The best letters of recommendation come from persons who have seen you perform in some capacity – student, student leader, employee, researcher, volunteer. The weakest letters are of the “character reference” variety (from the clergy member who knows you only as a person who attends weekly services, for example) or come from influential persons (your…
Tips for Getting Into Medical School When Your Parent is a Doctor
There has been an interesting shift in medical school admissions for applicants whose parents are doctors. In 1989, these applicants were 15% more likely to get into medical school. When I first became involved in admissions over ten years ago, students who had a physician for a parent were still more likely to get accepted…
How Can a Postbac Program Help You?
You know you want to become a doctor, but you also realize that you’re not quite ready for medical school. Whether it’s because your profile isn’t as competitive as it could be or if you simply just need more time to study the basics to determine if this is truly the right path for you,…
How to Write a Perfect Postbac Admissions Essay
One of the most important parts of the application to postbac programs is your personal statement. This piece of writing allows the admissions committee to get to know you – to hear your voice – and learn more about the obstacles you have overcome to pursue your educational goals. 3 attributes of a successful postbac…
How to Defer a Medical School Acceptance
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about deferrals, so let’s review the facts. How medical school deferment works After you have received an acceptance to medical school, you can request a deferral by submitting a letter or petition to the dean or committee on admissions. The process is different for each school. At most…
How to Decide if You Should Retake Courses in Preparation for Applying to Medical School
The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) has applicants manually enter all coursework and grades into the AMCAS application. You may wonder why they have you complete this seemingly repetitive and arduous section, given that they collect official copies of all transcripts. It allows them to create a standardized GPA calculation from which to compare…
The Anatomy of a Post-Interview Thank You Email
After your medical school interview, it is appropriate to send thank you notes to all of the people who helped you throughout the day. These days it is rare to receive a thank you card. You can easily set yourself apart by sending out handwritten notes. If, like most people, you only have time to…
7 Steps to Acing Your Med School Interview
Congratulations! You have been identified as one of the most promising applicants for medical school during this application cycle. Follow these seven steps to ensure that you ace your interview and receive an acceptance: Step 1: Celebrate! While you may be nervous about embarking on the next step of your journey, don’t forget to celebrate…
Stanford University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
Ranked in the top three for research by U.S. News, Stanford University SOM provides a strong foundation in the basic sciences and the opportunity to select a scholarly concentration—to pursue topics of individual interest. Students are provided with a mentor, coursework and research opportunities in the topic of their choice. This medical school strongly prefers…
An Overview of Your Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) Day
Currently, at least 37 medical schools in the U.S. offer the MMI. A typical MMI day lasts about nine hours. Starting the multiple mini interview day If you have a morning interview, check-in can begin as early as 7:15am which may include eating breakfast with medical students. After breakfast, the dean or assistant dean will…
What the Medical School Admissions Committee Looks for During an MMI
During the multiple mini interview, or MMI, you’ll be evaluated by many different people at several different stations. Having multiple reviews and reviewers provides a more consistent way to evaluate applicants because schools end up with more data from the evaluations provided by each person who observes you. They rate you based on how you…
University of Michigan Medical School Secondary Application Essay Tips [2019 – 2020]
University of Michigan Medical School is ranked in the top ten schools for excellence in primary care. Given the school’s focus on self-directed learning and building on a strong science foundation, it will be important in your secondary essays to convey your level of self-awareness in meeting your academic goals. How did you approach challenging…
Penn State College of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips [2019 – 2020]
Penn State College of Medicine offers accelerated programs for students interested in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery to complete their training in three years. It provides an interdisciplinary training environment for students from their medical school, physician assistant program and nursing school to train together. Through its Global Exchange Program, students…
Baylor College of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips [2019 – 2020]
Given the principles for BCM, I recommend covering your clinical, research and community experience in their secondary application essays. They place special emphasis on recruiting students from diverse backgrounds and from ethnicities that are underrepresented in medicine. Highlight your personal connections, volunteer work, and leadership roles in medically underserved communities. Baylor College of Medicine 2019-20…
Georgetown University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips [2019 – 2020]
Given the Jesuit influence at Georgetown and its adoption of the Cura Personalis philosophy, I recommend covering your clinical, research and community service experience for Georgetown’s secondary application essay. The school places special emphasis on training physicians to treat medically underserved communities. Highlight your personal connections, volunteer work and leadership roles in medically underserved communities….
What NOT to Write in Your Medical School Secondary Application Essays
Since the number of secondary applications that you receive can be overwhelming, you may be tempted to take a few shortcuts. Some shortcuts are warranted while others are just too risky to consider using. To ensure that you are one of the “lucky” few who receive a medical school interview, avoid the following egregious errors:…
Successful Medical School Secondary Application Strategies
Use the following strategies to get organized and to help you write better secondary essays. Taking the time to think about how you will approach your secondaries can give you the “big picture” perspective you need to do your best work. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, trying a new approach can make all the difference in…
Track Your Secondary Application Progress with a Spreadsheet
After you have submitted your primary application, the real fun begins! Depending on how many schools you are applying to and the number of school systems, it can be challenging to keep track of all of your secondary applications and deadlines. To help you get organized, I’m sharing a spreadsheet I’ve created for you so…
The Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics (CASPer)
In 2010, McMaster, the Canadian medical school that created the MMI (multiple mini interview) format, generated a new test, the CASPer (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics). Now, they’re finding that it can more accurately reveal key personal qualities in applicants, like collaboration, problem solving, empathy and ethics. Thirty-seven medical schools in the U.S. request…
5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Applying to Medical School as an Older Applicant
The average age for medical students has been steadily increasing over the years for several reasons. For one, medical schools cannot legally discriminate against applicants based on age. Furthermore, applicants with more life experience can be some of the best medical students as they are already established in their identity, maturity levels, and career goals….
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