Many students do not attend medical school immediately following undergrad for a variety of reasons. Many traditional applicants spend the year in between college and med school – their “gap year” – improving their academic credentials and gaining additional research or clinical experience. While improving premed credentials is probably the most common reason for the…
How to Improve Your Study Skills to Become a More Competitive Med School Applicant
As an aspiring doctor, you have a lot on your plate. Upgrading your study skills now can help you learn to be more efficient about how you study, save you time, help you improve your grades, and allow you to establish the skills that will see you through medical school. These strategies can make a…
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 to Shadow a Doctor
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…
What Every Premed Student Needs to Know About Retaking Classes
AACOMAS has changed its grade forgiveness policy as of Feb 2017. For more about this, check out AACOMAS Changing Their Grade Forgiveness Policy. If you have retaken classes in the past or will need to retake a class in the future, reading this post will tell you what you need to know about how the…
Kaplan Test Prep Survey Offers Tips to Aspiring Doctors
Fewer MD applicants earned a seat in medical school in 2016 (39.7%) than in recent history. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, this is the second year in a row that the admit rate fell below 40%. For their 12th annual survey of medical school admissions officers, Kaplan Test Prep recently queried…
3 Tips for Applying to Early Admissions Programs for Medical School
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…
Applying to Medical School: Selecting Extracurricular Activities
When considering your long term goal of attending medical school, selecting extracurricular activities that will set your application apart can seem overwhelming. This blog post will provide you with strategies for finding and selecting activities. In choosing activities, it’s important to consider the following: 1. Do what you love. It’s more interesting to see applicants who…
What do Medical Schools Look for in Your Application Essays?
After reading thousands of applications over the years, I’ve noticed that there are common strategies that successful applicants use in their application essays. You, too, can use these strategies to earn an interview and acceptance. The best application essays: 1. Avoid verbatim repetition It may be impossible not to mention the same activity or experience…
5 Pointers for a Stand-Out Med School Personal Statement
If you don’t put effort into standing out in your medical school personal statement, then you likely won’t. Most applicants will have rather similar profiles; and without going the extra mile to highlight your unique strengths, talents, experiences, and interests, you run the risk of blending into the pool of applicants. These 5 pointers will…
5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Medical School Profile Early On
Are you planning to apply to med school this cycle? You can have a significant head start on your competition by beginning the application process now. Below are a few easy things you can already do to help ensure you get accepted: Easy & Early Tip #1: Volunteer! Med schools are definitely looking for students…
5 Tips For Aspiring Premed Researchers
Gaining research experience won’t just make you a more competitive medical school applicant—it’ll also help you sharpen your critical thinking skills, and give you training you’ll draw on as a medical school student and physician. How can you find the right research opportunity for you? 1. Start early. Ideally, it would be great to have…
5 Reasons Why Med Applicants Should Volunteer
Med schools aren’t just looking for science geeks who’ve never stepped outside the lab. They’re looking for students who will not just succeed in the classroom, but who have also had rich and varied experiences that will make them stand out as an interesting and passionate individual and future doctor. It’s not that test scores…
What Do Scribes Do – And How to Become One [Episode 191]
![What Do Scribes Do – And How to Become One [Episode 191]](https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/iv_Matthew_glowinsky.png)
Medical schools across the board want to know that the people they admit know what they’re getting into and have an understanding of clinical practice based on personal experience. Clinical exposure is virtually a requirement for acceptance to ALL U.S. medical schools. A great way to get such exposure is by working as a scribe….
Is My Profile Competitive for Medical School Admission? [Navigate Med School Maze]
![Is My Profile Competitive for Medical School Admission? [Navigate Med School Maze]](https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/navigating-med-maze-profile-competitive-1024x461.jpg)
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 profile, creating…
How to Show that YOU Want to be a Doctor
“My mom is a doctor, my dad is a doctor. How can I prove to the med school admissions committees that I really want to be a doctor?” Concerned that your application doesn’t demonstrate the extent of your personal commitment to medicine? An experienced admissions consultant can guide you as you craft an application that…
8 New Year’s Resolutions Med School Applicants Need to Keep
Everyone knows that New Year’s resolutions are made to be broken, but if you want to get into med school in 2018, then you’ll want to keep these New Year’s resolutions: Resolution #1: Sign up ASAP for an MCAT course so you’re completely prepared to take the test early. It’s preferable that you take the…
“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…
Premed Summer Undergraduate Research Programs
Often top medical schools in the U.S. offer premed summer undergraduate research programs. The purpose of these programs is to expose ambitious, talented college students to graduate-level medical research, usually over the course of 6-12 weeks over the summer. These programs generally provide generous stipends, as well as free housing and compensation for travel expenses….
Connections Count. And You Can Create Them.
When working with clients who are applying to graduate programs, I often observe that they focus 100% of their energy on perfecting their resume and essays. Written documents are critical components of a successful application, as are standardized test scores and college grades. What can differentiate an applicant is evidence that the candidate reached out…
