Archive for November, 2011

Who Are the Most Qualified Candidates Applying to Medical School?

They aren’t always who you might expect!

It’s easy to get hung up in the minutiae of your med school application. Is your GPA impressive? Is your GPA good enough? Have you participated in the extracurricular activities that the medical schools like? Do you need to re-take the MCAT, or should you chance it on your most recent scores?

Many of you applying to med school would feel a lot more confident about your application if you focused more of your attention on how you are presenting yourself as a candidate and less on past things that can’t be changed.

Your scores matter. But by the time you begin applying to medical school, those scores are set in stone. I understand the anxiety that your scores can cause, but you can’t change them.

Good news: Your grades, test scores and extracurricular activities are only a portion of the criteria that admissions committees are looking at when they decide whether you get in or not. They want to know who you are, and how you will contribute to their program after getting into medical school. They need to know that you’re more than a test-taking robot.

Your application does not have to be defined solely by your scores and you don’t have to feel that you’re an average applicant just because your scores don’t stand out from the crowd.

Sure, medical school admissions committees are looking to admit bright and talented applicants who have succeeded in academics. Here’s a secrets: As long as your GPA and test scores fall within the average range for acceptance (3.5 GPA, MCAT 31), you have a shot.

This is where packaging yourself comes in. How you present yourself as an applicant is something that most applicants feel they have no control over because they think their grades and scores are their entire image. You do have control, and there is much more admissions committees want to know than just the information you than filled into boxes on your application! Read the rest of this entry »

Pursuing A Nutritional Degree Program

Health care is a vast and diverse industry. From biology to psychology, students have the opportunity to pick from many health care degrees to pursue in college. Students interested in the food and wellness aspects of the health care industry are destined to be nutritionists or dietitians. Nutrition, although a broad area of study, offers students many career opportunities post graduation.

Education is an important aspect for attaining a position as a nutritionist. Universities offer Bachelor’s degrees in dietetics, fitness nutrition, food service management, and more. Students interested in a career in nutrition are required, in most programs, to take biology, physiology, chemistry, and biochemistry. Elective classes are available for individuals interested in specialized types of nutrition, such as private consulting.

After attaining a Bachelor’s degree in nutrition, students can continue their education and join a Master’s degree program. Master’s degrees in nutrition tend to be more specialized than four-year degree programs. A master’s degree can take anywhere from two to four years to attain. These degrees will help individuals get a higher paying salary in their field.

The federal government offers many financial options for students to attend a nutrition degree program. The first option is a grant. A grant is money given to the student and does not need to be repaid after graduation. The second option is a work study program. These programs require that the individual work on campus and get a portion of his or her tuition paid for. The third option is a loan. Loans can be public (through the government) or private (through outside banks). Loans plus interest have to be paid back after graduation. Read the rest of this entry »

The Best Medical Careers Pay

The best medical careers pay a fair salaries for doing some of the most stressful jobs out there. In fact, health care professions are some of the highest paying jobs in the US today. It is small wonder that more and more aspiring professionals are taking to this career path each year. The best medical careers pay well enough to attract people who wish to earn enough while doing something that gives them more fulfillment other than in the monetary aspect of their lives. These careers also offer professional advancements for the most passionate and driven individuals who have taken this challenge and actually intend to stick with it.

The best medical careers pay a handsome amount of money for a good reason. Health care professionals really do work hard to earn their keep. The best medical careers pay depending on the level and depth of the tasks performed by each health care professional. There are only a few jobs outside of the healthcare field that pay more than what the best medical careers pay.

Here are some of the best and highest-paying medical careers today:

  • Surgeons and Physicians. These are doctors that diagnose, treat and counsel patients on the interventions and procedures that need to be done in order for them to get well or optimize their health. As of May 2009, the annual salary of a surgeon reaches up to $219,770. A physician’s salary depends on his field of specialization, the highest one being the anesthesiologist salary which reaches up to $211,750 annually as of 2009. Becoming a surgeon or a physician is no easy task however, as these professions require years of extensive training and continuous studies. Read the rest of this entry »