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I wrote this late last night and I think it deserves its own thread:
There really is nothing random about medical admissions:
Take an average to heavy load each term and earn an excellent gpa.
Do exceptionally well on the MCAT
Be memorable in a good way so that you get strong letters of recommendation from people who can give specific examples of how you stand out as a student, investigator, employee, volunteer, etc.
Medicine's foundation is scientific inquiry. Get a better understanding of how scientific progress is made by being involved in research for at least 10 weeks of full time or a year of part-time work (look at the MSAR for the proportion of students at each school that have research experience, it is very high). Schools that are reserach powerhouses are most interested in students who might be interested in engaging in research during their medical school training and not doing research before matriculation is considered a predictor of choosing to not to do it after matriculation into med school.
Medicine is a service profession so demonstrate your willingness to serve others by providing direct service to those in need in your community (ideal) or in places outside of your immediate area (a good adjunct to service in your own geographic area).
If you are going to invest 4 years and more than $100,000 in a medical degree, you should have some idea about what to expect in your career: the joys and the sorrows, the aggravations and the frustrations. This usually means spending some time along side physicians as fellow team members (for example, working as an emergency room scribe, interpreter or as an office assistant), shadowing, or long term volunteering in the same room as the physician. How do physicians in various specialties spend there time? What proportion of one's professional time is spent directly with patients vs the amount of time spent on tasks out of the patients' view? How does the physician achieve lifelong learning? What are some of the current models for delivering care and how might those change in the future? Can you see yourself living that life?
Medicine is a team endeavor and so it is helpful to demonstrate that you are a team player and someone who can be a contributing member of a group and, ideally, someone who is comfortable taking a leadership role in some endeavors.
Finally, it helps to be personable. This means being friendly, respectful, calming, courteous, cheerful, involved in interesting activities outside of school or work and interested in the interests and experiences of others (willing to be listener as well as a speaker in a conversation).
There are few perfect candidates but there are more than enough who seem to have at least a good blend of the attributes we seek.
There really is nothing random about medical admissions:
Take an average to heavy load each term and earn an excellent gpa.
Do exceptionally well on the MCAT
Be memorable in a good way so that you get strong letters of recommendation from people who can give specific examples of how you stand out as a student, investigator, employee, volunteer, etc.
Medicine's foundation is scientific inquiry. Get a better understanding of how scientific progress is made by being involved in research for at least 10 weeks of full time or a year of part-time work (look at the MSAR for the proportion of students at each school that have research experience, it is very high). Schools that are reserach powerhouses are most interested in students who might be interested in engaging in research during their medical school training and not doing research before matriculation is considered a predictor of choosing to not to do it after matriculation into med school.
Medicine is a service profession so demonstrate your willingness to serve others by providing direct service to those in need in your community (ideal) or in places outside of your immediate area (a good adjunct to service in your own geographic area).
If you are going to invest 4 years and more than $100,000 in a medical degree, you should have some idea about what to expect in your career: the joys and the sorrows, the aggravations and the frustrations. This usually means spending some time along side physicians as fellow team members (for example, working as an emergency room scribe, interpreter or as an office assistant), shadowing, or long term volunteering in the same room as the physician. How do physicians in various specialties spend there time? What proportion of one's professional time is spent directly with patients vs the amount of time spent on tasks out of the patients' view? How does the physician achieve lifelong learning? What are some of the current models for delivering care and how might those change in the future? Can you see yourself living that life?
Medicine is a team endeavor and so it is helpful to demonstrate that you are a team player and someone who can be a contributing member of a group and, ideally, someone who is comfortable taking a leadership role in some endeavors.
Finally, it helps to be personable. This means being friendly, respectful, calming, courteous, cheerful, involved in interesting activities outside of school or work and interested in the interests and experiences of others (willing to be listener as well as a speaker in a conversation).
There are few perfect candidates but there are more than enough who seem to have at least a good blend of the attributes we seek.
Or that if person A with X GPA and Y MCAT and Z hours got an interview from school J and person B with X+0.1 and Y+1 and Z+100 didn't then it's "random." Which isn't true. It's a lot like applying to jobs: your qualifications might make you a great candidate, but you still won't get hired everywhere. However, you'll still probably get hired somewhere.
