From the taking the MCAT to having an acceptance in hand, the application process for medical school can take roughly just over a year. However, priming yourself to apply should start years in advance. Here are 10 Tactics to Prepare an Impressive Medical School Application.
This post comes just after my husband applied, interviewed, and received acceptances. We don’t claim to be experts, but we learned and observed valuable lessons. Some of these tactics are lessons we learned along the way. Others are what we wish we would have known before applying, as many things can get overlooked. It is our hope you find this helpful as you prepare to apply for medical school. If you find this post helpful, you’ll want to check out Refine the Anatomy of Your Medical School Application too!
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Plan Ahead
Your GPA and MCAT score serve as benchmarks for many admission committees, however, these are not the only things you should focus on when it comes to your medical school application. Research, volunteer service, patient exposure, physician shadowing, and leadership are generally recommended activities that medical schools like to see.
If you are worried about getting enough hours or finding opportunities to participate in these types of activities, plan ahead! Sit down and make a list of ways you can gain patient exposure or shadow a local physician in the coming months.
Planning now and then putting those plans into action, will keep you from scrambling last minute to beef up your application with more research hours or volunteer work. Here is what the AAMC says about the Anatomy of an Applicant.
Think Outside the Box
In The Parts of Your Medical School Application, the AAMC explains you will have the opportunity to highlight 15 activities. Admission committees want to know who you are and the best way to do this on a medical school application is to see how you spend your time.
Start brainstorming now of how you can do something unique to you. Think outside the box. Beyond the normal service hours at a soup kitchen (unless that’s your thing!). Ask yourself these questions to get started:
- What are you passionate about?
- What sets you apart?
- What can you do to incorporate that passion or unique aspect into a bigger project?
- Why do you want to do this project?
- What do you need to do to make that project a reality?
- How will you implement your plan?
- Who will you involve?
- How will you capture and document your project?
Don’t Put Yourself in a Box
In conjunction with thinking outside the box, don’t put yourself in a box. Just because you are applying to medical school doesn’t mean you have to only fill your life with things that you may think beef up your application.
If you love to paint, continue to cultivate that talent. If you enjoy weight lifting, continue to put time in at the gym. Don’t get consumed by trying to look better than the other thousands of applicants by doing one more three-hour service project.
This is not to say don’t do service or small projects, but remember medicine is an ever-changing and dynamic field that will require well rounded physicians to connect with a diverse patient population. There is no “box” when it comes to the ideal applicant.
Ask Questions
This is one is simple and possibly one of the most helpful tactics to prepare an impressive medical school application. Ask questions.
Find resources on-campus, other students who are applying, students who have recently applied, and current medical students. Then learn everything you can from them, so you can apply to schools with your eyes wide open.
The caveat is to keep your head. Don’t worry about what so and so did, where they interviewed, or what email they just received. Focus on what you want to get out of medical school.
Study for the MCAT Early
It is no secret that your MCAT score plays a crucial role in making a good impression. Cramming the month before you take the MCAT is not a good approach so start early.
“Early” looks different for everyone. However, a good rule of thumb would be to start early enough that you won’t be worried about falling behind if you missed a couple days because you got sick or you stayed out late with friends.
Life still happens. Do yourself a favor and avoid the stress that will inevitably come if you put off studying and later try to cover the immense amount of information found on the MCAT in a short amount of time.
If you have a significant other helping you prep, take a look at these Five Tips to Help Your Loved One Study for the MCAT.
Apply for Financial Aid
This one is pretty simple, but one that gets overlooked. You can’t apply for medical school or attend your interviews if you can’t pay for it. Apply for financial aid through AMCAS’s Fee Assistance Program. Speaking from personal experience, if you qualify, it will save you quite a bit with the fees related to the MCAT, the application process, and more.
There are also often scholarships offered on a university or community level. Seek out these opportunities and apply. It may help you come out of the application and interview phase with less debt.
Save Now
Start by saving now. According to AAMC, the MCAT is $315. The primary application fee for 2019 is “$170 for the first school and $39 for each additional school.” Secondary application fees range from $0 to $200.
Just to take the MCAT and send in your primary application for 15 schools, you are looking at about $1,031. Add on your MCAT prep material, secondary application fees, travel costs, hotel stays, food, and a myriad of other expenses and all the sudden you are having to take out a loan just to get into med school.
Once you are in, chances are you will be taking out loans to survive. So, do yourself a favor, save up now and try to stay out of debt before medical school starts.
Do Your Research on Medical Schools
Do not just blindly apply to schools because you “heard” it was a good school or it comes with a lot of prestige. You may find after paying the application fees that they only take in-state applicants or perhaps they place a heavy emphasis on research and that just isn’t your cup of tea.
Take the time to explore potential medical schools you would like to attend. Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) is a great resource to do just that.
Once you find the schools you would like to apply to, you can discover what each med school values and tailor your essays to show how you emulate the values they hold in high regards. For instance, quality patient care, research, innovation, rural medicine, among others are just a few examples of what various med schools focus on.
Beyond what the school has to offer, you might want to read How to Choose a Medical School: Four Things to Consider.
Include Your Significant Other
If you are in a relationship, include your significant other in your planning and decision making. Two brains are better than one when preparing your medical school application. Keep them in the loop as you bounce ideas off each other about preparing for med school.
Your significant other is hopefully just as invested as you are in the med school journey. Not only will they be able to see any holes in your application, but they can help you navigate problems, remind you of your goals, and carryout projects.
A significant other can also help bring you back to reality when you become too stressed or consumed by the process.
Have Fun
Your time before medical school begins is precious. Yes, definitely use this time to prepare, but also use it to have fun. Spend time with friends and family. Make a bucket list of things you want to do that can only be found in your area or home state since you likely will go out-of-state for school.
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According to the AAMC’s data collection concerning the U.S. Medical School Applications and Matriculants by School, State of Legal Residence, and Sex, from 2017-2018 there were 816,153 medical school applications from 51,680 applicants. Each applicant submitted an average of 16 applications. Out of the 51,680 applicants only 21,338 matriculated. That means only 41 percent of applicants are now attending medical school!
Hopefully these 10 tactics will help you become a competitive applicant as you prepare your medical school application.
More on Medical School Prep
Refine the Anatomy of Your Medical School Application
3 Things to Do in College to Prep for Med School
Five Tips to Help Your Loved One Study for the MCAT
