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Showcase Leadership in Your Admissions Essays: Strategies for MBA and Graduate School

Jordan noticed that a colleague was struggling to contribute during team strategy sessions. Throughout the quarter, he offered support, provided regular feedback, and encouraged her to lead part of the final project presentation — which she delivered with confidence. Nina worked throughout college to support her family but still made time to volunteer as a …

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How Personal Is Too Personal in Your Application Essays?

The personal statement is your opportunity to stand out and make a lasting impression on your target school’s adcom. How can you make your essay original? How much should you tell? And at what point are you crossing the line into TMI? When I applied to college, I wrote a personal statement describing some challenging …

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How to Overcome the Biggest Weaknesses in Med School Applications [Episode 605]

Show Summary In the 605th episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Dr. Barry Rothman, current Accepted consultant and former Health Professions Advisor and Director of San Francisco State University’s Pre-Health Professions Certificate Program, joins Linda Abraham to explore how med school applicants can overcome common application weaknesses. From low GPAs and MCAT scores to limited clinical …

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Writing Compelling Activity Descriptions to Boost Your Med School Application

Writing Compelling Activity Descriptions to Boost Your Med School Application

Having worked in admissions for more than two decades, I have read thousands of experience and activity descriptions from applicants to medical schools and schools in healthcare-related fields. Some candidates seem to view this element of their application as less important than their personal statement, writing only cursory descriptions of their tasks. This “job description” …

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“Show Me. Don’t Tell Me.” How Five Words Can Transform Your Application

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”– Anton Chekhov Whether you’re applying to college, a master’s program, business school, or a competitive fellowship, these five words should be your writing mantra: “Show me. Don’t tell me.” The statement “Show me. Don’t tell me” sings to me …

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Best Early Decision Medical Schools: Where EDP Applicants Get Accepted

Do you have a dream school – the one place you’ve always wanted to study medicine – and no other school will do? Do you have a compelling reason for attending one particular program? Maybe your spouse’s job requires them to be in that location, or your only living family member is in the area. …

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Best Clinical Shadowing Tips for AMCAS and AACOMAS Applications

When looking for activities to include on your American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) or American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS) application, shadowing/clinical observation is a powerful way to demonstrate your interest in and realistic knowledge of the medical field. Shadowing a breadth of different specialties in as much depth as …

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Top Strategies for Underrepresented Groups in Medical School Admissions

Each year, I talk to at least one applicant who says they don’t want their ethnic or racial identity to be part of their medical school application. Their hesitation usually stems from a desire to be judged purely upon their merits. This is a noble principle that I respect. However, from the general perspective of …

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How to Use the MSAR to Choose the Best Medical Schools for You

If you are applying to allopathic medical schools, the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) online database is an invaluable resource. Created by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the MSAR is a comprehensive guide of all MD-granting, Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)–accredited medical schools in the United States and Canada. Applicants can use …

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Tips for Getting into Medical School When Your Parent Is a Doctor

A 2018 study published in MedEdPublish reveals that medical students who reported having physician parents or grandparents were less likely to express intentions to practice medicine among the underserved. If you have a parent who is a doctor, to gain admission to medical school, it’s vital to demonstrate that you really care about medicine and …

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Five Tips for Completing AACOMAS Secondary Applications

Once you file the AACOMAS application and choose your schools, the process is not yet over. You will start to receive secondary essay prompts for each school, often with a two-week deadline. Although some prompts are common and expected (e.g., “Explain your biggest challenge” or “Tell us about significant volunteer experience with a vulnerable population”), …

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