In this post: Why do medical schools value teamwork? When the Institute of Medicine Committee on Quality of Health Care in America published its 2000 report “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” the authors attributed most medical errors to two key deficits: (1) a lack of communication and (2) dysfunctional teamwork. It…
How to Answer the AMCAS Other Impactful Experiences Question (Formerly the Statement of Disadvantage)
If you have experienced any form of severe hardship – at any time in your life – medical schools want to know. Prior to the 2023-2024 cycle, AMCAS allowed candidates to self-identify as a disadvantaged applicant because of social, economic, or educational circumstances. Aiming to leave behind the negative connotations of the term “disadvantaged,” this…
Applying to Medical School with a Low Science GPA
The process of applying to medical school is stressful. And since selection committees are looking for evidence that you are ready for medical school, applying with a low science GPA can make the process even more nerve-wracking. If you have a low science (or BCPM [biology, chemistry, physics, and math]) GPA, you have two options….
Four Tips for Applying as an Underrepresented Applicant in Medicine
Each year, I talk to applicants who say they don’t want to make a fuss about their ethnic or racial identity. Their hesitation usually comes from the desire to be judged purely on their own merits. While this is a noble principle, it’s important to look at why having underrepresented groups in medicine is desirable,…
The AMCAS Primary “Deadline”
In just a few days, many of you will want to submit your medical school primary application. You’ve probably heard that you need to click “send” on the first day possible – May 30, 2023 – if you want your best shot. But just how true is that? The AMCAS primary deadline: Myth vs. reality…
How to Improve Your Experiences for Your Med School Reapplication
One factor that can seriously hurt your chances of getting accepted to med school is a lack of substantive, ongoing service experiences, both clinical and nonclinical. Medical schools want students who are passionate and committed – to the world around them as well as to medicine. The AAMC says: “Most volunteer experiences are valuable and…
2023-24 AMCAS Work and Activities Section: What to Include (With Examples)
The AMCAS Work and Activities section is where you can share all your awards, memberships, research, clinical experiences, paid employment, publications, leadership, extracurricular activities, volunteer work and – as of this year – advocacy and social justice efforts. You have a limit of 15 activities that you can include in the AMCAS application. The types…
Rejected from Medical School? Three Tips for a Stronger Reapplication
You worked your tail off as an undergrad to earn an amazing GPA, took MCAT review courses to get a high score, and engaged in many hours of clinical experience and community service, but you were still rejected from medical school! Where did you go wrong? How can you get it right next time? Three…
How to Prepare for Medical School: Four Important Things to Know Before Classes Start
Before he was Joshua Wienczkowski, MD, a prevention and addiction medicine specialist, he was a premed juggling coursework and extracurriculars and trying to make the right choices for his best shot at medical school. During his first year at James H. Quillen College of Medicine of East Tennessee State University, he looked back on these…
What Is a Good MCAT Score for Getting into Medical School?
You’ve spent months in an MCAT review course, taken practice test after practice test, and finally sat for the exam. Your results are in. Are they good enough to get you into your target medical school? Let’s take a look at what your scores mean. MCAT scores and your grades are weighted differently. The primary…
GPA Issues When Applying to Med School: What to do With a “W”
Almost everybody has a blemish on their GPA. Usually it’s a failed class or a semester of poor grades. But there’s also the issue of how a “W” on your transcript will affect your chance of admission to medical school. The truth is that withdrawing from one or two classes is not going to hurt…
13 Essential Do’s and Don’ts for Your Residency Personal Statement
Residency applicants can submit applications via ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) starting September 7th. Don’t wait until the last minute – get cracking on those residency essays now! Why is your residency essay so important? Your personal statement is a vital part of your residency application; it’s where you’ll explain why you’ve chosen your specialty…
How to Write the “Why This Medical School” Secondary Essay
One of the most popular secondary questions asked by medical schools is “why our program?” Saying why you’re attracted to a particular school can be a hard thing to explain, especially when you’ve looked at so many programs that they’ve all begun to blur. I think that’s why I so often see the same answer:…
7 To-Dos for Canadians Applying to U.S. Med Schools
Each year, Canadian medical school hopefuls look across the border for their medical education. While there are obvious challenges (adapting to a different health care system, returning to a Canadian residency, and much higher education costs), the higher acceptance rates at U.S. programs (about 36.2% overall per AAMC, as compared to around 19.6% in Canada)…
Reapplying to Medical School: Secondaries, Interviews and School Selection
In this final part of your assessment, we will look at all the other ways you communicated with the admissions committee. With the multi-staged admissions process, and an increasingly longer application season, applicants have multiple opportunities to make an impact – or be weeded out. Therefore, it’s important to evaluate whether or not your interactions…
Reapplying to Med School: Your Primary Application
The previous posts have focused on identifying problem areas in your application and offering ideas to help you address them. You might be feeling a bit fragile after such a critical review – if so, then you’re doing it right. This exercise demands that you be ruthless and identify every potential flaw. Your ego might…
How to Improve Your Experiences for Your Med School Reapplication
In this section of our Medical School Reapplicant Advice: 6 Tips for Success series, we’ll discuss how reapplicants can improve their service experiences. Another factor that can seriously hurt your chances is a lack of substantive, ongoing service experiences, both clinical and non-clinical. Medical schools want students who are passionate and committed – to the…
Improve Your MCAT Score for Medical School Acceptance
Fortunately, it’s easier to tackle a poor MCAT score than a poor GPA. While you should not retake the exam too many times, a better-prepared second or even third attempt can be a sound strategy. Many people find that studying independently or with a group of friends works well. Reviewing your old class notes and…
It’s a Match
Each year on Match Day, thousands of medical school students and graduates learn where they will receive their specialty training. This year’s Main Residency Match took place on Friday, March 18th. And with events at many medical schools – many of them in-person this year! – it was a cause for celebration for many participants…
Boost Your GPA for Medical School Acceptance
In our last post, we talked about how to assess your application weaknesses. If you’re feeling a bit fragile now, that’s to be expected – you’ve just undergone a pretty brutal review of your application! But the admissions committee is scrutinizing submissions with the same critical eye. Anticipating the problems so you can correct them…