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Avoiding a Re-application to Medical School

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After disappointing admissions cycles, multiple medical school re-applicants hire me every year. Individual cases are complex, but keep the below five suggestions in mind as you approach the application season in order to avoid missteps:

1. Make sure you have robust clinical experiences. No one wants to hire a chef who’s never been in the kitchen.

2. Ensure you have the grades/MCAT and apply to schools that are appropriate to your academic level. Check out the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) to get an idea of what grades you’ll need. (Take a deep breath. It might be shocking.)

3. Get very strong letters of recommendation. Consider a mediocre letter a bad one in this competitive environment.

4. Craft a compelling personal statement that distinguishes you from everyone else.

5. Practice interviewing. Don’t get as far as the interview only to be rejected because you weren’t prepared.

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Gap Year

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I’d recommend purusing this brief piece by Varsity Tutors’ Dr. Anubodh “Sunny” Varshney regarding the benefits and drawbacks of taking a gap year before medical school. I should note that Dr. Varshney does not mention a gap year’s financial drawbacks, which can be significant.

I took an extra year (although it was during medical school, part of HMS’s 5-year plan) that grounded me and made me a more competitive emergency medicine applicant. If feasible, it’s a great opportunity.

 

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Medical School Personal Statement

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personal statement for medical school and medical school admissionsAs I mentioned in my penultimate (I love that word) blog entry, it’s time to get started on your medical school personal statement. We’ve talked about distinguishing yourself with your accomplishments. Now, let’s start at the top and briefly consider the intro.

Catching the reader’s attention is a way to make an excellent first impression and increase the odds that your essay will be read – not skimmed. Consider a topic that is distinctive to you that also demonstrates traits, talents, and/or perspective that other applicants might not have. I’ve read excellent essays that start with a description of applicants’ unique hobbies, international experiences, performances, and sports events. Note that these may seem to have nothing to do with medicine at first blush. However, once they are conveyed for a few sentences (not more!), the skilled writer can link the introductory stories to traits, talents, and/or perspective that make the writer a good match for medical school.

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How To Decide What Medical School is Right for You

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medical school application and medical school admissionsPre-meds, check out my latest guest entry on the Varsity Tutors’ blog about choosing the best med school for you. Many applicants find themselves ill-prepared to make a decision that will play such a major role in their professional and personal lives. Don’t let that be you!

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Call me anytime

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medical school application and residency applicationI recommend that if you have not heard from medical school, residency or fellowship programs to which you’ve applied, that you contact the institutions to inquire about your status.

After offering that advice to a client recently, she emailed me this week to say she obtained an interview in a competitive specialty with a call. Another said she received two preliminary interviews with simple emails. (I recommend calls over emails, however, because it’s hard to ignore someone on the other end of a phone line.

Still, if you simply can’t bring yourself to call, an email can be effective.) In years’ past I’ve seen this phone call strategy work for fellowship and medical school interviews as well.

Of course, if the school or program explicitly asks in written materials that you don’t contact them about your status, then calling is not a good idea.

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

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

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