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by Mary Mahoney
Predictably, the rate at which aspiring medical school students are taking a gap year is rising. According to the AAMC’s 2024 student questionnaire, 74.3% of M1s took at least one gap year between their undergraduate education and starting medical school. That rate was 60% in 2017. Clearly, the takeaway from this data is that the …
If you have retaken classes in the past – or expect to need to retake a class in the future – this post will help you understand this element of your profile, in general, for the AMCAS application, and for the AACOMAS application, as needed. 1. All grades earned are calculated into the cumulative GPA. …
The average age for a first-year medical student (known as an M1) is 24. This means that if you are currently a 15-year-old high school freshman, you have approximately nine years to learn, explore, and discover as much as you can about the field of medicine! So, if you are considering a career of some …
by Mary Mahoney
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. Ten years ago, students who had a physician for a parent were still more likely to get accepted into medical school. Ten years later, the opposite …
Grad school admissions officers might well be checking out your social media accounts and forming opinions about you based on your profile and content. Will what they see help you or hurt you? The most recent survey of this growing trend – conducted in 2021 by Kaplan Test Prep – involved admissions officers from 247 top …
Follow the guidelines offered here to create a winning medical school application! (If you are starting the process later than your first year of college, use this key to enable you to follow the advice presented here.) Freshman year Lay a foundation in your science coursework. Look for mentors. Volunteer. Explore research opportunities. Maintain personal …
by Cydney Foote
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 …
If you are absolutely certain that you want to pursue a medical education, applying to early admissions programs (EAPs) can give you the freedom to pursue any major. The Icahn School of Medicine’s FlexMed Program accepts students in the second semester of their sophomore year from all majors—the more diverse, the better. Flexmed’s only requirements …
When looking for activities to include on your AMCAS application, shadowing is a powerful way to demonstrate your interest in and realistic knowledge of the field of medicine. Shadowing as many different kinds of doctors as you can is helpful; the only way to know whether you will enjoy a career in a particular area …
When considering your goal of attending medical school, you need to choose extracurricular activities that you will enjoy and that will also help you highlight the characteristics that med schools are seeking. 3 strategies for choosing the right extracurriculars Below we will provide you with strategies for finding and selecting activities that will set your …
“I really want to help people” simply isn’t a valid response to the common medical school application question, “Why do you want to be a doctor?” Watch this short video for Linda Abraham’s reflections on what to say – and what not to say – when answering this million dollar why I want to be a doctor essay question. Do …
You’ve completed your undergraduate degree and are looking forward to attending medical school, but are looking for a way to set your application apart. If you have a strong undergrad science GPA, pursuing an SMP can be a fantastic way to do just that. There are currently more than 75 different science-based SMPs nationwide. There …
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