This NYT article regarding college students’ recruitment to Wall Street is compelling. The author highlights the financial incentives that direct students to financial careers – and away from graduate degrees like medicine.
Blog Archives
AMCAS
Here’s a reminder that the 2013 AMCAS application is scheduled to open tomorrow, Tuesday, May 1; you will be able to submit your application as early as June 5.
The first day that AMCAS will begin transmitting application data to medical schools is June 29, which means an applicant who is really on top of things could receive secondary applications as early as the 29th!
I recommend watching the AAMC’s video for details about dates and changes to this year’s AMCAS.
Please contact me early for assistance. Last year some of my most organized clients were admitted to medical school as early as October.
Friendly Reminder…
Just a tip: If you are applying to residency or medical school (especially the latter) during the upcoming cycle, now is the time to get working on your personal statement. Good writing takes a long time.
Also, although my editing turn around time is always very fast (see my testimonials page regarding this topic), sending me your draft now will help you (and me :)) avoid the summer rush.
Letters of Intent
Medical school letters of intent (or what some applicants jokingly call “love letters”) can be used for several types of applicants:
1) Those who have been wait listed
2) Those who have been interviewed but have not yet been accepted or rejected
3) Those who have not yet been invited to interview
When writing your letters of intent (LOIs), you should have the following principal goals:
1) Restating your interest in the institution
2) Positioning yourself as a distinctive candidate
The biggest error I see in LOIs is too much content about a specific institution’s advantages. There is no reason to spend a paragraph or more telling medical school admissions members what makes their institution special. They already know! Using your precious space this way is an opportunity cost, keeping you from fully showcasing what makes you a compelling applicant.
For those of you interested in LOI assistance, please contact me. I do offer a popular LOI editing service.
An Excellent Question
I recently read a NYT piece called, “Why Would Anyone Choose to Become a Doctor?” by Dr. Danielle Ofri. It’s a sweet essay written by a physician who describes being perplexed by the large number of medical school applicants yearly, considering her profession’s numerous annoyances.
As the author considers alternatives to her career, however, she comes to the conclusion that her clinical encounters make it all worthwhile. The essay is a nice pick-me-up.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
