Med-School Application Boosters

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Hello. So obviously all of your have successfully made it into medical school. I'm currently a pre-med student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was wondering what helps to set yourself apart from others on medical school application, and increase the chances of being accepted. I plan on earning a high gpa, high mcat score, majoring in a science and spanish, studying abroad, hopefully doing a mission trip, getting employment experience, shadowing doctors, volunteering at hospitals, nursing homes, clinics etc, and becoming first aid, cpr, and aed certified. Also, I want to do something with a position of leadership, I just don't know what yet. Is there anything else that I should do that will increase my chances of being accepted? Thank you for your time and help!

 

[SchroedingrsCat]

Probably the most important yet underrated aspect of medical student applications is "dirty work" experience. By "dirty work" I mean physical labor type tasks such as scrubbing toilets in a hospital, pulling weeds, or even working on a farm (as long as tough labor is shown in your application). This is because medical schools need to know that you can handle both the mental and physical tolls of medical school and also that you do not think of yourself as "too important" for the work of other hospital employees. The things you mentioned are important, but dirty work experience will really give you a leg up.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Probably the most important yet underrated aspect of medical student applications is "dirty work" experience. By "dirty work" I mean physical labor type tasks such as scrubbing toilets in a hospital, pulling weeds, or even working on a farm (as long as tough labor is shown in your application). This is because medical schools need to know that you can handle both the mental and physical tolls of medical school and also that you do not think of yourself as "too important" for the work of other hospital employees. The things you mentioned are important, but dirty work experience will really give you a leg up.

Don't forget cleaning urinals with your tongue. I'm pretty sure that part of my app alone got me into half the schools. If schools know you can stand the taste of piss they know you'll survive being **** on for the next 8 years.

 

[Dr Love]

Probably the most important yet underrated aspect of medical student applications is "dirty work" experience. By "dirty work" I mean physical labor type tasks such as scrubbing toilets in a hospital, pulling weeds, or even working on a farm (as long as tough labor is shown in your application). This is because medical schools need to know that you can handle both the mental and physical tolls of medical school and also that you do not think of yourself as "too important" for the work of other hospital employees. The things you mentioned are important, but dirty work experience will really give you a leg up.

Are you being serious? That is *horrible* advice. Medical schools want people who have challenged themselves while gaining clinically relevant experience, not illegal Mexican immigrants.

To the OP, despite what you've heard, you don't want to distinguish yourself in med school applications. You want to be the "well-rounded" person with some combination of research, volunteer work, extracurriculars, and clinical experience, with a high MCAT and high GPA. That is all they are looking for and all you need.

 

[FunnyCurrent]

Are you being serious? That is *horrible* advice. Medical schools want people who have challenged themselves while gaining clinically relevant experience, not illegal Mexican immigrants.

To the OP, despite what you've heard, you don't want to distinguish yourself in med school applications. You want to be the "well-rounded" person with some combination of research, volunteer work, extracurriculars, and clinical experience, with a high MCAT and high GPA. That is all they are looking for and all you need.

Respectfully I disagree. You want to distinguish yourself while being a "well-rounded" person with some combination of research, volunteer work, extracurriculars, and clinical experience, with a high MCAT and high GPA.

For example my app went something like this.

2000+ hours of clinical experience, 2 first author pubs, multiple posters at major conferences, leadership positions, teaching positions, a full-tuition scholarship, a job, high MCAT, high GPA, excellent LORs, and known for interviewing wonderfully.

^^^there do that for starters. There are people at my medschool who had more going on as premeds.

 

[Rumalum]

not being a little b*tch should be a golden rule to follow

 

[FunnyCurrent]

Hello. So obviously all of your have successfully made it into medical school. I'm currently a pre-med student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was wondering what helps to set yourself apart from others on medical school application, and increase the chances of being accepted. I plan on earning a high gpa, high mcat score, majoring in a science and spanish, studying abroad, hopefully doing a mission trip, getting employment experience, shadowing doctors, volunteering at hospitals, nursing homes, clinics etc, and becoming first aid, cpr, and aed certified. Also, I want to do something with a position of leadership, I just don't know what yet. Is there anything else that I should do that will increase my chances of being accepted? Thank you for your time and help!

nobody cares about that. It's not really clinical experience but do so since you need it for other opportunities. Don't think being certified as an EMT will impress anyone either. Now if you work as an EMT or paramedic that might impress.

They care about if you know what a troponin is or what you order when you suspect a patient has pancreatitis. You get this knowledge by shadowing or working in a clinical setting. If you can get splattered with blood, piss, or **** then it is a clinical experience. They want to know if you really know what medicine is like or if you will be one of the 2-4 first year medical students that drops out before new years.

 

[OveractiveBrain]

Hello. So obviously all of your have successfully made it into medical school. I'm currently a pre-med student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was wondering what helps to set yourself apart from others on medical school application, and increase the chances of being accepted. I plan on earning a high gpa, high mcat score, majoring in a science and spanish, studying abroad, hopefully doing a mission trip, getting employment experience, shadowing doctors, volunteering at hospitals, nursing homes, clinics etc, and becoming first aid, cpr, and aed certified. Also, I want to do something with a position of leadership, I just don't know what yet. Is there anything else that I should do that will increase my chances of being accepted? Thank you for your time and help!

Minimum Requirement (for general admission): These will not enhance your application but are expected
1. 33MCAT
2. 3.3 GPA
3. "leadership" position: spun however you like
4. "volunteering" position: in a hospital, as an EMT
5. "research" position: poster pubs preferred

The thing that sets you apart:
1. 36MCAT
2. 4.0 GPA
3. Letters, if from someone really important, like the dean of the medical school you are applying to

Anyone who tells you differently is lying. Admission committees have too many people to see, too many applications to review, and your "leadership" position, unless it was running an ibanking firm, does not stand out from anyone else' "leadership" position. You win with the numbers. Period.

And to preempt the person who "got in without great numbers" or the "you have to be a good person, meh" response: ANYBODY can fake it for 30 minutes and you only have to win once to get into medical school

 

[notbobtrustme]

Hit the big three, research, ER volunteering, soup kitchen. Concentrate on getting great grades over harder coursework. Rock the MCAT. That's the recipe for success. Don't try to do too much otherwise you look like a gunner ******* and no one likes them.

For research, don't worry about pubs/posters. That **** is all luck. You can be ****ing Charles Darwin stuck on a dead-end project while Joe Idiot can do the motions on an already finished project and end up with a publication. Concentrate on continuity of research, aka, don't be a ****ing douchebag and do research for 8 weeks during the summer and put that down as research experience.

Clinical volunteering, again, show committment, not hours logged. Shoot for at least 100 hours, more is obviously better.

For the soup kitchen, 50> x >100 is sufficient. You aren't there to help the homeless, you're there to show adcoms that you are altruistic, even though when you start practicing as a doctor, chances are you won't even take Medicaid, nevermind do charity cases.

Number 1 priority should be grades + MCAT.

Clubs/groups/etc are such a minor part of your application. I was a "treasurer" for some stupid pre-med club and my duties involved taking money, going to Jewel/Dominicks, buying a bunch of cookies/brownies and holding a "bake sale". Then we used the proceeds to throw parties to get girls drunk so we could bang them. That's pretty much 90% of your pre-med clubs broken down to what they really do.

Mission trips, aka summer vacations, are garbage. Do it if you want to waste daddy's money. Adcoms don't give two ****s about them.

 

[AFMD]

Are you being serious? That is *horrible* advice. Medical schools want people who have challenged themselves while gaining clinically relevant experience, not illegal Mexican immigrants.

To the OP, despite what you've heard, you don't want to distinguish yourself in med school applications. You want to be the "well-rounded" person with some combination of research, volunteer work, extracurriculars, and clinical experience, with a high MCAT and high GPA. That is all they are looking for and all you need.

I disagree. If you have more than 1000 hours of farm work you're pretty much guaranteed a spot at any med school. Particularly valuble at top tier schools is horse breaking, shooting vermin, and understanding the science behind crop rotation. Knowing process meat is a real plus. What most schools won't tell you is that if you do not have actualy experience driving a tractor YOU WILL NOT GET IN. Don't even apply.

 

[FunnyCurrent]

Minimum Requirement (for general admission): These will not enhance your application but are expected
1. 33MCAT
2. 3.3 GPA
3. "leadership" position: spun however you like
4. "volunteering" position: in a hospital, as an EMT
5. "research" position: poster pubs preferred

The thing that sets you apart:
1. 36MCAT
2. 4.0 GPA
3. Letters, if from someone really important, like the dean of the medical school you are applying to

Anyone who tells you differently is lying. Admission committees have too many people to see, too many applications to review, and your "leadership" position, unless it was running an ibanking firm, does not stand out from anyone else' "leadership" position. You win with the numbers. Period.

And to preempt the person who "got in without great numbers" or the "you have to be a good person, meh" response: ANYBODY can fake it for 30 minutes and you only have to win once to get into medical school

This will set you apart at average schools... Be aware that at certain California schools and other top tiers this is average. After they believe you are worthy of consideration you still need the other things mentioned to beat out the competition.

 

[armybound]

you should read the pre-allopathic forum.

 

[akwizeguy]

Make them an offer they cant refuse

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to pre-allo

 

[darkjedi]

Having a publication in your name helps a lot. Having established interests outside of medicine also helps for the top tier schools. These schools don't really like 'cookie-cutter' applicants as much as they can fill their classes with 3.9/39's if they wanted to. Instead they look for people who are unique and can add to the medical field, while creating leaders for the next generation of physicians.

 

[alerk323]

This will set you apart at average schools... Be aware that at certain California schools and other top tiers this is average. After they believe you are worthy of consideration you still need the other things mentioned to beat out the competition.

The 36 might be an average for matriculatants , not people applying (and obviously the 4.0 isn't average....) But numbers like that will separate you from the general pile quite significantly .

 

[Dr Love]

I disagree. If you have more than 1000 hours of farm work you're pretty much guaranteed a spot at any med school. Particularly valuble at top tier schools is horse breaking, shooting vermin, and understanding the science behind crop rotation. Knowing process meat is a real plus. What most schools won't tell you is that if you do not have actualy experience driving a tractor YOU WILL NOT GET IN. Don't even apply.

Lol.

 

[Dr Love]

Respectfully I disagree. You want to distinguish yourself while being a "well-rounded" person with some combination of research, volunteer work, extracurriculars, and clinical experience, with a high MCAT and high GPA.

For example my app went something like this.

2000+ hours of clinical experience, 2 first author pubs, multiple posters at major conferences, leadership positions, teaching positions, a full-tuition scholarship, a job, high MCAT, high GPA, excellent LORs, and known for interviewing wonderfully.

^^^there do that for starters. There are people at my medschool who had more going on as premeds.

You have made my point. You have a cookie-cutter application with a little bit of everything; you did not stand out and it worked out well. Put it this way, you could be half the people at my school.