Application Stage

[AA|FCB|DOC]

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Well as all pre meds know each step of your time as a pre med student you come up against an obstacle that can be quite overwhelming. I just took my MCAT last week and although no one has guaranteed that I will be done for good, here comes the next stage: Applications. Sorry to vent, but where do I start? Two things that really worry me are personal statements, and the letter of recommendations. How are/did you guys prepare for either of these? For letter of recommendations I am having quite a hard time because of two reasons. One is because I am a very independent student. I got good grades throughout my classes, but did not really spend a lot of time in office hours. The other issue is that I went to community college for two years so would a letter of recommendation from my community college professors be as worthy? I did had more interaction with them simply on the basis that CC classes are much smaller. In either case any help from you guys would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[mimelim]

Well as all pre meds know each step of your time as a pre med student you come up against an obstacle that can be quite overwhelming. I just took my MCAT last week and although no one has guaranteed that I will be done for good, here comes the next stage: Applications. Sorry to vent, but where do I start? Two things that really worry me are personal statements, and the letter of recommendations. How are/did you guys prepare for either of these? For letter of recommendations I am having quite a hard time because of two reasons. One is because I am a very independent student. I got good grades throughout my classes, but did not really spend a lot of time in office hours. The other issue is that I went to community college for two years so would a letter of recommendation from my community college professors be as worthy? I did had more interaction with them simply on the basis that CC classes are much smaller. In either case any help from you guys would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Personal statements:
Answer the questions, "Why do you want to go to medical school?" and, "Why should we accept you instead of someone with identical stats?" Brainstorm ideas and put together a well reasoned, thoughtful argument. That is your starting point. Then get idea feedback and make sure someone edits it.

LOR:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=985472

If you have questions, I will try to help.

 

[Guero]

Personal statements:
Answer the questions, "Why do you want to go to medical school?" and, "Why should we accept you instead of someone with identical stats?" Brainstorm ideas and put together a well reasoned, thoughtful argument. That is your starting point. Then get idea feedback and make sure someone edits it.

LOR:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=985472

If you have questions, I will try to help.

Beat me to it.

 

[mimelim]

 

[AA|FCB|DOC]

thanks for the links! I am ganna take a look at them and ask if I have any further questions

 

[AA|FCB|DOC]

Personal statements:
Answer the questions, "Why do you want to go to medical school?" and, "Why should we accept you instead of someone with identical stats?" Brainstorm ideas and put together a well reasoned, thoughtful argument. That is your starting point. Then get idea feedback and make sure someone edits it.

LOR:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=985472

If you have questions, I will try to help.

Thanks for your help. So I just read your post in the LOR thread. What would you recommend for me at this point based on what I said about my situation. Unfortunately, as I was reading the last part about planting seeds, I thought to myself "crap, did not really do that early on". Now I feel like I am caught in a situation where I do not what to do exactly. Those relationships are sort of hard to obtain so quickly :/

 

[AA|FCB|DOC]

any other input?

 

[earf]

any other input?

Planting seeds is crucial in obtaining a LOR. If you didn't do that, then I would say just email professors who you received an A in her/his class asking to meet with you for advice on grad/med school applications. Then you make the big ask (and be prepared with that packet from the other thread). You can also be more direct and just ask for a LOR via a well written email and then send that email (tailored to make it unique of course) to multiple professors.

And yes, you can ask your CC professor even though it probably won't hold as much weight as your undergrad one. I would suggest asking mentors/faculty/professors/etc who know you well rather than asking someone who has status but doesn't know you well, but either one would technically work.

 

[ventulus18]

Personal statement : Start writing each day. Don't assume you will get the whole thing done in a day or two or three. Slowly chip away at it. Your essay will start to take shape over time, not in a single setting. Being overwhelmed is natural and should be acknowledged. Consistent effort at the essay will help to eliminate this feeling that inhibits productivity. Try a few different essay themes from the popular choices. Ignore grammer/syntax at first. There is plenty of time before June, so get started today!

 

[AA|FCB|DOC]

ok, thank you for the advice. I will start practicing the PS now. AS for the LOR I think I will give a couple of my professors an email soon. Just have to think how to word it exactly.

 

[Greedo]

This thread was really helpful to me because I'm applying this year too and I haven't started writing my PS or asking for LORs. I want to submit my primary application by June 10th or so, to be in the first wave that goes out on June 28th. But just to clarify, my LORs can be submitted later than June 10th and the application will still be processed, right? I'm confused because I've read some posts on SDN where it seems like you have to have everything in, including LORs, when you submit your primary app. I'm not comfortable asking my writers to be done by June 10th since I haven't even asked them yet...

 

[Mornhavon]

.

 

[Greedo]

Greedo, ask for LOR's immediately. Trust me.

I will, but now I'm wondering if it's already too late to have my application in early. If LORs can be submitted after the primary application is sent out, then I should be ok. But if not, then maybe it would be better to delay my application a year and ask for letters earlier next year (I have other reasons to delay too).

 

[Quizlet04]

Incidentally, if you want to do something every day and feel like you're getting something done, put in a semester's worth of classes from your official transcript or work on one box in your extra curriculars. Start with the low-hanging application fruit.

This way, even when you're on your fourth re-write and thinking that you should hire a ghostwriter, you will be able to say, "hey! I also made sure freshman year courses were correct".

This is how I wrote my thesis, so I should know. 😎

 

[AA|FCB|DOC]

Hey greedo you actually do not need to have the lor in your app by the primary. You can send when secondaries come in too. But I'm not sure if you have same problem as me when it comes to asking. I didn't know being an independent student could end up hurting you in the long run :/

 

[AA|FCB|DOC]

had a random question and did not want to make a new thread. When you send in your transcripts to the medical schools, do they see your specific teachers that you had for the classes? Also, in general lets say you apply to a school and they reject you and tell you the application flaws, you come back and reapply, do they frown upon your application the second time just because you were rejected once? thanks in advance.

 

[dahassa]

had a random question and did not want to make a new thread. When you send in your transcripts to the medical schools, do they see your specific teachers that you had for the classes? Also, in general lets say you apply to a school and they reject you and tell you the application flaws, you come back and reapply, do they frown upon your application the second time just because you were rejected once? thanks in advance.

They see your official transcript, which generally includes course number, professor, course title, credits and grade. For right now, you are ONLY sending your transcripts to AMCAS. Once you are accepted, you then send a copy to your respective school.

If a schools tells you to fix a problem (low MCAT for example), and you improve then you should def reapply. If anything, I'm sure a lot of schools would appreciate your hardwork, perseverance, and strong interest in the school. Furthermore, you fixed the main issues so, if anything, your application should be stronger.

However, if the problem was not fixable (DUI, D in orgo, conduct violation at undergrad, ect) then its really not worth it to apply again.

 

[AA|FCB|DOC]

They see your official transcript, which generally includes course number, professor, course title, credits and grade. For right now, you are ONLY sending your transcripts to AMCAS. Once you are accepted, you then send a copy to your respective school.

If a schools tells you to fix a problem (low MCAT for example), and you improve then you should def reapply. If anything, I'm sure a lot of schools would appreciate your hardwork, perseverance, and strong interest in the school. Furthermore, you fixed the main issues so, if anything, your application should be stronger.

However, if the problem was not fixable (DUI, D in orgo, conduct violation at undergrad, ect) then its really not worth it to apply again.

Thanks for the input!