The college of health and human services pre-health living learn community held a medical school alum panel meeting on Thursday. 

The panel hosted four alums over Zoom and was hosted by university pre-health professions advisor Mary Laingen. 

The panel saw three alums currently in their first year of medical school: Nick Cheney studying at University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford, Will Cope studying at Marian University in Indianapolis and Noah Oakley studying at the University of Cincinnati.  

The panel was also joined by Dr. Melissa Nathan, a doctor of osteopathic medicine at UIC in Peoria. 

Panelists went over how they prepared for the Medical College Admission Test. 

All panelists used Blueprint which is an online application that offers practice tests and tutorials to prepare for the MCAT. The three started Blueprint at the same time in the fall to prepare for the test in the spring. 

“We did about seven months of studying for it,” Cope said. 

While important, Oakley said that the MCAT is just a step in the process. 

“It not making or breaking your application, but it gets you an interview,” Oakley said. 

Laingen echoed this sentiment to the audience that. 

“All three of them, as they explained, did other things that made their applications more than just their MCAT scores,” Laingen said. 

Medical school applications can range in price from $50 to serval hundred dollars. 

“I would say, a safety net from $1,000-$2,000 depending on how many schools you are applying to would be good unfortunately that’s what it costs,” Nathan said. 

Panelists talked about their medical school interviews. 

“I did two formats. I did the traditional, like you go talk to somebody and MMI,” Oakley said. 

Multiple mini-interviews (MMI) are short interview stations that judge an applicant’s different skills. 

“For an MMI one of the most important things you can do is make a decision,” Oakley said. “They’re going to present you with a topic situation, and they want you to make a choice. You can’t be like yes and no.” 

Researching what a program will ask is the most important thing to do, according to Nathan. 

“I think the best thing you can do overall is really research the places that you interview at,” Nathan said. “You really need to know the program.”

The panelists were asked to look back at their past selves and what they would tell them.  

Undergraduate was noted as different from medical school in how much more time a person will have. 

“It’s the time to enjoy the things, do what you want to do,” Oakley said. “You’ll want to do because that time does disappear.” 

School is also important to do well in, according to Cheney. 

“Definitely do the best you can in class because that’s probably the hardest thing to change,” Cheney said. “A GPA is hard to change.”

Panelists all spoke about what they used to learn. They spoke on watching recorded lectures, using a flashcard app and memorizing terms. 

They also talked about what surprised them. 

“I was shocked at how hard it was,” Oakley said. “I think I studied 16 hours a day Monday through Friday. I was at school till 2 a.m. just trying to pass.” 

That sentiment was shared by Cope. 

“I wanted to drop out; I hated it,” Cope said. “That’s the reality and some of you will probably feel that way.” 

Jason Coulombe can be reached at 581-2812 or at jmcoulombe@eiu.edu.