How do i stand out med school application?

[missrv]

When i apply to medical school i want to stand out from the thousands of applications they receive. Which subject should i major in? I want to major in biology or chemistry specifically for medical school but i know that doesn't really stand out and If the medical school route doesn't work out I don't know what to do with those degree. A lot of people tell me to major in whatever i enjoy doing but the only thing i want to do is be a surgeon... 🙁

Also should i be more involved in stuff so when my time comes to apply to med school i can at least have something on it. I have no sports, i don't read, i haven't done research. I haven't really done anything except for volunteer in the hospital for 6 months.

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[md-2020]

Which subject should i major in?

This will not matter.

the only thing i want to do is be a surgeon...

Join the crowd of everyone, especially with rising education costs. Statistically this probably won't happen, so be sure you're actually interested in medicine.

Also should i be more involved in stuff so when my time comes to apply to med school i can at least have something on it. I have no sports, i don't read, i haven't done research. I haven't really done anything except for volunteer in the hospital for 6 months.

Yes. A blank application is a bad application.

 

[tenblackalps]

When i apply to medical school i want to stand out from the thousands of applications they receive. Which subject should i major in? I want to major in biology or chemistry specifically for medical school but i know that doesn't really stand out and If the medical school route doesn't work out I don't know what to do with those degree. A lot of people tell me to major in whatever i enjoy doing but the only thing i want to do is be a surgeon... 🙁

Also should i be more involved in stuff so when my time comes to apply to med school i can at least have something on it. I have no sports, i don't read, i haven't done research. I haven't really done anything except for volunteer in the hospital for 6 months.

Major in whatever you want as long as you do the pre-med classes, don't have your heart set on doing a particular speciality as an undergrad, get involved in leadership, clinical and non-clinical volunteering (only 6 months of hospital volunteering is incredibly weak if thats all you have), shadow doctors for 40 hours or more, and take 5 seconds to search the forum for better answers to your questions.

 

[missrv]

Major in whatever you want as long as you do the pre-med classes, don't have your heart set on doing a particular speciality as an undergrad, get involved in leadership, clinical and non-clinical volunteering (only 6 months of hospital volunteering is incredibly weak if thats all you have), shadow doctors for 40 hours or more, and take 5 seconds to search the forum for better answers to your questions.

yes i've only done 6 months of hospital volunteering. Im in my first semester of college.

 

[mikil100]

Get good grades, get a good MCAT. These are baseline required.

Then get decent research, clinical, and volunteering experiences. Medical employment probably helps too. Leadership and skills with being forward thinking/independent/mature are vital as well

Then, (you cant fake this part), you must truly have passion. if you covered the above I would assume you do have a passion for medicine, but anyways that's my two cents.

 

[Goro]

Major in something you really love. Sometimes "that History major guy" or "that Political Science gal" will stick out in the minds of an Adcom member than your run of the mill pre-med. But keep in mind that we really don't care about majors or minors, only that you do well. And consider a major that will provide you a career pathway in case Medicine doesn't work out. I recommend against Art History or English.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics. Some of my successful advisees have gotten IIs from top schools due to having hundreds, if not thousands of hours of clinical experience.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

When i apply to medical school i want to stand out from the thousands of applications they receive. Which subject should i major in? I want to major in biology or chemistry specifically for medical school but i know that doesn't really stand out and If the medical school route doesn't work out I don't know what to do with those degree. A lot of people tell me to major in whatever i enjoy doing but the only thing i want to do is be a surgeon... 🙁

Also should i be more involved in stuff so when my time comes to apply to med school i can at least have something on it. I have no sports, i don't read, i haven't done research. I haven't really done anything except for volunteer in the hospital for 6 months.

 

[Planes2Doc]

As for ECs, sometimes it's not better to try and stand out. Some pre-meds get so carried away with doing as many ECs and hours as possible that they end up tanking their medical school application. Great ECs will make a good student look better. Great ECs won't make a poor student better.

So try doing the typical cookie cutter ECs and work as hard as you can on your grades and MCAT. Your best bet is clinical volunteering. You can double dip and get shadowing done during that time and maybe spend it to study in case the people on your shift don't care about what you do.

I suggest a business major because it's a good backup in case medical school doesn't work out. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket! I've seen people fail miserably and now aren't amounting to much in life compared to what they wanted to do (they are working entry-level clinical jobs that don't require a college degree).

And pre-meds are like King Midas. They ruin everything they touch. So it's safe to stick to the basics, and not put forth too much effort in doing things that won't make you stand out. If pre-meds knew what made them stand out, they would all be doing it. And when they do, well, yeah... They just ruin it.

 

[moisne]

Do you have something you love? Do that and talk about it in the interview. Your enthusiasm will really carry over.

 

[gyngyn]

As for ECs, sometimes it's not better to try and stand out. Some pre-meds get so carried away with doing as many ECs and hours as possible that they end up tanking their medical school application. Great ECs will make a good student look better. Great ECs won't make a poor student better.

This is a great answer.
You don't need to stand out to get into a fine medical school.
You need remind us of our favorite students!

 

[SnakeDoc9497]

I would have to agree with the above. Granted, I'm not an adcom...but I do TA a foundational medicine class alongside a pre-med advisor, and one of the things we POUND into freshmen heads (like yourself) is that it's not about standing out, but having and pursuing YOUR passions.

Don't be that pre-med that searches SDN for "how to get into med school" and simply create a carbon copy of that person. While this sounds like I'm saying "try to stand out", I'm not. Rather, I am saying "be yourself as a pre-med, don't be that other person".

As I've said on here before, there is no ONE path to medicine. And as a freshman I'm not even sure you've scratched the surface of what it takes to get to med school. For now, focus on good grades and developing good interpersonal skills and relationships. Good relationships lead to good opportunities, which lead to good experiences (speaking mainly about physician shadowing).

Don't get too snug in the white coat you don't even have yet. Take a step back and realize your college jeans and polo shirt are just fine and you can perform perfectly in that. Develop who YOU are before you go ahead and decide for yourself and work towards a goal you may not even like.

 

[deleted393595]

When i apply to medical school i want to stand out from the thousands of applications they receive. Which subject should i major in? I want to major in biology or chemistry specifically for medical school but i know that doesn't really stand out and If the medical school route doesn't work out I don't know what to do with those degree. A lot of people tell me to major in whatever i enjoy doing but the only thing i want to do is be a surgeon... 🙁

Also should i be more involved in stuff so when my time comes to apply to med school i can at least have something on it. I have no sports, i don't read, i haven't done research. I haven't really done anything except for volunteer in the hospital for 6 months.

Do something you're passionate about, and commit to it for a good period of time. That can be playing an instrument, photography, etc.