how to prepare yourself?

[FutureDoctor06]

Upon further research on the application cycle, I want to know some tips on becoming a top applicant to the top medical schools. I want to be that guy that gets interviews to all these top schools and get some nice scholarships(I can dream). I wonder how I can go on to achieve this?

I am an incoming freshman and have heard of the importance of research and publications. How can I beef up my ECs and start getting into this stuff?

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[Gilakend]

If you scroll down the list of recent threads there's one called "Guide to being a successful freshman pre-med" or something like that. I personally found a ton of useful information in and let's you know how to really get off on the right foot.

 

[bee17]

General advice for your first semester:

• Prioritize your classes. Some students transition easily into college, while others find the classes overwhelming. There's no point in joining 10 different clubs if it causes your GPA to suffer. Ask for help if you need it: go to office hours, study sessions, and tutoring before the last two weeks of the semester.
• Find a volunteer activity that you enjoy. It does not have to be related to medicine, and no, volunteering in a research lab doesn't count. Your university may have a volunteer center that can help you get involved.
• Build relationships with your professors, particularly your science professors. This may lead to opportunities down the road, like hearing about openings in labs. You can talk to profs about research positions now if you want, but most people do not start research their very first semester.
• Have some fun! Make some new friends. Try something new. Start a new hobby. It's great to be driven and have goals, but don't overload yourself and burnout. During college, I've joined a random club sport (and loved it), had fun adventures with friends, and traveled overseas. Being serious about your future career doesn't mean you should skip out on fun undergrad experiences.

Good luck!

 

[efle]

Have you already done step 1 of going to an Ivy League or comparable undergrad? (only semi /s)

It's actually a pretty straightforward recipe. In order of importance (but basically all nescessary) for top med schools:

1) Get straight A's (big bonus if you do this at notorious/famous undergrad)
2) get a top couple percentile MCAT (unless you are a minority, then top 10% should be fine)
3) have productive research experience
4) have important people that you know well writing you strong letters
5) volunteer a lot
6) shadow a lot
7) have a hobby that shows you're human/interesting
8) for the extremely elite schools to be a good bet, you should get some university and/or national recognitions for elements of the above, especially famous awards like Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall etc

 

[endtheleftwing]

7) have a hobby that shows you're human/interesting

Would being a polyglot count (English/Amharic/Spanish/*Italian)?

 

[efle]

Would being a polyglot count (English/Amharic/Spanish/*Italian)?

Nope, were talking what you do for fun with free time that doesn't involve studying. Sports club, backpacking, robotics, chess tournaments, whatever. Languages are a boost especially Spanish but that is a separate plus to your app.

 

[grapp]

My goal is to have a ton and ton of shadowing/ volunteering hours.

 

[WedgeDawg]

My goal is to have a ton and ton of shadowing/ volunteering hours.

For pre-medical school purposes, shadowing is effectively useless after a certain point. Volunteering a lot is great, but just having a lot of hours of it isn't going to net you too many extra points outside of certain situations, particularly if you're counting on these two activities to get you into top schools.

 

[efle]

I believe Mimelim has stated that both shadowing and volunteering hit massive diminishing returns after a couple hundred hours. I most certainly am a cynic, but I really believe it's seen as a box checked for "can be around patients" / "knows what they're getting into" / "at least isn't not altruistic"

The only thing that seems to always be worth more effort is boosting your stats!

 

[Dr.Sticks]

Learn to manage your time well.
Top candidate has
Clinical Experience, Research Experience, Great Grades/MCAT, Leadership Experience, and a Niche
To do all of that in 4 years will require excellent time management skills.
I use a spreadsheet to mange my time/engagements. Working on building a calender

 

[gothicfoxes]

A strong foundation is good grades and a history of giving back to the community.

 

[Strudel19]

Research experience! Get bench research experience at the least and push to get some clinical research experience.