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This book is published under the Creative Commons Deed Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported You are free: to Share to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specied by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Under no circumstances may this book be published for prot. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The views and opinions expressed in this book are strictly those of the contributing authors. The contents of this publication have not been reviewed or approved by Rice University. The Premedical Student Guide is a student-run project and unafliated with Rice University. The Premedical Student Guide was rst published in the 2006-2007 academic year in Houston, Texas. Brian Schwab initially created the project, but many other writers (primarily those from the Will Rice class of 2007) were essential contributors. After several updates, the project also owes much of its content to the Rice University Class of 2012. If you would like to request further copies of this text in physical or electronic form, please email ricepremedsociety@gmail.com. Thank you for reading and good luck. Page design by Josiah DePaoli Book design by Brian Schwab Sixth Edition: May 2012
Premedical Student Guide // Page 2
To the mentors who give everything they have without thoughts of receiving
Acknowledgments
We created this book with the help of many students from Rice University. We deeply appreciate the generosity of the contributing applicants and medical school students who have by now assuredly become successful residents and doctors. Several nonmedical people were essential, as well, and we are thankful for their invaluable assistance. What follows is a list of contributors and the year they began helping with the project (in chronological order): 2006 Brian Schwab Mike Mathews Diane Shao Marina Post Somala Muhammed Jean Bao Audrey Nath Matt Mino Sylvia Szafarczyk Sanjay Maniar 2007 Dana McDowelle Virginia Dzul-Church Tiffany Lin Tyler Coyle Andrew Wong Julie Linton Ted John Josiah DePaoli Joe Figueroa Zong Law Paul Whiting Natalia Khalaf 2008 Mihir Shah Brandon Allport Elizabeth Gleeson 2011 Layla Abu-Shamat Ted Fan Nicky Mehtani Shumalia Sharfani 2012 Sarah Ho Ruchi Srivastava Louise Gliga Raymond Verm Ari Berlin Mohini Dasari Kareem Ayoub Kevin Shen Simone Elder Kara Calhoun Faroukh Mehkri Harry Han Austin Potter Eman Bahrani Michael Torre Tina Munjal Vinita Israni
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Table of Contents
Foreword .............................................................................................................................7 Using This Guide ............................................................................................................... 8 Getting Started ................................................................................................................... 9 Websites ...................................................................................................................... 9 Books.......................................................................................................................... 9 Staying Organized ..................................................................................................... 10 Getting Into Medical School ............................................................................................ 10 Becoming a Competitive Applicant ........................................................................... 10 GPA .......................................................................................................................... 10 The MCAT ................................................................................................................. 11 What is Competitive? ................................................................................................. 11 The Rest of the Competition ...................................................................................... 12 What to Pick as a Major ............................................................................................ 12 Double Majors ...........................................................................................................13 Required Courses .......................................................................................................13 Fulfilling the English Req. ........................................................................................13 Using AP Credits for Pre-med Requirements ............................................................. 14 Letters of Recommendation ...................................................................................... 14 Research ....................................................................................................................15 Volunteering .............................................................................................................. 16 Clinical Experience ................................................................................................... 16 Leadership .................................................................................................................17 Other Extracurricular Activities .................................................................................17 Emergency Medical Services Technician................................................................................17 The Overall Premed Timeline ........................................................................................... 19 Sample Timeline ........................................................................................................21 Applying .......................................................................................................................... 22 MCAT ....................................................................................................................... 24 MCAT Sections ......................................................................................................... 24 MCAT Scoring System ...............................................................................................25 MCAT Registration ....................................................................................................25 MCAT Resources. .....................................................................................................26 Doing Well on the MCAT .......................................................................................... 26 AMCAS/TMDSAS .................................................................................................... 29 AMCAS vs. TMDSAS................................................................................................33 The Personal Statement ..............................................................................................35 Personal Statement Examples .....................................................................................37 Primary App...............................................................................................................49 Secondary Applications ............................................................................................. 50 The Cost of Applying ................................................................................................ 54
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Research ...........................................................................................................................55 How Does Research Support My Application? ...........................................................55 What Is Undergraduate Research, Really? ..................................................................55 Clinical Research versus Basic Science Research...................................................... 56 Rice Labs versus Medical Center Labs ...................................................................... 56 Finding a Lab .............................................................................................................57 If You Have Never Done Research Before..................................................................57 If You Have Had Some Research Experience ............................................................ 58 How Necessary are Publications/Presentations? ........................................................ 58 Summer Internships and Study Abroad ..................................................................... 59 Scholarships and Honors ........................................................................................... 60 The MD/Phd Pathway ........................................................................................................61 MD/PhD Programs .....................................................................................................61 Reasonable Concerns Regarding MD/PhD ................................................................ 62 The Journey of a Physician-Scientist (MD/PhD) ....................................................... 62 MD/PhD Applicant Credentials ..................................................................................63 Applying as an MD/Phd Candidate ................................................................................... 64 Choosing Schools for MD/PhD ................................................................................. 64 Recommendation Letters for MD/PhD ...................................................................... 64 MD/PhD AMCAS and Secondaries ............................................................................65 MD/PhD Interviews .................................................................................................. 66 Choosing an MD/PhD Institution ...............................................................................67 Resources for MD/PhD Applicants ............................................................................ 68 Interviews ........................................................................................................................ 68 Preparing for Your Interview ..................................................................................... 69 The Interview Day .................................................................................................... 69 Questions Asked on Interviews ................................................................................. 70 Questions You Can Ask Your Interviewer .................................................................. 70 Attire..........................................................................................................................71 Tours ..........................................................................................................................71 After You Get In ............................................................................................................... 72 AMCAS Schools ....................................................................................................... 72 TMDSAS Schools ..................................................................................................... 72 On Taking Time Off ...................................................................................................73 Deciding to Take Time Off ........................................................................................ 74 General Advice ................................................................................................................ 76 Afterword ..........................................................................................................................83
Foreword
Applying to medical school is a long, difcult process. Some students already knew that they wanted to be doctors even before coming to Orientation Week. Others jump from Chemical Engineering to Asian Studies in a winding path of self-discovery that eventually leads to a passion for medicine. Some students have already been accepted to medical school while they were still in high school (e.g. Rice-Baylor). Whatever your case may be, getting into medical school could at rst seem complicated, hard, or even futile. Even if you know what to do, the incredible magnitude of required work might deter some from even trying. Just remember, though, that its worth it. My personal journey towards medical school started when I sat down at a table in Baker College during O-Week and studied a brochure outlining the pre-med timetable for my four years at Rice. Scared, I wondered whether I would ever be able to manage the seemingly busy and strict schedule of things to do. Nevertheless, with joy, I can say that I have persisted, worked my way through the arduous process, and been accepted to medical school. I am quite thankful for the people that have helped me. Upperclassmen, friends, family, advisors, and others have helped me more than I could have ever imagined. I wish to dedicate this book to these amazing people, with a special thanks to Ted John (WRC 06, University of Michigan). The tremendous help that I received from countless individuals was the impetus for my attempt at assisting other premeds in their paths toward medical school. I began writing a book for Rice pre-meds in December of 2006. Really, the idea just randomly popped into my head. I was hoping to give back to the community that had helped me so much during my personal path towards medical school, and I believed (and still believe) that the best help available is from your network of older peers. Therefore, I started writing a book, asking friends for help, and contacting medical school students for further input. The purpose of this book is to help Rice pre-medical students get into the best possible medical schools that they can. The main authors are a number of pre-meds in the Will Rice class of 2007, and we have provided contact information if you have further questions. I trust that your medical career, including your application to medical school, will yield great success. Dont get scared; get prepared.
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Best of Luck,
Freshmen
Your biggest questions probably have to do with prerequisite courses, the general timeline of things to do, and extracurricular activities/clinical exposure/research. Try starting with the Getting Started, Getting into Medical School, and The Overall Premed Timeline sections. Especially helpful might also be the General Advice section.
Sophomores
The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is big for you. By taking the MCAT the summer after your sophomore year, you will have the entire summer to study. Along with guring out your MCAT situation, you probably need to think about what to do with your summer. Look at the MCAT section and follow with the Getting Started, Getting into Medical School, and The Overall Pre-med Timeline sections. Also, look at General Advice.
Juniors
It is almost time to apply. Get excited! The MCAT is hopefully over, your prerequisites are done, and now you need to begin the process as outlined in the Applying section. Look over the Overall Pre-med Timeline section briey and then focus on Applying and the rest of what the book covers. Huge for you will be the following three sections: Applying, AMCAS/ TMDSAS, and Personal Statement.
Seniors
Hmmm, you are probably in a unique situation. You should be the one helping write this book, not reading it. If you are confused about the process, you will need to contact the Ofce of Academic Advising. The only possible sections that might help an average senior pre-med are the Interviews and General Advice sections.
Getting Started
The best resources to help you understand the application process are the students who have done it before you. Each residential college is equipped with Peer Academic Advisors who have been specially trained to help you through your pre-med experience at Rice as well as the application process. Additional resources follow:
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Websites
MD Applicants (www.mdapplicants.com). This site is useful in terms of seeing what schools people have applied to and understanding the timeline for each. This site is best for rising seniors because it helps you gure out where to apply and see how long it takes for the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) to process your application. For example, click the Search Proles button and click Application Status > Received an Interview > Johns Hopkins > Unclick the Exclude Incomplete Proles. This gives you all the proles of the people on the site who have interviewed at Johns Hopkins. Then you can see that, Oh, so someone applying to Johns Hopkins might also apply to Columbia or whatever. It helps you gure out what schools might be ones to apply to as well as the strength of the competition. Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR). Available only online at www.aamc.org/ students/applying/requirements/msar/ . MSAR has the admissions requirements and details for every school in the nation. It is good for just researching individual schools and seeing average MCAT/GPAs, among other things. Medical Schools in USA (www.medicalschoolsinusa.com). This resource gives an idea of the number of people the school interviews and accepts with breakdown by state and gender, as well as the average GPA and MCAT scores for accepted students. Basically, if you do not want to buy the MSAR, this is a cheap, if slightly outdated, alternative. Pre-Med Guide (www.premedguide.com). This website is useful to get a general idea of how competitive your MCAT and GPA are compared to the schools average statistics. However, take it with a grain of salt. Click on the get details for schools youre interested in to get more detailed information. If you are seriously interested in a school, always go to the schools website and look up the requirements; do not depend solely on this website. Even if your competitive score is a large negative number, DO NOT let this deter you from applying to a school that you really want to go to. Student Doctor (www.studentdoctor.net). The most well-known and frequently visited website for pre-meds, Student Doctor is one of the most valuable tools on the internet. Checkout these especially: Forums > Pre-medical Forums Great resource, but take it with a grain of salt. These are opinions, not facts. This is most useful for seeing what past questions students have had for the school regarding the admissions process. Articles & Interviews > Interview Feedback. This is for people who want to know what interviews are like. It gives student
opinions and statistics for each school as well as past interview questions.
Staying Organized
Staying organized throughout the process is critical. There are many ways to do this, but several students choose to create an Excel document with usernames, passwords, application fees, and deadlines to ensure no school accidentally falls through the cracks.
GPA
Realize that your GPA is not directly proportional to the strength of medical school to which you will necessarily be accepted. Obviously, you will need a decently high GPA, but its not like a 3.89 has an incredible advantage over a 3.85. MSAR is a good reference to see what the average GPA medians and GPA ranges are for accepted students. Here is a random sampling: Baylors accepted student GPA is 3.86 UT Houston is a 3.83 UTSA is 3.74 UT Southwestern 3.85 Johns Hopkins 3.89 UCSF 3.84 and Harvard is 3.9 (MSAR 2012-2013)
Firstly, note that the application procedure separates Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math GPAs from Overall GPA. Its kind of interesting what counts as Science GPA, and you have some control over which is which. One thing for all Rice students to note: an A+ is not considered a 4.3, but rather a 4.0. See the AMCAS / TMDSAS section for more details. Secondly, note that medical schools would rather see a steady increase in GPA over semesters (i.e., 3.2, 3.4, 3.6, etc.) than a steady decline (i.e., 3.6, 3.4, 3.2, etc.). The former scenario shows that you are serious about your studies. The latter demonstrates that either the upper-division courses are too difcult for you, or that you are getting too involved with your extracurricular activities as time goes on. Thirdly, note that medical schools will see your GPA with As as the maximum grade through AMCAS and TMDSAS. Therefore, your AMCAS/TMDSAS GPAs will probably be lower than what you see on your Rice transcript using Esther (because Esther allows A+s).
The MCAT
The MCAT is the exam that may be one of the more signicant factors as to whether or not you get a second look from an admissions committee. It is offered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the same organization that controls the application process. To register for the exam, you must use the AAMCs website: www.aamc.org. For further information, please see the MCAT section later in this book.
W hat is Competitive?
One of the rst steps is assuredly seeing how your MCAT and GPA stack up to the competition. One method is called the Competitive Score, which is derived as follows: Competitive Score = (GPA * 10) + (MCAT Composite) AMCAS allows for a maximum GPA of 4.0. This formula, while very crude, is a good indication of what statistics the schools are looking for when they initially glance at your application. Using your Competitive Score, the following table gives you an idea of what might be a competitive tier. The competitive tiers give your relative strength in the applicant pool. Competitive Tier 1 indicates that your GPA and MCAT will be strongly competitive, and Competitive Tier 5 indicates that your GPA and MCAT will be less competitive. Competitive Score 7085 6570 6065 5560 Competitive Tier 1 2 3, 4 5
This table gives a rough idea of your competitive advantage vis--vis other applicants. There are certainly many people who get accepted to higher tiered schools than expected every year, just as there are people who get rejected from lower tiered schools than would be expected from their competitive scores. However, this method is by far the quickest indicator available to compare yourself with everyone else.
Double Majors
Remember, your major is unimportant. Therefore, you can well imagine that a double major would be a colossal waste of time if you pursued two degrees only for the sake of impressing an admissions committee. If you are going to double major or add on a minor, you must be genuinely interested and truly passionate in both areas. Keep in mind that you can always take classes within another eld that interests you without majoring in that eld.
Required Courses
This section is very hard to write because each and every school is different. For example, Baylor requires GenChem, Orgo, Bio, and English; Johns Hopkins requires GenChem, Orgo, Bio, Biochem, 24 semesters of humanities, social, and behavior sciences, math, and physics; and UPenn has no actual course requirements other than requisite knowledge. It is really hard to tell you all the different requirements for all the schools. As a generalization, medical schools require completion of the following subjects, which each should be taken for a letter grade: General Medical School Requirements English (One year) Biology (One year, plus lab) Mathematics (One year) General Chemistry (One year, plus lab) Organic Chemistry (One year, plus lab) Physics (One year, plus lab) Statistics (One semester) Biochemistry (One semester) Rice Courses For These Requirements HUMA 101/102 or ENGL XXX/XXX BIOC 201/202 + 211 MATH 101/102 CHEM 121/122 or CHEM 151/152 CHEM 211/212 + 215 PHYS 101/102 or 111/112 or 125/126 STAT 280 or 305 BIOC 301
Letters of Recommendation
The process of letter writing at Rice typically begins when you open a le with the Ofce of Academic Advising during your junior year. There, you will receive waivers to be given to the people who will be writing your letters. Number: 3-5; typical breakdown: o 2 Science Teachers; o Non-science Teacher; and o Advisor of some kind (volunteer, research, etc.). When? o End of fall semester junior year or o Beginning of spring semester junior year. Committee Letter: o Health Professions Advisors (one or two) conducts a brief interview. Then a
committee will read over your application, your interview and your other letters and write a committee letter. This is called the Health Professions Advising Committee Letter. o For many schools, this committee letter satises ALL letter requirements. Sending the letters to schools: o First, you have your letter writers send your letters to Rices Ofce of Academic Advising. o Later, the Health Professions Advising Coordinator sends all your letters in a packet using an electronic system. Waiver: o Given to each letter writer. o You should waive your right to see the letters.
Medical schools typically require 3-5 letters. At a minimum, one will be required from a science professor and one will be required from someone who knows you outside of the classroom (usually an advisor of some kind). Because each school has its own nuances of how many letters it wants, you should get one letter from a non-science teacher, two from a science teachers, one from an activity advisor, etc. Make sure you pick someone who not only knows you well, but is a good writer and can make you look good in words. Assuming you apply to medical school during the summer after your junior year, you should ask your letter writers for their recommendations at the beginning of the spring semester. They will need enough time to begin work on writing those stellar essaysso ask early. Make writing a letter as easy as possible for your reviewers. First, schedule an appointment to come in and talk with your teachers about getting a letter. Second, bring a folder with your rsum, unofcial transcripts, personal statement or other clarifying information, waiver, and envelope. Put your name on the outside of the folder along with the words Letter of Recommendation so that if your professor loses the folder, it will be easy to nd later. Next, the waiting begins. You will need to check in with your recommendation writers about once a month to make sure that they actually nish the letter. Once you have conrmation that the letter is nished, you should send a thank-you note. Finally, tell your writer where you were accepted to, rejected from, or if you decide to withdraw from applying altogether. Keep in mind that your writer has a vested interest in seeing you succeed. They deserve to know what happened. Rice uses a committee letter, written by the Health Professions Advising Committee. In the end, the school will receive this committee letter as well as your other letters that you have sent to Rices Ofce of Academic Advising in one big packet. According to the Education and Family Privacy Act of 1974, you are legally allowed to read anything that a school has in your application folder, including your letters of recommendation. However, you should waive your right to access the information covered by the act. When you open your le, the Ofce of Academic Advising will give you a waiver for each letter where you can check I waive my right to read this letter that you give to each letter writer. By waiving your right, the writer is able to write more freely in giving his or her true feelings.
Research
Please see the Research and MD/PhD section, which was written by Diane Shao (WRC 07).
Volunteering
Doctors hold many titlesresearcher, teacher, philosopherbut the most important title is that of humanitarian. Physicians are expected to dedicate their whole lives to working with others. If you want to get accepted to medical school, you must show that you care about others. The only tried and true method of serving others is to take up volunteering. You do not have to volunteer in a medical eld. You could work with Habitat for Humanity, the Boy Scouts, or any other group that has interests similar to yours. You are not expected to save the world or commit to a thousand hours each semester. Simply nd something you enjoy doing and spend one afternoon a week doing it and stay committed for a signicant period of time. Many pre-meds volunteer in hospitals thinking that they will gain some kind of clinical work experience. Many hospitals do not support their volunteers well. For example, in some hospitals, your job could consist of handing out lollipops, ling paper work, and pushing wheel chairs.
Volunteering can be medically-related or have nothing to do with medicine. Many applicants tend to have done both types. I feel that it has helped me to have put a lot of time and leadership in my non-medical volunteering, principally ESL (English Second Language) tutoring, as well as volunteering in the medical eld. My medically-related volunteering has mostly been interpreting (Spanish-English) in the hospital and clinical settings. In interviews I have been asked about other volunteering outside of medicine. In that case, it was nice to be able to talk about the ways I have improved the ESL Tutoring program as a coordinator and director. I believe that volunteering mainly shows that you are compassionate person to prospective schools. There is no magic formula in how to volunteer. Go with your interests; be sure to convey your enthusiasm for helping disadvantaged members of society when you apply, and your volunteering will be a valuable asset. Marina Post (WRC 07, Baylor)
Premedical Student Guide // Page 16
Clinical Experience
One thing that will show medical schools that you are interested in becoming a doctor is if you gain some kind of experience working with patients. Most pre-meds are duped into thinking that volunteering in a hospital will give them insight into the difculties of becoming a physician. A more effective way to get this kind of knowledge is to shadow a doctor regularly - we suggest a minimum of 40 hours. Shadowing in more than one eld if possible may be a good idea. Many physicians are willing to pass the torch by allowing undergraduates to follow them around the ofce as they conduct physicals and consultations. If you want to gain genuine clinical experience, you could become licensed as a nursing assistant, medical assistant, or an EMT. Under no circumstances is this necessary for entrance into medical school. This is just another option for exposure to the health profession. However, if you choose to gain clinical experience this way, you should be prepared for the question Well if you liked being a nursing assistant/medical assistant/EMT so much, why dont you do that? during interviews. Whatever you do, clinical experience is generally a straight-forward way of gaining exposure to medicine and showing medical schools your interest.
As far as gaining clinical/medical experiences goesapply for everything! Everything! Everything! Its so hard to get any of these internships, so apply for everything! Then you can most likely at least have one or may even be able to pick and choose which ones you can do after youve heard back from places. Search medical school websites, go to those Rice biosciences internship fairs, ask professors for
research opportunities, search hospital websites for their volunteer departments and contact individuals. If you cant do something medical/clinical with your breaks, thats totally nedo something else! Study abroad or work in a non-medical eld or travel and do humanitarian work, theres plenty to do, just dont spend your whole entire summer doing nothing but TV-watching! Somala Muhammed (WRC 07, Harvard Medical School)
Leadership
In addition to being scientists and humanitarians, doctors are expected to be community leaders. Though not absolutely required, many medical schools would like to see you take some kind of leadership role. You do not have to be president of your college or become a senator of your student government, but you are expected to take some kind of role in organizing and planning events. Given that you are about to be given a lot of power as a physician, schools have an obligation to nd out if you know how to use that power wisely. Find something that you have a passion for doing and demonstrate your leadership abilities.
EMS has given me opportunities I never dreamed of, like volunteering in a Level 1 Trauma Hospital in the Texas Medical Center next to my boss. Working in the shock rooms of this trauma center to rene my skills and improve my abilities. It has given me the opportunity to ride out on ambulances all over Houston helping treat heart attacks, allergic reactions, and gun shot wounds. It has taught me to stomach almost anything and be prepared for the unknown, to be a beacon of reliability in an otherwise chaotic scene. Finally, it has allowed me to be there for my friends when they call EMS on campus for whatever emergency they might have. It truly has shaped my college career by forcing me to walk the line between being a college student and a professional health care provider. When people ask me why I think I am are right for medical school, I can respond with concrete examples of how I have helped shape the future of the organization, educate a new crop of leaders, manage chaos in an EMS realm, and all while attending college like my peers. This is an experience I truly feel no other organization during your college career can provide. It is an opportunity to be more than you ever thought possible, and to dig deep into your being and pull out everything you have to offer because the situation calls for it. Now for the ipside of the coin. In order to reap the plethora of opportunities you have to be willing to dedicate the better part of your free time to the organization. Rice EMS is what you make of it. Individuals have decided that they dont want the responsibilities of this or that, and as such elect to give the minimum volunteer amounts each month, which it absolutely ne. There are more things in life than just this. However there are those of us who are known to the general public as that ems guy/girl and these members are the ones that truly give up almost everything else in order to excel to their full potential with the organization. EMS is a slippery slope, the deeper you delve into the pit, the harder it is to give up. With every amazing opportunity or story comes countless hours of service and effort put forth by the individual. I cannot count the number of assignments I have turned in late, the nights I havent slept, the classes Ive missed, but I regret none of it. It has made me who I am today, and given me a concrete understanding of what I want to become. This is a fair warning and disclaimer to those reading this, EMS is not easy and it will require you to sacrice. If there is one thing I would like to convey to those reading, it is that EMS is not something that one does to help them get into medical school and it is not something you do to improve your resume. It is a service that calls out to a select few, who from the very rst steps can say I want to be the best. If you are doing it to improve your resume, you will very soon nd out it is not the best way to do that, and you will fail. However, if you join the organization with the intent to better yourself, and it, and the members of the community you serve through excellent health care, education, and camaraderie I sincerely believe there is nothing that will make you stand out more, feel more condent, and evolve into a leader you never could have imagined. Now that you know how to become the best applicant possible, it is time to understand how to apply to medical school.
Identify summer programs/job Make arrangements to conduct opportunities. Apply over Winter research during the next academic year Break. Sophomore Year Fall Semester Spring Semester Attend one of the information sessions for sophomores Plan the intellectual focus of your curriculum; narrow choices for a major Visit International Programs ofce for study abroad opportunities for junior/senior year Get involved in some type of clinical experience! Attend Rice Career Expo sponsored by the Center for Career Development Identify summer opportunities that support your career interests and apply. Declare a major. Get to know your professors really well. Take classes with the same professor if possible. Begin preparation for standardized tests: independent review, Kaplan, Examkrackers, Princeton, etc. Register for appropriate standardized test(s) Continue volunteer work, if applicable Continue research, if applicable
Spring Semester Check Medical/Dental/Vet School admission requirements again; research institutions of interest and generate list of schools for application Make appointment for informational Health Professions Advising interview. Begin completion of web-based common applications to professional schools (AMCAS, TMDSAS, AADSAS, VMCAS, SOPHA)
Open le with Ofce of Academic Advising before December. Request letters of recommendation by mid-December (use your best discretion here; ask when it is most appropriate)
Submit a draft of your personal For specic questions, visit a Health statement and CV before January 15 Professions Advisor of spring semester Register for standardized test(s) if necessary Schedule a mock interview for spring semester with the CCD Have a back up plan [EARLY-SUMMER: update CV and nal draft of personal statement; submit to Ofce of Academic Advising] Senior Year Fall Semester Finish all premed/dent/vet requirements that remain Continue progress toward completion of major requirements Finish applications in a timely manner (if not yet submitted) Research the programs at individual institutions before your interview! Inform OAA of interview offers & interview at individual institutions Spring Semester Finish degree requirements Complete exit survey for Health Professions Advising Inform OAA of where you are accepted
Graduation!!!
* Timeline courtesy of the OAA and current through the 2012-2013 school year.
Sample Timeline
Freshmen Sophomore Year: Completed prerequisite courses, research, extracurriculars Junior Year: January/February: March 10: End of May: June 7: June 14: June 28: July 10: July 11: July 12: July 20: July 27: July 28: July 31: July 31: August 1: August 7: August 11: August 15: August 13: August 21: Senior Year: August 28: September 1: September 21: September 22: September 22: January 2: Notes: You can see other applicants timelines on mdapplicants.com. You can submit many of your secondary applications before school starts if you apply early enough. This will help more than you can imagine. Brian Schwab (WRC 07, Duke Medical School) Classes at Rice started Submitted UNC secondary Interview invitation UPenn Interview invitation Columbia Interviewed with Baylor Acceptance to OHSU Asked teachers for letters of recommendation Health Professions Advising Committee Interview Requested transcript to be sent to AMCAS Submitted AMCAS AMCAS Veried Secondary invitation from Baylor and Wash U. Secondary invitation from Dartmouth, UPenn Secondary invitation UCSD Secondary invitation from Cornell Secondary invitation from Brown Submitted Baylor secondary Secondary invitation from Harvard Submitted Cornell secondary Submitted Michigan secondary Submitted Harvard secondary Submitted Brown secondary Submitted UCSD secondary Submitted Johns Hopkins secondary (no invite) Interview invitation Baylor Submitted Columbia secondary
Premedical Student Guide // Page 21
Applying
The actual application process for medical school includes three main components: AMCAS (and TMDSAS), secondary applications (called secondaries), and interviews. After completing your prerequisite classes, taking the MCAT, and getting your letters of recommendation in, you need to interview with the OAA. This interview is typically done during the spring of your junior year. In the summer after your junior year, you actually start applying. To begin, you ll out the AMCAS/TMDSAS applications through their respective websites. You can submit TMDSAS on May 1st and AMCAS on June 1st (if there arent any delays), or you can wait as long as you like to submit each respective application through late fall. Realize, however, that your chances of getting into a medical school greatly diminish if you submit past the end of August. It is also always better to emphasize completeness and accuracy over an early submission date. Submitting AMCAS requires that you pay a fee based on the number of schools you apply to. Your application will then be veried. The verication process is where AMCAS checks your ofcial transcript against what you put down in their standardized web form. The earliest the registrar can send your transcript to AMCAS is after your nal grades are posted. After you have submitted your application and your transcript has been received, verication can still take weeks while you wait in the queue. After your AMCAS application is veried, it will automatically be sent to the schools you designated beforehand. Schools, after receiving your AMCAS application, can take however long they want to send a secondary application to you or make the secondary available on a website. This stage begins the possibility for rejection. The secondary application is not common for all schools. Some secondaries have essay questions, some have background information, some want you to reproduce your entire transcript, or anything else under the sun. It really depends on the school. For example, Penn and Harvard do not have essay questions on their secondaries. Duke has six unlimited-length essays required. The average secondary application has a fee and two essays (each requiring a paragraph or two of writing). Interviews occur thereafter. By this stage, you can tell what your pool of schools looks like. For a given interview, you pay to y to the school, stay for a night, and interview during the day. Interview days vary, as well. Some have many information sessions while others have none. Some have multiple mini interviews while others have only one. It depends. After that, you wait. Then, hopefully, you are accepted. Then, you start your health professions education! For AMCAS schools, you can hold as many acceptances as you want until May 15th. After May 15th, you can only be holding one acceptance, but you can remain on waitlists. For TMDSAS schools and Texas residents, you can hold as many acceptances as you want until January 15th because there is a match process (see After You Get In section for more information). NonTexas residents do not participate in this match process and hear back from the schools as they would from an AMCAS school.
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MCAT
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) has been a part of the medical school admission process for over 60 years. Today, all US and most Canadian medical schools require applicants to submit recent MCAT scores. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), in cooperation with its member U.S. medical schools, develops and administers the MCAT. The MCAT has been a fully computerized exam since January 2007. The overall length of the test day is approximately ve and one-half hours, including breaks; however, because the exam is self-paced, and individual check-in times vary, you may nish earlier or later than other examinees. TEST SECTION Non-Dislosure Tutorial (optional) Examinee Agreement Physical Sciences 52 Questions Break (optional) Verbal Reasoning 40 Questions Break (optional) Writing Sample 2 Essays Break (optional) Biological Sciences 52 Questions Void Question Survey (Optional) Total Content Time Total Seat Time TIME 10 minutes
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10 minutes 70 minutes 10 minutes 60 minutes 10 minutes 60 minutes 10 minutes 70 minutes 5 minutes 10 minutes 4 hours, 25 minutes 5 hours, 25 minutes
MCAT Sections
N.B.: The MCAT is set to drastically change in 2015; a Behavioral Sciences Section will be added, and the Writing section will be dropped in 2013.
The Physical Sciences section is designed to assess problem solving in general chemistry and physics. The Biological Sciences section is designed to assess problem solving in biology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry. Each of these sections contains 7 to 9 passage-based sets of questions, and approximately 10 independent questions. For passage-based sets, each passage is about 250 words in length, and each set consists of 4 to 7 questions. Both the passage-based questions and the independent questions assess knowledge of basic physical and biological science concepts and your facility at problem solving at using these concepts. The Verbal Reasoning section assesses your ability to understand, evaluate, and apply arguments presented in prose texts. The test consists of seven passages. Each passage is about 600 words long, taken from the humanities and social and natural sciences. Each passage-based set consists of 5 to 7 questions. Test questions do not cover a specic set of topics. All the information you need to answer each question is in the accompanying passage. The MCAT Writing Sample consists of two 30-minute essays. Each Writing Sample item provides a specic topic that requires an expository response. The Writing Sample assesses skill in the following areas: Developing a central idea, Synthesizing concepts and ideas, Presenting ideas cohesively and logically, and Writing clearly, following accepted practices of grammar, syntax, and punctuation consistent with timed, rst-draft composition.
MCAT Registration
The best recommendation for choosing a test date is to allow adequate preparation time. It is often recommended that you take the MCAT the summer after your sophomore year so that you can study an entire summer (e.g. May through August). Taking the MCAT the same summer you are applying to AMCAS might be disadvantageous because schools typically require your MCAT scores before proceeding to secondaries and you do not want to stress about delays and because the test material might not be as fresh in your mind. The only way to register for the MCAT is online. You will be able to access the Web registration site approximately 12 weeks prior to each test date. Payment must be in the form of a credit card, and regular registration costs $240.
MCAT Resources
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M-Prep Portal: www.mcatquestion.com This free resource has different MCAT questions available on it each day as a more fun, laid-back way to prepare for the dreaded exam. mcatalyst prep: http://mcatalystprep.com/ This video-conference format class allows you to set your own schedule, topics, and pace as you study for the MCAT. Using this comparatively cheap resource, you can study when and wherever you want for as long as you want. Kaplan This paid resource offers taught classes, online classes, and individual books. The books are easy to read and fairly comprehensive; the online classes allow you to learn the MCAT material at your own pace and makes it much easier to study during the school year if need be. Princeton Review Similar to Kaplan, the Princeton review offers online courses, self-study textbooks, and classes for those who wish for help studying for the MCAT. The books are dense, but denitely comprehensive, and they will make you condent that you have learned all the material. Examkrackers Examkrackers has the most condensed MCAT books youll nd. With some of the other test prep books, they can be as big as a textbook. Not the case with Examkrackers. Their classes are also structured differently - 2 hours of lecture, 1 hour of a practice test, and 1 hour going over the practice test. Its nice because lectures are really easy to tune out, but not so much with practice tests.
Through testing year 2015, the MCAT serves as a sort of comprehensive nal exam to all the basic science prerequisites (excluding biochemistry). Thus, it is in your best interest to take it as soon as possible after nishing organic, physics, biology, and chemistry. It is also in your best interest to study for the exam when you dont have other courses requiring your attention (READ: SUMMER). For many Rice students, this means taking the MCAT towards the end of a low-key summer after sophomore year. This is doubly advantageous in that a) Junior year can be focused on strengthening the rest of your application, and b) taking the MCAT this early allows you to retake if necessary. To rock the MCAT, you need to practice (and theres no way around it). You need to practice A LOT. The exam is less about having an in-depth understanding of the tested material and more about knowing how to take the MCAT itself. This means being familiar with AAMC style questions, optimizing your time management, understanding how content will appear in the test setting, and, most importantly, developing an unshakeable self-condence that will carry you through even the roughest of MCAT administrations on test day. Sufcient preparation requires ample practice materials. By the end of the summer, I had reviewed the books from the Princeton Review Hyperlearning Course (their workbook and science reviews are golden), the Examcracker Course set (including 101 Verbal Passages), one Kaplan MCAT comprehensive review (the least useful of the bunch), and The Berkeley Reviews books for physics and biology (these have to be purchased through their website). In retrospect, I would have been ne with only the Princeton Review Hyperlearning materials (with, perhaps Examcrackers 101 Verbal Passages for additional verbal practice) IN COMBINATION with the ten AAMC ofcial full-length practice exams. These were critical in guiding my exam preparation: each weeks test served as a diagnostic of sorts, identifying areas of potential weakness and allowing me to refocus my studying for the coming week. I studied for 15-20 hours a week for 12 straight weeks, beginning in May and taking the test in August. My general philosophy for studying was to do a passage a day at the very least. I generally studied two to three hours a day Sunday through Friday (incorporating content review with practice questions, verbal passages, etc.), reserving Saturday mornings for full-length practice exams. Realize, however, that everyone has a limit of time each day he or she can realistically devote to studying. Studying beyond this limit for the sake of racking up hours is usually unproductive and can lead to burnout. Stay healthy- mentally, physically, and socially- to maximize your score on this test. This regimen eventually turned the MCAT material into mere workit was no longer new, exciting, or challenging. Its almost as if it turned into busywork. I had seen the passage types so many times that I just did the job and went on my way. That way, on test day, the MCAT became an Oh, this again feeling instead of something scary. If youre doing a practice passage and think to yourself, Hmmm, havent I seen this passage before? then youre where you need to be. Also, you need to realize that your hard work will pay off in the end. My rst practice test was 10 points below my nal score. My highest practice test score was two weeks before the MCAT, and it turned out to be the same as my actual score. The reason Im saying this is that a 10 point jump in scores was through practice. While part of it was through learning more material, learning how to take the MCAT was just as important. This sentence is worthy of being its own paragraph: The AAMC sells practice MCATs online, and those are the most accurate and best practice tests on the market. To take the course or not to take the course?
It depends on the person. There are two reasons to take the course: (1) if you are not very self-motivated or (2) if you have not taken Physics, Chemistry, Biology, or Organic Chemistry in college. Self-motivation is critical for studying on your own. Knowledge of the material is a little variable because everybody has forgotten some things, but thats what studying is for. If you feel like you will need to actually learn the material for the rst time because you APd out of something, then a course may be helpful. The material, though, is very basic and relatively easy to grasp with the right materials (see above). The MCAT does not test much specic knowledgefew questions ask you to regurgitate facts or equations. Instead, it is reading passages and using what you know to answer new questions about the passage. Not taking a course can save you hundreds of dollars, and you might be able to do better without it. I feel like a course would have held me back. This is because programs like Kaplan are designed to teach you all of the material at a certain pace, nishing the material shortly before your test date. The motivated learner can nish ALL of the material TWICE (or more) in this time. Consequently, the motivated learner who uses a course could be wasting thousands of dollars on classes that hold him/her back. Practicing is what its all about, and the big test companies do have tools to help you practice. In closing, I would say that doing well on the MCAT comes down to practice, and you need to decide for yourself if enrolling in a course is necessary. Part 2 by Mohini Darasi (McMurtry 12, 98th percentile MCAT Total Score) Arguably the most debated question when people begin preparing to take the MCAT is: should I take a prep course or not? Sadly there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to this decision; it truly depends on the individual, their study habits and comfort with the different subjects. People can do just ne on the MCAT without taking a course. Many of my friends did not take formal prep courses, such as Kaplan or Princeton Review, and still scored well. The key to doing well on the MCAT is simple: having the personal motivation to do so. If you have the drive to study hard and take practice tests regularly, it is possible to score well regardless of whether or not you take a course. Personally, I wanted to take a class because, since MCAT is such a critical and expensive endeavor in the life of a pre-med, I didnt want the possibility of looking back and wishing that I had taken a course. For me, the main benet from taking the course was that it helped me stick to a timeline for studying and covering all the material. The class time itself was not extremely helpful, because the instructors mainly just go over material that is already outlined in the chapters, and do a few practice questions at the end of each class. Especially for a section like verbal reasoning, there is no better way to study than to just keep doing as many practice sections as possible on your own time and getting used to question types and completing the section under the time limit. But the course is scheduled such that you cover a certain chunk of material for each subject per week, and just having that schedule denitely helped because I had to keep myself accountable for sticking to it. Another important advantage I found from taking the course was having online access to 9 practice Princeton Review MCAT tests and 7 real AAMC MCAT tests from previous years. I took one practice exam each week, starting off with the Princeton Review tests, and then switching to the AAMC old tests as my test date approached. I found that the Princeton Review ones were harder, so it was nice to have taken them rst because I got used to the slightly more difcult questions (not to say the AAMC ones are easy!) before I switched over to the AAMC ones in the weeks leading up to the test.
One thing I will stress about taking the practice exams is that it is very important to simulate the actual test environment as much as possible while taking them: utilize the assigned breaks, eat snacks, stay hydrated, and avoid distractions (listening to music, taking the test on your bed, etc.) or take breaks that are not assigned. The MCAT is an endurance test in many ways, and its important to know that you can sit through the whole thing, as your performance will certainly change depending on the distractions you do or do not allow yourself. So, its best to simulate the actual test setting as much as possible right from the onset, even during the practice tests. To sum it up, there are denitely benets to taking a prep course (access to practice tests and study materials), but the classes denitely arent necessary to do well. If I were to do it again, I would still have taken the course because it did make me feel more prepared and it helped me stick to a schedule for studying all the subject material. However, with the right study habits and motivation (doing lots of practice tests), one should be able to get a good score regardless of whether one takes a prep course or not.
AMCAS/TMDSAS
AMCAS and TMDSAS have few material differences, so only AMCAS is covered in great detail in this section. AMCAS is the primary application, the common app, for schools outside of Texas (and Baylor). The website is www.aamc.org. After creating a username and login, the main screen appears:
As you can see from the gure, there are eight main sections. A majority of these sections are rather straight-forward and easy to gure out; nevertheless, some of the confusing parts are explained here:
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1. Section one asks for your legal name, social security number, and other obvious information. 2. The only tricky thing about section two is that there is a Transcripts section where you print a form to give to the Rice Registrar so that Rice can send the transcript to the correct place. This form is also available in the main menu under Print Transcript Request Form. 3. Section three has two things to note: a. Preferred address is typically your Rice address whereas permanent address is your home address. b. You can indicate here that you are applying URM (under-represented minority), which is labeled as disadvantaged status. 4. The Course Work section is one of the more complicated sections. If you have AP credits, for example, things could be different because you must designate First semester and year, etc. Mostly it is just tedious entering your entire transcript into web form. Just print off your academic transcript from Esther and do your best clicking around on the AMCAS form. A couple more notes: First, the maximum grade on the AMCAS scale is an A (not an A+). Second, one of the most confusing things is Course Classication, which has you indicate one of the following classications: ARTS BESS BIOL BUSI CHEM COMM COMP EDUC ENGI ENGL FLAN GOVT HEAL HIST MATH NPSC OTHR PHIL PHYS SSTU Fine Arts Behavioral & Social Sciences Biology Business Chemistry Communications Computer Science/Technology Education Engineering English Language & Literature Foreign Languages & Literature Government/Political Science/Law Health Sciences History Math Natural/Physical Sciences Other Philosophy/Religion Physics Special Studies
This is especially important because Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathemeatics (BCPM) grades are calculated separately and shown to medical schools as follows:
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Where BCPM is composed only of those courses explicitly designated as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics. This matters a little bit because let us say you got an A in an engineering physiology class. Well, technically, that can be counted as BIOL and inate your BCPM GPA. The following classication guide is published in the AMCAS instruction booklet: Behavioral & Social Sciences (BESS) Anthropology Economics Family Studies Psychology Sociology Biology (BIOL) - BCPM Anatomy Biology Biophysics Biotechnology Botany Cell Biology Ecology Entomology Genetics Histology Immunology Microbiology Molecular Biology Neuroscience Physiology Business (BUSI) Accounting Business Finance Human Resource Studies Management Organizational Studies Marketing Chemistry (CHEM) - BCPM Biochemistry Chemistry Physical Chemistry Thermodynamics Communications (COMM) Journalism Media Production & Studies TV, Video, & Audio Computer Science/Technology (COMP) Computer Science Computer Engineering Information Systems Telecommunications
Education (EDUC) Counseling & Personnel Services Curriculum & Instruction Educational Policy Educational Administration Health Education Human Development Engineering (ENGI) Aerospace Engineering Biomedical Engineering Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering Electrical Engineering Engineering Environmental Engineering Mechanical Engineering Nuclear Engineering English Language & Literature (ENGL) English Composition & Rhetoric English Creative Writing English Language & Literature Fine Arts (ARTS) Art Art History Dance Fine Arts Music Photography Theatre Foreign Languages/Linguistics/Lit. (FLAN) American Sign Language Comparative Literature Linguistics Foreign Language(s) & Literature Government/Political Sci/Law (GOVT) Criminology & Criminal Justice Government International Relations & Studies Law/Legal Studies Political Science Public Affairs & Policy Urban Policy & Planning
Health Sciences (HEAL) Allied Health Chiropractic Dentistry Hearing & Speech Sciences Hospital Administration Kinesiology Medical Technology Medicine Nursing Nutrition & Food Sciences Occupational Therapy Optometry Osteopathy Physical Therapy Physician Assistant Public Health Pharmacology & Pharmacy Sports Medicine Veterinary Medicine History (HIST) History Math (MATH) - BCPM Applied Mathematics Mathematics Statistics Natural/Physical Sciences (NPSC) Agriculture Animal and Avian Sciences Forestry Geography Geology Horticulture Landscape Architecture Meteorology Natural Resources Oceanography Environmental Science & Policy
Other (OTHR) Architecture Interdisciplinary courses Sports (LPAP) Philosophy/Religion (PHIL) Ethics Logic Philosophy Religion Theology
After you submit your entire application, this section will be compared against your ofcial transcript for verication by AAMC personnel, which is why verication takes weeks. 5. Work/Activities is the most difcult section. This is your chance to write about 15 of your top activities, work experiences, and awards. There is a character limit for your description of the activity (1325 characters for the 2012 application year). The 15 experiences on your nal application are automatically ordered in reverse-chronological order by start date. 6. The Medical Schools section is where you designate which schools receive your AMCAS application. There is a standard fee for each school you add. 7. Essay(s) is the personal statement (see Personal Statement section for further detail). For the 2012 application year, you are allotted 5,300 characters for your essay. 8. The Standardized Tests section is where you can verify that your MCAT scores were received (should not be a problem since the AAMC runs both AMCAS and the MCAT).
A second difference is that TMDSAS provides two sections in which you present your activities/ experiences, instead of just one on the AMCAS application. The rst section asks you to group some of them into volunteer work, paid jobs, research, etc. The second section requires that you list all of your activities/experiences on a continuous time line from the summer after your high school graduation to the present. Of course, there may be substantial overlap between the two sections, and there is no problem should this be the case. The AMCAS application will provide more space in which you can elaborate on your activities. Next, the TMDSAS personal statement is about 5,000 characters, while the AMCAS personal statement is about 5,300 charactersa difference of a little under 100 words. It would be a good idea to write your personal statement with the TMDSAS character limit in mind, then to expand your personal statementby adding details to your accounts of your experiencesso that it takes up most of the 5,300 characters for AMCAS. Conversely, if you end up writing your AMCAS statement rst, then you may produce a TMDSAS draft by cutting out such details. This approach is recommended because, while vivid details of your experiences contribute primarily to the aesthetic appeal of your essay, your commentary on your experiences and personal development directly expresses your personality to the admissions committee; both components are important, but in the position of needing to shorten your essay, you should probably forgo the former. Also, do not add or cut out a disproportionate amount of information to or from one paragraph, leaving all the others in their initial TMDSAS or AMCAS form, respectively; maintain a consistent level of detail throughout all of your paragraphs. Finally, TMDSAS includes a Special Experiences section with two spaces in which you have the option of writing about unique circumstances or life experiences that are relevant to your application which have not previously been presented, and about personal characteristics and/ or important or challenging experiences you have had that will contribute to the diversity of or provide educational benets to the student body. Since the primary goal of the application process is to provide as complete a picture of yourself as possible to the admissions committee, if you can think of extra meaningful or relevant information to include in these spaces, then by all means do so. This section might also be a good place to note if you have a sibling and/or parent who is a student or alumnus of one or more of the schools to which you are applying. Answers to virtually any questions you may have about the TMDSAS process can be found on the TMDSAS website, which, at the time of this writing, is www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas.
much better. Add details about your thoughts and feelings leading up to that moment, and what you did afterwards. The PS can get very personal, but do not be afraid to let part of yourself out in the essay. Readers have read enough essays to know when things are genuine; deep, brutal honesty is important. Even honesty about a negative aspect or choice you made is ok because it shows you acknowledge it and are human in making mistakes. You want your reader to go through that experience with you, thus detail is very important. That being said, do not over-dramaticize what does not need to be dramaticized; melodrama and taking oneself too seriously are not good either. Besides the topics, theme, and organization of your PS, the tone is also very important. Extremely, high, formal language may be too much here, but do not be too colloquial either. Keep your tone informative and constructive, as you do want to construct a picture of yourself for admissions committees. Optimism about your life, moving forward, helping people, etc. is also good, but you must remain realistic. Idealizing anything, especially medicine, is going too far. If you overcame a signicant hurdle in your life, it is good to state how you got through it and learned and grew from it, but do not play it off like it was easy and you could totally help anyone and everyone get through the same thing. Any difcult experience should be presented as such, and any positive feeling should also be described as it felt to you. Avoid condescending tones, overly optimistic attitudes, and apathetic commentary. Use your honest feelings during an experience to gauge how to write about them. Being candid and blunt is not a bad thing, but make sure you back up your statements with detail and explanation. With so many things to think about, the PS is not something you start writing when applications open in May. The Ofce of Academic Advising has a list of things it wants from you by December or January, and a very rough draft of your PS is not a bad idea to have completed at that time. If you cannot get the PS done in time, try to have a very rough draft completed by your Health Professions Advising Committee interview. The CCD can give good preliminary feedback and are good guides for where to take your essay from there. Continue to work on the PS throughout the spring semester before the summer in which you apply. Ask friends, family, other pre-meds, and pre-meds who have already completed the process to read over your essay. You should have some people read through many drafts as you work on them, but it is also important to have some people read it through just once to give you feedback on the overall picture an admissions reader would get. You are not alone in this process; do not be afraid to ask for help or input because it is the best way to improve your PS. The PS is exactly what its name says: a personal essay about you and your motivations. View it as a regular essay, but about you instead of a book or article. As humble servants of the human population, it is not easy to write about yourselves, but the PS requires you to do so. Once you get started, it gets a lot easier. You will learn a lot about yourself, and this discovery will be useful when you begin interviewing. The PS is also something you can actually work on before applications open. Outside of making a list of activities, keeping up with schoolwork, and looking at schools, you cannot do much else until the applications open. The PS, however, is something you have a lot of time to perfect. It is a great feeling to simply copy and paste your PS in the box on the application and not worry about writing it. Working on the PS ahead of time makes applications less stressful, but also provides you with great insight into your motivations and why you are who you are.
Examples of personal statements follow. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, COPY THESE STATEMENTS. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU DEVELOP YOUR OWN, ORIGINAL IDEAS. DO NOT COPY THEIR STRUCTURES, THEIR WORDING, THEIR ANYTHING. Before writing your personal statement it is good to read several examples, but your personal statement needs to be your ownit needs to tell your story and use your words. These example statements are here only to show you what sort of things go into a personal statement and what the length should be. That being said, please enjoy the following personal statements that were kindly donated by our contributors.
themselves and their loved ones. The process will never be perfectwe cannot hope to understand, and cure all diseases and injuries. But by understanding more fully what is occurring during sickness and injury and how to prevent both, I can directly help patients and families nd more of the peace I still struggle to nd after watching my fathers illness and in confronting my injuries.
in cardiology. After reading and understanding the pathways that control blood pressure, I am getting the chance to talk with people and study their habits to learn more about cardiac tness in a clinical setting. This extraordinary opportunity will benet people and further research, while serving as a vital step toward my ultimate goal. Although I have volunteered and worked alongside emergency department physicians, I have not directly helped others through my interest in human physiology. My goal for this summer is to combine my love of science and the human body with my passionate desire to help people. As I prepare and look forward to medical school, I think often about my soccer coach, who has passed on. Even now, his words continue to urge me to whole-heartedly pursue my goals. I know that when I follow my goal relentlessly, I am already accomplishing it. I have used my passion for science and chemistry to succeed academically and help my peers. Next I will use my desire to apply my knowledge and abilities to become a physician.
Similarly, my experiences as an emergency medical technician also demonstrated the power of compassion and persistence. During my training, I met a 13-year old girl who fell off a bucket hurting her neck. She came into the ER but had little staff contact because her case was deemed not urgent. My approved skill set was limited to checking vitals and asking questions, and I could not prescribe medications or provide physical relief. I took interest in her case and checked in with her and her family every hour. Each time, I would make small talk, recheck vitals, and delivered updates on her case. After she was discharged, the family thanked me for checking up on them as it made them less scared knowing that someone was advocating for them. Despite my inability to provide a pill or perform surgery, I was reminded that treatments come in different forms. Sometimes, it is a diagnosis and prescription. Other times, it is holding your patients hand in an ambulance or reassuring a family by checking up on them. In spite of seeing pain and uncertainty on a daily basis, physicians are relentlessly committed to their profession. Yes, the eld is not without frustration. How does medicine handle the regulars who come in each week? What do you do when a child has a life-threatening disorder, but has no health insurance? While a doctor cannot always cure illness or provide denitive answers to ethically gray areas, my experiences have taught me that regardless of having a magic pill, a physicians compassion and spirit, which are crucial in establishing relationships with patients, are also transformative. I have found that the human side of medicine can sometimes be the most effective treatment. Rather than pure science or mere emotion, it is the doctors role at the intersection of both science and humanity, attempting to heal the entire person, which inspires me to pursue a career in medicine. I hope to continue developing my love for biomedical science and learn the subtle art of compassion and sensitivity that makes being a doctor so challenging. While the human condition pushes my benchwork, humanity and human connection pull me towards medicine.
revealed the potential impact of health care on broader societal issues. Noticing small ngershaped bruises on the patients neck, I asked in Spanish for her history. Hearing her native tongue, the patients eyes widened and she began sputtering out her story. She was an abuse victim, but her insufcient command of English prevented her from receiving appropriate medical attention. When I helped her le a domestic abuse report, my concept of a physicians role expanded to include patient advocacy. The elderly womans case inspired me to explore the social obstacles to receiving health care while studying in Mexico. During my internship with Las Libres, I visited the state prison twice each week to interview six women. One woman, Ofelia, awakened me to the pleasure of lasting relationships with those I assist. When Ofelia miscarried her abusive fathers child, the Public Prosecution Ofce accused her of abortion and charged her with homicide. Eight years in prison without visitors manifested in her evasive eyes and three-word responses to my inquiries. These stunted interactions continued for weeks until a coworker and I brought bracelets to celebrate Mexicos World Cup victory. The red and green strings and our persistence lifted her emotional guard. Thereafter, she began to speak of her trauma and met us with kisses and hand-squeezes. The trust we built exemplies the relationship I aspire to foster with patients - a dynamic one that follows an intimate connection and moves me to be a better person. Ofelias 26-year prison term demonstrated the consequences of a machista culture and legal system. As I worked with Las Libres to treat the symptoms of this asymmetry of power, I grappled internally with the sources of the societal ills. Insufcient access to quality health care and education represents one component of the complex social matrix that led to Ofelias miscarriage and subsequent imprisonment. And it is that component that I would like to address with the passion I discovered in the lab and on the ambulance. Las Libres had an obstetrician who often lamented the extent of the need and the lack of resources. There were never enough physicians, supplies, or funds to reach and treat her patients, especially in a community that devalued women. Her words lled me with an urgency that conrmed my career path. After encountering the elderly woman on the ambulance, Ofelia, and the obstetrician, I felt summoned to devote my career to diminishing the gap between those who lack adequate health care and their doctors. The nature of my ambitions continues to develop - my experiences and capabilities intertwining and stabilizing my ascent towards medicine. This path began when I discovered the dual joys of working with my hands in the ambulance and of interacting with colleagues and patients. Laboratory research complemented these pleasures and satiated my bookish appetite. Intellectual challenges, a stimulating profession, and meaningful relationships all align with the eld of medicine. But it is the opportunity to serve others and contribute to society that illuminates this path and reafrms my aspiration to becomea physician.
During the hours in my room that I had to reect on my priorities and goals, I again found that my injury was at the forefront of my mind rather than my academics. For me, this conrmed that while education is important for achieving most dreams, good health is essential. After my encounter with anemia, I had gained an interest in medicine. This had led me to volunteer and shadow in an emergency room. While there, I realized that medicine was not always the idealistic vocation that my previous experiences had led me to believe. Some patients often argued with doctors about the possible treatment, while others did not trust doctors, and not all patients recovered. Yet I found that patients who came in agitated and ill most often left soothed and usually healthier. The combination of seeing patients leave comforted by a doctor and with a solution to their health problems struck a chord that resonated deep within me. My interest and passion for medicine grew and I was soon inspired to pursue it as a future career. Although I wanted to become a doctor, I was initially nave as to many of the barriers people faced in procuring health care. Between my freshman and sophomore years of college, while driving through rural California, I overheard a conversation in which a man was telling his friends that he was sure he was getting ill, but did not have the money to see a doctor. This incident followed almost directly after my reading Mountains Beyond Mountains, a book about the international work of Dr. Paul Farmer and his free medical clinics. I was troubled by the rural scenario - I could not believe that there were places in my own home state where people could neither access nor afford a simple examination, let alone treatment. Inspired both by Dr. Farmers work and the mans story, I began to consider starting a free clinic in the rural US as a long-term goal. My interest in rural medicine led me to spend this past summer shadowing doctors who catered to the rural population in India. I discovered that the isolated incident I had seen two years ago paled in comparison to the majority of medical problems that there are. The rst week I shadowed, I was constantly shocked and saddened at how late in a diseases progression people came to a doctor, due to ignorance, inaccessibility, or cost. I saw numerous advanced diseases, all easily treatable if the patients had gone to a doctor earlier but now almost impossible to cure. I met many patients with cancer who completed only a few weeks of chemotherapy before leaving because they thought that the cancer was cured and that the therapy was doing more harm than good. I discovered patients who vanished from their bed when they discovered they could not afford the medical care. At rst, I came home each day disheartened and depressed. Several patients came in too sick to cure and just as many were ignorant about their medical history. Most did not understand their medications, making it risky to prescribe the hazardous but life-saving drugs. But through it all, I learned that the results were worth the effort and I was inspired. Many people were treated successfully, including several tuberculosis and cancer victims. Seeing patients recover, I realized that the personal satisfaction of helping people regain their health was well worth the long hours and hard work. Ultimately, I want to donate some of my time to setting up a free clinic in rural areas, helping people regain and maintain their health and educating them about their diseases. There will be set backs: funding will be difcult to nd, several people in rural areas dislike or do not trust doctors, and I may face many of the poverty and lack of education issues I have seen in India. But with hard work and perseverance, I can help a part of the underserved population access and afford treatment that they would not get otherwise. Medical school is the rst step in this process.
last number to determine my potential. The rst three numbers referred to my femur to tibia ratio, blood hematocrit level, and heart rate at lactic threshold. On the stationary cycle, my heart rate peaked at 209 BPM and I was done. As I pulled off the suffocating face mask that measured my oxygen intake and output, all of my training to appear unrufed during exertion failed miserably as I coughed and gasped for oxygen. That day, June 16th, 2006, the number 76.3 ashed on the screen; this was my VO2 max, what is widely considered the genetic based limiter for how high in the ranks a cyclist can go. One day I could be a top professional and maybe even win a few cycling classics overseas! In cycling we like to think of ourselves as engines; our legs are the pistons, our heart and lungs deliver the fuel, and my engine was noticed by sponsors. The idea of human limits fascinates me. From a young age, books piled up high on my desk about human physiology and biology. I was merely a machine; a system of levers and pulleys, gradients and coupled reactions, and a supercomputer with chemical emotions. This is why I melded so well with cycling; a sport controlled by wattages, grams, and centimeters. In high school, interest in the human body prompted me to jump at the chance to shadow Dr. George Noon when my cousin, an anesthesiologist, offered it. The last patient of the day for the cardiothoracic surgeon was a man named David who I was able to get to know before his surgery began. This was his nal open heart surgery to replace a series of articial hearts, which had severely compromised his life, with a donor organ. Starting me in the corner of the room -- discovering that I would neither become ill nor faint-- Dr. Noon slowly allowed me nearer to the table and eventually stood me next to him. As I leaned my head over the body cavity I watched as Dr. Noon gave David back the life that the bad heart took from him. Watching this operation transform Davids future taught me that the person behind the machine was more important than the machine itself. This excursion planted the seed of what would become the pursuit of a lifetime. As I was tracked into a blossoming cycling career by my team and sponsors, a conict of interest arose as college application time loomed menacingly. In high school my focus was on my cycling career, but the prospect of become a doctor was something I couldnt ignore. This created a problem rarely faced by high school seniors; accept a new sponsorship contract and travel the world with a solid salary and a sure lifestyle or go to college and risk failure to compete in the new and unexplored arena of academics and hyper-competitive premeds. While college was a much riskier venture than professional athletics, I knew that a career in cycling was motivated by fame and fortune while medicine was motivated by passion and morals. I decided to take the risk and attend college but also to renew my license with the International Cycling Union to help pay my way. My two dreams instantly clashed as I attempted to tackle the pre-med requirements while training and traveling around the US. It was a stressful rst year of college as I realized I must give up one dream for the other. My performance in school went up as my national ranking on the bike went down. When the choice to renew my license came about my sophomore year, I decided that my complete dedication must lie with medicine and my cycling career was sacriced. I began searching for new opportunities to both gain experience in the medical eld and to verify that my long deliberated decision to focus on becoming a doctor was right. I found the St. Joseph Hospital and met the people who would solidify my resolve. Wow, do all nurses walk this fast? I thought as I followed Nurse Shelley through the ER and critical care unit corridors of St. Joseph. Here was a meeting place for people in their most desperate hours and darkest moments. The doctors and nurses were a shining light of care and certainty in a chaotic world. Every hour I spent volunteering, every procedure I was guided through, and every gruesome cleanup I was subjected to showed me that I had made the right decision by giving me a moral charge and purpose in the lives of these patients. I saw rsthand how the performance of the doctors and nurses is directly responsible for the future of the patients and how much sacrice the medical staff has to make to carry this burden. To bear a minuscule part of this weight gave me contentment that I could never gain elsewhere. Last semester I completed two marathons in order to train for my lifelong goal of nishing
an Ironman this summer. I have learned that just because my focus lies with medicine that I do not have to give up athletic pursuits. As a doctor I want to make sure that my patients are given the chance to live wholly just as I do not have to limit my life to academics and just as David can live without the constant dread of another operation. I discovered who I am and yearn for the responsibility to give my patients the best possible chance at realizing their full potential and remaining on a track to pursue their dreams.
medical director of the hospital and my mentor, gave up his prosperous oncology surgery practice to take out a risky 25 million dollar loan that established DMH. The destitute that ll the charity wards demonstrate to me the fundamental and sometimes desperate need for healthcare, and I am humbled by Dr. Kelkars commitment to service. For the rest of my days, I will not forget the poverty I witnessed in India and the universal need to step up and ght to ll the healthcare gap. This experience will be a constant reminder of why I chose a medical career; it will not allow me to become complacent or neglect my responsibility to care for the underserved after I receive my MD. My surgeon gave me back a piece of myself when he xed my ankle, and only medicine allows such an opportunity to serve others. There is something deeply personal about using my mental and physical strength and dexterity to give someone the ability to live again, combining all that I am passionate about into one calling. I could build someone a house or teach them organic chemistry, but that would only provide them with shelter and knowledge. Using my skill to heal gives someone a second chance at living, a chance to do whatever they desire with their life. This is what drives me to enter medicine.
grow close to those immediately round me. I was left helpless in the face of this destruction and felt extreme frustration at not being able to help my family. These and other experiences in my life led me to develop a passion for improving the lives of othesr through the practice of medicine. On a summer research program the summer of my junior year of high school, my mentor taught me to extract lessons from failure. He insisted that failures are everywhere in life, but our interpretation of those experiences denes our future. This mantra guided me throughout my rst year of studies as a bioengineer at Rice University and led me to want to nd more answers by taking action. That same summer, I had one of the most important experiences during my volunteering at Memorial Hermann Hospital, where I interacted with patients much like my loved ones from long ago. What I had thought was a failure to help my family provided me the framework for my interest in helping people. I have worked at the Cognitive Neuroscience and Diagnostic Imaging Lab at the Baylor College of Medicine throughout my undergraduate years. Although initially I saw my work as purely scientic, I discovered that medicine was the cornerstone for the research I was doing. On a day to day basis, I was involved with examining permanently brain-injured patients and witnessing children to come out of epilepsy surgeries half paralyzed and unable to talk. Perhaps because the early stench of death still lingered, I realized again that I had a deep connection with people, and I wanted to help these patients to the fullest of my ability. I sought out opportunities to observe and work with doctors and further understand the medical profession. As I interacted with physicians and scientist by participating in clinical internships in neurology and neurosurgery, I learned that although we have explanations of the pathogenesis of many diseases, most pathologies are too complex to begin to understand with our current research. I took several on-call shifts with the residents and rotated through several clinics to get a holistic view of what I claimed to want as my future career. Alongside this clinical inux, I was able to apply my research directly to the medical eld through different groups in the Texas Medical Center to assist anything from a radiologic diagnosis to guiding a neurosurgeons knife during epilepsy surgery using diffusion tensor imaging. Ultimately, medicine epitomizes the phenomenon my mentor had explained in my high school years since it is an institution that strives for perfection from an imperfect science.
in neural engineering by applying patient-oriented care that fosters a higher standard of treatment, helping shape the future of healing. The physician scientist combines the scientic method that I have internalized as an engineer with my deep connection with others and my passion for translating ideas into concrete catalysts for progress. Working at the Baylor College of Medicine has allowed me not only to draw on all the tools at my reach to nd the solution to a question but to also derive solutions that will benet society. My projects have focused on pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and epilepsy, and culminated in the development of analyses that are being applied to the ways these pathologies are managed. I have discovered through my work as an engineer and researcher that through the intellectual challenge of a scientic question sparks curiosity in me, the opportunity of benetting patients through my ndings is what drives my work. I have published several papers with my mentors suggesting novel understanding of TBI in children as well as strategies for management of the disease. Working closely with neurologists and neurosurgeons we noticed that children with TBI have been under treated, allowing their disease to develop. I have propagated this information at various conferences around the nation and world, lectures I have given to professional audiences, and by pushing forward understanding of TBI globally with the GEOSET initiative.
Primary Applications
When I applied to medical school, I really had no idea what mattered to me in a school. I am going to be perfectly honest; I chose my schools based upon where they were located and their ranking. This method (though it fortuitously worked out for me) is essentially akin to writing down the names of schools on sticky notes, putting them on a wall, throwing darts at them, and applying to the schools with the most holes. I really did not understand what mattered to me in a medical school until I was halfway through my interview season. This will vary from person to person, and what matters to me may not necessarily make any difference to you, but here are a few aspects to help you start critically thinking about the characteristics you want to have in the medical school you attend. Curriculum: Integrated versus Standard What an integrated as opposed to a standard curriculum means in medical school makes a difference in how the information is presented to you. A standard curriculum means that the information is separated into classes. You will have a biochemistry class, and physiology class, an anatomy class, etc. An integrated curriculum is organized around organ systems in the body. That means you will learn the biochemistry, physiology, anatomy and all other relevant information about the cardiovascular system, then the respiratory system, etc. The information you learn at any medical school will be the same; the method of presentation is what varies from school to school. Another aspect of the curriculum is the length of the basic science years. The standard length for basic science curriculum is two years. Some schools, such as Baylor, UPenn, and Columbia nish basic sciences in a year and a half. This accelerated curriculum allows for an extra semester in clinicals, which means that you get to do elective rotations in areas of interest to you before you have to apply to residency. This allows you to get a much better feel for what specialization you want to have as a resident, whereas the standard two years with basic sciences generally does not afford that opportunity. Grading system: Pass/Fail or Grades Surprisingly, not all medical schools give you grades during your basic science curriculum. Many just give you a rating of a simple pass or a fail. My personal opinion is that I would not want to go to a school that gave grades. A pass/fail system takes the stress from studying. The urge to study just a few more hours because you are worried about the difference between an A and a B is removed. Some schools have tiered pass/fail systems, meaning they have honors, high pass, and pass or similar variations on the theme. Patient population of teaching hospitals For those of you interested in working with underserved populations, the teaching hospitals each medical schools has their students rotate through will make a big difference in your clinical years. Researching what hospitals (county, private, VA) your rotations will be in at each medical school will impact your clinical experience greatly.
Secondary Applications
Listed below are a number of example secondary application prompts. The purpose of this section is to get you familiar with the types of questions secondaries ask. This publication makes no claim regarding the accuracy of this section. The question prompts contained herein may not be up to date or even correct in any way. The questions that follow were not reviewed or approved by the respective medical schools; rather, the list was generated by students. Under no circumstances should you begin to write responses to secondary application questions until instructed to do so by the respective institutions. Texas A&M 1. Describe any circumstances indicative of some hardship, such as, but not limited to, nancial difculties, personal or family illness, a medical condition, a death in the immediate family, educational disadvantage, or disability. (Do not leave blank. If not applicable, please so indicate. The character limit on this essay is 3,500). 2. The honor code for the Texas A&M College of Medicine is: A Texas A&M medical student is a professional who exhibits leadership, honesty, integrity, compassion, respect and selfdiscipline. Please briey discuss what activities or personal attributes demonstrate best that you would be a good custodian of our honor code (3,500 character maximum). 3. Describe experiences or skills that made you more sensitive or appreciative of other cultures or the human condition. 4. OPTIONAL QUESTION: List the area (or areas) of medicine that appeals to you and briey explain. (Limit your explanation to 50 words or 250 characters for each area of interest you list.) Do not leave blank. If not applicable, please so indicate. Texas Tech 1. As a medical school that is focused on primary care with some emphasis on rural health, we are interested in the areas our applicants are considering of practicing. Please indicate the area(s) of medicine you are interested in and briey describe your signicant activities for each respective interest. If you are interested in something other than primary care, please indicate your interest in the OTHER category: Interested in practicing in an underserved area, Interested in rural health, Interested in medical research, Interested in medical academics, Interested in primary care, Interested in border health, or Other. 2. List your activities (completed, current or planned) related to the selections made in question #1. 3. Have you had to repeat, withdraw from or drop a course? 4. If you answered yes to question #3 above, please list and explain why these courses had to be dropped/repeated/withdrawn. 5. What do you like or dislike most about the area you are from; your hometown (500 words or less)? 6. In 500 words or less please describe what you would see as the ideal practice for you. (where, type of practice --- clinic, hospital, both, specialty, who would be your patients, etc.) 7. (Optional) If you are a dual degree applicant (MD/MBA, MD/PhD, JD/MD); please describe your motivation (in 500 words or less) to obtain a dual degree and any other pertinent information. (e.g. research interests, steps taken to prepare yourself) 8. Please tell us about your favorite recreational/leisure activities (500 words or less)?
University of Texas at Southwestern 1. If you think that one or more of the following interests apply to you, check the appropriate box(es) and list specic experiences (academic, co-curricular, employment, personal, etc.) related to and supportive of this interest in the text box provided below. Do not use a paragraph format; list in bulleted format: Interested in establishing a medical practice in an underserved area, Interested in a career in research, Interested in a career in teaching, or Interested in a career in primary care medicine. 2. Describe the setting in which you envision conducting your medical career. Also include how and why you think this setting would help fulll your interests related to the practice of medicine. University of Texas Houston, Galveston, and San Antonio No secondary application essays. Stanford 1. The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee on Admissions strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important, and/or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, or life or work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have inuenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine. Please limit your answer to 2,000 characters including spaces. 2. What do you see as the most likely practice scenario for your future medical career? Choose the single answer that best describes your career goals: Private Practice, Health Policy, Academic Medicine, Public Health, or Health Care Administration. 3. Why do you feel you are particularly suited for this practice scenario? What knowledge, skills and attitudes have you developed that have prepared you for this career path? 1,000 characters 4. How will the Stanford curriculum, and specically the requirement for a scholarly concentration, help your personal career goals? 1,000 characters Baylor 1. Indicate any special experiences, unusual factors or other information you feel would be helpful in evaluating you, including, but not limited to, education, employment, extracurricular activities, prevailing over adversity. You may expand upon but not repeat AMCAS application information. 2,000 characters Northwestern 1. Describe your personality and personal characteristics and how you expect that they will lead to success in the specic curriculum and learning environment of FSM. (400 words) 2. Describe the coping skills and/or strategies you have employed to overcome a challenge that was not school related. If you believe you have not had such an experience, feel free to tell us anything more youd like the Committee on Admissions to know about how you deal with personal challenges (e.g. nancial, relationship, family, employment). 400 words 3. Describe any experiences away from traditional educational pursuits (such as travel, or time in the workplace other than summer jobs). Specify the timeframe and the impact that the activity has had upon you. If you have been in school continuously, then describe a nonacademic activity which as been formative. 4. Based on your experience to date, describe the medical career that you envision.
Columbia 1. What aspects of P and S are most interesting to you? 2. For MD: Columbia-Bassett candidates, there is an additional essay: What aspect of the Columbia-Bassett Program has the most appeal for you? Dartmouth 1. Please indicate your plans for the 2012-13 academic year. If in school, please list your courses. If working, let us know something about the nature of your job. 2. Please share with us something about yourself that is not addressed elsewhere in your application and which could be helpful to the Admissions Committee as we review your le. Georgetown 1. Why have you chosen to apply to Georgetown University School of Medicine, and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future? 5,000 characters 2. What is your specic interest in the MD Program at GW? What opportunities would you take advantage of as a student here? Please restrict your answer to ten lines. Temple 1. What is the nature of your special interest in Temple University School of Medicine? No character limit. 2. If you indicated St. Lukes Regional Campus or one of our clinical campuses (Geisinger Health System or West Penn Allegheny Health System) as your rst choice, please describe the nature of your special interest. Otherwise, please type N/A to continue. (Use the following space. There is no character limit.) University of North Carolina 1. Among other qualities, we seek candidates who bring commitment, initiative, and independence to their volunteer activities, research projects, and/or health-related employment. Please describe an activity in which you have participated that exemplies these qualities, as they relate to medicine. 2. Please list ve qualities that you possess that are important for an interviewer to know about you. University of Michigan 1. Tell us something you are passionate about and why. 2. At the University of Michigan Medical School, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse, talents, experiences, opinions and backgrounds. What would you as an individual bring to our medical school community? 1,500 characters. University of Pennsylvania 1. Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine, limit your response to 1,000 characters. Johns Hopkins 1. If Applicable, describe a situation where you were not in the majority. 1,100 characters. 2. Briey describe a situation where you had to overcome adversity; include lessons learned
and how you think it will affect your career as a future physician. 900 characters. 3. Briey describe your most rewarding experience or some achievement of which you are particularly proud. 900 characters 4. Are there any areas of medicine that are of particular interest to you? 1,100 characters University of Pittsburgh 1. Describe a personal experience, which resulted in a substantial moral or ethical dilemma. What was the outcome? 250 words 2. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine welcomes applicants with a variety of view points, backgrounds, and experiences. Describe some aspect(s) of your life that would contribute to our diverse community. (250 words) Harvard and UCSF No secondary application essays. Duke 1. What is the most signicant moral or ethical dilemma that you have faced in your life (excluding academic dishonesty)? Describe how you dealt with and potentially resolved it, including beliefs, resources, individuals, etc. How did this dilemma and its resolution change your life and what, if any, impact will this have on your future as a healthcare provider? All Duke essays are without character limits. 2. From among the activities and experiences listed in your AMCAS application, please select one activity or experience that has most impacted your decision to undertake a career in healthcare. Please describe your role in the activity/experience and how this activity helped you make the decision to apply to medical school. 3. How will you add a unique dimension to our medical school community? In answering this question, please also describe your greatest strength. What is your most signicant vulnerability? Please understand that the strength/vulnerability questions are two different questions. They are both important but not necessarily related. 4. In addition to academic and intellectual achievement, what do you believe are the three most important qualities that a physician or physician/scientist must have to be successful in the current healthcare environment and why. 5. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients? 6. What relationship in your life has best prepared you for a life as a physician? Cornell 1. Please write a brief statement giving your reasons for applying to Weill Cornell Medical College. 200 words Brown 1. Please indicate your activities for the current year. If you are in school, list your courses. 2. How do your personal characteristics coincide with the values and mission of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University? Provide some examples of achievements in any aspect of your life - personal or professional - which make you a good t for Brown. (6,500 character max) Tufts 1. Is there any compelling personal reason or circumstance/history that motivates you to attend TUSM in particular or to study in Boston, as opposed to attending another school or studying in another city?
Research
3.
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4. 5. 6.
notice your eagerness and it will be reected in the responsibilities that they give you and in your letter. Again, it is up to you to learn. Raise suggestions. Can we use this other technique? Would it not be easier if? It does not matter if your ideas suck. They will get better. Do as you are told. If your suggestions are not taken, do not rebel in a spurt of independence. Keep suggesting, but remember that there are others with much more experience. Also, there may be issues you are not aware of or even personal reasons. Careful and slow. Do not try to do too much at oncecareful planning and execution for a specic aim is generally more effective than mass data collection. No one expects you to do everything. Better to do a good job than a cursory and inconclusive one. Bring some cheer. One reason labs like to have undergraduates is for our energy and excitement. You are still young. Help your lab members feel that way.
able to register for BIOC 310 and BIOC 401/402 with a PI in the medical center. In looking for a lab, gauge the interest of the PI in truly being a mentor and gure out if you will at least see them weekly (probably not likely if their lab has 20+ people or if they were an hour late to your appointment). Remember that you are looking for a mentor and someone who will eventually know you well enough to write your recommendation letter. Here, you may want to ask about payment, or at least the potential for payment after you gain some skills. There should be plenty of labs in the medical center that do not mind paying for a smart, motivated Rice student. However, be wary of payment as well, in case it means you are now obligated to become the dishwasher.
Finding a Lab
The greatest factor in your decision about the lab should be your interaction with the PI. Consider whether they will be a good mentor and supporter, whether they will micromanage you or never see you at all, and whether you get along in general. Depending on your level of independence, you might consider the amount of funding available to pay for you, which may be indicative of the resources available for your project. In terms of projects, you should certainly choose research that you are interested in, but do not let your interests make the nal decision about the lab. There are plenty of investigators that do exciting research and are also good mentors with enjoyable labs. The good thing about being an undergraduate is that we are still free to exploreso do not stick with a lab that you do not enjoy! An even greater (yes, greater than the greatest) factor is that you should NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER (even if you have never done a day of research in your life and you think no one in the world will want you to work for them in a billion years) take a research position where your duties include washing materials for general lab use or prepping samples for everyone else. In most labs, you may be helping one or two people on a specic question and doing some necessary grunt work, but think shy when you are told to do the same task repeatedly that is not for the specic project or people that you have been assigned.
more responsibility, then you are certainly in a good position to work hard and look for results! If they do not agree, you should decide if you want to stay in your current lab, or nd a new mentor as below, now that you have had some experience.
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Rice offers a Health Professions Fair every fall. During this you can meet with representatives from medical schools, colleges of pharmacy, optometry programs, and more. The fair is open to all interested students. During summers, many universities around the nation offer paid summer internships for undergraduates. You can nd pretty comprehensive lists by clicking on the rst search results from Googling undergraduate summer research. There are additional programs sponsored by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (search HHMI undergraduate summer research) which carry some prestige because of the premier name of HHMI. Deadlines for all summer internships are generally in February, and most require recommendation letters, so get started early - ask for the letters before Thanksgiving or winter break so as to give professors time to write them. Competitiveness varies depending on the program and probably how comprehensively costs are covered. Generally, the program matches you with a mentor for the summer depending on your stated research interests. I strongly recommend that you nd a faculty member beforehand that would be willing to have you work for them should you be admitted to their program; then, ask that mentor to email the director of that summer program while you submit your application, stating an intent to work with that specic faculty member. This will greatly increase your chance of admission to the program, and guarantee a better mentorship experience. I have never applied through a blanket summer internship program without seeking out a specic faculty member rst because I have never wished to be paired randomly for an entire summer. If you would like to spend the summer doing research, you may wish to join the program at a medical school that you would like to attend in the future. I never did this, and my application does not suffer; however, there is a denite advantage if, in the future, you can tell a school that you wish to attend because you greatly enjoyed your personal summer experience, and you also gain an advantage if one of your recommendation letters comes directly from a faculty at that institution. For the Baylor SMART program, for example, once you attend their summer program, they will tell you that you are guaranteed an interview at their medical school. It is understandable to want to spend your summer at home or with friends in Houston. If you do not wish to attend an established summer program but would like to do research, simply look for a lab (a described in the Finding a lab section) at an institution near your home. All universities have research faculty, and their work and contact information would be posted on the university website. If you wish to be far away from home, international research opportunities are also available. This is a bit trickier. Ask the biochemistry department about connections abroad (I know there is some program at least set up with Germany). Also, other Rice organizations like IASTE will connect students with faculty abroad. Finally, ask your professors about possible contacts, since many of them have done parts of their education in a foreign country. Also keep in mind Rice offers several summer service trips and fellowships. Humed does a couple of international trips each summer. Wiess College (yes, the residential college) offers the John E. Parish summer fellowship. This prize supports approximately two months of travel and reection during the summer of 2012 for the purpose of enhancing the education of a Rice undergraduate. All full-time, returning undergraduates are eligible to apply. You can join the OFUR site on Owlspace
Though all applicants should consider research, some students have a strong enough research background to consider MD/PhD: A strong MD/PhD applicant should have both strong science coursework background as applican well as substantial research (2+ years). It does not all have to be in one lab, but progressing ubstantial well on a project shows what you are capable of. Publications are not necessary at all, n but they do help. Interview Interviewing for MD/PhD is *way* more fun! M Many program will programs y pay for your hotel, and mos will wine and dine you while you are there. It is gen most generally r u a 2-day process, with one d focused on your research. It is a long [fully-funded] road, day y so think long and hard before applying. But if you honestly could not see yourse in a yourself d career without both patient care *and* research which could bring about new cur this cures, ring could work for you. Audrey Nath (WRC 05, UT Houston MD/PhD)
select against applicants who may be entering a program for the free ride through medical school.
The only consensus on the career path of a physician-scientist is that the path depends on the individual. During the program, a number of students become swayed toward either medicine or research, although many still maintain their motivation for both. After graduation, the majority of MD/PhD graduates do residency, with lengths that vary depending on the specialization chosen, then followed by a postdoctoral fellowship for research. Fortunately, post-graduate programs have begun to integrate research and residency in order to expedite the process. A few graduates decide that their interests are mainly in science, and go straight to postdoctoral research training, and a rare number even land faculty positions. Another option may be to take a job in industry. A large proportion of MSTP graduates (schools have told us around 80%) do research in addition to clinical work at some point in their careers. This statistic has led to the continued funding and expansion of the program. Of the number of governmental grant-receiving physician-scientists, a disproportionately large number are MD/PhD program graduates (Ley & Rosenberg, JAMA 294(11): 1343-1350). Of course, this may be attributed to success of the programs or perhaps simply the quality of the students that enter these programs.
this, as they are one of the most important factors of an MD/PhD applicants application! An ambivalent recommendation will detract from the strengths of your other letters. Make sure your letters cover all aspects of your candidacy as you would like but be sure to really have letters that can speak to your ability as a scientist and the specic research that you have done. I had two research mentors from my undergraduate research, one research mentor from before undergraduate, two professors in my department, and the others all spoke to my ability as a scientist and character outside of science.
long as your depth of understanding and experience with research is conveyed. Many schools require additional MD/PhD-specic secondary essays in addition to those for the medical school. Use these to paint a more thorough picture of yourself. Construct your responses carefully, but do not obsess over them as with your MD and MD/PhD statements. Secondary applications really allow you to really develop and mature your interests in becoming a physician scientist to the committees.
helps as well). I like to spend half the time talking about myself and the other half asking about the interviewer. The best you can do for yourself is to be honest in your responses. Practice your responses beforehand, but the best answers are generally those that come spontaneously. Your earnestness and dedication will be recognized as such. The point of interviews is to hold intelligent scientic discussions with fellow investigators, not do have drilling sessions about your research. Thinking about the interview as a discussion will help you relax and enjoy the process. You are in no way responsible for having an answer to every question. If your researcher is not in your eld, likely the questions are out of curiosity and are not carefully constructed. Show your eagerness to think about different questions, as well as what you do actually know. Countless times during a single interview, my response goes something like Hm, I am not sure about point X exactly, but I have read an article/talked to faculty/done an experiment that says this other related thing Y happens, so I really hope to do an experiment Z to test the question you just asked! To construct intelligent responses, though, you do actually need to know your research extremely well. If you have mainly been following others instructions up to this point, it is time to start reading research articles in your eld and holding discussions with your mentor. Also, be sure you know about every project on your application at least well enough to give a coherent explanation. I have been asked in detail about projects from 5 years previous. Remember your audienceare they an investigator in your eld? A researcher in a completely different eld? A clinician? Tailor your responses accordingly. If you are unsure, explain your research in the simplest terms possible, and they will probe you for greater detail if they wish. You should have a response that an average high school student can understand. Also, I nd myself tailoring the focus of my answer. To a basic science researcher, I may conde that I do what I do because I love the science and the power of knowledge. To someone doing translational research, I will explain that my project is appealing because of the potential therapeutic use if we could do a few key translational experiments. To a clinician, I discuss how there exists a treatment X, but I hope that my results will inuence the effects of this treatment on patients. Finally, the key to establishing rapport with people is to be interested in them! Your interviewers are extremely intelligent, successful people, and they have limitless insight and ideas to offer. They will give you astounding suggestions to improve your work, and ideas that you can then bring up to impress your next interviewer. Ask questions and make suggestions when they talk about their work as well. Research is all about the quality of questions.
research. At another, everyone supported the idea that research and medicine could be combined, but more than a natural portion of students seemed to do clinical research. 3.Lifestyle. You will be spending a large part of the most productive time of your life here. Think about the city, the people, and quality of life on your stipend. Is there housing with medical students, or will you be living by yourself? What do students do on the weekends? At one program, a female MSTP student warned that most students had been mugged at least once; I will not be attending. 4. Medical School Curriculum. Find out how conducive the medical school curriculum is to research. Some schools with half-day curriculums will allow time for taking graduate course requirements or doing laboratory rotations. Schools that schedule at least one clinical rotation before the PhD years also seem appealing, so that you can understand what medicine is all about before beginning research, and so you may continue clinical learning during your PhD years if you wish. 5. Compatibility. How well do you feel like you t in with peers at this institution? How suitable is the program overall? Resort to instinct.
Interviews
The last step in the admissions process is the interview. An invitation to interview is very exciting because so few people get to this stage. At most schools, one third of interviewees get accepted. While this nal part is important, do not be deluded into thinking that the interview is the be all and end all. In fact, many schools already have their minds made up whether to accept you or waitlist you. As one interviewer said, We just want to make sure you speak in complete sentences and do not drool. If anything, the interview is a good chance to help people who are borderline and can do a phenomenal enough job to get onto the acceptance list. Also remember - the school isnt just intervewing you. Youre interviewing the school as well. Take note about how you feel about the school, med students, and other applicants that you meet during the interview day. Almost all medical schools require interviews on their respective campuses. Visiting the campus is benecial in that you can see exactly what to look forward to over the next four years. The best way
to get a feel for the university is by taking a tour and seeing rsthand what is available. The school does not typically pay for your ight, ground transportation, food, or housing.
Usually students are left on their own to make travel arrangements to get to campus. The majority of universities hold interviews early in the morning. Therefore, you will be required to y in the day before and spend the night in the city. For Texas schools, you can obviously use ground transportation. Although many applicants stay in hotel rooms, staying with a medical student host is typically the best option. In addition to the room being free, these hosts are a great resource for learning more about the school. A few will even take you out to see the city and meet with other current students. Many also offer advice on the interview that you are about to undergo. Even if you are not staying the night with a medical student, many school offer pre-interview meet-ups as a chance for you to meet some of the MS1s and fellow applicants. Take advantage of this time to get acclimated, relax, and make some friends.
your letters of recommendation. Open-le interviews typically focus on clarifying questions about your AMCAS activities or questions regarding the things that you have written about in your personal statement. Closed-le interviewswhere the interviewer knows nothing but your namecan be frustrating because many of the questions are already answered in the AMCAS and secondary. During a closed-le interview, students usually repeat the material that they have already supplied to the university. You may be asked in a closed-le interview, So, tell me about your activities, for example. Take advantage of these interviews to go beyond what you said in your le; use these interviews to add something new and fresh, something you may have done since you applied. The timing of interviews is not standard: some are 30 minutes longbarely enough time to scratch the surfacewhile others are a full hour, giving the interviewer ample time to learn enough about you to make an informed decision about your personality.
To answer these and all other questions, you must evaluate why you want to go to medical school and what impact you think you can make on others. In general, though, the best preparation for answering these questions is to not stress outjust be yourself. Yes, think about the answers, but do not obsess. Some other typical questions involve hobbies, research, volunteering, ethical situations, mentors who have been inspirational, etc. For those of you who feel comfortable speaking about personal matters with strangers, youre golden. For the others who are less comfortable doing so, feel free to practice on your friends and family; theyll give you feedback, let you know what they think you said, and give you a chance to reect more on your life and rene your answers.
Dont be scared to ask a question. Do your research on the school (website, MS1s, friends who have interviewed), but if there is something that concerns you or you are curious about, voice it. Questions show interest.
Attire
You should dress conservatively. Period. You want to be remembered for what you say, not what you wear. Honestly, everyone looks the same on interview days: suits, suits, suits. Men should wear a navy blue, charcoal grey, or black suit. All clothes should be pressed. Your tie should be either a solid color or have stripesno cartoon characters here. You should be clean-shaven or make sure that everything is neatly trimmed if you have a beard. Women should wear a business suit: a skirt suit or pants suit. If you wear a skirt, it should be long enough to hang down to (or extend past) your knees. Also, avoid ashy jewelry, heavy makeup, and heavy perfume. Realizing that you will have to do a lot of walking, so wear comfortable pumps with a low heel; do not wear open-toe or open-back shoes. For everyone, turn off your cell phones. As much as you would like to believe that this rule is a no-brainer, several people have had phones ring during an interview. The situation is embarrassing and shows the interviewer that you are careless. Also, you can buy a black portfolio folder with the Rice logo at the bookstore to keep papers (everyone on interviews has something of this nature that holds their notes, pamphlets, and other papers).
Tours
A campus tour is generally given by a current medical student. You will not see the main campus or undergraduate area, however. You will only see the medical schools classrooms, research labs, afliated hospitals, gym and sometimes the anatomy lab. The good news is that although you have probably spent hundreds of dollars just to get to this stage of the application process, the interview day is free. Those secondary application fees go towards providing interviewees with free lunches and often free parking. Keep this last bit of advice in mind: from the moment you arrive in your host town, you should consider yourself on the interview. Everything from the hotel room, host stay, campus tour, deans messageeverything and every minuteshould be considered an interview. Be nice to the secretariesthey have the admissions committees ears. Brush up on your manners and treat everyone as though they have the power to accept or reject you; you never know, they just might! The Interviews section is provided by the Student Doctor Network Wiki under the Creative Commons Licensing Agreement.
AMCAS Schools
The rst thing you should know about being accepted is that you can hold as many acceptances as you like until May 15th. By May 15th, you must choose one school where you want to hold an acceptance and withdraw your application from all other schools where you have received offers. At any time during the process, out of consideration for other applicants, if you have been accepted to a school that you know for certain you do not wish to attend, it is polite to withdraw from that school as quickly as possible to open up spots for other applicants. For example, if you are accepted to both Baylor and Wash. U. by April but know you would rather go to Wash. U. over Baylor, you should notify Baylor that you wish to withdraw because other students might be waiting for Baylor acceptances, and your removal would expedite their acceptances. If you are later accepted to Columbia in April, however, you could accept Columbias offer and hold BOTH the Columbia and Wash. U. offers until May 15th if you so choose to do so. On May 15th, you can only be holding one acceptance offer, but you can still be on any number of waiting lists. For example, on May 20th, you might be holding your Columbia acceptance but still waiting on the Penn waiting list. If Penn noties you in June that you are accepted off of their waiting list, you could withdraw from Columbia and accept Penns offer. But, you cannot hold onto both the Penn and Columbia acceptances at that time because it would be after the May 15th deadline. Theoretically, you can be waiting on a schools waiting list even into their school year, but the chances of getting off of a waiting list begin to diminish after May 15th.
TMDSAS Schools
Prior to the match, medical schools will extend offers of acceptance to Texas residents from November 15 through December 31. During this period, you may receive offers of acceptance from more than one Texas medical school. If you are holding multiple offers on December 15, you must decline all but one offer by January 15. Declining offers must be done online through TMDSAS. The regular match will be conducted on February 15 to ll the remaining slots as follows: Applicants not holding an offer will submit a preference list ranking all schools where they interviewed Applicants holding the one offer will also submit a preference list ranking that school and any other school(s) where they interviewed, if desired. An applicant holding a pre-match offer who matches to a school he/she ranked higher than the pre-match offer school will automatically be withdrawn from the pre-match offer school and all other lower ranked schools. The applicant continues to remain open to be selected by schools he/she ranked higher. The deadline for applicants to submit their preferences online is February 1.
Following the match, the standard rolling admissions will continue through the beginning of orientation at each medical school.
a letter explaining the reason(s) you wish to defer and your plan for the year off. There are many potential reasons why you might consider deferring. In a year, you can do a lot of really cool things. Here are example one-year plans from people who deferred their admissions: Ted John (WRC 06, University of Michigan) Taught MCAT for Kaplan (Summer 06) Worked with NGO in Sudan for 8 months (Aug 06-Apr 07) Taught geometry/ algebra II to middle schoolers (May 07-Jul 07) Taught SAT in Tianjin, China, for 2 weeks (Jul 07) Shadowed pediatric orthopedic surgeon (May 07-Jul 07) Joined church praise band team (Apr 07-Aug 07) Other peers of his that took time off before medical school worked for the Clinton Foundation in Liberia, taught at a boarding school in England, participated in Teach for America, and received a Fulbright scholarship teaching English in Taiwan. Brian Schwab (WRC 07, Duke Medical School) Taught English in Calama, Chile, and traveled throughout Chile (May 07-Nov 07) Traveled to Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay (Nov 07-Dec 07) Worked in a warehouse, call center, McDonalds, others (Jan 08-Jun 08) Volunteered with church (Jan 08-May 08) Revised this book! (Feb 08-May 08) Backpacked in Northern California (Mar 08) Whole person care preceptorship in California/Mexico (Jun 08-Jul 08) Visited friends in South Korea (Jul 08) Elizabeth Gleeson (WRC 07, Tulane Medical School) Taught English in Taiwan (Jun 07-Jun 08) Studied Chinese at the National Taiwan Normal University (Sep 07) Traveled to Malaysia, Philippines, China, and beyond (Jul 07-Jun 08)
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When do I apply if I want to take time off? When it comes to deciding when to apply you have two options. The rst option is that you can apply during your junior year, get accepted into medical school, and then defer for a year. If you do this option youll know where you will be attending school after your gap year, which is a plus. However, not all schools allow this option and some make you justify why and how you will spend this time. The second option is to defer applying to medical school entirely for a year (or more!). This option means that you will be applying the summer after you graduate and interviewing later that year. This option is good for people who are looking to strengthen their application using their gap year experience. It is also good for people who wish to take time off and want the freedom to do whatever they like. However, you need to be sure that you have everything done for the Ofce of Academic Advising on time since you will be a graduate during the application cycle and not necessarily on campus. Furthermore, if you are considering travelling abroad, be sure you have a plan for how you will attend your medical school interviews. What should I do during my time off? You should do just about anything! In all seriousness, you should do something that makes you happy. The years after college are the perfect time to travel the world, see a new culture or work for a non-prot. Others decide to give back to communities through Teach for America, or AmeriCorps. If you are considering a career in research, think about working in a lab full-time. It really doesnt matter what you do during your year off, as most experiences will contribute to your ability to be a better doctor. What if my parents are against me taking time off? Undoubtedly, your parents will want to know why you are putting off becoming a doctor for a year or more. If you nd yourself in that situation, relax and dont stress! Most parents just want to know that you have a plan, and wont be couch surng around Europe for the next year (an excellent idea though!). If you are struggling to get parental support, have a conversation with them that includes why you want to take time off, what you plan to do with that time, and how it will ultimately make you a better and more well-rounded physician. Having a structured plan and acknowledging how the experience will help you down the road often is enough to convince parents that you are no longer a child, and can make important decisions like this one on your own. If I take time off wont I forget everything? Wont I struggle because I not used to studying? Dont worry too much about forgetting material and/or getting out of the rhythm of studying. One of the best reasons to take time off is to give your brain a break! You will be bombarded with so much material in medical school, so in the long run forgetting a few reactions and the like will not make that much of a difference. If you are really concerned about keeping your science knowledge fresh, consider doing something like research, or teaching. There are plenty of gap year opportunities that will keep your mind actively engaged. Most students who take time off enjoy the fact that they can read for leisure, or learn something new without the pressure of being in school. Why I took a year off: So what about me? I decided to take a year off mainly because I was burnt out. I had been taking more than 20 hours for consecutive semesters in order to graduate on time, and I grew to the point that hated studying. The thought of going straight into medical school after college was depressing. I made the decision that I wanted to take time off, but I wasnt sure what I wanted to do. I really enjoyed doing research for my senior thesis, but I wasnt sure how much I would like lab work
full-time. I then realized it would be a great idea to work in a lab during my gap year, to see what it was really like. I applied and was accepted to a post-baccalaureate research program at the National Institutes of Health in the National Cancer Institute. While at the NIH I was able to develop more skills in basic cancer research, while also seeing what working in a lab is like on a daily basis. Additionally, taking the year off gave me the opportunity to take a break from school, hone my research interests, contribute to publications, and have meaningful experiences to discuss at my interviews. When I was making the decision to take a year off, I asked every doctor I knew what they thought about it and I heard the same answer again and again, I wish I had done that. At the end of the day, I couldnt imagine spending the year after college in any other way and I hope you decide to do the same!
General Advice
Take the time to think about what drives you into medicine and what you want to accomplish as a doctor. Conduct a little introspection and trace how your desire to become a doctor has evolved over the years. Write down any thoughts that came to mind as you are pondering upon these questions. They will help a lot with the personal statement and the interview. Jean Bao (WRC 06, University of Chicago) When I was applying to medical school, I asked a physician who had left medicine to work in health care management if he had any advice for me during this process. His response was, perhaps, the most important piece of advice I have ever received on life, especially a life in medicine: Just remember, that you are going to change; that your interests are going to change; that what you want out of life is going to change; and that this is ok and part of living. For my friends and me, a life in medicine was the culmination of a long road of hard academic work, summer research, community service and leadership. After college, however, I realized that I was confused about what exactly it was I wanted from medicine. I knew that I had wanted to be here, but now that I was there, what should I do with my life? And I am not talking about specialties. Fortunately or unfortunately, medicine has plenty answers to that essential question: what should I do with my time? And if one is not careful, the tracts of medicine will propel one along through residency, fellowship, practice, and come in at retirement. Perhaps this is why so many physicians are unhappy with their career choice. Medicine has work for you to do, and so, you have to be very careful on what you chose to take on. A transplant surgeon once told me, You worked so hard on becoming an interesting person just to get here, and so, be careful not to lose that. Otherwise, when I graduated I would have nothing left of what I used to be. Questions of what you are and what you want out of life change over time, but make sure that you begin asking these questions now, while you are still thinking about where you want to go to school and what you are looking for in your career. If you are applying to medical school, then you are smart enough to do almost anything in life: be smart enough to do want you want to do, and not what others might expect of you. And if you are uncertain about starting this process, then I would encourage you to take some time to nd out. The road is long and expensive: not just in money, but also in time and emotion. I often wish I had taken a year or two to travel and explore before I began. Not only
because such things would have been fun, but also because I think I would have an easier time answering the questions I mentioned above. I have often thought of medicine as a marathon, but a mentor of mine commented with what I think is a wonderful way to view this journey: Many very bright minds actually decide that the goal is not to nish, but rather to take on another new path - perhaps even one less explored. While there might not be large crowds along the roadside to cheer those folks on, the passing landmarks and challenges are often celebration enough. Mathew Mino (WRC 05, UT Southwestern) Check med school course requirements early and often. Were in a time of ux, and requirements are changing like crazy. As a senior, I found out I was required to take a statistics courseand the requirement had just been added for the year I applied. Keep looking at medical school required courses, and make sure that you take them. If you dont manage to take them and you really want to go to a school, apply to the school anyway. Schools magically have a way of making some requirements (Im not suggesting you try and skip the year of Bio, Chem, Physics, and English) disappear if youve been accepted. - Ruchi Srivastava (Baker 12, Johns Hopkins) Do not try to gure out what kind of person admissions would like you to be. There are many facets of medicine, and taking the time in undergrad to do what you personally enjoy will show yourself (and the school) the type of doctor you will become. Diane Shao (WRC 07, Harvard Medical School) Do not fall into the trap of thinking there is one prototypical road to getting into to medical school and becoming a successful applicant. Sure, you want to do well in your classes and get experience in the medical profession, but more than that be true to who you are and follow your passions, whether it be performing or visual arts, social policy or even research. The truth is, you do not need to t into a mold in order to be a successful applicant, you just have to be passionate and be willing to work hard. Do not let being pre-med mean that you cannot be well- rounded and pursue other important interests. At Rice it is easy to put the blinders on and think that the only option is to go straight through to medical school...if you need time off after graduation...Do it! Take 1 year off, 2 years, etc... but do something that is worthwhile and makes you grow, this might give you a perspective and appreciation for the medical profession that you would not have otherwise. I go to a school where the majority of people have taken at least 1 year off, some as much as 10years and it gives the class a level of maturity and cohesiveness that is wonderful. The point is, there are several routes one can take to get to medical school, and it only matters if the passion is there and apparent. Virginia Dzul-Church (WRC 05, UCSF) I would say Not comparing yourself to another person was the best advice that I have ever received and it took me a LONGGGG time to realize the importance of that advice. You are no longer in high school, so get used to people making better grades than you and there are always going to be people that are better than you in (all) aspects of life. You need to start thinking about YOU and what makes you you. What are your interests? What subjects are interesting? Do you like research? Do you like Public Health topics? Do you think that there is an interesting connection between music and healing? I promise that its easy: All you have to do is ask yourself a simple question, like Do I REALLY like my Organic Chemistry class? or Is there outside pressure to inuence my future goals? If you have no idea what the answers to your questions are, nd them! Volunteer, do research
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for a summer, go abroad, watch a documentary, read health policy laws, shadow a doctor, reach out to a patient that is going through a disease. There is so much you can do. And, if you realize that you dont like something, then leave it behind, and move on to your next question. - Simone Elder (Sid 12)
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If I could go back in time and give the freshman-me some tips, here is what I would say: 1. Really think about what the benet is of each of your commitments. Time is a precious commodity, and four years will y by before you know it. Therefore, ask yourself these questions: Is spending 10 hours a week on X really worth it? Will it make me a better person in some way or build my knowledge of some eld, or would I just be doing unmemorable busy work? How does this activity t in with my interests, and if it doesnt, why am I doing it? 2. There is a difference between basic science research and clinical research and the opportunities that each provides. Look into this early on, and gure out what youre truly passionate about and are good at before jumping into things. 3. If you have an artsy talent, dont give it up--pursue it! It will make you a better physician and a better person. 4. Dont put off your hardest classes till senior year. You want to give yourself enough buffer, because applying and interviewing is a time-consuming process. Youll have to miss classes, and missing biochemistry, genetics, protein lab, etc. can really suck. With that said, also... 5. Apply earlier. Dont wait until August to submit AMCAS. It can *potentially* affect your chances, and regardless, youll end up still interviewing while everyone else is done, and the wait can get nerve-wracking. Plus, youll end up having to y more than others during the winter/u season. As a result of this (along with the stress of my hard classes--see number 4), I was sick at just about every single interview. So, along those lines, and most importantly... 6. Take care of your own health. Sure, you may feel invincible with those all-nighters at rst, but you cant be a great doctor and take care of other people if you dont take care of yourself rst. Eat well, sleep well, work out--all of those great things that youd want your own patients to do! -Tina Munjal (Wiess 12, Johns Hopkins) Everyone has something they arent exactly proud of in their medical school application, whether it is a C in a class or a perceived deciency in research or shadowing something in which they feel they could have done better. There was a reason for that grade, for taking that summer off from research. Think about said reason, and be prepared to write about it and/or discuss it...these hiccups (and their explanations) are often the most interesting and personal parts of an application, anyway. - Ruchi Srivastava (Baker 12, Johns Hopkins) Applying to med school is a really stressful time for some people. Are my grades high enough? Are my extra-curricular activities what theyre looking for? Will I get into a med school? Why havent I heard from this school yet? These are some of the many questions that have lingered in my head (and maybe will in yours) throughout the application process, both before and after interviewing, and while waiting for any acceptance letters. You may even have the tendency to check your mail and/or email every hour. So, in order that you might not stress yourself to death, what
I recommend you doing is to change your perspective (as much as you can) on the situation. Let the application process be an exciting time! Let senior year be the culmination and peak of all your commitments and activities, your time to shine. Youve put in countless hours for bio, chem, orgo, and physics (not to forget the marathon MCAT) and youve grown a whole lot in character too, taking time to explore the motivation for your choice to go into medicine. Now, it is your turn to share with the various admission committees what youve learned about yourself over the past years and why youll be the next great Ben Carson or Paul Farmer. And remember, think about what is important to you in a med school. Factors important to me (considering my long term interests of international health) included student diversity, dual degree opportunities (MD/MPH), curriculum and academic environment, patient populations, quality of local teaching hospitals, location, and cost. Each person will have different priorities, so consider what combination of these would suit you best. Youre applying to med school, but theyre also recruiting you! Ted John (WRC 06, University of Michigan) Over my time at Rice, I constantly heard people introduce themselves as pre-med. My sole biggest piece of advice is to not use pre-med as a self-dening term. Yes, medicine is interesting and it may indeed be your future career, and yes, being pre-med can sometimes be hard and feel allconsuming. Still, keep in mind you have other interests and hobbies besides research, hospital shadowing, volunteering, and studying some of you love to cycle, some of you nd politics really fascinating, and some of you are really into working with the homeless community. Pursue those interests as well as your requirements; dont let them fall to the wayside. In the end, when youre lling out that application, those are the things that will make you unique and interesting; youre going to stand out a lot more if you passionately write about your interest in German culture and how it has helped you grow as an individual than if all you talk about is how many physicians you shadowed and how cool being in the hospital was. On that note, everything you do is something that you can successfully and powerfully use in your application. Just take the time to think about how those activities you love could help you become a better physician. Did it teach your new interpersonal skills? Leadership skills? Major life lessons? Did you learn about a new language? Culture? Did you gain an understanding that you think may be unique? Every experience you have is a growing experience; you benetted from it, so frame it so that medical schools know that they would benet from it and therefore from you as well. Ruchi Srivastava (Baker 12, Johns Hopkins) In all four of my interviews at Johns Hopkins, BCM, UT Houston, and UT Southwestern, at least one of my interviewers commented on the strength and passion of my recommendation letters. Before the whole interview process, I had concentrated intently, almost robotically, on my MCAT scores, my GPA, and my personal statement. I worked so hard to gure out the best way for me to show medical schools why I was so passionate about becoming a doctor I never fully comprehended just how important it is for my professors and mentors, those who watched me grow and work for four years, to show medical schools why I would make an excellent physician. While MCAT scores, GPA, and personal essays most certainly carry their own weight in the medical school application process, I underestimated the positive impact of the connections and impressions I made with my professors and advisorsindividuals who helped me reach one of my lifes major goalsindividuals who found joy in my acceptances and sincerely wished me success in my future endeavors. I am beyond grateful for their help and support. If theres one piece of advice I can give to pre-med students at Rice, its get to know your professors
and advisors, and major in something you are passionate about. When you are passionate about something, you are more likely to make meaningful interpersonal connections and to take time out of the typical lecture hall to learn about it, or physically take part in it.
Premedical Student Guide // Page 80
The way you request your recommendation letters can tell professors, research mentors, employers, and advisors a lot about yourself. Show them that you respect their time; show them that you take the process seriously; show them that you are a professional, organized student. Get to know the ones you really like, invest in their classes and meetings, and they will invest their time in you, even if its a few semesters or years later. There are many ways to go about requesting recommendation letters. The information I typed below describes a process that worked for me. Theres no need to follow it verbatim, and you may come up with your own way, but I hope it can help make your life easier one way or another. How I requested recommendation letters: I sent the professor or mentor a preliminary email asking if they would be willing to write me a strong medical school recommendation letter (several months before the deadline). I had one sentence that explained why I was asking them. If they agreed, I would bring to their ofce an envelope with the documents described in the following paragraph (which I also emailed to them later) and tried to meet with them at a convenient time. While email is much easier, always try to thank them and speak with them in person early in the process. That way, they wont forget about you in the pile of other requests and duties they may have. I also said that if they would prefer not to write the letter, I understood, and thanked them for their time. I labeled the envelope with my name, their name, the due date for the letters, and my contact information. I included in the envelope a cover letter briey explaining why I am requesting a medical school recommendation letter from them with a big thank you, a signed waiver and instructions form from the Ofce of Academic Advising, a draft of my personal statement (even if early in the process, it helps them), a resume, and an unofcial transcript from ESTHER. I would email them any major updates like a nalized personal statement or more recent personal achievements. The Ofce of Academic Advising sends automated emails whenever a professor or mentor submits a recommendation letter. When there were two days left before the deadline and one of my letter writers had not submitted a letter, I sent an email simply stating this was a quick reminder about the letter deadline. They turned it in within ve days, and all went well. In conclusion, make connections with the professors/mentors/advisors you really like, ask for your letters early, and make the process easier for them by giving them easily accessible information about yourself and explaining why you think they would write you a great letter. Some of them may have been your professors over a year ago so giving them those documents and explaining your side of the story can go a long way toward getting you an excellent letter. I wish you all the best of luck! I hope this advice proves as useful for you as it was for me. Sincerely, Eman Bahrani (McMurtry 12, Baylor)
Dont let the MCAT dominate your life. Ultimately, its just one test. Some people do need the full summer to study, but, honestly, your courses at Rice have prepared you well. Take a practice test to gauge where you are and space the studying out over a few monthsbut continue to live your life. Get a summer job or internship and use your spare time to study for the MCAT. Your resume will look a little fuller and you wont resent giving up three months for a number that, ultimately, youll not nd as meaningful as the life experiences you missed out on. - Ruchi Srivastava (Baker 12, Johns Hopkins) My best advice is to make sure you know you want to be a physician (whether it is by shadowing, working in a clinic, working in a medical lab, talking with medical students/residents/professionals, etc.) and pick a major you enjoy and can do well in. Other than that, enjoy college to the fullest and follow your passions. Dont pick a major you think will make you more appealing the committee reading your application can see through that. If you enjoy what you do, you will be able to communicate that and do well in it; obviously, you want to do well in your pre-med requirements too. However, dont freak out about grades just work hard and be proud of whatever you make because odds are you earned it. Give yourself time to invest yourself in things that are truly meaningful to you, this includes just spending time with friends and having a good time. If you can do that, admissions committees will see that you really care about what you do and that you want to be a physician thats what is important. It is going to require hard work, but do not let that take away from enjoying some of the greatest years of your life. - Michael Torre (Sid 12, Northwestern) In terms of MCAT preparation, taking a course is denitely the safest option. MCAT courses give you the structure of a college course, and serve as a guide through what can be a long and tedious process. That being said, there are some major advantages to studying on your own. The most obvious benet is the money you save by forgoing a course, which for me came out to about ~$1,500 after considering the cost of my books. I would urge you, however, not to make cost a major factor in your decision. After all, the MCAT is arguably the most important test you will ever take. Just see the money as a nice bonus. The greatest advantage of self studying is the exibility it offers. For example, I was already very comfortable with the organic chemistry on the MCAT, having just taken two semesters of it at Rice. So, instead of wasting time studying a subject I already knew, I focused on other areas of the test. Or, lets say you are great at verbal reasoning and biological sciences but terrible at physical sciences. You could then theoretically spend most of your study time just working on that one weak section. You can try books from different companies to work specically on physical sciences, and then maybe just get one good book for the other two sections. Theres also the exibility that you get with your overall schedule. MCAT classes can be hard to schedule around and are often take place at inconvenient times. Without a scheduled course, you are free to commit to whatever, whenever you want, as long as you leave enough time for studying. I would recommend self studying to anyone who is generally disciplined, feels motivated, and has a good 2-3 month chunk of time where they can dedicate a couple hours a day to studying (aka summer). Do beware if you have a tendency to procrastinate, as exibility can be a double edged sword. Preparing for the MCAT is a long term process that cannot be crammed into a week or two. Good luck! -Kevin Shen (Hanszen 13)
The biggest advice we can give is to nd something youre being passionate about and pursue it. Its better to have one or two things you are committed to than multiple things that are you lukewarm about. Dont be afraid to do the quirky and non-traditional pre-med things in college. It broadens your perspective and makes you a more interesting person. Plus, you will have great stories to tell your friends and family. If you are looking for volunteer experiences, you do not have to travel around the world to nd them. There are people in need right outside the hedges. Dont hesitate to talk to your professor, especially if you are doing well in their class. Ask questions about the material and dont be afraid to go beyond what is presented in class. They have great insight and exciting stories that are often entertaining. Plus, it is a good way to get to know your mentors better and to nd out opportunities that you may not have heard of before. Dont feel rushed about going to medical school. This is a large commitment and you need to gure out if this is the path YOU want. Dont be afraid to take time off or get a real job before considering and applying to medical school. - Emily Larimer, Martel 11 and Harry Han, Martel 12
Afterword
This book has been an absolute pleasure to write. I would like to thank the contributors for their continued, invaluable support. Without the support of my peers, I would not be where I am today and this book would certainly not have ever been published. If you ever have a free moment, it would be great to hear any comments/feedback that you have on this project and its usefulness to you in the application process (Email: schwab@alumni.rice.edu). To the reader I would like to say one nal note: Go, make us proud. Brian Schwab (WRC 07, Duke Medical School)
Premedical Student Guide // Page 83
How well did your Rice education prepare you for medical school? In contrast to math problem sets, my exam so far in my rst year of medical school have exams t hardly required we well-developed logical-rea d logical-reasoning or problem-solving skills, but rather extensive memor ve memorization. This observation is far from being vituperative, since the goal of the bservation pre-clinical years is to provide stud clinical ide students with the preparatory knowledge for the clinical rotations, not to pr produce mathematicians. Instead, this observation implies that the most tions, athematicians. important way in w which college should pre prepare pre-medical students is by fostering effecortant ege tive studying techn techniques and time-managem d time-management skills. Rice succeeds in this function very well. l. I was a Biochemistry and English double-major, and the demands of the Biochemistry coursesparticularly the second part of the Biochemistry (BIOS 301/302) sequence require any student aiming for high (above average) marks in those courses to develop learning skills and study habits nearly sufcient for success in medical school. Several of my medical-school classmates who are also Rice alums agree that the depth and intensity of science courses at Rice rendered them more able to understa and assimilate the lar large ble understand ssimilate amount of material in medical-school courses. I cannot think of any shortcomings of the Rice experience releva to preparation for me mediperience relevant paration cal school. Other attributes necessary for succeeding in medic school, such as learni learning eding medical to cooperate with peers and to function under high pressure, de collegiate sure, depend less on the collegi experience and more on the individual student. I will remark, h however, that since Rice h a has nce large proportion of highly motivated and successful students Rice pre-meds will be better ful students, eds prepared for maintaining their condence and performing well around the many students erformin he in their medical-school classes who are at least as accomplished as they are. Mike Matthews (WRC 07, UT Southwestern)