Because getting into medical school continues to get harder each year, the submission of a strong medical school application is critical. It’s important too, to ensure you create a realistic list of medical schools to target. When I review re-applicants’ candidacies to see what went wrong the year before, I oftentimes note that the students did not have enough schools on their lists and that they did not have realistic expectations.

I recommend starting with the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) book, a guide to United States and Canadian medical schools created by the Association for American Medical Colleges (AAMC). This book offers you hard data about mean grade point averages and average MCAT scores, so that you can ensure you are a competitive candidate before you apply. Read more ›