For those accepted, what did you do to get in?

[Monkey.King]

Everything I have read at this point on how to get into medical school can basically be summed up into the following. Get a good GPA, get a good MCAT score, having clinical and non clinical volunteering, research experience if possible, and don't act like a ***** during your interview. But this can't be all there is too it. For the average medical school to have 100 students (correct me if I'm wrong) entering their freshman class, it can't be that simple. Now I'm not suggesting that there's some secret trick to get in or anything like that. So I'm asking those who have been accepted to medical school, what else or what do you think you did that got you in? Especially if you didn't go to a top school.

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[NotASerialKiller]

Unspeakable things...

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Have you seen American Psycho? Kinda like that but while painfully broke.

 

[JessebenBenjamin]

Everything I have read at this point on how to get into medical school can basically be summed up into the following. Get a good GPA, get a good MCAT score, having clinical and non clinical volunteering, research experience if possible, and don't act like a ***** during your interview. But this can't be all there is too it. For the average medical school to have 100 students (correct me if I'm wrong) entering their freshman class, it can't be that simple. Now I'm not suggesting that there's some secret trick to get in or anything like that. So I'm asking those who have been accepted to medical school, what else or what do you think you did that got you in? Especially if you didn't go to a top school.

This is all. Work hard, be adequately smart, and show that you are interested in medicine / science.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

1) Most schools have >100 students. With a few notable exceptions the norm is probably closer to 150-200. Although you're correct that it's tough and most places acceptance rate hovers around 2-3% (edit: most are higher than that, but not sure what the norm is)

2) Being able to do all those things is pretty damn hard. Each offers a unique set of challenges, and when summed it equates to a monumental work load. You try going toe to toe with 200 other hardworking pre-meds in a weedout class like Chem or orgo and that alone is pretty damn unbearable.

3) (I'm guessing this is what you're looking for) Have a story. Grades and mission trips and research on cancer or whatever are great but they're a dime a dozen. Being able to honestly explain why you did everything you did is one of the biggest boosters to an app that can't be accomplished like a "check-box". If you can explain why you majored in what you did, researched what you did, shadowed and volunteered where you did, etc all within one major theme, that is invaluable. That's how you show you're doing this because you actually enjoy it, not because you want the power/money/25 year old trophy wife.

 

[Lannister]

Unspeakable things...

You have no idea...

 

[Astra]

You have no idea...

Shame! Ding Ding

 

[aalamruad]

most places acceptance rate hovers around 2-3%

lol no

Out of ~150 med schools in the US, there are only like 8 with acceptance rates under 3%

 

[Aubrey Graham]

Ate a poop hot dog


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[Tabiyou]

I hope this helps

-Hispanic, second generation immigrant. My parents have elementary school education (no GED), but they have successfully managed a mom and pop barbershop for the past 29 years.
-USNA grad (3.78). BS in history.
-MA in history from UMD (3.6).
-Post-bacc classes at UMD (3.8).
-499 MCAT (2015) and 21 MCAT (2015).
-Volunteer EMT (700+hours).
-ED scribe (700+ hours).
-Actively involved in community - Sunday School, Habitat for Humanities, and Dept of Park and Recreation (400+ hours).
-Former USMC infantry officer. 1 deployment to Afghanistan. Honorably discharged. Led at all levels (Peer leadership at IOC and TBS, Platoon Commander , and Company XO). Worked as Afghan Uniform Police Advising officer.

 

[MaxPlancker]

I met Elvis and baked 20 minute brownies in 10. My godlike trombone playing wooed the ladies in the admissions office and my huge glistening pecs had the men mirin'.

On a serious note, what successful applicants do is to follow their dreams and what they like to do. Sure you can get there by force feeding yourself the necessary stuff but I'd bet most of them are super miserable and close to burning out. Just follow your heart OP; cliche but so true.

 

[redferrari]

Sent the Vice Dean of Admissions a blank check.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

I'd guess it was my rather unique life story that pushed me over the top

 

[Astra]

I hope this helps

-Hispanic, second generation immigrant. My parents have elementary school education (no GED), but they have successfully managed a mom and pop barbershop for the past 29 years.
-USNA grad (3.78). BS in history.
-MA in history from UMD (3.6).
-Post-bacc classes at UMD (3.8).
-499 MCAT (2015) and 21 MCAT (2015).
-Volunteer EMT (700+hours).
-ED scribe (700+ hours).
-Actively involved in community - Sunday School, Habitat for Humanities, and Dept of Park and Recreation (400+ hours).
-Former USMC infantry officer. 1 deployment to Afghanistan. Honorably discharged. Led at all levels (Peer leadership at IOC and TBS, Platoon Commander , and Company XO). Worked as Afghan Uniform Police Advising officer.

thank you for your service

 

[redferrari]

thank you for your service

+1

 

[Monkey.King]

Thanks for the answers, so glad I found this site ahead of time to prepare and plan out my future.

 

[Lbjisyuki]

Took a gap year, was a slave at a healthcare consulting company, and didn't party or do anything socially for 4 months to raise my MCAT from a 26 to a 33.

 

[NotaCop]

Easy! Bribe the local judge to draft papers stating that you have an MD. And then PM me in great detail about it including times and dates and places and names.

I'll take care of the rest.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Get a good GPA, get a good MCAT score, having clinical and non clinical volunteering, research experience if possible, and don't act like a ***** during your interview.

You are vastly overestimating the ability of the average pre-med to do all of these things well. A very large majority have defects in at least one of these areas

 

[WedgeDawg]

The "safe zone" for applicants (in terms of stats) is probably 3.8 and 33. >80% of people with a 3.8 and a 33 were accepted to a USMD school. However, that's only about 10% of all applicants.

3.8+33+clinical experience+physician exposure+volunteering+research+average essays+decent interviewer+non-terrible LORs will in the vast majority of cases = MD.

It's not complicated, just challenging.

 

[gyngyn]

Like many simple things, it's difficult to execute well.

 

[bluepeach9]

The "safe zone" for applicants (in terms of stats) is probably 3.8 and 33. >80% of people with a 3.8 and a 33 were accepted to a USMD school. However, that's only about 10% of all applicants.

3.8+33+clinical experience+physician exposure+volunteering+research+average essays+decent interviewer+non-terrible LORs will in the vast majority of cases = MD.

It's not complicated, just challenging.

Wait, really? I was expecting the "safe zone" to be somewhere in 3.8 and 35 MCAT. I have all of the things you mentioned above, except for my MCAT (which I haven't taken yet). I'm good at expressing my ideas and can talk about what I've learned from each experience. At first, I was confident about scoring a 517+ but I realize now how naive I was. Now, I'm just hoping for somewhere in the 512-514 range. and am hoping that ~400 hours of MCAT studying will get me there.

Would this be sufficient to get into MD? What if I score poorly on my MCAT and need to retake it? Will this severely affect my chances at the mid-tier (some top-tier) even if I score well on my retake?

 

[bluepeach9]

Took a gap year, was a slave at a healthcare consulting company, and didn't party or do anything socially for 4 months to raise my MCAT from a 26 to a 33.

Did this retake affect you during the application cycle at all? Or did you still manage to receive acceptances?

 

[osckey]

I did the right stuff...at the right time...in front of the right people...send help

 

[Jsor20]

You are vastly overestimating the ability of the average pre-med to do all of these things well. A very large majority have defects in at least one of these areas

I always wondered this. I am a year away from applying and feel I'm on track to have a good application. I always wonder if every premed is on track as I am to participate in everything stated above. You believe very few hit each of these things??


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[CowboyNiceguy]

lol no

Out of ~150 med schools in the US, there are only like 8 with acceptance rates under 3%

If you look at OOS acceptance rates (which is really all that matters for most students at most schools), there are a lot with acceptance rates around 3%. Here's a screenshot of my spreadsheet of schools I'm interested in:

 

[w0rldw3y3d]

I applied.

 

[MaxPlancker]

I know someone who got in by virtue of his name being William Hwang

 

[futuremdforme]

Everything I have read at this point on how to get into medical school can basically be summed up into the following. Get a good GPA, get a good MCAT score, having clinical and non clinical volunteering, research experience if possible, and don't act like a ***** during your interview. But this can't be all there is too it. For the average medical school to have 100 students (correct me if I'm wrong) entering their freshman class, it can't be that simple. Now I'm not suggesting that there's some secret trick to get in or anything like that. So I'm asking those who have been accepted to medical school, what else or what do you think you did that got you in? Especially if you didn't go to a top school.

That really is all there is to it. An adcom even told me that it's not hard to get in. It's just that a lot of people manage to not achieve that for various reasons.

 

[HybridEarth]

Everything I have read at this point on how to get into medical school can basically be summed up into the following. Get a good GPA, get a good MCAT score, having clinical and non clinical volunteering, research experience if possible, and don't act like a ***** during your interview. But this can't be all there is too it. For the average medical school to have 100 students (correct me if I'm wrong) entering their freshman class, it can't be that simple. Now I'm not suggesting that there's some secret trick to get in or anything like that. So I'm asking those who have been accepted to medical school, what else or what do you think you did that got you in? Especially if you didn't go to a top school.

I didn't go to a "top" undergrad, and I felt kind of out of place at every interview I went to because the vast majority of the interviewees were from the Ivy League. It was crazy!! I'd say that what kept me competitive across the spectrum is that I had 15 unique, meaningful experiences on my application that I combined to form one central theme throughout my personal statement. Most experiences were 1 year+, aside from shadowing/awards/research presentations. Longitudinal involvement is key. Having concrete evidence that you will be an amazing lifelong learner is key. Most importantly, I clearly explained why I did each experience and what I learned/how it will help me in medicine in the future. At least from my own "social" group, I can assume that many students don't take the appropriate approach to talking about their life experiences.

Oh and also, having solid interview skills (which takes some time to develop) is a huge plus. You can develop that from seeking employment (customer service jobs are an amazing idea, 10/10 would do it again. It's amazing how much overlap there is with medicine).

Lastly, many of the established users on here have amazing advice. I'd recommend using this website frequently, learn as much about the admissions process as possible, be patient, and take everything you read on here with a grain of salt

 

[Lucca]

That really is all there is to it. An adcom even told me that it's not hard to get in. It's just that a lot of people manage to not achieve that for various reasons.

Many premeds I have met sabotage themselves by being obsessed with being "unique" or "standing out" for the sake of med admissions. They spend all of their time trying to find some back door approach to looking good to medical schools (usually this involves working with 100 different premed orgs and spending hundreds of hours planning socials and raising money for causes rather than doing something themselves) and as a result neglect the basics (like taking the MCAT on time and studying properly for it, or having clinical and service experience) meant to make them minimally competitive. It's fine if you spend all of undergraduate doing things you are interested in but if you really want to do something then you need to start with the fundamentals first. People are eager to jump straight into "changing the world" when they haven't even learned what a hospital is like, what a doctor does, or how to articulate their motivations effectively.

 

[carpediem22]

When I began fearing that I may not "stand out" enough to get into my dream school, I took initiative and drove my flying car into a tree on the quad outside of the school, an ordeal that nearly killed me and my ginger-haired friend. Luckily we survived, and the experience made great personal statement fodder as it demonstrated that I was both determined and willing to do whatever it takes. Not many other students took this route to get into school, either, so +1 for diversity and uniqueness! The fact that I had a ginger friend with me also showed that I was compassionate, and don't discriminate against those who are different from me.

 

[whatever5]

I dug up dirt on the admission deans, snuck into their houses in the middle of the night so that they would wake to find me standing over them holding a big manila envelope full of said dirt saying "I hope no one has to find out about this".

PS. It's best to put your AMCAS ID on the envelope and send them a Letter of Intent (to air their dirty laundry) just to be safe.

 

[mimelim]

I showed up.

 

[Monkey.King]

You are vastly overestimating the ability of the average pre-med to do all of these things well. A very large majority have defects in at least one of these areas

I'm not overestimating anything. I know how difficult it is. And I know how unexpected things can

You are vastly overestimating the ability of the average pre-med to do all of these things well. A very large majority have defects in at least one of these areas

im not overestimating anything. It's just that it's hard to believe that if you know that you really want to be a doctor, and it's common sense to know the sacrifices and what it takes to get into medical school, that so few actually do it. Yes it's very difficult to achieve all of these things, however, if you set your mind to it, and keep your eye on the prize, everything should work out. But then again, I'm still a young niave HS junior.

And @whatever5, lol

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

If you look at OOS acceptance rates (which is really all that matters for most students at most schools), there are a lot with acceptance rates around 3%. Here's a screenshot of my spreadsheet of schools I'm interested in:

Who in the world has a 27% acceptance rate?!

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

Who in the world has a 27% acceptance rate?!

That's my state school's IS rate.

 

[el_duderino]

Everything I have read at this point on how to get into medical school can basically be summed up into the following. Get a good GPA, get a good MCAT score, having clinical and non clinical volunteering, research experience if possible, and don't act like a ***** during your interview. But this can't be all there is too it. For the average medical school to have 100 students (correct me if I'm wrong) entering their freshman class, it can't be that simple. Now I'm not suggesting that there's some secret trick to get in or anything like that. So I'm asking those who have been accepted to medical school, what else or what do you think you did that got you in? Especially if you didn't go to a top school.

That really is about it. Be an interesting and decent person, have good grades, have a good MCAT, know what you're getting into (shadow), and have experience with patients.

If you do all those things, you'll get in somewhere if you apply strategically and broadly. Lots and lots and lots of people, and lots and lots and lots of people are missing one or more of those things.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

im not overestimating anything. It's just that it's hard to believe that if you know that you really want to be a doctor, and it's common sense to know the sacrifices and what it takes to get into medical school, that so few actually do it. Yes it's very difficult to achieve all of these things, however, if you set your mind to it, and keep your eye on the prize, everything should work out. But then again, I'm still a young niave HS junior.

And @whatever5, lol

Actually knowing, at the start of college, what is required to truly get into med school is not common sense. In fact the majority of pre-med's lack an accurate understanding of what is required and how the process works. Hence how low most school's acceptance rates are.

Also, no, not everyone can just "keep their eyes on the prize and do it". Maintaining a good GPA, volunteering/shadowing, being involved on campus, and doing research all simultaneously is no cake walk. Not to mention many students have financial constraints limiting their opportunities and requiring large amounts of time (ie. working). Also you need to be able to take at least a little time for yourself so you don't go insane, so add in having some semblance of friends and a social life. Then if you do all that, you need to somehow fit studying for (and financing) the MCAT. Only about 15% of test takers score 510 or above, the median score of accepted applicants.

It's hard to conceptualize as a highschooler how the competition ramps up in undergrad/on the MCAT. The majority of the people you compete with have done about as well as you have in school so far.

 

[deleted407021]

I remained focused for years, did exceptionally well on the MCAT and upper div. sciences, did impactful clinical and non-clinical volunteering, excelled in a diverse array of activities (my interviewers complemented my broad skill base) and got LORs from the right people.

Remaining focused is the most critical part as it lends to success in the other areas. The traditional run up to medical school is challenging in a lot of ways, often pushing people out along the way who either cannot or will not maintain the level of focus and drive necessary to accomplish everything on time and well.

 

[Monkey.King]

Actually knowing, at the start of college, what is required to truly get into med school is not common sense. In fact the majority of pre-med's lack an accurate understanding of what is required and how the process works. Hence how low most school's acceptance rates are.

Also, no, not everyone can just "keep their eyes on the prize and do it". Maintaining a good GPA, volunteering/shadowing, being involved on campus, and doing research all simultaneously is no cake walk. Not to mention many students have financial constraints limiting their opportunities and requiring large amounts of time (ie. working). Also you need to be able to take at least a little time for yourself so you don't go insane, so add in having some semblance of friends and a social life. Then if you do all that, you need to somehow fit studying for (and financing) the MCAT. Only about 15% of test takers score 510 or above, the median score of accepted applicants.

It's hard to conceptualize as a highschooler how the competition ramps up in undergrad/on the MCAT. The majority of the people you compete with have done about as well as you have in school so far.

Never really thought about all of these things happening simultaneously. I always figured the best thing to do is spread everything out. Thanks for the wake up call

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Never really thought about all of these things happening simultaneously. I always figured the best thing to do is spread everything out. Thanks for the wake up call

Yea, the fact that you're managing it all at once is really where the rubber meets the road.

Also, people often discount the amount of leg work required to get things like research and shadowing. It takes quite a bit of time to find a lab or doctor to shadow, and quite a bit more to actually get into the thick of it where you're making any meaningful progress (for example, I shadowed a cardiologist for 10 hrs, but spent about 12 hours jumping through the administrative hoops before hand).

Anther thing to consider that didn't occur to me in HS was that you need to manage your own life in college and beyond. No one is going to do your laundry, clean the bathroom, go buy groceries, etc. like at home. Enjoy it while you can...it's nice.

 

[AnnaSunH]

Know what the school wants. In my secondary for a certain school, I talked about how I could see myself doing research, teaching, and still seeing patients in 10 years because I know that research and teaching are important to this school. Also, if someone hasn't already informed you, there's a primary care shortage in this country. Schools often look for people who are willing to be a PCP. This means don't tell the school you're going to be a plastic surgeon, even if you're going to be a plastic surgeon.


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[CowboyNiceguy]

Know what the school wants. In my secondary for a certain school, I talked about how I could see myself doing research, teaching, and still seeing patients in 10 years because I know that research and teaching are important to this school. Also, if someone hasn't already informed you, there's a primary care shortage in this country. Schools often look for people who are willing to be a PCP. This means don't tell the school you're going to be a plastic surgeon, even if you're going to be a plastic surgeon.


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But if you're going to play the pcp card, you should have some experience to prove you're interested in it.

 

[mistafab]

If you look at OOS acceptance rates (which is really all that matters for most students at most schools), there are a lot with acceptance rates around 3%. Here's a screenshot of my spreadsheet of schools I'm interested in:

Nice thinking

 

[IgEdoc]

everyone is up to the challenge but ultimately it's LUCK

 

[AnnaSunH]

But if you're going to play the pcp card, you should have some experience to prove you're interested in it.

Definitely a good point. It also helped my case that I'm from a rural, medically-underserved area.


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[futuredoc71]

Worked hard, studied hard, and had some fun along the way. All about balance OP.

 

[DNC127]

Did tons of EC's, had a job, took 56 science credits in 9 months (summer, fall, spring cause I wanted to graduate in 3 years), studied the mcat for a month, all while helping my classmates understand class material better because they were busy studying for the MCAT while I was studying for my insane course load, and as a result my class mates got into top 20's and I just scraped by due to a decent but not stellar MCAT lol. Moral to the story? PACE yourself, don't fall victim of impatience like I did. To maximize your success you need to maximize your chances of success... this is something I now realize ha.

 

[ridethecliche]

Ate a poop hot dog


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Not a **** sandwich?