Lewis Associates e-Newsletter
Volume
5 Issue 4
April 2006
Published by Lewis Associates. Dr. Cynthia Lewis, Phd., Editor
Email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
with your comments. Enjoy!
Congratulations
to our 2 Class of 2006 applicants who were accepted to Harvard Med!
What's inside:
Welcome to Success Stories Newsletter!
Important News: The New Computer-based MCAT; Harvard-Trained Guru's new MCAT Prep Course Dr. Flowers
Useful Links: Naturopathic Medicine Newsletter
Alumni Updates: Second Year in Med school Adam Carewe; Andrew Eads Class of 2006 Habitat for Humanity in Mexico
Dates and Reminders: Post-Bac Programs at Rosalind Franklin, SFSU, and University of Cincinnati
Success Story of the Month: We conclude our story by Dr. Glenn Valenzuela
Question of the Month: What would Osteopathic schools think of a second application after withdrawing from acceptances?
Welcome to Lewis Associates!
By April, everyone who is attending a spring term is now looking forward
to spring break or have just had spring break. For those in the process of
applying to medical school, the MCAT looms large and life is subsumed around
this test. . . or possibly the DAT or the GRE. In any case, this is a busy
time for all pre-health students.
Thanks From a Parent
"Dear Dr. Lewis, Our family wants to thank you for all of your help and
advice to our son. We appreciate your patience in working with him and answering
all of my questions. Thanks also to Alice and Zakiya for their assistance
over the years. We are thrilled that he has received 3 offers - it is such
a relief for us that he can fulfill his dream since 9th grade of attending
medical school. Thank you again, DJ"
What's New?
NEW FREE teleconferencing and videoconferencing . You need
to register for free AOL Instant Messaging, and will get free audio and/or
video contact with us!! Talk with Zakiya to set up your computer for this
NOW!!
Early Bird Special! Order one of our essay
packages before April 30 and receive a $50 discount!
We now have e-billing and will have more online services. In fact, we will
establish an online Blog in the near future!
In a couple of years, some new books and CD's will be out by Dr. Lewis about
preparing for medical and other health professions schools. . . keep on the
lookout!!
Lewis Associates is phasing out long-term advising except for those already
contracted and we are focusing on doing Personal Assessments, essay and interview
packages, our new medical Residency packages, and doing hourly problem-solving
advising.
Coming this summer
July 21-23, 2006 we are hosting a gala Alumni Reunion in San Diego
for our over 700 alumni. We are trying to locate them now. If you have contact
information about any alumni, please email it to imaclewis@lewisassoc.com.
Our goal is to locate as many as possible. If you wish to be invited and you
are not an alumnus, but wish to meet some of our wonderful alumni, please
let Zakiya know in our office. We will try to include as many as we can on
a first-come basis.
Track Record
We are proud that 2 of our Class of 2006 applicants were interviewed at Harvard
Medical School this year and both have been accepted! This brings Dr. Lewis'
record to 29 Advisees accepted to Harvard Medical and Dental Schools in the
past 20 years!
100% of our Class of
2005 applicants were accepted!
100% of our Class of 2004 applicants were accepted!
Class of 2007 applicants
We are preparing for your applications to be submitted early this summer.
We have a little time, a very precious commodity: Time to plan, to locate
and use new opportunities, time to live up to your potential! Many times,
I locate clinical or service experiences for my Advisees. . . but you need
the time to get the most out of them! We can help you sidestep the mistakes
and jump over roadblocks that everyone seems to face.
In order to be a competitive Class of 2007 applicant, you
need to submit a quality application as evaluated by your clinical, service
and other experiences and your GPA/MCAT/DAT/GRE, etc. profile--in a timely
fashion. This requires a well thought-out strategy to carry you through the
difficult year-long application process.
What are your chances?
If you want to change your career or reach your new career goal, but do not
know how to begin or how to jump over all those hurdles, Lewis Associates
will advise and implement strategies to change your life.
Getting Started
Read about it in our newsletter
and website, then phone or email
us directly to get started with your Personal Assessment!
We spend on average 7 hours working to develop an effective strategy of taking
you from where you are to where you want to be.
You may be like our other Lewis Associates Advisees--highly motivated and
intelligent, but needing focus, guidance and specific technical expertise.
Dr. Lewis solves problems for her Advisees and finds opportunities for them.
Maybe you wish to use our hourly advising to solve a specific problem. Dr.
Lewis is a trained biologist, having taught and directed her own research
programs for many years at two universities. She earned two postdoctoral fellowships
(one at NIH), received the 1990 NACADA Outstanding Institutional Advising
Program in the U.S. and directed her own Health Careers Opportunity Program
grant for 6 years, bringing $1 million to her university.
If you are serious about making your dreams to become a physician,
dentist, physician assistant, veterinarian, optometrist, podiatrist, naturopathic
physician, or pharmacist a reality--Lewis Associates can help you.
We have made the difference for over 700 alumni now practicing in medicine
during the last 20 years.
Dr. Lewis teaches Professionalism, Leadership, and Quality, and sets high
standards for her Advisees.
Lewis Associates will save you money and heartache on your application
process.
Contact the health career experts! For more information
email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
or call 805-226-9669 and ask to set up your first appointment.
n e w s & l i n k s
N E W S
The Real Deal About the MCAT. . . New, Old, Paper, Computer-Based
http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/advisors/premedsaed06.pdf
(Download PDF)
April 2006 will be the last paper test for the MCAT. In August 2006 they will
be Beta testing the Computer Based Test (CBT) of the MCAT at 10% of the sites
and 90% of the seats will be for the paper test. As of 2007 the paper test
will be completely replaced with the CBT. In 2007 the MCAT will be offered
on 19 different dates. Twice in January, and the remaining times in April
through September, with each month having multiple test dates except June.
There will only be one test date in June. The most test dates will be available
in May and July. Three of the test dates will have two test time sessions,
one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The remaining test dates will
have the exam offered half in the morning, half in the afternoon. There will
be week day test dates in addition to weekends. The test dates in September
will be the final ones until the following January.
Currently the paper test takes 60 days to score. The CBT will be scored in
30 days or less. Eventually, they hope to score it in two weeks, but do not
know how soon that will be possible. The CBT will NEVER have immediate test
resulting. This will allow students to contest questions that they did not
believe had proper answer choices available. Also they do not want the emotional
impact of the test scores to occur at the testing center where the proctors
will have to handle upset students, nor do they want returned scores to impact
students who are still taking the exam. There will be no paper score reports
for the test scores. Students will have to log onto the website to obtain
test scores.
The test length will be five hours, which is what allows them to offer it
twice a day on some days. They are reducing the length of the test by 1/3
by having fewer questions. The Writing Sample portion of the exam will remain
the same for now. There will be no spell check function on the written component
of the exam.
Students will only be able to register for one exam at a time, with a maximum
of 3 times a year. They recommend if students would like a particular test
exam and location, students should register at least 60 days in advance. If
students register with less than 60 days they can not guarantee the exam site
location will be the student's choice. While students can still register up
to one week before the exam time, if students want to take the exam in a particular
location they should register before 60 days prior to the exam. Remember,
unlike the paper test, the CBT will have a limited number of seats based on
the number of computer terminals available. There will be 4000 seats available
for 22 different sessions, so hopefully everyone will be accommodated. They
will try to find students a test location that is within 100 miles of where
they request to take the exam.
Students will not be able to take the exam more than 3 times in one year.
Currently, with the paper test, students are not allowed to take the MCAT
more than 3 times without a written request from their Pre-Health Advisor.
As the MCAT becomes computer-based, this will shift to 4 times. A student
will be able to take the exam 3 times in one year, and once the following
year. After that, if a student needs to take the exam a fifth time it will
require a written request from the Pre-Health Advisor to the AAMC. A written
request does not guarantee the student will be permitted to take the exam
again.
Before the exam begins, biometric information (photographs and digital fingerprints)
will be taken for each student. The students will have a tutorial on how the
CBT works before the exam begins. The CBT is designed, so nothing is automatic.
The program will not move onto the next computer screen until the test taker
instructs it to do so. The AAMC has a free practice exam in the new CBT format
available on its website for you to use as a learning tool: http://www.e-mcat.com/
For more information about the CBT MCAT, what dates and locations it will
be offered, visit the AAMC website at http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/
New online MCAT preparation by the Harvard-Trained Guru: Dr. James
Flowers
Coming to a workshop hosted by Dr. Lewis on May 2nd, 6-7 PM at San Diego State
University, Room TBA
This is a super opportunity for those taking the August 2006 or later MCAT!
Contact Jennifer Behan at jenisdsu@yahoo.com
if you want a seat at this FREE presentation. http://drflowersmcat.com/
Dr. Flowers says:
"For the new drflowersmcat.com
which will be launched in April, 2006, I have taken the logical, but apparently
minority viewpoint, that the AAMC practice MCAT's are the gold standard for
MCAT prep. They are also the 'Goldilocks' of the MCAT preps, 'not too easy',
'not to hard' but 'just right'. I have been doing this for 35+ years and had
to function during a time when no 'real' sample tests were available. By intensely
analyzing these tests over the last 10+ years, I have been able to develop
a real 'on-target' review for the MCAT.
The review begins with a pre-test designed to do a comprehensive assessment
of science and math knowledge needed to do well on the MCAT (i.e., not such
knowledge necessary to become a rocket scientist like some believe). This
is necessary because no single 'mock' MCAT or AAMC practice MCAT does this.
Then, through our own algorithm, we construct an individualized study program
to bring the student up to par, based on his/her own goals. That is, a student
first determines what range of scores they believe they can realistically
attain on the test, e.g. 24, 34 or 44, for the 3 numerical scores. Then, the
algorithm will set their study at these goal levels. Next, the student will
go through each of the AAMC practice tests sequentially, and the same individualized
study will be developed after each test. The student is offered a myriad of
review options based on their test results including didactic content, discussions
of AAMC solutions (like no-one has ever seen done for AAMC solutions before),
topic review tests, equation training and review, individualized flash cards,
timed booster tests and test-taking skills. Verbal reasoning and essay writing
are also included in detail.
The review is database driven in a manner is not duplicated by any other review.
Our platform will allow seamless integration of the many facets and allow
for easy navigation. I do not believe any other online course comes close
to its completeness and the use of the electronic media.
Dr. Flowers MCATTM (DFM) is a comprehensive on-line learning system
for MCAT preparation and was designed to take full advantage of the internet
and the electronic media. It is not simply an adaptation to the internet from
a classroom or paper based prep course.
Besides being designed for the new electronic age, its genesis depends on
the extensive and unparalleled experience and insights of its primary creator,
Dr. James Flowers. Dr. Flowers has been teaching students how to prepare for
the MCAT since 1971. Besides scoring in the 99%tiles under real test conditions,
his books have been used by hundreds of thousands of students, and he has
personally taught thousands face to face. He is a graduate of the Harvard
Medical School and was a participant in the Harvard-Massachusetts Institute
of Technology Program in Health Sciences and Technology."
L I N K S :
Naturopathic Medicine Newsletter
http://www.aanmc.org/enewsletter/current.htm
Find this and other useful links on Lewisassoc.com's
Links Page.
a l u m n i u p d a t e s
| Adam Carewe MSY II at New York Medical College
March 11, 2006 |
| Andrew Eads Class of 2006 applicant joins Habitat for Humanity in Veracruz, Mexico
Spring, 2006 |
d a t e s & r e m i n d e r s
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science announces
that they are now accepting applications to a new Master of Science degree
in Biomedical Sciences, offered through the Inter-professional Healthcare
Studies Department, College of Health Professions. This one-year, non-thesis
program prepares students to continue their education in a wide range of health
professions. (Rosalind Franklin University no longer offers the Applied Physiology
program.)
The mission of the new Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences program is
to prepare students to continue their graduate education in a variety of healthcare
professions, including allopathic and podiatric
medicine, clinical laboratory science, healthcare management, nutrition, physical
therapy, and physician assistant studies, by providing a
rigorous background in the biomedical sciences.
The student's educational experience will:
• Foster inter-professional healthcare interaction by exposure to a
variety of healthcare fields
• Enhance critical thinking, multidisciplinary leadership, and management
skills
• Encourage students to engage in self-directed, life-long learning
• Prepare the student for a leadership career in research, biomedical
and/or healthcare
• Integrate physiology, biochemistry, cell biology, and neuroscience
as related to healthcare
• Provide an opportunity to earn a certificate in one of the following
fields: clinical research, healthcare management, nutrition, and women’s
health.
Students enrolled in the Biomedical Science program who later apply to other
programs within Rosalind Franklin University will be granted an admissions
interview with that program. (However, no preference is given to
Biomedical Science students regarding acceptance into any program or school
at Rosalind Franklin University, including The Chicago Medical School.)
Applications and information are at http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/admissions/chp.
The Biomedical Science program accepts students on a rolling basis, so early
application is encouraged. The final application deadline
is June 1, 2006.
For questions, contact the Graduate Admissions Office at 847-578-3209 or grad.admissions@rosalindfranklin.edu
New Post-Baccalaureate Program at San Francisco State University
A new, formal post-bac program at SFSU begins this summer. Up to now, they
have had an informal program that has been flexible and very inexpensive (~$4,000/yr).
This program has been suitable for both career changers and academic record-enhancers
http://online.sfsu.edu/~brothman/Informal.htm
They now add a 2-year, formal program for a cohort of 25
students that is more expensive (~$14,000/yr), but has dedicated classes,
a more health professions-oriented curriculum, and greater student support.
Because this program offers only pre-reqs, it is suitable only for
career changers. (http://online.sfsu.edu/~brothman/PHPCP.htm
).
A detailed explanation of the program, and a downloadable application is at
the above web site. Applications are due on April 24. Classes
begin June 5.
University of Cincinnati's new MS Program
A new program for students interested in attending medical school who need
to improve their credentials. A one-year masters program in physiology at
the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine with a side-by-side comparison
with first year medical students taking Medical Physiology and Medical Biochemistry.
One of the peripheral benefits is that it will qualify our students for Ohio
residency and subsequent application to the numerous medical schools in Ohio.
Details may be found at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
homepage: http://mcp.uc.edu/
Contact: Robert O. Banks, Ph.D., Professor, Course Director of Medical Physiology
and Director of Physiology Masters Program
s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
by Dr. Cynthia Lewis
Dr. Glenn Valenzuela
He is currently finishing his first year in Anesthesiology Residency at Stanford
University after an Internship year in Boston.
We are finishing our serialized story of Dr. Glenn Valenzuela's
path to Stanford medical school this month.
From Dr. Valenzuela:
"As any surgeon will tell you during an operation, 'exposure is everything.'
We can extrapolate this idea to perhaps pertaining to pretty much life itself,
including the noble, but oftentimes bumpy journey of a pre-medical student.
At SDSU, specifically within the microcosm of the initial Dr. Lewis' juggernaut
of a pre-med program HCOP (later reborn as CUHRE), I believe that the constant
exposure to inspirational individuals was a significant component of its success.
Instead of going on a tirade of narcissistic self-adulation, I will instead
embarrass a few individuals by applauding their influences on my development.
The lessons they have taught me are universally applicable, and I hope it
may be of some value to subsequent candidates.
Dino: Organization
My first mentor taught me the importance of planning & organizing: the
fundamental elements of any worthwhile undertaking. I was introduced to those
lovely multi-coloured pens and Day Timers (remember those?) with strict instructions
to write everything (ie, test dates, meetings, goals & dreams) down. A
notable study illustrates this seemingly obvious point. The 1953 Yale graduating
class were interviewed and revealed that 3% of the graduates had written down
their goals. A follow up study 20 years later revealed that those same 3%
held 97% of the graduating class' wealth. Since most of us held a part time
job or two, had concurrent family/personal issues, or were tethered to some
other time-consuming responsibilities, staying organized and focused was paramount.
Ernie: Confidence
This bearded individual was a post-baccalaureate student who, in a lecture
hall of hundreds, always sat in the front and center. He would not be afraid
to raise his hand and ask a question when confusion arose, which would naturally
result in furious note scribbling in the audience when the point was clarified.
He was a confident orator with a wry wit, the point being that he engaged
his listeners when speaking. His most endearing quality? He was not always
correct, but was never, ever in doubt. :) Believe in yourself, and everything
else will follow.
Shontaye: Tenacity
An academic stud. She recalled a story to me whereby she was studying for
organic chemistry and was having difficulty remaining awake, so she read the
darn book on the cold, hard kitchen floor! This illustrated her unwavering
focus on academic excellence, always pushing herself to stay several standard
deviations ahead. It's been said that if you are able to explain/teach a concept,
then you understand the concept. Shontaye was a premiere enrichment instructor,
and I tried to emulate this quality. So, study. Hard.
Joel: Respect/Compassion
There was an exercise in my first day of the summer HCOP whereby we were hypothetically
given 500 points to distribute among a long list of items which we deemed
important (e.g. a comfortable house, admittance to a great professional school,
new shoes, etc). Naturally, all of the items listed appealed to me, so I distributed
the 500 points more or less evenly throughout the worksheet (with a few dollars
more for a nice car, since I did not have one yet). To what did Joel distribute
his points? 250 points for a strong & trusting marriage, & the other
250 for a healthy family. Wow. This illustrates his deep respect for his loved
ones, and greatly extends to the multitudes of individuals both professionally
and socially that he (and his wife, of course) have helped along the way.
Present company included.
Ron: Legacy
Roughly halfway through my premedical career, I was struggling both academically
and personally. I had family issues to contend with, my girlfriend had dumped
me, my academic focus was spent, and consequently my grades began to suffer.
Suffice it to say, my spirits were at an all time low. I suppose my mentality
up to that point was "med school or bust," which I interpreted as
either I get into medical school, or I was a complete bust. Ron, a shrewd
sage, cleverly disguised as a linguistic scholar, saved me from this preposterous
mentality. He gave me the reassurance that, if medicine did not work out,
there were other ways I could contribute to this society. In short, I took
a breather from memorizing the Krebs cycle to investigating the pluscuamperfecto
tense in Spanish, realizing that "mole" was a Mexican dish unrelated
to Avogadro, and further exploring the undefined beauty of what binds us all
together as human beings, not competitive applicants vying for limited spots.
Cindy: Professionalism
I won't heap any more praises onto this pre-eminent Adviser: her record speaks
for itself. I will, however, illustrate her key philosophy which is peppered
all over her website. The mantra that Dr. Lewis drilled into our heads from
day one was the concept of professionalism. What did that mean? To me, it
meant taking responsibility for one's actions both inside and outside of the
academic setting. It meant showing up on time to meetings and classes, sacrificing
short term gratifications for long term goals, communicating in a timely manner
(with project updates, including, ahem, personal essays), and assessing &
reassessing that we were headed in the proper trajectory. Stated another way,
How do you know where you are going if you don't know where you are?
So there you have it. These lessons I have internalized and continue to refine
and, in the great tradition of revolving doors, have attempted to pass them
on to receptive ears.
Best of luck, dear Applicant, and best wishes to our beloved CL in her upcoming
endeavors.
--
Glenn A. Valenzuela, M.D.
*Scienta sine ars nihil est*"
Email to Dr. Lewis if you wish to communicate
about medical schools or other issues or to contact those profiled in Success
Stories: drlewis@lewisassoc.com
q u e s t i o n o f t h e m o n t h
by Dr. Cynthia Lewis, PhD
One of my Advisees is accepted to several Osteopathic programs in 2006, but is considering withdrawing this year and re-applying to allopathic and Osteopathic programs for 2007. Although s/he has "old" and "new" academic lives, and his/her last 2.5 years are very impressive academically in many ways, including lots of research, teaching and excellent grades, I doubt his/her numbers will overcome an Allopathic focus on overall lower GPA. What would Osteopathic schools think of a second application after withdrawing from acceptances this year?
From a Director of Admissions at an Osteopathic Medical School:
"Each school has its own policies and biases with respect to what we refer to as "re-aps". However, it is relatively common among all the schools that general displeasure exists with respect to a student who applies, and then withdraws only to show up again. Applying to medical school is not a game. Each school sets aside a finite number of slots for students to interview. A red flag goes up when a student takes an interview slot from someone who seriously wants to start med school, gets an offer and accepts a seat, taking one from a candidate who seriously wants to start, and subsequently withdraws.
This kind of behavior is way worse than the "shopping around" that happens all the time. Many of us have concerns about a candidate who accepts an offer from a medical school, but continues to shop around. Every time they interview after that, they deny an opportunity to a candidate who really needs that chance (again, because of the finite number that are going to interview). Still, that kind of activity is almost justifiable because candidates need to confirm sometimes that they did make the right choice in the first place. What is not justifiable is to go through the entire process and know you didn't want to start this year at all. It's not just that they are using the time and resources of the schools, but its an unconscionable act vis-a-vis candidates who really want to go to school.
This kind of behavior is hard to detect when a school doesn't have a 'petition to defer' policy. Many schools don't allow candidates to petition to defer. We do. It is clear to us that a candidate was never serious from the get-go when they don't bother to petition to defer, but simply withdraw instead. Such candidates, should they reapply, are never treated the same. In fact, we are so serious about this problem that we actually ask on our secondary (as a lot of schools do) if the candidate filling out the application has ever applied here before. A "yes" answer triggers further investigation on our part.
Shopping around is a problem for schools, but we certainly understand why candidates do it. However, shopping around without the serious intention of starting is inexcusable behavior. A good physician needs to be someone who, by nature, cares about people. Shopping around without the serious intention of starting suggests strongly that there is a character issue here.
The challenge you will have (because I and my colleagues have seen it a million times before) is that your advisee will respond with all kinds of rationalizations for this behavior. It is highly unlikely that he/she will concede that the behavior was inappropriate. There is no dilemma for the schools. Others, like us, will not be interested in dealing with such an individual. Of course, we can afford the luxury of being discriminating.
We all make choices. The best doctors are people who typically make the best choices. Please don't send him/her to us."
We will feature an important question each month. Please submit one that interests you for Dr. Lewis to answer. Send your questions to imaclewis@lewisassoc.com with newsletter question in the subject line.
lewis associates advising services
Lewis Associates specializes in personal, effective and professional
premedical advising and placement for traditional and non-traditional
applicants. Often, non-traditional students are older than 21 years
of age, career changers, international applicants or second-round applicants
for admission to health professions school.
Lewis Associates' services meet the needs of all types of students from
pre-applicants to applicants, including hourly advising support for
specific needs. Click
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contact
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If this is how YOU feel, then, maybe Lewis Associates is the place
for you. Lewis Associates provides Mentoring and Coaching through
the rigorous and often circuitous pre-health preparation and application
process. Other consultants may support programs like Law and Business
or graduate school -- not Lewis Associates. We are the experts in
Health Professions based on 23 years of a successful
track record.
Call or email today to set your first appointment!
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