Another disclaimer: I have not been through the medical school application process yet, nor have I taken the MCAT. After I do these, I will write another blog giving more personal advice. This blog is simply a summary of the advice that I've seen over the past few months.
- If you're in high school and want to be a medical student:
- First, concentrate on high school. Then concentrate on getting into college. Enjoy your life and don't rush into things
- If you REALLY want to be in med school, look into some 6 and 7 year combined BS/MD programs. You have to have some really good stats to get in though, and doing 4 years in college isn't bad.
- Take AP classes if avaliable.
- Volunteer with something you love
- If you're in college:
- Don't focus on taking nothing but science classes. Expand your selection. Take some geography classes, or some anthropology classes. Remember that bio majors are going to make up the majority of medical school applicants. It's not bad to be a bio major, but you're more likely to get in if you show that you are broad in your interests, that is, if you have another major besides biology or chemistry.
- Get to know your professors. If possible, get a 5-year Interfolio account. When you complete a class that you knew the professor well, ask for a letter of recommendation to medical/graduate school. Waive your rights to see the letter and have them send it to Interfolio. It will make your life less painful than trying to scramble for LORs when you finally start applying to medical school
- Get involved. The chances of you getting into medical school when you only have stellar grades and good LORs are slim. You need something else on your application. So, take the time and join some clubs that you are interested in. Stick with them long enough to get into some leadership positions.
- Volunteering/Research: You aren't required to do volunteering or research, but if you don't do either one, you probably won't get an interview. Most medical schools have about 60% of matriculants did volunteering and/or reasearch. The chance of having a matriculant do neither is slim. For volunteering, local hospitals and clinics are a good place, but so is organizations like Big Brothers, Big Sisters. As for research, ask some of the faculty at your university for research opportunities.
- Clinical experience. This you MUST have. Medical schools want you to be sure that medicine is what you want to do. So, you have to see the medical field for what is really is. This might come in the form of volunteering at a hospital (though some hospitals won't let their volunteers have patient contact), or shadowing physicians. If you shadow often enough, you can probably request that the doctor you shadow give you a Letter of Recommendation as well.
- MCAT. Yeah, if you don't kill it, you won't get in. Competitive applicants tend to have MCATs around 30. Many schools screen applicants based on MCAT scores and GPA. Make sure you finish all your prerequisites before you take it (1 year each of biology, chemistry, physics, and organic chemistry, all with labs). Make sure you study for it. Do not sit an exam just for practice, they have released practice exams for that purpose.
- GPA. Basically, do well. You will have a hard time getting in if you have a low GPA, and it will be pretty difficult to get in if your GPA is below 3.0. That isn't to say that you won't get in with a low GPA, just that it's unlikely. The average of medical school matriculants is about a 3.6, I believe. That's a B+ average. Reach for it.
Medical school admissions is rough. Only about half of all the applicants every year get into a medical school. As a result, many apply to 20+ schools. You need to stand apart from the rest of the applicants if you want to have a chance of getting in. Most good applicants will get into one medical school that they apply to. Some won't get in at all. Many apply multiple times for a chance to get in. College is difficult. The medical school application process is tough. Medical school is even tougher. Good luck to all pre-meds out there.
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