Each year, Canadian medical school hopefuls look across the border for their medical education. While there are obvious challenges (adapting to a different health care system, returning to a Canadian residency, and much higher education costs), the higher acceptance rates at U.S. programs (about 41.9% overall, as compared to just 20% in Canada) can make…
Pursuing a Career in Medicine Beyond the Expectations of Her Community
Learn how real students navigate their way through the medical school admissions process and med school itself with our What is Medical School Really Like? series. Meet Eliana, a wife, mother, and aspiring OBGYN on a mission to empower women in her community. Eliana, thank you for sharing your story with us! Where do you attend medical…
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…
Which Allopathic U.S. Medical Schools Require Committee Letters?
When preparing to apply to medical school, there are lots of details to consider! One major area of the application that causes a lot of stress is the letters of recommendation. To make the process of deciding which letters to collect easier for you, I did the research! (You’re welcome.) What is a committee letter?…
Stony Brook University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips
Stony Brook SOM is located in New York. It has a three-part mission that includes research, education and service. For students interested in applying to SBU SOM, you will need to do thorough research and use secondary sources to learn more about the school. If it is one of your top choices or you are…
Medicinal Magic and Magical Medicine: An Interview with M3 David Elkin [Episode 207]
Our guest today is a fourth year medical student at Stony Brook who graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelors in Physiology and Neuroscience. Nothing too unusual there for a medical student. However, things start to get interesting, maybe even enchanting, when we learn a little about his hobby: magic. He has been performing…
