In regards to medical school admissions, what makes you stand out?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
SexyDoctor

SexyDoctor

Membership Revoked
Removed
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2011
Messages
3,179
Reaction score
2
What makes you outshine everyone else? What do you think makes you unique enough that adcomms will pick you over someone else?
Members don't see this ad.
 
All jokes aside, I would love to see a legitimate answer to the OPs post. I got asked this in a mock-interview we have to go through for my university's committee letter process and I honestly had nothing good to say and just made up some crappy BS on the spot.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Bravetown said:
Your avatar + interview= acceptance
Click to expand...
Literally my first thought upon reading the OP.

The real answer is any number of things, but typically things that are disproportionately successful in relation to one's position. If you're a college student and start a non-profit that skyrockets and provides thousands and thousands of dollars of free food to the hungry, you stand out as a natural born leader and go-getter. Another side is things that are just so unusual and off-the-wall that you're the only applicant they see with it listed. These types of things can be unique life experiences in your personal statement or activities listed in the Experiences section of your app. Truly unique examples of the latter are, I would say, harder to come by.

Edit: Wow, I totally interpreted the OP as a general question instead of one directed at an interviewee. :smack:
 
Nothing, unfortunately. I'm a great interviewer though.
 
Its a very common question - everyone interviewing should have a prepared answer to it.

Frankly, I think everyone's entire application should have a theme and a direction that follows through to their passion and 'what makes them special.'

For that matter, you'll be asked again 4 years when you apply for residency.
 
I'm banking on an interesting PS and interviewing. Sorta like real them in and then seal the deal. Not sure how that will work out but I'll let you know in about 12 months. I know some questionable people who are in med school (or already graduated) so it cant be too hard?
 
The nail that stands out is the one that gets hammered... from drinking too much after receiving med school acceptances.
 
5280 said:
is the residency application as intense as the med school app?
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by intense.

The ERAS (the electronic residency application) is pretty much like the primary for med school. Your school uploads your transcripts and dean's letter, you upload a personal statement, you enter your activities/hobbies/awards/contact info.

There are no secondaries so that saves a lot of time and money. But you have to go on more interviews. So for some residency applications cost more than med school interviews.

The interviews themselves vary wildly between specialties so its hard to say whether those are 'better' or 'worse' than med school.
 
Are there a lot of medical school applicants who are firefighters? Its something that means a lot to me. I plan on continuing doing this to some extent all of my life. Most likely when I become a doctor it will be for a volunteer department every once in a while. I just love it.
 
FirefighterDoc said:
Are there a lot of medical school applicants who are firefighters? Its something that means a lot to me. I plan on continuing doing this to some extent all of my life. Most likely when I become a doctor it will be for a volunteer department every once in a while. I just love it.
Click to expand...

Wow. If I already had a job as a firefighter I would never go into medicine.

No its not common.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
alwaysaangel said:
Its a very common question - everyone interviewing should have a prepared answer to it.

Frankly, I think everyone's entire application should have a theme and a direction that follows through to their passion and 'what makes them special.'

For that matter, you'll be asked again 4 years when you apply for residency.
Click to expand...

truth
 
Confidence without cockiness. Good posture.

Humility and good humor.

Unselfishness, self-denial. No trace of self-pity.

Enthusiasm and optimism.

Compassion. Unwillingness to pass judgment on others.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I think you have to come across as being special without trying too hard to be special. I know that doesn't make much sense, and it's a tough concept for the beginning of the application. I guess it mostly applies to interviewing.
 
FirefighterDoc said:
Are there a lot of medical school applicants who are firefighters? Its something that means a lot to me. I plan on continuing doing this to some extent all of my life. Most likely when I become a doctor it will be for a volunteer department every once in a while. I just love it.
Click to expand...

+ :thumbup:

I plan on continuing to run as a volunteer FF / EMT (paramedic soon!) up until the day I eventually leave for med school. Don't know if it's realistic or not, but I do dream about coming back to my station to keep serving even after becoming a doctor.
 
LizzyM said:
Confidence without cockiness. Good posture.

Humility and good humor.

Unselfishness, self-denial. No trace of self-pity.

Enthusiasm and optimism.

Compassion. Unwillingness to pass judgment on others.
Click to expand...
I'd say that I qualify. Plus I'm a self-taught guitarist and magician. True story.:D
 
5280 said:
is the residency application as intense as the med school app?
Click to expand...

I just matched into a very competitive surgical subspecialty. My med school interviews were a leisurely walk in the park on a Spring day in comparison to my residency interviews - which typically lasted 3 hours - the usual format was six interviews, 30 minutes each, with each interview conducted by a team of two faculty members. Residency interviews, at least in my field, were much much tougher than med school interviews.
 
Nothing yet :( I'm hoping that in the next year or so I'll do something amazing. Doubt it though.
 
Everyone has some sort of unique interest/activity/opportunity. Some people start nonprofits; others are college athletes. Did you do interesting research? Or climb a mountain? Or speak another language (I actually did two interviews solely in my second language)? Perhaps you're a violinist at your church or organized poetry nights at your school. Or you majored in African History. Just find your niche and try to discuss that during your interview if asked about activities... Your passion will show, and it will make a lasting impression, especially if your interviewer shares those interests.
 
I spoke about my superior cannabis cultivation skills. This goes a long way for getting into Cali schools!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
LizzyM said:
Confidence without cockiness. Good posture.

Humility and good humor.

Unselfishness, self-denial. No trace of self-pity.

Enthusiasm and optimism.

Compassion. Unwillingness to pass judgment on others.
Click to expand...
meh, makes jack sound like a dull boy, if you ask me.
 
Lil Mick said:
Everyone has some sort of unique interest/activity/opportunity. Some people start nonprofits; others are college athletes. Did you do interesting research? Or climb a mountain? Or speak another language (I actually did two interviews solely in my second language)? Perhaps you're a violinist at your church or organized poetry nights at your school. Or you majored in African History. Just find your niche and try to discuss that during your interview if asked about activities... Your passion will show, and it will make a lasting impression, especially if your interviewer shares those interests.
Click to expand...

I'm a small town middle class white male from a blue collar family. Nothing about me is remarkable. I'm not fluent in any foreign languages. I've never been mountain climbing and I don't traveling. I don't do any research, I'm not an athlete, I don't play any instruments, and I'm not particularly passionate about anything.

Maybe that can be my hook: I'm painfully average.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
rHinO1 said:
meh, makes jack sound like a dull boy, if you ask me.
Click to expand...

+1. If that's what all med students are like I'm not gonna have many friends. I have terrible posture.
 
- I was a former nursing student and I have ~ 300 hours of clinical, up close and personal experience with patients.
- I'm from out of country
- I have a ton of experience with (smaller) children

That's about it so far. I will have some psych research done next semester, all about children.

Is that stand outish?
 
sc4s2cg said:
- I was a former nursing student and I have ~ 300 hours of clinical, up close and personal experience with patients.
- I'm from out of country
- I have a ton of experience with (smaller) children

That's about it so far. I will have some psych research done next semester, all about children.

Is that stand outish?
Click to expand...

Candidly? No.
 
sc4s2cg said:
- I was a former nursing student and I have ~ 300 hours of clinical, up close and personal experience with patients.
- I'm from out of country
- I have a ton of experience with (smaller) children

That's about it so far. I will have some psych research done next semester, all about children.

Is that stand outish?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, no. One semester to one year of research isn't going to impress anyone, and a single semester alone may give the impression that you were just trying to check "do research" off your application to-do list before applying. The 300 hours of clinical experience is good, but remember there are applicants with thousands of hours from previous work or long-term volunteering, so I would be surprised if high hours of clinical experience would ever make someone stand out. Your experience with younger children is too vague to make a call about. Many applicants are from out of the country, so unless you're URM I wouldn't expect that to have any effect.
 
sc4s2cg said:
- I was a former nursing student and I have ~ 300 hours of clinical, up close and personal experience with patients.
- I'm from out of country
- I have a ton of experience with (smaller) children

That's about it so far. I will have some psych research done next semester, all about children.

Is that stand outish?
Click to expand...

Totally depends on how you present yourself. (As with everything).
 
I've been a guitarist for 11 years, and I regularly record and play in a band.

I have 3 years of research experience.

I enjoy climbing things.....lots of things, though preferably rocky things.

As to whether this will make me stand out, I have no idea. For standing out, I will rely on my devastating sense of humor and shocking good looks.
 
I know there are a lot of health stories out there, so I'm not sure how unique this makes me, but I fought cancer between the ages of 12 and 18, had a bone marrow transplant (about 25% survival rate), and have had been through a whole host complications including major joint replacements and whatnot.

I know presentation is important, so I am always super positive about where my experience led me and specific events that shaped me as a person and always avoid the "poor me" side of things.

Am I fooling myself to think this at least makes me somewhat unique?

Edit: BTW I also have all the regular EC's -clinic, volunteer, and research
 
sc4s2cg said:
- I was a former nursing student and I have ~ 300 hours of clinical, up close and personal experience with patients.
- I'm from out of country
- I have a ton of experience with (smaller) children

That's about it so far. I will have some psych research done next semester, all about children.

Is that stand outish?
Click to expand...
No, in fact, the nursing student thing is going to hurt you (you're going to have to have a really good answer for switching from nursing to MD). Being from out of the country isn't really unique.

You could do something with the kids thing if you play it right.
 
I do brazilian jiu jitsu
I do Muay Thai
I play the bagpipes
 
alwaysaangel said:
No, in fact, the nursing student thing is going to hurt you (you're going to have to have a really good answer for switching from nursing to MD). Being from out of the country isn't really unique.

You could do something with the kids thing if you play it right.
Click to expand...

That's what the conventional knowledge on SDN says, I know, but my roommate is a nurse who did a lot of her education at community college (she is also from another country). She was accepted to several schools. Maybe she was an aberration?

idk, there aren't too many nurse-->doctors at my school (can only think of two offhand) but I don't think my roommate felt like her experience as a nurse hurt her; she said it made for an interesting conversation at the interview.
 
DAPI said:
I know there are a lot of health stories out there, so I'm not sure how unique this makes me, but I fought cancer between the ages of 12 and 18, had a bone marrow transplant (about 25% survival rate), and have had been through a whole host complications including major joint replacements and whatnot.

I know presentation is important, so I am always super positive about where my experience led me and specific events that shaped me as a person and always avoid the "poor me" side of things.

Am I fooling myself to think this at least makes me somewhat unique?

Edit: BTW I also have all the regular EC's -clinic, volunteer, and research
Click to expand...
Don't sell yourself short, you also stain cell nuclei.

Seriously though, it sounds like you'd have an interesting story to tell.
 
I'm extremely tall (for a Mexican), and I have a tattoo on my face. Pretty sure every interviewer remembers me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Not so much the HIV testing/counseling job itself (although I learned a lot from it), but doing it at places such as MSM clubs make for some interesting stories at the very least...

...like chasing a drunk person across the bar because they thought it would be hilarious to steal the dildo we use to teach proper condom use and hit all of their friends with it. Or getting told off by a tranny and groped by one girl all in the same hour. Or the bi-curious men / men on the "down low" usually drawn to me as a tester.

Best volunteer-turned-part-time gig evAr.
 
"What makes me stand out? What makes you stand out from all the other interviewers I've had to look good in front of?"
 
Appreciate the honesty.

Anything I can do to make myself stand out more?

I switched to premed a little late in my college year, fourth year in, and I have one year before graduation. I mean, I will apply and reapply until I'm in, but it would be very nice to get in on the first or second try. What would stand out?
 
It's funny that most people think that makes an applicant stand out to a medical school admissions committee are qualifications for a differentfield. I don't see what being a musician or a firefighter or an athlete has to do with medicine.
 
Dr Love said:
It's funny that most people think that makes an applicant stand out to a medical school admissions committee are qualifications for a differentfield. I don't see what being a musician or a firefighter or an athlete has to do with medicine.
Click to expand...
It's about showing the committee that you have a wide range of interests/that you have a soul. A lot of success depends not just on your technical prowess but on your ability to present yourself and to understand others of different backgrounds. Besides, who wants to spend time in med school with a bunch of straight-up nerds with no interests? :)
 
Quinndom said:
It's about showing the committee that you have a wide range of interests/that you have a soul. A lot of success depends not just on your technical prowess but on your ability to present yourself and to understand others of different backgrounds. Besides, who wants to spend time in med school with a bunch of straight-up nerds with no interests? :)
Click to expand...
c'mon bro, that is just silliness :rolleyes:.
 
our souls were lost the moment we decided to do pre-med
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

S
MEDLIFE experience and medical school admissions
Replies
6
Views
830
LizzyM
LizzyM
P
Proceeding with admissions to multiple schools
Replies
8
Views
1K
eigen
eigen
Mr.Smile12
[Webinar] Application kickoff with the CWRU School of Medicine Admissions Dream Team
Replies
0
Views
118
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
T
What gpa would you say makes a URM competitive for Texas MD and top 25 schools ?
Replies
16
Views
2K
TxMed55
T
Y
When do schools that are not rolling admissions make their decisions?
Replies
26
Views
2K
pablo213
pablo213
Top