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.

As a medical student, you have days when you wonder why you got yourself into this field in the first place and others when you actually find med school fun. To help you get ready to take on the challenge of med school, here is a glimpse of what the experience is really like along with strategies for surviving, and even enjoying, the next four years.

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.

Your Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) score is a crucial factor in admission to medical school. A stellar MCAT score can take your medical school application from good to great in the admissions committee’s eyes. Here are some tips to help you nail this challenging exam: Make a detailed (but flexible) study schedule.

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.

As an osteopathic (DO) medical school applicant, you find yourself faced with some form of the question “Why do you want to be an osteopathic physician?” many times during the medical school application process. Although DO schools have a lot in common with allopathic (MD) schools, they’re also proud of their unique history, traditions, and principles, and they seek students who are genuinely interested in attending an osteopathic medical school.

With so many things to fill out, submit, and keep track of during the medical school application process, you can easily overlook or mishandle a detail. However, every element of your application, from your personal statement to your performance on the interview, can make the difference being between gaining an acceptance and landing in the “rejected” pile.

GPA and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores allow admissions committees to assess your academic potential; work, research, clinical, and extracurricular activities show your interests and the extent to which you’ve investigated medicine. However, schools also want to know about your motivation for pursuing medicine, your interpersonal skills, your personal qualities, and your character.