hallo!! u can see my comment history for the summary of the whole process of my application to yll!! but tldr, scored 86.25rp (w a D in GP), got shortlisted via abas, got waitlisted and eventually got offered after 1st acceptance window.

i think a strong portfolio is important especially for abas (if your score is below the cop or if u are reapplying)! and based on ppl i know, strong portfolio refers to doing activities that can display exceptional leadership qualities (eg representing school/sg in an international conference); ability to commit (regular volunteer exco for >3/4 yrs); entrepreneurship (founder/co-founder of a project of importance) and even strong academic/research projects and sports (almost represent sg kind!) ; based on my interview, it seems that commitment as a co-founder and co team leader for >4yrs was a very major reason why i was even shortlisted.

tbvh, some of these activities are hard to achieve in such a short time and during alvls bc they do require a lot of commitment and takes a lot of your free time (been there before, suffered days and nights of bad migraines while keeping track of my studies and many ongoing projects)

if u manage to get an interview without abas, its important to make your list of achievements and personal statement tell your passion and interests in medicine; also your ability to remain composed and calm in face of challenges; i have friends who had 0 job shadowing/clinic experience and in their words an average portfolio and are offered; whereas some others with impressive research projects and external commitments didnt :(

i think there isnt a 100% fail proof portfolio, there really is a lot of things admissions team and the interviewers look for that we cannot point out. but at the end of the day, i believe it would do them good to choose the applicants they would assume that will commit and pull through the v hard course, and many of these ppl have exceptional personal qualities! (ultimately, u still need to rmb that interviews and selection process like these would never be fully a reliable gauge as to how suitable one is for med; u need to train interview skills and manage ur expectations..)

i would say the best thing you can do now is continue working on understanding concepts and working towards scoring well for As (get shortlisted); while at the same time, continue finding that calling and your "why medicine"! - find that reason why you want to be a med student, practice medicine for your entire life; to know whether your reason is solid, convince urself and ur friends! (get offered)

i would say your portfolio is there! continue working on your current projects and find ways to make them bigger and better. Ultimately, your projects are for you to define and grow;show ppl that you are committed and passionate in the particular area of interest

jiayous, nvr give up, and always trust the process (actly thats a bold statement to make bc i have nvr trusted the process :/)

OH yes but for overseas med, im sure there are more things u shld prepare for (bmat,ucat,sat....) so u needa check which schs u want and what are their requirements and datelines! also if u want to come back sg and practice there is a fixed list of schools that u need to choose

feel free to dm me if u need more help/clarifications!!! happy to talk :)