#org chem lab

[acelizystudying]

in my chemistry era.🧪⚛️👩🏻‍🔬

[chuuyrr]

staring at nature out my window after whatever my organic chemistry exam was.. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

[narwhalandchill]

good news: ruan mei actual sigma giga buff in newest beta update to like almost all aspects of her kit but Most importantly her sp positivity is now at e0 (thank GOD)

bad news: ur now gonna be stuck building 123% break effect from substats only in order max out the reworked dmg bonus shes giving to the team 😭

[coffeebanana]

thought a little too hard about the tags i left on @trainsinanime's "alya salt" post so here's the miraculous grad school chemistry AU that abso-fucking-lutely nobody asked for

marinette's an org chem girlie, because she can effortlessly visualize molecular shapes and has great intuition for how they'd bond together. she draws reaction schemes in her sleep. her work station is a fucking mess and she spends her weekends sleeping at the lab to keep an eye on whatever reaction she's got going

adrien studies physical chemistry and/or or some form of spectroscopy. he'd love the puzzle of interpreting the data AND he would love the hands on aspects of tinkering with the spectroscopy set-ups. also maybe he gets to work with lasers

alya feels like an inorganic chemist to me. she's throwing random combinations of ligands together to see what sticks and she has a niche interest in X-ray crystallography. she and adrien commiserate over learning group theory. also, her and marinette's research groups share the same lab space. and thank god because she's stopped so many of marinette's experiments from exploding

nino's not even in the chem department, he's studying biophysics. but his thesis has to do with the effects of different types of radiation on plant growth, and he has to collaborate with adrien's lab group for spectroscopy reasons

[jcmarchi]

A New RNA Editing Tool Could Enhance Cancer Treatment - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/a-new-rna-editing-tool-could-enhance-cancer-treatment-technology-org/

A New RNA Editing Tool Could Enhance Cancer Treatment - Technology Org

The new study found that an RNA-targeting CRISPR platform could tune immune cell metabolism without permanent genetic changes, potentially unveiling a relatively low-risk way to upgrade existing cell therapies for cancer.

An artistic image depicting a CAR-T cell.

Cell therapies for cancer can be potentially enhanced using a CRISPR RNA-editing platform, according to a new study published in Cell. The new platform, Multiplexed Effector Guide Arrays, or MEGA, can modify the RNA of cells, which allowed Stanford University researchers to regulate immune cell metabolism in a way that boosted the cells’ ability to target tumors.

Lead author and Stanford graduate student Victor Tieu was interested in improving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. In this cancer treatment, T cells – a type of white blood cell – are engineered with the CAR protein, a receptor that allows the cells to better track down cancer cells. While CAR T therapy has successfully treated blood cancers, including lymphomas and multiple myeloma, the engineered immune cells haven’t stacked up well against solid cancers such as pancreatic and lung cancers.

That’s because solid tumors have a bulkier structure for the immune cells to penetrate – the cells grow exhausted before they can make headway in destroying tumors. T cells evolved to fire up quickly and attack viruses, which means they often burn through their energy stores too soon when fighting cancer. “We were really interested in how we can make those cells better to improve clinical outcomes,” said Tieu. “A lot of the tools that we have right now just aren’t that good.”

The researchers tested their tool on CAR T cells in lab cultures with tumor cells and in mice with cancer. “Our finding is that it performs 10 times better, in terms of reducing the tumor growth and in terms of sustaining long term T cell proliferation,” said senior author Stanley Qi, Stanford associate professor of bioengineering and institute scholar at Sarafan ChEM-H.

Stopping cell exhaustion

Previous research efforts to improve CAR T cell therapy have used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the cells’ DNA. However, this gene-editing platform comes with risks because it permanently deletes bits of DNA, which can have unintended consequences and even cause the T cells themselves to turn cancerous.

So the Stanford team pursued a different route, exploring whether CRISPR-Cas13d – which uses a molecular scissor that cuts RNA, not DNA – could enable reversible changes to gene expression in T cells. Unlike Cas9, Cas13d can easily target multiple genes at the same time – in the paper, the researchers demonstrated they could make 10 edits at once to human T cells. “RNA is the next layer up from DNA, so we’re not actually touching any of the genetic code,” said Tieu. “But we’re still able to get big changes in gene expression that are able to change the behavior of the cell.”

To see whether this tool could successfully improve CAR T cell function, they identified 24 genes that could be involved in the T cell exhaustion. They then tested 6,400 paired gene combinations in culture, with different genes turned down using the MEGA tool, and identified new gene pairings that worked especially well together to boost anti-tumor function.

Turning T cells into marathon runners

In another experiment, the team tuned a set of metabolic genes in the T cells to tilt the cells from sprinters to marathon runners, giving them the endurance to chip away at tumors. They compared these MEGA CAR T cells to non-engineered T cells and CAR T cells, both in lab cultures with tumor cells and in mice with cancer. After three weeks, they tested the extent of the tumors as well as how the T cells were surviving.

At first, the MEGA cells lagged in their anti-cancer activity. “Initially, I was like, ‘Oh, these cells are worse,’” said Tieu. But, after some time, these cells persevered against the tumor cells while the CAR T and regular T cells wore themselves out, leading to the 10-fold improvement in tumor growth reduction and T cell proliferation.

The secret was shifting how the cells spent their sugar, away from a fast-burning glycolysis process toward favoring oxidative phosphorylation. “We were able to use this technology to engineer the mRNAs in this sugar-usage pathway inside the T cells that regulate their choice of which sugar molecule to use,” said Qi. As a result, “We were able to really sustain the persistence of these T cells, so the T cell could live longer in the tumor site, and also exert much better performance.”

Not only did the MEGA platform allow for fine-tuning genes regulating T cell metabolism, the tune-up could also be regulated with a drug. When an antibiotic called trimethoprim was present, it turned on the RNA changes, tamping down on the cells’ glycolysis metabolism and turning them into endurance athletes in their attack on the tumor cells. When the drug was gone, the cells reverted to their original gene expression. This drug-based control mechanism “allows you to create a safety switch” for immunotherapy treatments, said co-author Crystal Mackall, the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Family Professor and a professor of pediatrics and of medicine at Stanford.

While the platform is still in its early stages, the researchers hope that it can eventually prove useful in clinical settings. Tieu plans to continue development of the platform toward this goal. “It would be really cool to try to push this to an actual clinical product,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of potential to really improve CAR T cell therapy in ways that people couldn’t have done before.”

Source: Stanford University

You can offer your link to a page which is relevant to the topic of this post.

[realbugmom]

F is for Flug and failed safety standards

U is for unpaid intern

N is for “I said no smoking in the mf lab”

Down here at the Black Hat Org

In my universe Flug begged BH to let him hire extra help, and ofc he’d not gonna let him do that because “I don’t want to pay for another employee” and “it’ll make my company look bad if people see on well known job hunting sites that my top scientist can’t handle the workload anymore”

So the mf compromises and puts out an intentionally vague ad on Craigslist (or the villainous equivalent of shady website)

Of course, there aren’t many details, and nobody wants to use a site like that unless they’re super desperate. So he gets radio silence for a while. He knew Black Hat wanted to stick it to him, so rather than straight up tell him no, getting his hopes up only to crush them with all these odds stacked against him was way funnier to the eldritch god.

Enter this…fucking thing. A lazy but brilliant PhD student in medical engineering searching for credit hours, and immediately clicks on the first thing with the word “doctor” in it. She figures out pretty quickly that the place isn’t exactly your mother’s robotics center, but he has a whole wall full of doctorates, man! And a 0% turnover rate?! (Flug opts not to tell her that it’s because you have to sell your soul). Maybe it’s the impressive knowledge this guy has collected over the years like Pokémon cards, or the lab set up that puts her old university to shame, or the fact that he looks like he’ll cry if she says no. Either way, she’s on board.

Flug thinks he struck gold, she’s polite, patient, maybe a little timid but good at taking orders.

For the first few weeks, anyway.

She gets more comfortable, especially since he ended up setting her up in a spare room in the manor somewhere (not that she loved her old dorm/apartment, but change is difficult for her.) She befriends Demencia, stating that the woman reminds her of an old friend back home, and while Flug is initially grateful to see her come out of her shell, her snarking back to Black Hat every other week is going to make him bald by 40. On one hand, he lucked out meeting someone who can talk him down from his spiraling, but on the other, he really really wishes she’d stop huffing chem trails when she thinks he isn’t looking. He doesn’t want to fire her though. Not when she’s actually good at what she does, and they seem to click pretty well. Black Hat noticed he’s been making a lot more due to efficiency going way up, so if a little bit of snark is the price to pay for more padded pockets, he can turn the other cheek.

She’s the closest thing he’s had to an actual friend in a while, and despite the kind of shit she gets into, Flug really hopes she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Could some of you guys show off your villainous oc's or self inserts? I will eat that up like it's my last meal and cherish it

(i love oc's and self inserts sm, especially when other people show theirs off😭)

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

The org chem labs have the correct mad scientist vibe, up to tubes with vacuum (?) From the ceiling and partly wooden hood with formulas scribbled on it

[infodumpdiary]

2023 Goals

-Hit and maintain weight goal/ regular exercise.

-All As/Bs/Honor Roll

-Significant Hair Growth (take care of my hair)

-Partner to do lab research in the summer

-Save MINIMUM enough to cover fall semesters tuition balance.

- Take summer classes to get ahead (ideally calc 2 & org chem 1)

-Become level 2 proficient in French

-Apply to study overseas sophomore year

-Loose V-card (or else I stfg)

[problemeule]

PSA: im back at it again in a lab (organic chem) and as long as no one manages to blow anything up I’ll probably cry/scream/rant/vent occasionally

[dragon-pawz]

Nova time Nova time

[diver-up]

i COULD move one of my winter classes to next semester but i feel like the workload would be too heavy 

[sadbeautifutragic]

i hate wednesday nights

[nnennem]

Day 85/100:

Peaceful days of studying and some tired days in the lab.

Guys, I’m in love with banana milk and I don’t know what to do😂 🍌🥛

[spideyspeaches]

Peter Parker x popular!reader and they just start dating and Peter is really nervous around her and gets flustered whenever she’s close so to calm Peter you tell him it’s okay to touch u and maybe a give him a bj

A/N: sjjfkf thanks for sending so many prompts love you 😘😘 hope you like this eheh I don't like it very much ✌ beta read by @parkerpeter24 :)

Warnings: smut :) (characters are 18)

MINORS DNI

Wc: 1.9k

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Masterlist || Taglist

Girlfriend ↬ p.p

Peter Parker was the kind of guy who would get easily flustered if he was to talk to a girl, or any human as a matter of fact.

So it came off as a big shock to the Avengers when they found out that he, the shy nerdy Peter Parker, had a girlfriend at all.

They were all having a family dinner (something about bonding, Tony had said), when you called him, interrupting him from some Spidey adventure story he was reciting.

"Sorry guys, gotta take this," He said, phone smushed between his cheek and shoulder, fork halfway through his mouth, "uh, hey babe, what happened? Everything okay?"

Bucky and Steve were the first one to break out of their shocked stares as Peter called someone "babe" on the phone. 

Surely you don't call your friend babe, right?

"Peter! Thank God you picked up, can you come over right now?" You said on the phone.

"Uh actually, I'm having dinner, is it okay if I come over in an hour or so?" He said, ignoring the shouted whispers about a brewing conspiracy of who could it be on the phone in the background. 

"Okay, but don't forget like last time! I'm actually calling you to help me out with our chem lab manual-" 

"-didn't we do it during homeroom yesterday?" 

"Yeah but I need help with this one experiment, please Petey? I really need your help with this." You whine, hoping that he would catch your drift. But he didn't apparently, because he sighed, looking over his shoulders to see the Avengers with perked up ears, and replied;

"Okay fine. I'll be there in an hour Okay? Bye." He said and hung up, pocketing his phone and making his way to the dining room, only to be assaulted by a hundred and one questions.

"Peter who was that-"

"You've been keeping secrets from your father figure now-"

"Hope you're being safe, if you know what I mean-" 

"Kids these days." (That was from Steve)

"Guys stop! One by one please!" Peter shouted, holding his hands to his ears, frowning as he glared at them, "why are you all asking these questions?" 

"Because kid, if I'm being honest, we don't believe that you have a girlfriend, so spill the beans." Tony sighed, holding his cheek with his elbow on the table.

"Okay ouch. Why is it so hard to believe have a girlfriend?! I'm hot." Peter pouted, crossing his arms to try and look intimidating.

"Because you're you! You're shy nerdy Peter!" Tony said, gesturing at others to back him up.

"I mean, he's not that bad. Quite a charmer." Natasha smirked, sending him a look, which quite frankly, terrified and impressed Peter at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah totally." 

"I believe you kid. Are we gonna meet her soon?" Tony rolled his eyes, smiling when he blushed red.

"If she's okay with it." He said, intertwining his fingers.

"Well I hope she is, cause I want to meet the girl who stole my kid's heart." 

"Mr. Staaaark!" 

***

Leaving the tower had been a difficult feat, with the constant questions and a snarky comment or two, especially when they found out that you were a cheerleader. 

Rapping his knuckles on your apartment door, he smiled as you greeted him with an excited hug. He couldn't help but look at your skirt, the way it enhanced your waistline, and how it fit just right on your thighs, its frills swaying with the sway of your hips-

"Pete? You coming or what?" You laughed, a hand on your room's door as you look over your shoulder with glinting eyes.

"Uh- uh yeah just a minute. Are your parents home?" He asked casually, following you to your room.

"Nah, they're out for tonight." You said, closing the door behind him.

"Oh that's good, which experiment were you- Uh, what are you doing?" He asked, his voice rising an octave as he saw you unbuttoning your shirt, moving your fingers in slow motion as if to tease him.

"I finished my homework yesterday Petey, that's not why I called you." You whispered, straddling his lap as you hold his face, eyes shining with mischief. He instantly felt his dick harden as you rubbed against him, face burning when you traced his cheekbones, kissing his nose and then his lips.

"What, Uh, what did you call me for then?" He stuttered, holding your waist through the skirt's thin material, fingers itching to tear it off you. His heart was racing and he wondered if you could hear it doing so.

"You know why, it's been so long and I miss you baby." You whined, pouting as he unzips your skirt, watching it slide down your thighs in rivulets. You clench your thighs against his waist, intertwining your toes as you felt the space between your legs starting to wet.

"You met me in school yesterday." He mumbled, puffing his cheeks as he strained to keep a straight face, not with you looking so pretty in just your bra and skirt.

You had been overwhelmingly horny the past few hours, craving for your boyfriend's touch, imagining the way he fucked you against your bed frame as it shook with his strength.

"You miss me huh?" He smirked, catching you off guard when he flipped you over, holding you down as he rocked his hips against yours, leaving sloppy, wet kisses down your neck, reaching between your breasts and stopping a moment enough to hear you whine.

"I missed you so much and I want to fuck you now." You said, sucking a breath when he all but tore your bra, arching your back to let his fingers linger on you.

"Missed you too, missed all of you, missed your wet pussy. Wanna show my pretty girl how much I missed her." He growled, sucking on the sensitive skin of your nipple as he massaged your breasts. 

"Already wet for me eh?" He whispered, nibbling at your ear as he slid his length into You, "Fuck baby such a tight pussy." 

Quickly undressing himself, you openly drooled at how packed your boyfriend was. It was not the first time you would be doing… it together since your six month long relationship, but it was the first time you got to see his dominant side, and it turned you on. 

"Mmhmm yeah, only cause your dick is practically blue." You moaned, hissing when he hit a sensitive spot.

"Fuck, oh shit go faster Peter- oh!" You hissed, your skin slapping with his as he thrusts into you with a gusto.

"You like that babygirl?" He asked, eyes scrunching as he threw his head back, feeling your walls clench against his dick as you moved with him.

"Yes! You're so good oh- I'm gonna cum Peter!" You panted, chest heaving as your stamina decreases with every push and pull, your hands fisted on your sheets hard enough for them to pull out of your mattress.

You saw him flush red, confusion showing on your face as you tilted your head, your  almost orgasm forgotten as you held his cheek, "what happened?" 

"I- you've never um, org-orgasmed before on me." He muttered, his pupils blown wide as he looks at you with the most innocent look ever, and you would have laughed had his dick still not been inside you, midway in the air, his butt held high above. 

"Peter… are You, we've literally fucked so many times and you're getting flustered over me orgasming?" You chuckled, wiping away the sweat forming on his forehead.

"Yeah but you've never come on my bare dick before!" He countered, gulping as he saw you smirk. 

"Everything has a first time doesn't it?" You say, picking yourself upright so that you were chest to chest now, your nipples hardening against his bare chest as you rubbed against him, "Wanna try something?"

Your hand slides down to his dick as he nodded a yes, slowly pumping his balls as you kiss his lips. You hear him moan tour name, the sounds sending wetness dripping down your thighs again. Ignoring your thighs, you bent down to lick the tip of his dick, slick with pre cum and bright pink. 

"Is this okay?" You ask, swirling your tongue teasingly, wetting his already wet dick with your mouth as you sucked at it with a pop.

"This is amazing baby, keep going." He threw his head back, a growl emitting from deep inside his throat, "wow uhhh." 

"Wow what Petey?" 

"Wow you're- you're amazing. God I've- I understand why people like being on the receiving end of the job right now." 

"Job?" You laughed, "hun this isn't a Job." 

"You- you know what I mean!" He chuckled, shaking his head as you continued to suck on it.

"No I don't. Please enlighten me." You smiled, peeping from under your lashes as your tongue works through his hard member. 

"I know you know." He whimpered, hands creeping up to his balls as he tried to take care of his blues.

"No. Lemme do it." You slapped his hands, snickering when he whined. 

"Oh Tony wants to meet you by the way." He said suddenly, making you groan and fall back dramatically.

"You know I don't do family members Petey." You mumbled, pulling him down, his mouth immediately latching onto the underside of your breasts.

"But why? Am I- aren't we serious enough now?" He asked.

Your heart stuttered at the thought of meeting one of the most important people in his life other than May. You and May had already met (post an unfortunate...accident), not to mention he was freaking Iron Man!

"It's not that. It's just, what if he doesn't like me? Or black widow. I'm not your normal nerdy girl with A grades, what if they think I'm not good enough for you? Or that I'm violating you for Spider-Man? What if-" 

"- baby I swear they'll love You! And if they don't then it's their loss, because no matter what you are, who you are friends with, how many A's you get or don't, you'll always be my girl." His voice was soft as his hands moved with featherlight movements, rubbing light circles on your waist, instantly relaxing you. 

"Are you sure?" You said, biting your lips and fiddling with his hair. He gave another moan as your fingers played with his hair, scratching slightly behind his ear.

"Yes bub, they will love you. You're very important to me, you know that right?" He said.

"Even if I wear short skirts and hang out with jocks?" You giggled, resting your forehead on his toned chest, playing with his skin.

"Especially if you wear those short skirts." He smirked, making you roll your eyes as you slapped his chest slightly. Sighing, you kissed him again, rolling over so you were laid on top of him.

Wrapping your arms around him, you let yourself fall asleep, with his clothes in your room and hand in your hair. 

***

Peter woke up the next morning, the incessant ringing of his phone working as an alarm. 

Groaning he rolled over, careful as to not wake you up, squinting at the bright screen of his phone. Before he could cut the ringer though, it cut off on its own, only to be taken over by a text.

You didn't come home last night kiddo 😏

Shit. 

[byologee]

an actually practical guide to being premed and getting into med school by someone who did it successfully

Majors and Classes:

Personally I feel you should choose a major that will be complementary to your premed studies-- something STEM or social science based that overlaps with your premed classes and will allow you to take upper level science classes that relate to physiology, disease and illness, pharmacology, etc. HOWEVER do not let this deter you from majoring in a non-bio STEM area like biochem or from pursuing a different science or liberal arts major.

That being said, consider double majoring in Public Health because it is very relevant to premed and going into medicine.

Make sure you take the correct order of bio and chem classes. This is important so that you take classes at the appropriate time when you have the appropriate skill level and so that you do not have any gaps in your premed education or major classes.

Be aware of what upper level bio and chem classes require prereqs that are not a part of your major requirements or premed requirements; for example some upper level bio classes require microbio which is not a premed requirement at all schools NOR always a major requirement. Plan your underclassmen years accordingly to allow you to fit in certain prereqs for upper level classes.

If you plan on taking lower level lab intensive courses, take them as an underclassman-- they will prepare you with basic lab skills you can apply to upper level classes and to irl lab work, plus most of your classmates will be underclassmen. You do not want to take these lower level lab intensive courses as an upperclassman. You will be bored and probably annoyed.

Take an intro level public health class as an underclassmen to see if you are interested in public health; this will also be relevant to your med school apps.

Gen chem 1 and orgo 1 are weedout classes. Many people will switch from premed and/or bio to public health or prePA after taking gen chem 1 and orgo 1. This is normal; don’t be judgemental. If you’re the one switching to public health or prePA, don’t feel bad or ashamed.

Do not take orgo 1 or 2 with super hard progressors. It’s just not worth it. Many people say that harder orgo progressors prepare you better for the MCAT, but this is false as the MCAT does not have a lot of orgo on it. Many people will fail out of orgo even without super hard professors. Set yourself up for success by taking orgo profs with good reputations, not profs with reputations for failing everyone, being purposefully difficult, or just nasty.

If you take a (relatively) “easy” professor for orgo 1, under no circumstances should you take a hard prof for orgo 2. You will suffer.

The best way to study orgo 1 and 2 is to memorize all the reactions. Copy reactions until you have them memorized. Then you can simply apply what you’ve memorized to synthesis reactions. This works for NMR too, just memorize what NMR specs look like and apply.

Always go to TA office hours for gen chem 1, 2 lab and orgo 1, 2 lab. The lab reports are very difficult and the TAs can help you more than professors can. Professors will be mostly absent for labs. TAs will know what’s up.

You do not need to take biochem 2 for the MCAT, biochem 1 will suffice as it generally covers amino acids and proteins and not respiration and metabolism. Most of the biochem on the MCAT is about amino acids and proteins; all metabolism can be self-studied. (This is my opinion to save you time, if your advisors tell you otherwise LISTEN TO THEM and not me).

If you take AP psychology you do not need to take intro psych.

You need to take a sociology course for the MCAT and premed reqs. You should take The Sociology of Deviance if offered at your college as this is more relevant to the MCAT than intro socy.

If you have to take a professional writing class for Gen Eds, try to take a science writing or health professions writing course as these will be relevant to you.

Take stats even if you don’t have to as it is very relevant for understanding papers.

If you switch to another pre-health path like prePA or prepharm you will generally have to take different prereqs. Clear this with your advisors and come up with a plan.

Med schools like to see a diversity in courses and not just science courses, so you need to take at least 8 humanities credit hours. Diversify your college education and take interesting and relevant humanities courses; this will also help with CARS on the MCAT.

Research

Many medical schools want you to have research experience. You can do clinical research or bench research.

You should start research early, either 2nd semester freshman year or summer before sophomore year.

The best advice is to research professors and PIs in the BSCI and public health departments and email ones you are interested in about working in their lab. You can do this before 2nd semester freshman year or during that semester. Email example: Hi Dr. X, I am an undergraduate freshman at UMD and am looking for research opportunities in X field. I discovered your lab and read your paper, “X,” and am very interested in this subject! Elaborate on what interested you I was wondering if there are any open positions in your lab for an undergraduate researcher. I have taken X, X, X, courses. I would be interested in working in your lab for 2 years. Please let me know if you have any openings! Best, X

PIs generally look for undergrads to commit to 2 years of research, but you can quit earlier if you feel like it. This is also why you should do research earlier-- that way you are not cramming it in during your upperclassman years.

The goal is to get some abstracts, posters, presentations, and maybe a pub out of it, but these things aren’t absolutely necessary.

Clinical Experience

Med schools like to see 10 months of continuous clinical experience, which translates to about 200 hours. However, this number is too low and to be really competitive for med school apps you should aim for 1000 hours if not more.

The best way to gain clinical experience is to work part time as a scribe, CNA, MA, or tech. You can take CNA and MA courses the summer before sophomore or junior year and apply to positions online. CNA/MA gives you a lot of experience working with patients. Scribing gives you a lot of experience working with doctors and seeing what they do. It’s best to start clinical experience sophomore year or junior year so you can gain enough hours prior to applying.

You should also have clinical volunteering hours which you can get by volunteering at hospitals such as Children’s or Shady Grove or any other local hospital. Other clinics also accept volunteers, you just have to look around. Check your health professions advising office (hereon abbreviated as HPAO) for their recommendations and job listings if available.

You can also shadow doctors. Your HPAO may have a continuously updating list of physicians in your area who are available to shadow. You can also genuinely just email local providers. Note that you will need to shadow a DO if applying DO.

Check your HPAO listserv for job openings and clinical volunteering opportunities.

You can find jobs by googling “CNA job near me” or “scribe job near me” and browsing postings on Indeed and other job sites, or alternatively postings on hospital sites.

Community Service

Med schools like to see 10-12 months of continuous community service, or around 200 hours. This is too low, and you should aim for around 600 to be a competitive applicant.

Join school listservs and look for volunteer postings. Go to your school’s First Look Fair or college organization fair (usually held at the beginning of each semester) and sign up for emails from clubs that do volunteering or other various organizations. There are many organizations on campus that do volunteering and service.

Ideally you want to work with marginalized communities off campus. This sounds shitty but you want to work with communities who need it. You should also aim for a sustained service opportunity, not a once a month thing but a weekly, continuous experience. Volunteering through clubs and societies like the women’s premed organization are not valid experiences.

Google local homeless shelters, women’s shelters, STD testing clinics, and food banks-- these are all really good places to volunteer at. You can also volunteer at crisis hotlines.

You can also utilize clinical experience for community service, so volunteering at a hospital, clinic, urgent care, etc. But you also need non-clinical community service, so make sure to prioritize both.

Consistency is key. Doing an experience for a longer period of time (ex. 4 hours every week for 10 months- year) is very valuable. Even doing an hour of volunteering at the same place every week for two years is great. Building relationships, gaining experience, understanding consistency-- med schools value this. Long term experience is very important.

Extracurriculars

You should also be involved in extraneous, non-community service based organizations and extracurriculars. It’s ok if these organizations include some aspect of community service. This can also include paid-positions that are not clinical.

Examples include campus ministries, sports, dance, art clubs, music/choir, social, restorative, and environmental justice organizations, interest groups, tutoring, co-ed frats, etc.

Joining societies, like the American Women’s Medical Association or your college’s namesake Pre-Med Society is a great way to do extracurriculars, build your resume, and get leadership experience. You can also join major-specific societies.

Check with your HPAO for a list of pre-health societies you can join. Your college will also have a website or list of clubs and orgs you can investigate.

Med schools like to see that you are well-rounded, so having a variety of experiences is important.

Advising

It is extremely important that you build a relationship with your advisors. It is very important that you outline all the classes you want to take with them and when AND that you meet with them every semester. Discuss your plans with them, ask questions, ask for suggestions and tips. If you make any major or minor changes you need to speak with them too. They are a resource; use them.

You will also need to build a relationship with your pre-med advisors at your HPAO. You may need to do an intro workshop to be able to meet with an advisor at your HPAO.

Meet with an HPAO advisor every semester to outline your courseload, volunteering, clinical work, extracurriculars, and application plan. Your HPAO advisor will help you craft a narrative for med school apps and can help advise you with regards to coursework and what opportunities to pursue. They can help you decide when to take the MCAT, when to apply, devise a school list, etc. so it’s best to start meeting with them early. The better your relationship with your HPAO advisor, the stronger the recommendation letter you’ll get from them.

If your grades drop you NEED to speak with an HPAO advisor. You should be checking in with them every semester to go over your grades and course history and make sure you are on the right track to apply. This is really really crucial.

If your HPAO offers workshops for applying to med school, crafting a school list, financing med school, writing a personal statement, etc. then GO TO THEM. Utilize the resources that are available to you.

Make sure you are on your HPAO listserv.

If your HPAO offers peer to peer advising consider using this resource to speak with current college students who are going through the application process.

2 Areas Med Schools Look At: Leadership + Diversity and Inclusion

These are two hot topics med schools care about. Here is how to address them.

Leadership: there are numerous ways to gain leadership experience; getting elected to a leadership position in a club or organization, being a TA or UA, getting a management position at your job, or being any kind of team leader in a community service endeavor. The important thing is that you are able to express what you learned and how you grew or changed from that experience, plus how you will apply what you learned in the future.

Diversity and Inclusion: Hot topics in medicine right now, my advice is to read about diversity and inclusion in medicine and what it means-- read articles, op-eds, peer-reviewed papers, etc. There are a few ways to go about this issue; one is to find out what is unique about you that you can contribute to medicine, the second (and most important) is to work with underserved and marginalized communities. Being able to express in med school apps and interviews that you understand the difficulties faced by marginalized groups and are committed to better health and wellness outcomes is REALLY important. Being able to show awareness about diversity in medicine is so key. To do this, spend time working with the marginalized and underserved through community service and clinical work. Be able to show med schools that you understand and care about diversity and inclusion.

You should be thinking about leadership and diversity/inclusion throughout all four years of undergrad-- how will you incorporate these things into your app?

Letters of Rec

Getting letters of rec (you will need 5-6) is very important. To do this you will need to build relationships with the following…

Professors: You will need recommendations from 2 science professors and 1-2 non-science professors. To get recs you need to go to office hours, ask questions in class and outside of class, email profs questions, stay after class to ask questions, participate, show an interest in what they are teaching. Office hours are important unless the class is small. Build relationships with professors ALL THROUGHOUT undergrad. Go to office hours even if you don’t have questions, especially in junior and senior year. Go and ask them to review prior tests and papers. Ask if you can explain concepts to them to get clarification. Listen to other peoples’ questions, piggyback off them. A prof is not going to write a LOR unless they know you.

Physicians: You need to have clinical experience to get an MD LOR. And you NEED an MD or DO LOR. Get the clinical experience, then ask whatever physician you worked with the most for an LOR. Many will say you do not need a DO LOR to apply to DO schools; I cannot advocate for this as I was told by my premed advisor that I needed one. Be safe and get one if you plan to apply DO.

Other: If there is anyone else who knows you well and can write a strong LOR, ask them. Your boss, manager, volunteering organizer, team leader, club sponsor-- whomever.

Committee Letter (CL): Many med schools require these. Your college probably has a unique CL process. Go to workshops, research, and ask your advisors how this process works. Maintain a relationship with your premed advisors to obtain a good CL letter.

Building a Narrative

This is talked about a lot junior and senior year when you are applying, but it’s important to think about building your narrative all four years of undergrad.

What this means is that you want to center your application around a theme or common experiences. You want to build a cohesive resume of common volunteering, clinical, and extracurricular experiences that complement each other. You should be able to summarize all of your experiences and draw a narrative about you based on what you have done.

For example, my narrative centered around marginalized and underserved communities as well as social and restorative justice. I used my volunteering experience with marginalized, underserved kids and my experience working with traditionally underserved patients to explain why I want to be a physician, what my medical vision and mission is, and what I have learned about medicine. Because I am interested in family medicine I was able to tie my experience working with the underserved into my goal of improving community health and welfare among marginalized groups. I also discussed how my passion for social and restorative justice ties into my clinical experiences and how I plan to integrate this passion into my practice of medicine.

One of my friends centered her narrative around being a Spanish-speaking person of color AND the descendent of physicians and how this has shaped many of her experiences in medicine and healthcare.

You don’t have to plan out your experiences to conform to a pre-chosen narrative. You do have to be able to draw common themes and lessons from your experiences, however.

MCAT

Talk to your premed advisor about when to take the MCAT and what classes you need to take prior to taking the MCAT. Ideally you want to take biochem 1, physics 2, and sociology of deviance before taking the mcat along with all other prereqs.

You also want to take the MCAT before applying (ideally) so that you can craft an appropriate school list. Your MCAT will give you a boundary for which schools you can apply to. Think of the MCAT as a checkpoint you must pass to apply to certain med schools.

Many people start content review six months before their test. Some start 2-3 months prior. Do what you think is comfortable.

You can use books or purchase review courses (Kaplan, Princeton Review) or use free online review content (Khan Academy).

Practicing how to take the test is more important than content review. What that means is that doing practice tests will help you more than reviewing content. Take as many practice tests as you can (AAMC makes their own).

Do a practice test one day, review what you got wrong the next day. Repeat this enough times and you will do well on the MCAT (511+).

Don’t anticipate retaking the MCAT. But don’t exclude it as a possibility either, so plan when you take the MCAT accordingly.

General Advice:

ALWAYS listen to your premed advisors. Do not elevate advice given by random strangers (including me) on the internet above advice given by your advisors. They know you. They know your history, your transcript, your personality. Us internet people do not. Trust your advisors. They know what they are doing.

Take everything said on the internet by supposed med school app experts, med students, doctors, premeds, SDN mods and commenters, premed redditors, and other random internet people with a BIG grain of salt. We don’t always know what we are talking about.

Limit the amount of time spent on SDN and premed reddit as well as other premed online forums. It can get unhealthy real fast.

You don’t have to study all the time. It’s ok to take breaks and have fun.

Don’t be afraid to reach out and get help or ask questions. Everyone else is struggling too. Your professors want you to do well.

Do non-science related things. Give your mind a break and diversify your experience.

Failing a test is not the end of the world. Many people fail tests and classes. You won’t be alone. Always remember that the curve exists.

If you are having a problem, talk to your professors and TAs. They are there to help.

Study with people. Quiz each other. Make study guides and ask each other questions. Help each other out.

Utilize campus resources- tutoring, study groups, yoga classes, conferences and seminars, counseling, etc.

Buy the MSAR when you start building your school list. It will make comparing schools so much easier.

A B or even a C is not going to ruin your chance of getting into medical school. People get in to med schools with 3.1 GPAs. You will be ok if you fail one test, have a few Cs or Bs, withdraw from a class, etc.

Getting into med school is more about fit than anything else. It’s not about how smart you are or how good your GPA or MCAT is. Everyone has a 4.0 Everyone has a 528. What matters is fit-- who you are, what you believe, what your values are, what your aspirations are-- and how you can demonstrate these things through your application, interview, and overall experiences. Remember that top tier schools are research-oriented (Einstein, Baylor, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Stanford, NYU, Duke, Mayo, UChicago, Mt Sinai) whereas other lower tier will be more community focused.

ALL med schools (excluding caribbean med schools and a few DO schools, looking at you DMUCOM and LECOM) are valid. All med schools are good med schools. Med school is med school is med school. You will come out with an MD or DO and you will get into residency.

Always apply DO. Just do it. DO is great, DO is a viable option and good opportunity. Do it. Do not exclude it.

Links and other Resources:

AAMC: MD applicants, helpful resources in general https://students-residents.aamc.org/preparing-medical-school/preparing-medical-school

AACOM: DO applicants https://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/how-to-apply-to-osteopathic-medical-college

MSAR: handbook to med schools (MD) https://students-residents.aamc.org/medical-school-admission-requirements/medical-school-admission-requirements-applicants

AAMC’s how to apply to med school https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/applying-medical-school

AAMC’s FAQ and tips to creating a good app: https://students-residents.aamc.org/ask-experts/ask-experts-create-winning-application

Why Diversity Matters in Healthcare https://explorehealthcareers.org/career-explorer/diversity-matters-health-care/

[reidslibrarybook]

What EC's did you do in high school?

i'm gonna assume ec means extracurriculars lmao

not rlly an extracurricular but a stat ig? salutatorian (2/587)

internships every summer where i did lab work and wrote research papers with mit graduate and cambridge/oxford professors

worked with prof at a uc school as a lab assistant analyzing lab data

4 years of cheer/pep squad (idk why my school called it that 😐), cheer captain junior + senior year

4 years of mun (model united nations), secretary general (president) senior year

cm (certificate of merit) up to level 10 (this is a piano thing but i'm p sure they have a diff name for it on the east coast)

on the board of national non-profit org.

4 years of nhs (national honors society), president senior year

4 years of mhs (math honors society), president senior year

3 years of a club i started myself connected to the non-profit

worked as a tutor (bio, chem, geometry, algebra, calc) for 4 years