Medical School: Expert Guides and Resources

Getting into medical school is extremely competitive, and the application process is long and complex. Keeping track of the application timeline is essential because early applicants are at an advantage when it comes to getting admitted to medical school. The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a particularly important part of the admissions decision, and doing well on it will greatly enhance your chances of acceptance.

Nervous about applying to medical school? There’s no need! With the right approach and preparation you’ll give yourself a head start of the competition. This Cheat Sheet gives you the key things to know about the application timeline, choosing the right school, writing your personal statement and preparing for entry tests.

If either your overall or science GPA isn’t up to par, getting admitted to medical school will be extremely difficult. When applying to medical school, even a strong MCAT score and extensive extracurricular activities may not be enough to compensate for a weak GPA. For students who initially apply to medical school at the end of their junior year but aren’t accepted, senior year provides more opportunities to get great grades and increase their GPAs before reapplying.

You should first prepare for a multiple-mini interview (MMI) the same way you do any other; by researching the medical school and your application, and preparing answers to current healthcare and bioethics issues being debated publicly. By completing those tasks, you gain the foundation needed to excel at MMI stations requiring you to analyze ethics scenarios as well as to respond to questions at a short standard-format interview station, which is a part of some MMIs.

The multiple mini-interview is very different from a traditional one-on-one or panel interview some medical schools give. With an MMI, you don’t meet with one or more interviewers for an extended length of time and discuss standard questions such as “Why medicine?” and “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Instead, you rotate through a series of stations, encountering a different case, question, task, or role-playing scenario at each.

How do you assess your chances of acceptance into medical school? The best way of determining whether you will get into medical school is to look at some of the statistics pertaining to medical school admission and the factors that schools consider when evaluating applicants. Keep in mind however, that statistics are just a guide and that your chance of admission can be increased by managing your application strategically in terms of your timing, choice of schools, and your primary application package.

Success with your medical school application depends on perseverance and timing. During senior year, you finished up secondary applications and give medical school interviews. You deal with multiple acceptances if you get them and waitlists if you’re put on one. If all goes well, you spend the summer after you graduate getting ready to head off to medical school.

There are many factors to consider when choosing which medical schools you might like to attend besides the sheer cost of medical school. Factors such as rank, educational curriculum, and others should be considered as you narrow the list of medical schools you want to apply to. You need to compile a list of medical schools that include several safety schools – schools that, based on your GPA and MCAT scores, should be easy for you to get into – and several dream schools, along with several schools you like but perhaps don’t dream about.

You will need to include a personal statement with your medical school application. Through your personal statement, you can distinguish yourself from other medical school applicants by highlighting your personal qualities. To craft the best personal statement, you need an organized approach. With a basic outline, an overarching theme, and your list of ideas, you have the tools to write your first complete draft.