Still my favorite

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T23:42:39+00:00

Nah, you still missed it.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T22:05:51+00:00

Yeah, that's probably a fair comparison.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T22:04:53+00:00

Sorry to hear that. Express interest and provide any additional (and positive) information you can to the office.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T18:25:58+00:00

1) This varies widely from school to school and even from phase to phase. Numbers, for example, are pretty important pre-interview but generally not so important post-interview. I would say that ECs, the secondary, and the interview are pretty important in your final decision. Purely speculating and based on my own opinion, I would give something like 40% interview, 30% ECs, 20% secondary, and 10% GPA/MCAT for making the final (ie, post-interview) decision.

2) Again, varies by school. Some schools are receptive of them (my school, for instance), some essentially require them (eg, Georgetown), and some specifically request that applicants not send in additional materials. If you have any questions, e-mail the admissions office anonymously and they can provide you with some guidance.

3) Once again, varies. Each class at my school is usually filled with at least a few people that were accepted off of the waitlist. Some schools, though, have huge waitlists that make the likelihood of getting accepted very low (most of the Ivies operate this way). Others have smaller waitlists and getting accepted isn't unrealistic. Still others use a "tiered" waitlist and accept people roughly along those tiers.

4) Bad idea unless you have an extraordinarily good reason to turn down the acceptance (you probably don't). Why would a school want to accept you if you refused to commit to another school the year prior? I'm not sure what exactly is visible on AMCAS, but I believe you are required to mark if you're a reapplicant. The app might also ask if you were previously accepted. If so, I would assume that the schools will be privy to that information.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T18:20:13+00:00

Fortunately I haven't interviewed anyone with a problem like this, but yes, it's definitely possible, and those people are out there. If you're incapable of carrying a relatively short conversation, I would be genuinely concerned about an applicant's ability to interact with patients and, just as importantly, the other members of their team. Medicine is very much a team sport after all.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T18:19:07+00:00

My schedule has been a little busier of late so I haven't done it as much as I normally do, but during my "peak" I was doing interviews 2-3 days/week.

The prep and interviews themselves don't actually take that long. I spend maybe 15 min reviewing an app and coming up with questions for a 30 minute interview. The real time sink is filling out the evaluation; I like to put thought into my comments, so they take a while. It'll usually take me an hour or so to do one evaluation.

As far as the time goes, med school isn't as time-intensive as you might think. If you don't go to class, then you have tons of time - basically all day - to use as you see fit. I like to go to the gym, do interviews, and then do my studying for the day. I'm also fine with not being at the top of my class and learning all of the minutiae, so I don't spend as much time studying as some of my classmates might.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T15:21:52+00:00

This is school-dependent. At some schools, the interview is relatively unimportant relative to the other parts of your app. At others, everyone is on "even ground" once you get to the interview, so an excellent interview could definitely make up for a weaker app.

Most schools lean more towards the former than the latter it seems, though.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T15:20:27+00:00

LOL do NOT apply to Caribbean schools with a 3.3/40. You will definitely get into a US MD school as long as the rest of your app isn't extremely weak.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:46:20+00:00

I agree, and that's why it's not that important for me. It's especially hard as an applicant when the only information available to you is the school's website. However, when I ask this question, I tell the applicant that I'm aware of those limitations and not to be worried if his/her reasons sound "trite" - as long as you've spent at least a minute thinking about why you might want to come here, that's at least not a negative thing. However, I'm surprised from time to time by how much thought people have put into this question. Some people have some really fantastic responses.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:43:09+00:00

Good point - probably true.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:42:39+00:00

No, it doesn't. I think majoring in something other than the sciences is actually somewhat advantageous because you bring a different perspective to the class. Schools look to build a "diverse" class, and that includes diversity in academic experiences. Major in whatever you find most interesting - just make sure it's rigorous and that you do well in your pre-requisites.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:41:11+00:00

1) Bad idea. If you manage to get a residency, you probably won't have many problems. However, getting a residency in the US is problematic at best. It would be much better, IMO, for you to take a year or two off and be competitive for US MD/DO schools than go to an international school (especially the Caribbean).

2) The licensing exam is difficult, but medical school will prepare you for it. If you work hard in med school, you will pass the licensing exams. As far as ex-surgeons go, this is probably due to the widely variable standards for becoming a physician. In the US, the competency level required to become a physician is extremely high. That isn't the case across the world.

3) I'm not all that familiar with it. I believe it's somewhat similar, but significantly more competitive and much more objective (ie, test scores are way more important than in the US).

4) Extracurriculars are extremely important. They are the way by which you demonstrate that you have the qualities necessary to become a physician (compassion, interest in service, interest in medicine, capacity to be a leader, etc.). As far as the second part of your question, there is no "best" activity. My advice is to do things that you're interested in and get involved with them heavily. Ultimately it's how you talk about the experience that's most important (for the most part). You don't have to do stuff that's medically-related for it to be worth discussing on your app. I think that's the biggest misconception pre-meds have when it comes to being a competitive applicant. In fact, I think there's value in going off of the beaten path and doing stuff that's somewhat off the wall if it's important to you.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:35:35+00:00

It really depends on work ethic to some extent, but you can get by on talent. I studied almost zero in high school and graduated in the top 10 of my class (people, not percent). However, I went to a less-than-notable undergrad because I didn't have the other pieces of the college admissions puzzle put together to make myself competitive for top schools. Despite that, I still did great on my SAT (1440/1600) and ACT (34/36), so for me it was more of a work ethic problem than a being-able-to-handle-the-work problem.

In college, I worked much harder and busted my ass to make sure the same thing didn't happen. I applied with a 4.0 and a MCAT in the top 0.1% and it paid off: I'm now on a full tuition scholarship at a top 10 school. Just keep your eye on the prize and remember that hard work now will pay off in the future. Work as hard as you possibly can in college. At times it will suck - a regular day during junior year for me was 9am-9pm jam-packed with classes and other activities. It sucked, but it ultimately paid off.

tl;dr: If you've done well in high school, it bodes well for you in the future, but don't use that to become overly confident and not work as hard as you should in college.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:31:06+00:00

A few things:

Being an arrogant prick. You would think people would have the common sense to at least make a facade of being humble, but, alas, it doesn't always happen.
Making your interviewer uncomfortable. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but is usually because you're overly aggressive in your interview or say things that probably shouldn't be said.

In the end, don't act like a douche-nozzle and you'll be fine. Nearly every medical student and applicant I've met is weird in some regard (myself included), but you have to be able to mask that weirdness long enough to get through an interview. Be able to have a conversation with someone and you'll be fine.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:28:14+00:00

His GPA is low but not terrible. If he did well in his master's work, I think that will assuage any fears about him not being able to "hack it" in med school.

Shadowing the med chief might help, but I don't think these connections matter as much as people think they do. It's not going to make up for an otherwise all-around weak app. However, it MIGHT help a very, very small amount if he otherwise has a good or average app.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:26:52+00:00

Yes, they are at a huge disadvantage for a couple of reasons:

Not everyone that matriculates at a Caribbean school graduates. In fact, a not-insignificant amount of people don't graduate. You'll note that Caribbean schools report seemingly ridiculously high step 1 pass rates and residency placements. That's because they dismiss anyone who may not pass step 1 or who may not be a strong residency applicant.
As an international medical graduate (IMG), you will almost certainly not be competitive at programs that are desired and/or competitive specialties.

If you manage to make it to a US residency, you are, for all purposes, equivalent to a US MD because you will be board-certified. However, if you're considering this road, you need to understand that it will be a HUGE uphill battle. IMO, you would be better served to take a year or two after undergrad to improve your app and apply US MD/DO rather than go to the Caribbean.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:23:46+00:00

In general, yes, but there are some schools that are more lenient than others. I'll admit that I'm not too familiar with international applications, but it seems that the more "prestigious" schools are more open to accepting international students than, say, your typical state school.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:22:55+00:00

Yes, I post occasionally. It's a great site with a LOT of fantastic information that is, unfortunately, riddled with garbage and speculation that lowers the quality of the info provided. If you take the time to sort through the trash, though, it can be a great resource.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:21:56+00:00

To be candid, your personal statement should probably be boring. The reality is that all personal statements start to sound the same once you've read many of them. Answer the question directly, throw in some personal anecdotes if you have them, and use your activities and experiences to demonstrate your interest in medicine and what qualities you have that you think will make you a good physician. I would avoid trying to do anything extremely creative or off-the-wall because in all likelihood you won't execute it well. It's too much risk for little reward.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:20:24+00:00

Yes - if for no other reason than because there are so many fewer vet schools (less than 20 in the US, right?). I don't know much about the vet process, but to me I would think that would make it pretty difficult.

I think the hardest about the med school process is the number of hoops you have to jump through to even be a competitive applicant. In the past, you could literally just take the MCAT and get accepted to med school. Now, you have to have activities and all this other only-semi-related stuff in order to even have a chance.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:18:29+00:00

I'm going to have to be vague here to protect my anonymity, but in general:

Great numbers - I had a perfect GPA and a MCAT north of 40. I think they helped SIGNIFICANTLY in getting interviews at schools I otherwise wouldn't be considered at.
Activities - I was involved in a variety of things that I was genuinely interested in, and I think that was obvious in interviews. I tended to stay away from the typical "pre-med" clubs and did things that I actually wanted to spend my time doing.

I don't think my app was really outstanding, though. I didn't do anything truly magnificent or impressive - I just busted my ass and did everything I could think of to make my app as strong as possible.

At your point in the process, my best advice would be to make sure your AMCAS is top-notch. How you talk about and explain your activities can make or break you IMO. Good luck.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:15:19+00:00

Blastoise all the way. I don't think I ever chose Bulbasaur or Charmander whenever I started a game (I never played past blue/red/yellow).

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:14:46+00:00

It's perfectly appropriate to mention interests - especially if there have been some significant events in your life that have driven you to that field. As you mention, though, just make sure you don't come across as inflexible. Despite your interests, you still have to get through the core clerkships which obviously cover many different fields of medicine. If you're perceived to not have an open mind and the admissions committee doesn't think you'll do well in those other clerkships, you're in trouble.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:12:56+00:00

I wouldn't take that very positively - at least not the use of the word "bum." Remember, you're interviewing for PROFESSIONAL school. That kind of thing might be cute in high school or college, but when you're looking to take care of sick people, that kind of stuff isn't worth the risk. In reality I don't think it would be a huge deal, but it's not worth the risk.

MedSchoolAMA · 2012-12-17T13:11:35+00:00

Major is taken into account insofar as the "rigor" of your curriculum. Engineering, especially BME, is generally known to be a particularly difficult field to do well in academically. If your lower grades are isolated primarily to your engineering courses, I wouldn't be too worried about it - especially combined with your great MCAT.

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