“Dear Incredibly Hard Working Premed and Hopeful Doctor, Our admissions committee has met, and we regret to inform you that you were not selected as a student for our entering class. There were many qualified blah blah blah…” Ouch. I worked hard. I shadowed. I volunteered. My GPA was great! I gave everything I had…
What I Look for When I Interview a Candidate for Medical School
This year, I’ve had the unique pleasure of interviewing prospective medical students, reviewing and scoring completed applications, voting on our Admissions Committee, and seeing several students’ dreams come true at my university. It’s such a surreal feeling sitting in the interviewer chair when just two and a half years ago, I was the one being…
Choosing Between Multiple Medical School Acceptances
You’ve taken the MCAT, completed all the pre-reqs, and maybe shadowed a physician, done some research, and volunteered. Now it’s time to make sure you’re all in for the last legs of this long journey. In this series, we’ll discuss how you can continue to navigate your way to a med school acceptance by analyzing your…
“I’m Premed and I’m Going to Be a Surgeon” – How to Not Be THAT Guy
Wanna know what I did instead of walking at graduation to receive my Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and Physiology this past Saturday? I did what any other red blooded American with cowboy boots would do: I shot my rifle and an armory of other guns with some of my best friends, and then went…
Not So Secret Secrets to Nailing the Medical School Interview
Right now, every week, there are a slew of fresh faces coming to interview for a coveted spot at our medical school. They come mostly from Tennessee; many have done undergraduate work all over the country, had previous careers, and are very impressive on paper, but they all share one thing in common: a feeling…
What I Learned as a Student Member of a Medical School Admissions Committee
Recently, I finished my term on our Admissions Committee as a full voting member. It was an honor to have been an integral part in helping people achieve their dreams through finding the perfect medical school (for some people) – a place I love calling home. After interviewing dozens of candidates, scoring four-fold more, advocating…
Applying to Med School: How to Juggle Secondaries
First and foremost, congratulations on having pummeled through the past few years as a premed, beasting the MCAT, shadowing in hospitals, doing research, volunteering about a bagillion hours, and successfully submitting your primary application through AMCAS. You’ve come a long way, and I imagine you are anxiously awaiting that ominous “secondary application.” “Wait, I already applied to medical school and told…
How to Choose the Best Experiences for Your AMCAS Application
It’s that time of year when premeds across the world are gathering everything they need to put on their AMCAS application. In this article, I’ll walk through one facet (one of the largest) of this dainty little application, the experiences section. I will outline what makes a good experience to write about, which ones should be deemed…
How to Interpret Medical School Rankings
We’ve all seen the U.S. News report that comes out every year with a list of the top medical schools, and think, man, it’d be pretty freaking awesome to be at the top medical school in the country. Who doesn’t want to be the best, right? What I’ll walk through next is how to understand what those…
The Best 4 Things to Do Before Med School
As I become inundated with science, buried under electronic books (yes, I do everything on my iPad), and finally set into the rhythm of my first year of medical, I can’t help but notice the things I am so thankful I did, and some things I wish I would have. When you burn through an…
Why I Chose B’s In Medical School
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South and life as a student adcom member through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua for…
Must-Read Books for Pre-Meds
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South and life as a student adcom member through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua for…
To Research or Not to Research is Thy Pre-Med Question
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South and life as a student adcom member through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua…
Insights, Advice and Experiences of a Non-Traditional Med Student
Former songwriter, future doctor, Joshua Wienczkowski has a thing or two to say about the med school admissions process and the med school experience. Listen to the recording of our entertaining and informative conversation for excellent advice and insights from a medical school insider. 00:02:56 – Joshua’s journey to Tennessee and medical school. 00:06:23 –…
Reflections on Being 25% an MD
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South and life as a student adcom member through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua…
How do I Decide Which Med Schools to Apply to?
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South and life as a student adcom member through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua…
The Dreaded Med School Rejection: What Now?
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua for sharing this journey with us! Update:…
I’m 1/16th to My MD!
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua for sharing this journey with us! It…
The Best 4 Things to Do Before Med School
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua for sharing this journey with us! As I…
“I’m Pre-Med, and I’m Going to be a Surgeon” – How to Not be THAT Guy.
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua for sharing this journey with us! Wanna know…
