How to get in to Med School

[engldirections]

Freshman Year


1. Meet with pre-med advisor to introduce yourself and go over curriculum plan to make sure pre-med requirements will be filled. Keep in mind that GPA is extremely important to medical schools, moreso that other graduate school. A 3.7 is the average of admitted students, but other factors like MCAT score, extra-curriculars, letters of recommendation, and ability to communicate factor in as well.

2. Build relationships with professors by going to office hours to find mentors that could end up writing a strong letter of recommendation. At minimum, you will need at least 2 letters from science professors, one from a non-science professor, and one from a clinical experience.

3. Join a pre-health club such as the Pre-Med Society and a non-medical volunteering club such as Habitat for Humanity.

4. Volunteer weekly in a hospital position in which you have patient contact.

5. Scan the pages of faculty members to find a research project that you are interested in.

6. Email all professors about your interest in their lab, until someone offers you a position.


Summer in Between Freshman and Sophomore Year


1. Work in a meaningful clinical, volunteer, or research setting. Clinical shadowing, becoming an EMT, doing research on or off campus, or doing service trip abroad are a few activities that could qualify. Continuing the research started in freshman year is a good idea.

2. Find doctors to shadow. Medical schools want to make sure you actually know what being a doctor is like on a day-to-day basis.

3. Plan your courses for the following year, making sure you are completing pre-med requirements. Schedule at least 15-credit semesters.


Sophomore Year


1. Become an active member and propose new projects that you can lead.

2. Continue your research from last semester, with a focus on getting your name on a publication.

3. Continue to build relationships with your professors.

4. Ask for letters of recommendations of any professors that can speak to your work ethic, ability in their class, and personality.

5. IF NOT DONE SO ALREADY, take an EMT class, but continue hospital volunteering.

6. Apply to become a teaching assistant for the following semester.


Summer between Sophomore and Junior Year


1. Go on an international medical service trip for an extended period of time (around one month).

2. Pursue another meaningful clinical, research, or volunteering experience for the rest of the summer. Clinical experience is most important.

3. Research the medical school application process and the MCAT.


Fall Junior Year


1. Continue all clinical and volunteer activities from the previous semesters. If research is enjoyable, continue to do, although research is not as important as clinical and volunteer activities for general medical school admission.

2. Run for a leadership position in the clubs you are in.

3. Ask for letters of recommendations of any professors that can speak to your work ethic, ability in their class, and personality.

4. Schedule the MCAT for somewhere between February and June.

5. Block out around 3 months to study for the MCAT.

6. Schedule a light course load next semester to give time to study for the MCATs.

7. Write a first draft of your personal statement.


Spring Junior Year


1. Take a Kaplan or Princeton review MCAT review course.

2. Finalize your letters of recommendation.

3. Take the MCAT.

4. Research different medical schools on the basis of location, curriculum, demographics, residency matching, cost, MCAT, GPA etc.

5. Generate a rough list of about 20-25 schools to consider applying to.

6. Talk to as many medical students as possible at the schools you are considering applying to.


Summer Between Junior and Senior


1. Start the American Medical School College Application Service (AMCAS) application.

2. Submit the AMCAS by June- early July.

3. Find a meaningful experience that can be brought up in interviews.

4. Complete individual school secondary applications within 2-3 weeks of receiving them.


Note: Applying EARLY at every stage is extremely important. School offer secondary applications, which are required essays specific to that school, interview requests, and often times, admission on a rolling basis.


Senior Year


1. Continue your meaningful activities.

2. Schedule interviews as soon school send out requests.

3. Send out thank you notes to your interviewers after each interview.

4. Accept all admittance offers.

5. Make final decision about which school to go to.

6. Notify schools of your decision as well as your letter writers.

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[Goro]

Sounds like a plan to me!
Add: love what you do and do what you love.

Freshman Year


1. Meet with pre-med advisor to introduce yourself and go over curriculum plan to make sure pre-med requirements will be filled. Keep in mind that GPA is extremely important to medical schools, moreso that other graduate school. A 3.7 is the average of admitted students, but other factors like MCAT score, extra-curriculars, letters of recommendation, and ability to communicate factor in as well.

2. Build relationships with professors by going to office hours to find mentors that could end up writing a strong letter of recommendation. At minimum, you will need at least 2 letters from science professors, one from a non-science professor, and one from a clinical experience.

3. Join a pre-health club such as the Pre-Med Society and a non-medical volunteering club such as Habitat for Humanity.

4. Volunteer weekly in a hospital position in which you have patient contact.

5. Scan the pages of faculty members to find a research project that you are interested in.

6. Email all professors about your interest in their lab, until someone offers you a position.


Summer in Between Freshman and Sophomore Year


1. Work in a meaningful clinical, volunteer, or research setting. Clinical shadowing, becoming an EMT, doing research on or off campus, or doing service trip abroad are a few activities that could qualify. Continuing the research started in freshman year is a good idea.

2. Find doctors to shadow. Medical schools want to make sure you actually know what being a doctor is like on a day-to-day basis.

3. Plan your courses for the following year, making sure you are completing pre-med requirements. Schedule at least 15-credit semesters.


Sophomore Year


1. Become an active member and propose new projects that you can lead.

2. Continue your research from last semester, with a focus on getting your name on a publication.

3. Continue to build relationships with your professors.

4. Ask for letters of recommendations of any professors that can speak to your work ethic, ability in their class, and personality.

5. IF NOT DONE SO ALREADY, take an EMT class, but continue hospital volunteering.

6. Apply to become a teaching assistant for the following semester.


Summer between Sophomore and Junior Year


1. Go on an international medical service trip for an extended period of time (around one month).

2. Pursue another meaningful clinical, research, or volunteering experience for the rest of the summer. Clinical experience is most important.

3. Research the medical school application process and the MCAT.


Fall Junior Year


1. Continue all clinical and volunteer activities from the previous semesters. If research is enjoyable, continue to do, although research is not as important as clinical and volunteer activities for general medical school admission.

2. Run for a leadership position in the clubs you are in.

3. Ask for letters of recommendations of any professors that can speak to your work ethic, ability in their class, and personality.

4. Schedule the MCAT for somewhere between February and June.

5. Block out around 3 months to study for the MCAT.

6. Schedule a light course load next semester to give time to study for the MCATs.

7. Write a first draft of your personal statement.


Spring Junior Year


1. Take a Kaplan or Princeton review MCAT review course.

2. Finalize your letters of recommendation.

3. Take the MCAT.

4. Research different medical schools on the basis of location, curriculum, demographics, residency matching, cost, MCAT, GPA etc.

5. Generate a rough list of about 20-25 schools to consider applying to.

6. Talk to as many medical students as possible at the schools you are considering applying to.


Summer Between Junior and Senior


1. Start the American Medical School College Application Service (AMCAS) application.

2. Submit the AMCAS by June- early July.

3. Find a meaningful experience that can be brought up in interviews.

4. Complete individual school secondary applications within 2-3 weeks of receiving them.


Note: Applying EARLY at every stage is extremely important. School offer secondary applications, which are required essays specific to that school, interview requests, and often times, admission on a rolling basis.


Senior Year


1. Continue your meaningful activities.

2. Schedule interviews as soon school send out requests.

3. Send out thank you notes to your interviewers after each interview.

4. Accept all admittance offers.

5. Make final decision about which school to go to.

6. Notify schools of your decision as well as your letter writers.

 

[ski89]

It's as easy as.. 6+3+6+3+7+6+4+6!!

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Or, you could do less than half of all that crap and just do what you're actually passionate about. This is not the be-all, end-all list of things you MUST do to get accepted. Also, this "plan" does not account for non-traditional applicants at all, including those who become interested in medicine during junior or senior year of college or sometime post-undergrad.

 

[cryhavoc]

Yeah, if I had a time machine, this would be a great list to take back with me but I'm not traditional.

Luckily I still got research, volunteering, etc. but I really messed up the "making meaningful relationships with professors part".

Probably going to hurt me.

 

[MrLogan13]

I didn't do most of those things. lol

 

[mcloaf]

 

[Ace Khalifa]

This brings up another good point: where's the uniqueness aspect in this "plan?" Every cookie-cutter average premed does some level of clinical volunteering, research, nonmedical community service, etc. But that's not what's going to help them stand out from the crowd.

 

[allantois]

Good lord

 

[cryhavoc]

This brings up another good point: where's the uniqueness aspect in this "plan?" Every cookie-cutter average premed does some level of clinical volunteering, research, nonmedical community service, etc. But that's not what's going to help them stand out from the crowd.

So do we have to cure diseases, solve cold-case mysteries, publish books, etc. to make ourselves look unique? (extreme exaggeration that could be somewhat true one day)

I mean, as a student, who is expected to have good grades, volunteering, research, basically as required pre-reqs, etc. how much can any person sanely do on top of that to "stand out".

I mean, I take martial arts, like reading classical literature, and think old black and white movies are awesome, but that isn't helping me stand out in any way a medical school would find attractive.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

So do we have to cure diseases, solve cold-case mysteries, publish books, etc. to make ourselves look unique? (extreme exaggeration that could be somewhat true one day)

I mean, as a student, who is expected to have good grades, volunteering, research, basically as required pre-reqs, etc. how much can any person sanely do on top of that to "stand out".

I mean, I take martial arts, like reading classical literature, and think old black and white movies are awesome, but that isn't helping me stand out in any way a medical school would find attractive.

You should list your hobbies anyway. I think you can get the most mileage out of your martial arts as it takes discipline and lots of training, right? Definitely not an activity that most premeds do.

 

[eatingcake]

So do we have to cure diseases, solve cold-case mysteries, publish books, etc. to make ourselves look unique? (extreme exaggeration that could be somewhat true one day)

I mean, as a student, who is expected to have good grades, volunteering, research, basically as required pre-reqs, etc. how much can any person sanely do on top of that to "stand out".

I mean, I take martial arts, like reading classical literature, and think old black and white movies are awesome, but that isn't helping me stand out in any way a medical school would find attractive.

It sounds like you're tired of being hit over the head with the unique stick. But really, if you dig into your studies, research and volunteer work and rock them, you WILL be a standout. Some applicants may have other *UnIqUe* things that they can market themselves on, but no one way is better than another. If you kick azz at what you do, you will be noticed. Fewer people truly kick azz than you might think.

Also, talk about your martial arts and classical lit, for the love of god! At least in your interviews! That stuff is ripe with material (discipline, self-control, commitment, intellectual curiosity, depth/breadth of interests, and so on).

 

[TxC]

So ambitious. I guess my premed life was very unstructured hahaha...

 

[stealth vector01]

Freshman Year


1. Meet with pre-med advisor to introduce yourself and go over curriculum plan to make sure pre-med requirements will be filled. Keep in mind that GPA is extremely important to medical schools, moreso that other graduate school. A 3.7 is the average of admitted students, but other factors like MCAT score, extra-curriculars, letters of recommendation, and ability to communicate factor in as well.

2. Build relationships with professors by going to office hours to find mentors that could end up writing a strong letter of recommendation. At minimum, you will need at least 2 letters from science professors, one from a non-science professor, and one from a clinical experience.

3. Join a pre-health club such as the Pre-Med Society and a non-medical volunteering club such as Habitat for Humanity.

4. Volunteer weekly in a hospital position in which you have patient contact.

5. Scan the pages of faculty members to find a research project that you are interested in.

6. Email all professors about your interest in their lab, until someone offers you a position.


Summer in Between Freshman and Sophomore Year


1. Work in a meaningful clinical, volunteer, or research setting. Clinical shadowing, becoming an EMT, doing research on or off campus, or doing service trip abroad are a few activities that could qualify. Continuing the research started in freshman year is a good idea.

2. Find doctors to shadow. Medical schools want to make sure you actually know what being a doctor is like on a day-to-day basis.

3. Plan your courses for the following year, making sure you are completing pre-med requirements. Schedule at least 15-credit semesters.


Sophomore Year


1. Become an active member and propose new projects that you can lead.

2. Continue your research from last semester, with a focus on getting your name on a publication.

3. Continue to build relationships with your professors.

4. Ask for letters of recommendations of any professors that can speak to your work ethic, ability in their class, and personality.

5. IF NOT DONE SO ALREADY, take an EMT class, but continue hospital volunteering.

6. Apply to become a teaching assistant for the following semester.


Summer between Sophomore and Junior Year


1. Go on an international medical service trip for an extended period of time (around one month).

2. Pursue another meaningful clinical, research, or volunteering experience for the rest of the summer. Clinical experience is most important.

3. Research the medical school application process and the MCAT.


Fall Junior Year


1. Continue all clinical and volunteer activities from the previous semesters. If research is enjoyable, continue to do, although research is not as important as clinical and volunteer activities for general medical school admission.

2. Run for a leadership position in the clubs you are in.

3. Ask for letters of recommendations of any professors that can speak to your work ethic, ability in their class, and personality.

4. Schedule the MCAT for somewhere between February and June.

5. Block out around 3 months to study for the MCAT.

6. Schedule a light course load next semester to give time to study for the MCATs.

7. Write a first draft of your personal statement.


Spring Junior Year


1. Take a Kaplan or Princeton review MCAT review course.

2. Finalize your letters of recommendation.

3. Take the MCAT.

4. Research different medical schools on the basis of location, curriculum, demographics, residency matching, cost, MCAT, GPA etc.

5. Generate a rough list of about 20-25 schools to consider applying to.

6. Talk to as many medical students as possible at the schools you are considering applying to.


Summer Between Junior and Senior


1. Start the American Medical School College Application Service (AMCAS) application.

2. Submit the AMCAS by June- early July.

3. Find a meaningful experience that can be brought up in interviews.

4. Complete individual school secondary applications within 2-3 weeks of receiving them.


Note: Applying EARLY at every stage is extremely important. School offer secondary applications, which are required essays specific to that school, interview requests, and often times, admission on a rolling basis.


Senior Year


1. Continue your meaningful activities.

2. Schedule interviews as soon school send out requests.

3. Send out thank you notes to your interviewers after each interview.

4. Accept all admittance offers.

5. Make final decision about which school to go to.

6. Notify schools of your decision as well as your letter writers.

-------------------------------------------
Speaking as a resident in a surgical sub-specialty, I think the above post is a good template. Everyone has different variations. Mine was somewhat similar.

I'll share some observations/reflections:

Its important to have a template or plan, timeline.

Its also important to focus on making sure medicine is something you want to do, and proving it to the best of your ability to yourself, and eventually to the interview you committee. That where experiences come in.Make sure the experience answers your question, or builds your interest. When you answer the question its easy to tell who took the decision seriously.

Also keep in mind its somewhat of a numbers game, the gpa and mcat will help with meeting the min reqs for being eligible for an interview. There are a lot of proactive things one can do to help with that, in addition to studying hard and responsibly. Never Cheat (if or when you do..you will be caught... and it gets reported on your transcript... and try to explain that to a panel of interviewers who want someone trust worthy and who will uphold the integrity of the field).
Never be afraid to ask for help
get multiple sources of guidance (some people may not know as well or others, and others may discourage or mislead you..and some may be great sources of info).


hope some of this helps.

 

[Doug Underhill]

This is a good guide for the bare minimum things that admissions committees require. However, none of it will really make you stand out.

 

[Boolean]

This is a good guide for the bare minimum things that admissions committees require. However, none of it will really make you stand out.

This. Following this will make you avoid standing out.

 

[crossfit4lyfe]

I didn't realize I wanted med school until I was a junior. I havent done half of this, and I was accepted to my top choice yesterday

 

[EvenStevens]

Way too cookie cutter , wheres the summer devoted to netflix marathons?

 

[Hospitalized]

I'll stick to my non-traditional ways that involve a gap year. 15 years from now I'll agree with me and be happy I did it.

 

[Hockeyguy]

From someone who's been there done that and helped many others.

1) Get a 3.8 or higher - in whatever major you choose. If your going to major in Art ace your prereqs.
2) Work your ass for the MCAT. It's six months of your life but a great score opens so many more doors.
3) Get letter from actual MDs. The PhD teaching O-chem has no idea what it takes to take of a septic dying patient at 3 AM. The letters matter but not as much as you think.
4) Be yourself nothing is more off putting than some punk that is "playing the part" in an attempt to gain admission.

Disclaimer: I was on adcom for several years.

 

[alphamine]

@Goro @Ace Khalifa .. Do you guys still agree with this?

 

[Ace Khalifa]

@Goro @Ace Khalifa .. Do you guys still agree with this?

Uhhhh I didn't do like most of those things lololol. Still got into med school lololol. Getting into med school ain't worth a damn if it requires you to become a gunner to do so, which is what OP's post implies. The interviewees I met on the interview I liked the most were the super chill, not gunner-ish, "medicine's cool but it's not gonna consume my life" people who probably didn't do all those things.

 

[gyngyn]

3) Get letter from actual MDs.
.

We have found physicians to be congenitally incapable of anything but glowing LOR's that no one on my committee pays the least attention to. "Shadowing" letters are particularly unhelpful.
Combine that with the proportion obtained from a parent's colleague and I would stick with strong PhD letters...

 

[Ace Khalifa]

We have found physicians to be congenitally incapable of anything but glowing LOR's that no one on my committee pays the least attention to. "Shadowing" letters are particularly unhelpful.
Combine that with the proportion obtained from a parent's colleague and I would stick with strong PhD letters...

Oops, I had 2 of those mixed in with 4 undergrad prof letters all under committee letter. Still got accepted, tho lololol.

 

[Hospitalized]

We have found physicians to be congenitally incapable of anything but glowing LOR's that no one on my committee pays the least attention to. "Shadowing" letters are particularly unhelpful.
Combine that with the proportion obtained from a parent's colleague and I would stick with strong PhD letters...

Even a letter from a physician that an applicant has frequently scribed for?

 

[gyngyn]

Even a letter from a physician that an applicant has frequently scribed for?

Can he substantively write a letter that addresses these elements? https://www.aamc.org/download/349990/data/lettersguidelinesbrochure.pdf
Or would he only realistically be able to say that you quickly and unobtrusively recorded what was required of you?

Some DO schools do request physician letters, though.

 

[Goro]

I disagree with parts of this:

A 3.6+ is fine.
1) Get a 3.8 or higher - in whatever major you choose. If your going to major in Art ace your prereqs.

See gyngyn's post above. MD or DO LORs are routine in saying "X is a nice guy/gal". 100% uninformative.
3) Get letter from actual MDs. The PhD teaching O-chem has no idea what it takes to take of a septic dying patient at 3 AM. The letters matter but not as much as you think.

Back to the OP. After re-reading, I strongly disagree with the below. This is medical tourism, and we look down upon it. Better to go abroad and actually do something like dig water wells or teach, but have a LOR to back it up too. Otherwise we'll think that you just went back to the old country to visit Nana/Abuela/Ajima.

1. Go on an international medical service trip for an extended period of time (around one month).

I still agree with the OP; I do NOT think it sets up one to be a "cookie cutter." Like anything else in life, you get out of your pre-med career what you put into it.

 

[Stumpyman]

We have found physicians to be congenitally incapable of anything but glowing LOR's that no one on my committee pays the least attention to. "Shadowing" letters are particularly unhelpful.
Combine that with the proportion obtained from a parent's colleague and I would stick with strong PhD letters...

Hmm, do you think a letter from an ER doc you worked as a scribe for would be beneficial?

I feel there are at least a couple docs (though I'd only ask one of them) that would write me a pretty great LOR based on my work as a scribe. In terms of shadowing, there really isn't much to say, but a job with responsibilities could certainly give some insight to the adcom (I would imagine).

 

[gyngyn]

Hmm, do you think a letter from an ER doc you worked as a scribe for would be beneficial?

I feel there are at least a couple docs (though I'd only ask one of them) that would write me a pretty great LOR based on my work as a scribe. In terms of shadowing, there really isn't much to say, but a job with responsibilities could certainly give some insight to the adcom (I would imagine).

Not likely. Just list it in Work and Activities with the doc as the contact.

 

[radiologyology]

I wasn't set on medical school until I was finishing up my senior year. Sure, those steps will help you, but don't do them solely to get into medical school. Do what you enjoy and work hard.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Don't know why people are bashing this. It is a very good template for someone thinking about what they should be doing to get into medical school. I wish I had something like this as a freshmen.

Only mistake I see is the getting letters from MDs thing. Shouldn't do that.

 

[ridethecliche]

Be more neurotic op. Plz.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I disagree with parts of this:


See gyngyn's post above. MD or DO LORs are routine in saying "X is a nice guy/gal". 100% uninformative.
3) Get letter from actual MDs. The PhD teaching O-chem has no idea what it takes to take of a septic dying patient at 3 AM. The letters matter but not as much as you think.

Even if it is uninformative, would a generic DO "Nice guy/gal" letter is still good to have when applying to Osteopathic schools?

 

[Goro]

Ahh! This shows the applicant went the extra yard to find a DO. Thus, this always helps.

Even if it is uninformative, would a generic DO "Nice guy/gal" letter is still good to have when applying to Osteopathic schools?