NextStep MCAT Prep Course Review

After organizing and leading an MCAT summer prep program for five years with the UC Davis School of Medicine Postbaccalaureate Program, I worked with Kaplan and Princeton Review extensively. Those two companies were our best MCAT prep options at the time. The Berkeley Review wasn’t able to support programs outside of the bay area during the years that we considered working with them. When our students used Kaplan to prepare, their practice test scores were inflated and most students were disappointed with their actual scores. However, with the Princeton Review, the practice tests were so difficult that the students’ practice scores were actually lower than what they earned on the MCAT, so many students ended up working harder and earning better scores. Even though Kaplan had a better online testing system that could customize the practice tests for individual students, Princeton Review seemed to deliver better results since their focus was more on content than test taki ng strategy, which better fit our students’ needs. In the past, I have recommended that students choose the test prep company that offered the services that better met their needs, for test taking strategy—Kaplan and for content review—Princeton Review. With the new MCAT format, new MCAT prep options are emerging! Next Step Test Prep is one of these companies, offering the latest and greatest test prep tutors, printed and online study materials. In this review, I will focus on their online course. Log-on Difficulties The day I registered for the course, I received sixteen emails! Each email contains access and ebook codes for each of the materials, separately. Each subject has a different code. It was overwhelming at first when confronted with so many different pieces of information. The number of emails did make me wish for a central site with one username and password to access all the materials from one interface. I would recommend that the company consider creating one location for all materials to create a smoother introduction to their program and increase ease of use. Once I located the email with the online course access information, I registered. But a couple of days later, I had to reset my password. When I called their help line, I was quickly connected to a human being after dialing a number to identify the reason for my call. The lady who helped me was patient and friendly. If you are planning on using Next Step Test Prep, give yourself some time just to get situated, to download all ebooks, and to get the process started. They have beautifully designed materials but they’re all accessed separately using the codes provided. The ebooks are simply electronic versions of the books that you receive through snail mail. Technically, you could skip the step of downloading the ebooks if you prefer to study with actual books. I had some log-on difficulties, but once you log in and accept NSTP’s terms of use, you can access their online course. It is pretty fantastic! It’s Pretty Fantastic Next Step Test Prep (NSTP) recommends that you start with a diagnostic exam. I agree. There is nothing better than test taking to prepare you for taking a test! The diagnostic will give you a baseline score to start with along with a plan. After you input the MCAT test date that you have signed up for, you will receive a recommended study schedule. It is system generated, not reviewed by a person, but you can make changes to it. One of my clients who is currently studying for the MCAT wrote: My favorite part is that Next Step generates a very detailed and structured plan. My biggest struggle was figuring out where to even begin. Next Step not only creates a simple day by day plan but its so easy to use and track your progress along the way. A huge plus is that you also get access to AAMC resources which are very important.† —A.M.L. Their online course is designed to fit your needs within your time limit. It is unique in that it provides this kind of individualized direction from the very beginning. I was impressed by how easy the site is to use. There are seven tabs at the top of the page, including: dashboard, study plan, resources, AAMC resources, scores, office hours and forum. The dashboard displays your study plan for the month and includes reminders for office hours. The study plan tab allows you to view your long-term study plan. The resources tab takes you to the online course material. The AAMC resources are accessible from this tab at the top of the page but also through the resources tab. Office hours includes a selection of recorded office hours for various topics. The forum looks similar to Student Doctor Network, where you can post questions on different topics. The most useful one is the â€Å"Resources† tab. Under this tab, you will see a menu on the left of the screen with these options: MCAT Class Videos, Books, Full Length Exams, MCAT Diagnostic and Science Diagnostic, QBanks, Content Review Videos, Test and Strategy Review Videos, Section Exams, AAMC Resources and Office Hours Recordings. Next Step has broken down MCAT prep into 20 different lessons plans. The first lesson provides a history of the MCAT as well as all relevant details that you need to know to succeed on the test. The next lessons are all focused on content review as well as strategy for the different disciplines. The lessons are well presented and cover all the information that you need to know to do well on the test. The audio is easy to understand and the slides can be paused if you need more time. There are quizzes at the end of the lessons to check comprehension. Each lesson has the length of it listed to the right of its title—they vary from an hour and a half to four hours. To supplement the lessons, the Content Review Videos are also very helpful. They each last about twenty minutes or so and cover smaller sections of the material. They contain three quizzes, one at the beginning, middle and end. Another student wrote about them: The videos were very helpful and to the point. They were not too long which allowed me to cover several concepts in a short period of time and as a pre-med, time is essential. The structure of the individual plan is easy to follow and tracks my progress along the way. —S.S. The MCAT Prep Option Without Compromises In addition to the online courses and supplementary materials, taught by people with impressive scores and credentials, you are paired with a tutor who works with you individually. There are lots of ways for students to access additional support through this program, like live group office hours and the forum. It seems to be the only MCAT prep option without compromises. Unlike Kaplan or Princeton Review, it provides support in test taking skills with an advanced testing system that looks just like the AAMC MCAT and covers content with lots of different levels and layers of additional information and assistance. It almost makes me want to take the MCAT—especially considering the price—far below all major competitors! Click here to check out the Next Step Test Prep online MCAT prep course! If you have taken the MCAT after using NSTP Online to prepare, please comment below. Were you happy with your final MCAT score? Did using NSTP prepare you well? Was there any feedback you’d like to share about studying with this program? hbspt.cta.load(58291, '4f95940b-33ea-46f2-ac5a-b94716840189', {}); Alicia McNease Nimonkar is an Accepted advisor and editor specializing in healthcare admissions. Prior to joining Accepted, Alicia worked for five years as Student Advisor at UC Davis’ postbac program where she both evaluated applications and advised students applying successfully to med school and related programs. Want Alicia to help get you accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: †¢ Navigate the Med School Admissions Maze, a free guide †¢ When Should I Take the MCAT? †¢ Medical School Student Interviews

Gender and Violence A Case Study

Readers are  warned  that this post contains discussion of physical and sexual violence. On April 25, 2014, Connecticut high school student Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by fellow student Chris Plaskon in a hallway of their school after she declined his invitation to prom. In the aftermath of this  heartbreaking and senseless attack, many commentators suggested that Plaskon likely suffered from mental illness. Common sense  thinking tells us that things must not have been right with this person for some time, and somehow, those around them missed the signs of a dark, dangerous turn. A normal person simply does not behave this way, as the logic goes. Indeed, something went wrong for Chris Plaskon, such that rejection—something that happens to most of us rather frequently—resulted in an act of horrific violence. Yet, sociologists point out that this is not a standalone incident and Maren’s death is not simply the result of an unhinged teen. Looking at the Broader Context Taking a sociological perspective on this incident, one sees not an isolated event, but one that is part of a longterm and widespread pattern. Maren Sanchez was one of hundreds of millions of women and girls around the world who suffer violence at the hands of men and boys. In the U.S. nearly all women and queer people will experience street harassment, which often includes intimidation and physical assault. According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 women will experience some form of sexual assault; the rates are 1 in 4 for women enrolled in college. Nearly 1 in 4 women and girls will experience violence at the hands of a male intimate partner, and according to the Bureau of Justice,  nearly half of all women and girls killed in the U.S. die at the hands of an intimate partner. While it is certainly true that boys and men are also victims of these kinds of crimes, and sometimes at the hands of girls and women, the statistics show that the vast majority of sexualized and gendered violence is perpetrated by males and experienced by females. This happens in large part because boys are socialized to believe that their masculinity is determined in large part by how attractive they are to girls. Connection Between Masculinity and Violence Sociologist C.J. Pascoe explains in her book Dude, Youre a Fag, based on a year of in-depth research at a California high school,  that the way boys are socialized to understand and express their masculinity is premised on their ability to â€Å"get† girls, and in their discussion of real and made up sexual conquests with girls. To be successfully masculine, boys must win the attention of girls, convince them to go on dates,  to engage in sexual activity, and dominate girls physically on a daily basis in order to demonstrate their physical superiority and higher social status. Not only is doing these things necessary for a boy to demonstrate and earn his masculinity, but equally important, he must do them publicly, and talk about them regularly with other boys. Pascoe summarizes this heterosexualized way of â€Å"doing† gender: â€Å"masculinity is understood in this setting as a form of dominance usually expressed through sexualized discourses. She refers to the collection of these behaviors as â€Å"compulsive heterosexuality,† which is the compulsive need to demonstrate one’s heterosexuality in order to establish a masculine identity. What this means, then, is that masculinity in our society is fundamentally  premised on the ability of a male to dominate females. If a male fails to demonstrate this relationship to females, he fails to achieve what is considered a normative, and preferred masculine identity.  Importantly, sociologists recognize that what ultimately motivates this way of achieving masculinity is not sexual or romantic desire, but rather, the desire to be in a position of power over girls and women. This is why those who have studied rape frame it not as a crime of sexual passion, but a crime of power—it is about control over someone elses body. In this context, the inability, failure, or refusal of females to acquiesce to these power relations with males has widespread, catastrophic implications. Fail to be â€Å"grateful† for street harassment and at best you’re branded a bitch, while at worst, you’re followed and assaulted. Decline a suitor’s request for a date and you may be harassed, stalked, physically assaulted, or killed. Disagree with, disappoint, or confront an intimate partner or male authority figure and you could be beaten, raped, or lose your life. Live outside of normative expectations of sexuality and gender and your body becomes a tool with which males can demonstrate their dominance and superiority over you, and thereby, demonstrate their masculinity. Reduce Violence by Changing the Definition of Masculinity We wont escape this widespread violence against women and girls until we stop socializing boys to define their gender identity and  self-worth upon their ability to convince, coerce, or physically force girls to go along with whatever they desire or demand. When a males identity, self-respect, and his standing in his community of peers is based on his dominance over girls and women, physical violence will always be the last remaining tool at his disposal that he can use to prove his power and superiority. The death of Maren Sanchez at the hands of a jilted prom suitor is not an isolated incident, nor is it so simply chalked up to the actions of a singular,  disturbed individual. Her life and her death played out in a patriarchal, misogynist society that expects women and girls to comply with the desires of boys and men. When we fail to comply, we are forced, as Patricia Hill Collins wrote, to â€Å"assume the position† of submission, whether that submission takes the form of being the target of verbal and emotional abuse, sexual harassment, lower pay, a glass ceiling in our chosen careers, the burden of bearing the brunt of household labor, our bodies serving as punching bags or sexual objects, or the ultimate submission, lying dead on the floor of our homes, streets, workplaces, and  schools. The crisis of violence that pervades the U.S. is, at its core, a crisis of masculinity. We will never be able to adequately address one without critically, thoughtfully, and actively addressing the other.

The, Tell Me The Deeds Of Golden Aphrodite - 1307 Words

Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite the Cyprian, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures that the dry land rears, and all that the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-crowned Cytherea. (Hom.Hym.5.5) Aphrodite was beautiful. She was often depicted with flowers and vegetation surrounding her golden aura, representing her connection with fertility. According to the poet Hesiod, Aphrodite was one of the twelve Olympians. The literal meaning of her name is foam born, as she was born from the sea foam that surrounded the immortal flesh, which was the result of the castration of Kronos (Theogony 190). That explains why the Renaissance artist Botticelli depicted her on a giant scallop shell. The Theogony is just one explanation of her creation, which she was born from Kronos alone, and not from a sexual union. As a result she is characterized as the goddess of pure love that has its end not [at ] physical satisfaction but [at] spiritual gratification (CCM). In contrast to the Theogyny’s explanation, Homer, who is most famous for the Odyssey and Iliad, tells of her birth as the result of the relations between Zeus and Dione; thus connecting her as the goddess of sex and procreator of children, whose concerns are of the body and not of the mind, the spirit or the soul (CCM). These different myths of her creation are just the beginning of the many discrepancies throughout her eternalShow MoreRelatedHelen of Troy1286 Words   |  6 Pagesprophecy that he would be the cause of Troy s destruction. Worried, his father King Priamleaves him on Mount Ida, where he is found and raised by the shepherd Agelaus. When he is an adult, he judges Aphrodite as the fairest of the three goddesses,  Hera,  Athena, and  Aphrodite. After awarding her the golden apple she promises him the love of  Helen of Sparta, the most beautiful woman in the world. Meanwhile in Sparta, Helen sees in a pool Paris s judgement, and happily accepts his choice of her loveRead MoreThe Gods and Their Interaction with Humans1639 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween Achilles and Agamemnon. Achilles respects the gods and knows that it is in his best interest to sheathe his sword and not allow his hubris to cloud his judgment. Yet Agamemnon will not allow anyone, human or divine, be better than him or tell him what to do and takes Briseis from Achilles. Shortly after this, the Achaeans go to Troy to call a duel between Paris and Menelaus to end the war. 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Well my child, Mellifluous was known to many people as being our true savior, she had done something so heroic and for that valiant deed that is why we created this temple to remind ourselves that we sho uld always remain grateful for what she has doneRead MoreThe Mythology Of The Ancient Greeks2537 Words   |  11 Pagesturtle and with his genuinely laugh said: Here s a bit of luck [2] I can t ignore! Hello there, you shapely thing, dancing girl, life of the party. Lovely to see you. How d a mountain girl with a shiny shell get so playful? Let me carry you inside! What a blessing! Do me a favor, come on, I ll respect you. It s safer inside, you could get in trouble out there. A living turtle, they say, keeps troublesome witchcraft away. And yet, if you were to die you d sing most beautifully. 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Present and Future free essay sample

DHL: Past, Present, and Future Abstract This paper presents a brief history of DHL, its formation in 1969, and its rapid growth in the international courier market. The paper then looks at the history of couriers, express and parcel delivery services, the current status of the company, and future opportunities and challenges for the industry and the company. DHL: Past, Present, and Future This paper will explain to the reader the courier, express, and parcel delivery service industry with a brief history of how these industries work. After explaining these industries, this piece will go into the history of the global market leader in logistics, DHL. After concluding the brief history of DHL, the majority of this paper will describe DHL’s Express division, the current status of the industry and company, macroeconomic indicators that relate to DHL, and future opportunities and challenges for the industry and the company. Courier services have been around for ages. The word itself is taken from the Spanish word correr, which means to run. A courier can be defined as a messenger, especially one on official diplomatic business. Wikipedia’s Courier article stated the following: A courier is a person or a company employed to deliver messages, packages and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of services, and committed delivery times, which are optional for most everyday mail services. As a premium service, couriers are usually more expensive than usual mail services, and their use is typically restricted to packages where one or more of these features are considered important enough to warrant the cost. The company specialized in shipping gold, packages and newspapers throughout the West, making a Wells Fargo office in every camp and settlement a necessity for commerce and connections to home. Shortly afterward, the Pony Express was established to move packages more quickly than the traditional method, which followed the stagecoach routes. It also illustrated the demand for timely deliveries across the nation, a concept that continued to evolve with the railroads, automobiles and interstate highways and which has emerged into today’s courier industry. (â€Å"Courier†) Now that the history of couriers has been conveyed to the reader, package delivery will need to be explained. Package delivery is conducted by a courier or expresses service, and is the single sole purpose of an Express service. Wikipedia states the following about package delivery in the United States: Motor freight services arose quickly with the advent of gasoline and diesel powered trucks. United Parcel Service had its origins in this era, initially as a private courier service. The general improvement of the highway system following World War II prompted its expansion into a nationwide service, and other similar services arose. At the same time the contraction or rail passenger service hurt rail-based package shipping; these contractions led to the cancellation of the mail contracts with the railroads, which in turn caused further passenger cuts. Eventually REA was dissolved in bankruptcy in 1975. Air mail was conceived of early, and scheduled service began in 1918. Scheduled airlines carried high valued and perishable goods from early on. The most important advance, however, came with the â€Å"hub and spoke† system pioneered by Federal Express (now known as FedEx) in 1973. With deregulation in 1977, they were able to establish an ir-based system capable of delivering small packages—including mail—overnight throughout most of the county. In response the postal service initiated a comparable Express Mail service. Ironically, in the same period they also began contracting with Amtrak to carry mail by rail. Thus at the beginning of the 21st century, the US consumer can choose from a varie ty of public and private services offering deliveries at various combinations of speed and cost. The history and meaning of Express service itself, encompasses both the histories of couriers and package delivery. DHL is the largest provider of international logistics and operates under four specialized divisions of Express, Global Forwarding, Freight, Supply Chain, and Mail. DHL started with just three men named Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn. Fortuna’s blog depicts the history of DHL as: Founding DHL Worldwide Express is an international express mail service. As a main competitor with FedEx and UPS, DHL vies for much of the shipping needs of businesses and individual around the world. What started with humble beginnings soon became a several billion dollar international enterprise. The company was founded in 1969 to provide express delivery services between the contiguous United States and Hawaii. The three young founders were Larry Hillbloom, a University of California at Berkeley graduate, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, all based out of San Francisco, California. Initially their shipping company offered the delivery of shipping document by express air delivery. These shipments, made in advance of bulk shipping needs, allowed ships to be unloaded more quickly once they arrived in the following days. Early Success From its early service shipping logistically from San Francisco to Honolulu, the company gradually expanded to encompass the Americas, and then much of Asia and the Pacific Rim in 1971, followed by the rest of the Western Hemisphere, Europe and the rest of the world. DHL services were first introduced in the vital markets of Hong Kong and Japan in 1974. That same year they opened their first UK office in London, expanding their company from three employees in 1969 to 314 five years later with over 3,000 customers. Ever adapting to meet the needs of the world marketplace and keep up with growing competition, DHL continually altered its methods, soon becoming a full delivery program. Co-owner Adrian Dalsey owned a share of the company until 1980, when he traveled Hawaii, Micronesia, Guam and other parts of Asia selling his shares and interest in DHL. 1980s to Present In 1983, DHL became the first air forwarder to serve the Eastern European countries and opened an international hub in Cincinnati, Ohio, the same year. By 1985, they opened a deluxe center in Brussels that handled over 150,00 orders every night. They expanded further with major post openings in Bahrain in 1993 and Kuala Lumpur in 1998. In 1999 Deutsch Post, the world’s largest logistical company, began to acquire shares and stocks in the company and in 2001 bought enough to acquire majority ownership. By the end of 2002, they would achieve full ownership of the company. As of 2009, DHL employed 300,000 people around the world in over 220 territories and countries. Since the company’s founding, their services have expanded to encompass air, overland, freight and sea shipping, and they remain the top logistical delivery company internationally. Also in early 2009, DHL discontinued its domestic-only Express service. The company changed its Express business model to focus only on its international shipping to reduce costs. DHL purchased Airborne Express in 2003 to compete with FedEx and UPS, but later found out how much of a stranglehold the two companies had on domestic-only services. After announcing the discontinuation of domestic-only services, DHL closed its ground hubs and cut the number of stations it had by 75%. Currently, DHL is starting to rebound from its U. S. quagmire and current global economic recession. After DHL reduced U. S. operating costs by over 80%, it finds itself looking forward to 2010 and beyond. According to DHL’s 2010 Press Release: Deutsche Post DHL concluded the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 with an increase in revenues and a strong rise in earnings. Buoyed by the continuing recovery and the world economy and rising transport volumes, consolidated revenue climbed 4. 4 percent to EUR 12. 0 billion compared with the same period last year. These solid results were fueled by substantial growth in DHL, a development that was also driven by increasing business with important new customers.