vain; in 2011 I did a month prior revising using the MCAT Examkrackers series reviewing subjects I barely understood and had encountered in 3.5 years. The fact I still managed to get a score of 61 in SIII, where most people get in the 50’s, still ceases to amaze me. In 2012 I attempted (‘attempted’ being the operative word) a more strict regimen which was disjointed by a scattered schedule and burdened by social responsibility, resulting in a less then stellar score.

So here I am again, hoping to replicate my score from 2011, which will give me a slightly more competitive GAMSAT+GPA combination if the tabulated minimum combination scores for 2012 entry are anything to go by. Although they do include rural places, rural applicants make approximately 25-30% of all CSP/BMP/MRBS places and thus the numbers provided can be a decent approximation of non-rural chances for an interview or offer (I’d accept both CSP of BMP). Going by my current GPA+GAMSAT combination of 1.51 (58 GAMSAT, 6.5 GPA), I would be eligible for at least an interview at ANU, Deakin, Flinders, and UWA (still wouldn’t say it with certainty though) although I’d be a very lowly ranked local candidate. Unfortunately, having such an abysmal GAMSAT means that I am unable to apply to schools such as Monash, Griffith, or the University of Sydney (Medicine) despite my GPA. Having a GAMSAT score over 67 would ensure that I could apply to Universities from either category, the holy grail score of 70 or over required for University of Queensland. Either way, that is not the focus at the moment. I have been consistently studying since early November of 2012 for 2.5-6 hours per day sans a few days here and there (Christmas, New Years Eve) and began by focusing on my weak spot, Physics.

Most people focus their studies on Chemistry (particularly Organic Chemistry) as it is twice more likely to come up on the GAMSAT than a Physics question. However, my one great weakness in the GAMSAT has always been Physics. I purchased a Second hand textbook for a University level Physics course and have been steadily working through Chapter by Chapter. I am finding that my previous fear of Physics was borne out of ignorance; physics is perhaps one of the most intuitive of the three Sciences! I am currently up to Magnetic Fields and predict I would have completed the Chapters relevant to the GAMSAT in the next few weeks. The same can be said of Physical and Organic Chemistry, with only a few chapters remaining in each. However, refreshing/re-learning these topics is only half the battle.

One thing I distinctly recall from the MCAT EK series is the density of the teaching material. These books weren’t made for introduction, they were made for rejuvenation. After gathering the knowledge required for the GAMSAT, I plan to review and enforce the application of this knowledge to better serve my performance in the GAMSAT. After all, Section III is not based on memory recall, but rather on the interpretation of data where prior knowledge may be of use. I hope that the combination of these approaches will result in an improved SIII score, but that remains to be seen.

Finally, after my poor performance in SII last year (which I attribute to nerves, exhaustion and poor luck on topics I have no interest in), I have started practicing and writing essays under time constraint. Adopting an approach I found on PDr, I hope to write at least one essay per week leading up to the GAMSAT. Writing has never been a problem for me, give me a pen, a paper and a controversial topic and I’ll give you 4 pages of poor-handwriting! Hopefully last years slip-up was an aberration and I should be able to get a score of 70+, although I fear maybe my luck in SII has run out from my first 2 GAMSATs and I am now exposed for the amateur word connoisseur that I am. Only time will tell.

In between all this, I also hope to get back into the sports and social activities I gave up during my honours year and maybe reconnect with some friends I lost touch with over the past year.

Also, Happy New Years!

Your inconsistent blogger,

MTC

Ps. I am currently working full-time as a Research Assistant, so no, I’m not destitute.