For some students, the advent of Spring term has brought more than sunshine and the promise of summer. Spring is also a stressful standardized testing season for many Dartmouth upperclassmen preparing for their MCATs, GREs and LSATs.
"I've sort of forgone all fun and friends up until the MCATs," Schafer Boeder '06 said, adding that he hopes to take the exam only once "because of all the stress and time commitment that goes along with it."
Like many students preparing for MCATs, Boeder is preparing for the exam by taking a course offered by the Kaplan Testing Company. He expressed ambivalence, however, about the effectiveness of Career Services in helping students prepare for the MCATs.
"Career Services is definitely helpful in terms of the pre-med major and stuff like that. But I didn't utilize anything through Dartmouth to prepare for the exam," Boeder said.
Julie Crudele '06, who completed a Biochemistry GRE last Sunday, shared Boeder's sentiments. Crudele said that she had no interaction with Career Services while preparing for her exam.
"I think it's tough with the particular one that I took because even [the Educational Testing Service] says there's no way that anyone can be fully prepared for the test, so I don't know how the College would help me prepare," Crudele said, adding that the classes she has taken at Dartmouth did cover the material tested. "I just reviewed some of my lecture notes and took one practice test. I also studied the vocabulary from all my college science textbooks."
Yuki Kondo-Shah '07, who is currently reviewing for her LSAT, suggested that the value of Career Services for students taking standardized tests may depend partly on how much they utilize pre-law adviser Karen Whittet.
"She gave us a general introduction and some forms on how to prepare for the LSAT. She helps you organize your applications, read over your essays and keep track of deadlines and stuff. But it probably depends on how much you're willing to seek her out," Kondo-Shah said.
In preparation for her June 12 LSAT, Kondo-Shah is currently taking a Kaplan course, which she believes has been helpful.
"I've always been very skeptical of companies that help you prepare for standardized tests, but I've had a really good experience with [Kaplan] so far," Kondo-Shah said.
Both Kondo-Shah and Crudele are considering deferring their admission to graduate school to participate in the Teach for America program after graduation. Boeder plans to travel to South America to volunteer in a medical clinic and hopes to attend medical school afterwards.
