Official "Advice on getting in for next years applicants" thread

[opel]

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I know there has been several threads that have talked about do's and dont's but I would just like to give next years applicants my opinion and everone else is welcomed to add anything that could be helpful. What somone thinks is minor could be the reason someone else gets in.

1) apply to many schools, 20 being the minumun.
2) research which schools you should apply to. For example, last year I e-mailed several schools and asked them what kind of applicant they are looking for.
3) if your stats are average or less (30mcat, 3.5 gpa, mediocore ec's) do not apply to more than two out of state public schools(state schools).
4) apply early and send all of the different schools requests as soon as possible.
5) during the interviews, you should be very confident without crossing the line that leads you to arrogance, be yourself, and please make sure that your cellular is off during the interview, please!!
6) apply to the so called "easy" schools (of course nothing is guranteed)
7) if you have taken 4 semesters or more in spanish, make sure to apply to Ponce Schools of Medicine. University of puerto rico only accepts residence and universidad central has had problems in the past with accreditation.
8) Ponce is one of the LCME schools and it favors students from the US who know some spanish and have competitive stats, its student never have problems with matching, I know a few of them personally and all said they did not have a problem matching in the US.
9) Most importantly, after you have done everything in your capacity to get into med school, have as much fun as legally possible.
I made many mistakes this year so I hope after reading this you won't make the same mistake.

 

[trouta]

I dont think 20 is a minimum number that anyone should adhere to. If I had applied to 20 schools I would have wasted a lot of money (this can be prohibitively expensive). Also, I think that the minimum number of schools to apply to is based on the individual and is best determined personally or through a dialogue with a pre-med advisor who knows your stats.

Public, out-of-state, schools are much more unlikely to accept out of state applicants. If you really want to go to a particular state apply to all the schools there including the public and private (though the private schools are much more likely to admit you).

When you go to interview, have a clear idea of why you applied to that school and what makes them unique and desirable (this is achievec thru research and conversations with students). If you know this and can share it during your interview, you are much better off.

Finally, I whole heartedly agree with the last suggestion. Try to have fun. This process is bad enough without stressing about it every waking and sleeping hour (Its really hard not to do this).

 

[Future_Doc]

Don't stress out. Have as much fun as you can with the whole process. 😀

 

[TommyGunn04]

I must also disagree with the 20 school minimum. I applied to 15, and I found even this number to be a bit large. I spent a LOT of money, perhaps unnecessarily.

Of course, whatever YOU choose depends on what sort of applicant you are. The problem however is that of course you don't know how many interviews/acceptances you're going to get at the beginning. And hindsight is always 20/20.

So I'd say the most important thing to do is choose schools VERY carefully. Talk to LOTS of people who've applied already, because they know quite a bit about particular schools and the process in general. And use your school's pre-med advisor if you have one (assuming he/she is experienced and knowledgable).