Hi! Future MS1 here. I wish you all the best of lucks in this process.
I know it's still early, but I wanted to hop on and give you guys some pointers that I wished I'd known when I was applying to UPR-SOM.
It took me a while to disvover SDN, so kudos to all of you who are already here.
1. Submit applications as early as possible. Don't wait too long to do it as it can delay your interview and acceptance.
2. With COVID-19 disrupting in-person services across the UPR system and many other universities, I'm not aware how LORs will be managed. UPR-SOM demands that students submit their LORs via mail since they don't use the AMCAS LOR system. Because of this, I strongly encourage everybody to contact professors as early as possible so you can get all the letters you need prior to the deadline date. Missing documentation will delay the processing of your record at the school. Even if the process is moved online, as the semester kicks in, professors have less time to sit down and work on letters, so try to catch them before tests and projects begin.
3. Write your AMCAS personal comments essay with time and have it peer reviewed by professors or mentors, if possible. Allow yourself time to work on it and improve it prior to submission. Remember this is the essay where you explain why medicine is the career path for you. Dig deep inside yourselves to understand your motivations for applying to medical school.
4. UPR-SOM requires that candidates bring a porfolio to the interview process. The portfolio is something you should focus on ONCE you are done with your applications. I will link a video from another MS1 student, Tatiana Polanco, where she goes into detail on what the portfolio should have prior to the interview date. This is a general guide, you don't have to make yours look exactly like hers.
Throughout the semester more people will join the thread and more questions will come up, but for now I hope this will help some of you. Feel free to ask anything that you would like to know. Again, I wish you the best of lucks and don't let the COVID-19 pandemic lead you astray from your dreams!
