Hey hey!
I'm Maddi (aka mtse). I finished VCE in 2015 after completing 7 subjects - Biology, Chemistry, Chinese SL, English, Methods, Physics and Specialist. (Just in case you were wondering, physics was the subject that missed out on contributing to my ATAR :P)
Currently studying undergrad med at Monash (and will be in the first class to graduate with an MD wooo :D ) Also was lucky enough to have been selected as the Preclinical VP of our med society... which probably explains why, nearly all the posts I've written are about med, the UMAT, interviews etc ... I kinda spend all my time invested into helping current med students and the incoming jaffies, as well as training up future med-wannabes. #UMATsucks
Outside of academics, I enjoy literally everything - sport: soccer and table tennis, music: piano and trumpet, debating (love me some civilised arguing) but pretty much had to put all the hobbies on hold whilst I try to juggle 20+ contact hours at uni with my terrible habit of binge watching tv shows. XD
What is the meaning of life?i can't even answer this from a general point of view..... the meaning of life is beyond my scope of knowledge/imagination hahah
(But like, from a med student's perspective though, not just the question I always ask)
RuiAce beat me before I could even type this up to be first question, but... do you have any clue which area of medicine you're interested in going into at this point in time? Which specialities pique your interest, and why?Always been keen for surgery - it's more hands-on, i like micro-managing things so surgical procedure and protocol plays right along with my perfectionist attitude, it's also a boys club so I'd love to take on the challenge of changing that stereotype - potentially paediatric surgery but that's probably going to be the most emotionally taxing and time-consuming specialty so TBC... But really I am open to all the fields and hopefully year 3/4 will help me make a decision. (i am pretty certain however I will avoid psychiatry purely cause i don't think i can face those kinds of issues on a day-to-day basis despite it being incredibly fascinating)
Why did you choose Monash over Melbourne for medicine?tbh Melbourne was always the dream, but I didn't know until Year 12 that they didn't offer undergrad med.
What TV shows are you binging at the moment? 8)Well 2016 included Breaking Bad, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and House (three times ahhaha)
Favourite song? :)Don't think I have one. But according to my iTunes songs the songs I play most are by Pentatonix - their voices are heaven :')
, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and House (three times ahhaha)I entirely approve of this.
1) If you hadn't got into med, what was your back up plan?1) biomed/law double degree at monash so I can be a doctor and a lawyer :P tbh if I missed out on direct med, I would have done anything to get into med... my 12 preferences were biomed at melb, biomed at monash, biomed/law, biomed/science, biomed/engineering, biomed/comm
2) Has med school changed your lifestyle? Do you eat more healthy, exercise a lot and look at labels before buying food and other products?
3) Many people say that studying medicine (or maybe being a doctor?) makes you feel older really quickly. Is that true in your opinion?
I entirely approve of this.Yeah I should ban you from asking me anymore questions :P AHHAHAAH
Was gonna ask you a question but I've practically asked you a bajillion and 3 questions and got no more to ask...
hm I thought of one. When did u become so awesome?
when did I become awesome..... hmm.... after i met you? :OOH THATS SO SMOOTH WTHAFGFHGH WHAT OML
How's the Monash campus treated you in the past year? Better than UoM? ;)Monash is a hole. Like uni pride and all but seriously we are in the middle of nowhere :( I need easy access to KFC and like 7/11 (for donuts) but there aren't any close by (I can't drive yet no Ps) my food cravings need to be satisfied HAHAHAH
Jokes aside, do you have plans in the future to work overseas?
Monash is a hole.<3
A few questions for Mtse:1. Summer has been pretty good. Spent most of December on a the largest cruise ship in Australia which was an amazing experience. January so far has been continuous work :') Monash med interviews everyday until the 9, then VCESS started, as well as work with UMAT training, working at Kumon and starting to tutor VCE students etc. But with CNY around the corner, my relatives will be coming so should be pretty fun from now.
1. How has your summer break been so far (besides the binge watching, that is)?
2. This one's for the Class of '17 and beyond: What struggles did you have in VCE and why? Has that changed since starting uni?
1) When did you first become interested in medicine, and how?Since the start of time, I was a science nerd - loved everything about it and wanted to become a vet. Except I have no pets and have barely any contact with them Also realised I was allergic to cats so....
2) Did you ever prepare for the umat? If so, when did you start?Yes but I wouldn't say my preparation for it was the reason I got the score I got. I started preparing around when school started (late Jan) and then left it for several months. I started looking at it during the Term 1 holidays (april-ish) and petered off again when school started, and only really picked up my game about a month before the exam. The prep I did was super time-consuming and I don't really think it was the most effective way I could have prepared. I have to say I would attribute my score more to my natural instinct of being super logical and also lots and lots and lots and lots of good luck.
3) In year 12, roughly how many hours would you study per day? I believe Jamon said he could manage 20-30 hours a week, were you able to do more than this?as per my post above - I am super lazy. I'm also a relatively efficient study-er. After school (mainly during term 2 and 3) I had a nap everyday until 6/7, then dinner and messing around with stuff so that I'd basically start studying at like 8:30pm until maybe around 12. In those hours I'd generally be able to cover 2-3 subjects - mostly doing questions (maths and sciences) and brainstorming ideas/planning essays for english. Tbh I don't really see the points in studying for a super long time if nothing actually goes in.
4) What type of interview setup does Monash use for medicine? What questions were you asked, and of those which ones did you find the hardest to answer?I will answer your last two questions later on (like I'll just edit this post)
5) I've heard that certain universities look for specific types of people; for example, because the UoN's course is best suited for training GPs and surgeons, they mostly accept students who would be best in these fields. What in particular do you think Monash interviewers would be looking for in medicine student candidates? If you don't really know, what trends do you see in the students accepted in your year? Are you all hoping to become surgeons, go rural or maybe there's a lot of students who would like to go into research?
1) Who has inspired you to become who you are right now? (If that make any sense) How have they inspired you?1) I really have no idea... Difference people have obviously had an influence on my life but I wouldn't say there is one single individual who has inspired me to be who I am. I just kind of let things fall into place hahahah
2) You've said that you like to argue. Now, what topics school you like to argue about?
3) Off you can choose someone too be your mentor in your life, who would you choose? Why?
A bit of a late poster here. :P
Generic question but I'll ask it anyway!HAHAHHA a generic question is only going to lead to generic answers
What's the top advice you could give to me as I approach my final year of school? :)
3) Mentors.... that word gives me PTSD symptoms (due to high school forcing the program onto us) ahhaha .... honestly like Q1 I've never had like one idol. But if I could, I'd love to pick the brains of Victor Chang - a chinese-aus surgeon who was like the first to perform modern heart transplants, but unfortunately shot dead during an extortion attempt. He just seems like a cool guy :')
y u so greatthis is a rather controversial question with many differing opinions HAHAHAH but thanks :3
Ha ha ha ha, the feels (I'm probably the only one to get that joke on AN).This probably wouldn't be the expected answer but I'm like a compulsive saver. All the money I have earned and/or given has been placed in a bank and left untouched (except for when mum forgot her wallet and I had to pay for groceries HAHAHA)
Of you won a million dollars, what would you spend it on?
How do/did you motivate yourself to keep working hard when things are not busy (literally no SAC's for like 3 weeks)?I'm going to answer this at a more humane time than 12am so it actually makes some sense :P
How do/did you motivate yourself to keep working hard when things are not busy (literally no SAC's for like 3 weeks)?Cheesy but i had a goal. Goal was to be the dux of my school and to get into medicine. Literally had the word dux on my mirror and a medical admissions booklet on my table. Both acted a constant reminders of what was on the line if i completely slacked off.
Hi,
I got an ATAR of 99.95 and a 100%ile UMAT. Do you think I have any chance of getting into medicine at UoM??
Thank you so much :)
Hi,
I got an ATAR of 99.95 and a 100%ile UMAT. Do you think I have any chance of getting into medicine at UoM??
Thank you so much :)
Hi,I concur with the others, I think you have maximum 1% chance of getting into UoM. And although Monash faculty may like your scores, we don't want you either :P
I got an ATAR of 99.95 and a 100%ile UMAT. Do you think I have any chance of getting into medicine at UoM??
Thank you so much :)
Whilst you've duxed your school, others in your cohort may have been very disappointed with their ATAR scores, and perhaps didn't get into the course they wanted. The same applies to my cohort. What would you say to these people? How would you help them not feel like they've failed given the disproportionate nature of the year 12 cohort in high performing schools?I'm going to come back and write an answer for this when I'm not in a rush but I completely agree that there is a terribly skewed perspective on scores that is especially apparent amongst students from high performing schools. (Like a lot of the time 90+ ATAR is considered nothing more than average where in fact a 90+ is an achievement considering that is does mean you are in the top ~10% of the state)