As an Israeli, have you been denied medical services because of checkpoints?
Yes. I was once in a small village called Mitzpeh Yeriho, which is right next to Abbasid occupied city of Jericho. I caught a cold and needed a pharmacy. As there is none in Mitzpe Yeriho, I wanted to go to Jericho and get anti-cough medicine. unfortunately Israelis are banned from entering Abbasid occupied areas, so I was denied medical services as an Israeli.
What separates an applicant who got into a tier 1 medical school from those who didn't? What made them stand out?
Taking my answer from: What can I do to make sure I get into a top medical school in the United States? I will give you a list that once helped me:Cumulative and Science GPA ideally 3.5+MCAT Score: 508+Shadowing ExperienceVolunteering Experience: both clinical and non-clinical. Many schools like to see students volunteer helping with the under-served populations (i.e. a free clinic). The more hours the better. Leadership experience. Today's healthcare system consists of a team of experts (MDs, RNs, PAs, techs, etc.) lead by the physician. Medical schools want to see that you have leadership qualities. Be a club president, create race for charity in your town, etc. Research (hopefully with a publication). This is not a necessity, but a huge plus. Strong recommendations from supervisors and professors that know your character. Begin building strong relationships with your superiors (bosses, doctors you shadow, professors) so they can write a letter about who you are. The admissions committee can tell if a letter is from a professor who can barely remember your name or one with whom you made a lasting impression. If you have a weakness in any of the above, try your best to strengthen that area of your application or add to the other areas if that is not possible. Good luck!
Is it better to attend a top-tier college for premed or attend a mid-tier or low-tier school for a medical program?
A2A - It is better to attend the best college you can for both pre-med and medical school. The education in pre-med is pretty standardized, at least in America, but you’ll get a better overall education in a higher-ranked school.It doesn’t have to be a top-tier school. You can still get into medical school from a lower-tier school.
Why do ignorant Americans have an blind hatred of socialism?
Most Americans cannot even explain socialism let alone, have an accurate argument of how it is bad. America has socialism aspects to the nation, we have a public roads, a police force, public education, fire department, public libraries. Are these so evil? I just hope we have nationalized healthcare, strict gun laws, and be able for all Americans to get a good education. Modernized socialist nations like Israel and Sweden have all these things I listed. Israelis and Swedes believe in taking care of their own people, unlike Americans. That is what we must change for the survival of America.
What is some good advice to finish my last 2 years of high school?
Don’t panic about grades or GPA. Take only as many AP classes as you can handle,and do your best to actually learn the material. In the end, the material that you learn and the AP exams you can pass will be much more important than whether you got an A or not. LEARN IT. Don’t take all AP classes only to copy all the homework because you are overburdened with 5 AP classes worth of work. Do as much as you can but only to the point where you can take the workload.
What are my chances of getting into a top tier university in Hong Kong/Singapore with a predicted grade of 35 in IB?
I think I’m only qualified to answer the first half of your question.By top tier, I think you mean the big 3 of Hong Kong: HKU, CUHK, and HKUST.This will sound downheartening, but if you want a top course, forget about it. I have many friends who are doing Medicine/Dentistry and I will tell you this: if you don’t have anything that looks bigger than 43, you’re done for. Same for Law, Engineering or any Business/Finance related subjects: no 40+? 再见。Let’s take a look at HKUST: Engineering and Global Business, two of the best courses, are gone. What’s left is Engineering, Science Major, or Social Science Major. Do you have a higher level in math or a group 4 subject? Is it a 6/7? If not, kiss that goodbye cos you’ll probably end up doing a social science. Not the best, but still very respectable. Bear in mind though, the median IB score intake for HKUST was 36–40 (International Qualifications | HKUST UG Admissions) so your score is a little iffy.CUHK: Law and Med should be out of the question. Schools of Finance and Science should be gone as they tend to demand quite a bit from applicants. This leaves the faculties of education, arts (excluding Chinese Language as CUHK has high standards for that faculty), and social sciences, where you might have some hope. There are more choices than HKUST in CUHK as HKUST is a more specialised school. Possible options could be:PsychologyEducationTranslationArchitecture (need HL art)MusicHistorySociologyHKU: Same as CUHK except social sciences are also very iffy as they tend to go for scores around 36–38 which leaves education and arts.One thing to note is that arts in Hong Kong are looked upon as a twilight subject so they’re not funded as much. This means that the quality of research and teaching is likely to be lower and you don’t have as many opportunities compared to students of other faculties (unless you get 1st hon/some mental gpa like 4.0 and go overseas for masters). Hopefully I’m proven wrong and the arts faculties actually get their shit together and make themselves great again.
Can you tell me a little bit 'bout educational system in America?What I need to do to become a good student?
Not all US high schools are as bad as that other poster made them out to be. I should know, I went to one. The problem most of the bad schools have isthat they are filled with stupid poor people. Avoid inner city schools. In general what you want to do to be a good student is just make the teachers think you are trying hard. If you do that they will grade you easier and give you the benfit of the doubt in most circumstances. Yes, you shoucl participate in extracurricular activities. They look good on applications and they keep you busy so you dont fall in with a crowd of drug addict losers.
American foreign policy?
American neutrality was sparked for a number of reasons: 1. America was geographically separated from Europe and the rest of the world by two large oceans, and Americans wanted to stay out of European struggles which they believed they had no business in; and from which they could gain no advantage. 2. America was a developing nation and did not want to invest the large sums of money necessary to maintain large standing armies and navies. Thus, for most of American history, America had virtually no military force with which to become involved. Under these circumstances, neutrality makes perfect sense. 3. The American War of Independence was fought partially over the idea of the British housing a large standing army on American shores, and making the Americans pay for it. The Americans were very apprehensive of the expense. furthermore, large militaries were viewed by Americans as a means of imposing tyranny, and the Americans didn't want them. So, to sum up, isolation grew from geographic isolation, expense, and fear of tyranny. Why did it change? 1. Commerce. In the 20th century, America was far more dependent on foreign trade than in the 19th. This meant that other nation's problems would have dramatic ramifications on domestic markets. 2. Technology. By the start of WW I, military technology (German U-Boats) could have more impact on American interests. Later developments like Aircraft (think of Pearl Harbor), and still later, ICBM's made the idea of safety behind ocean walls an illusion. 3. Philosophy. In the 20th century, starting with Wilson, the US began to develop a political mentality that intervention in the world for the advancement of democracy was America's destiny. This was reinforced by the atrocities of WW II. Presidents Roosevelt and Truman were convinced that American engagement in the world was indespensible for maintaining world peace. The growth of the Soviet Union after the war only increased that committment, as there was no other nation strong enough to provide leadership against the threats of international communism. Hope this answer helps. Cheers.