Conversation With A Med School Admissions Dean [Podcast IV]

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If you are a pre-med preparing to take the MCAT or a waitlisted 2014 applicant, you may have something in common: A nagging fear that you just may not make it to medical school.

Enter, Dr. Lina Mehta, Associate Dean for Admissions at Case Western Reserve University College of Medicine, with good news: You can get accepted to med school.

Listen to our advice-packed interview for important tips for applicants at all stages of the medical school admissions process, a word of encouragement, and an inside look at Case Western.

00:02:15 – How Dr. Mehta got involved in admissions and what her job entails.

00:04:16 – The New MCAT’s impact on med school admissions.

00:05:26 – The value (and definition) of “applying early.”

00:09:00 – Is it too late for a student taking the MCAT in July/August to realistically apply to med school this year?

00:11:33 – Whom the adcom is hoping to meet in a personal statement.

00:13:15 – Case Western’s 4 Themes and what they mean for applicants.

00:17:38 – Understanding the “leadership and civic professionalism” themes as Case Western School of Medicine.

00:19:27 – How secondary are secondary essays?

00:20:57 – The true goal of a med school interview.

00:22:30 – If only premeds would understand…. (about med school in general and Case Western Reserve specifically).

00:24:16 – Still on the waitlist: Should a student reapply or wait to hear back?

00:26:12 – Factors that could cause a competitive applicant to be rejected.

00:27:58 – Advice for freshman & sophomore premeds.

*Theme music is courtesy of podcastthemes.com.

Alicia Nimonkar

Hi Lauren,

I don’t recommend that students submit their applications in the first week. Application reviewers are often tougher on the first group of applications simply because they will have thousands more to follow. Based on my decade of experience in admissions, I advise my students to submit during or after the second week of June. Hope this is helpful!
Lauren Gaston-Hawkins

I’m not sure if this is the blog post mentioned in the webinar that just ended, but I wanted to ask for clarification about the notion that one should not submit an application in the first wave. When do medical schools receive the first round of applications?
- Linda Abraham
  
  Lauren,
  
  Alicia replied, but applied above your post not to your post. Here is what she wrote:
  
  “Hi Lauren,
  
  “I don’t recommend that students submit their applications in the first week. Application reviewers are often tougher on the first group of applications simply because they will have thousands more to follow. Based on my decade of experience in admissions, I advise my students to submit during or after the second week of June. Hope this is helpful!”