Friday Cheers

The advice of a good friend who truly understands you is priceless. Thanks Anthony Ngo :)

Quotes from the oldest man alive

Here's the world's oldest man's secret to a long life:

• Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. ("Every change is good.")

• Eat two meals a day ("That's all you need.")

• Work as long as you can ("That money's going to come in handy.")

• Help others ("The more you do for others, the better shape you're in.")

Then there's the hardest part. It's a lesson Breuning said he learned from his grandfather: Accept death.

"We're going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die," he said.

Gibbon Passage

133) Inference follows from (human condition/nature)
134) Inference follows from (view of history)
135) New info (topic: longevity)
136) Weaken (history- multicultural warfare)
137) Inference follows from (temporal/time)

Always use strategy of: qtype, key, reference, answer

Li passage

111) Inference- as suggested from the passage (reason: "rooted in reverent dignity"= acknowledge dignity)
112) Evaluate- support w/ example (examples follow references to "magical quality" and "words as actions")
113) Vocab in Context- reason for word, not aspect of word ("magic"- power behind social conventions)
114) Retrieval- matches description from passage ("utterance-execution of act" = promise, not please/may)
115) Vocab in context- reason for word, follows from mp ("holy"- respect)
116) Inference- most direct relationship ("words more inescapable"= inseparable)
117) Weaken- no passage req, but opposite of passage or internal contradiction (if rarely meet obligation, then rarely bind through words) 
118) Inference- matches attributes stated in passage (sensitive, not clever) 
119) New info- refers to a point in the passage and how new info relates to it ("reverence dignity"- w/o respect)

MCAT QStems and typical answers

Retrieval: explicit or paraphrase of passage details
Inference(specific): stems from passage details/characteristics and continues along from that thought (Most direct)
Inference(broad): stems from mp of passage
Vocab in context: why author uses term -> based on context and mp
MP/1 purpose: underlying message/point (was it an example for a larger point?)
New info: id issue presented in new info and correlate with related details and a response in accordance
Evaluate: evidence (examples/explanations) following cited reference
Structure: why author used evidence the way he did
Weaken- no passage req, but opposite of passage or internal contradiction
Strengthen- no passage req, but will support new info 
Romans- go with statements and reasonable inferences

Reading
 Read for underlying message and structure of passage
 Always go by formula: qytpe, keyword, reference, answer

3 passages to remember

1) Orangutan vs chimps passage
2) Sailor passage
3) Gibbon passage (AAMC7)
4) AAMC 11- using keywords for inferences/retrievals

Possible personal statement topics

1) Dad's struggle to maintain hypertension and cultural influence of seasonings (soy sauce and fish sauce)
2) Patient history beyond the medical records to historical records (vietnam war)
3) Cousin's autism and cultural reality of such disease
4) Healthcare of those impoverished (clinic/store)
5) Mother's work ethic