what did you do to get in?

[Drewel]

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Hey everyone, I'm still a premed and was wondering what everyone did to get into med school. Things such as grades, extra curriculars, research, mcats, etc. I hope I will only have to apply once, and want it to be perfect. Thanks for the help =P

 

[Jalby]

do everything, and do it well

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

You need good grades and a good mcat score. The better school you want to attend, the higher they need to be. Although if you are slightly above average, don't worry, you can still be accepted. You don't need a ton of extracurriculars and research. Pick some things you enjoy and do those things. You don't want to suffer with something just so it can go on your application. If you have to work and don't have time for other things, that is fine, too. The admissions people will notice that and admire your work ethic. If you are quiet and never talk to your professors, you better pick a few to get to know. You will need letters of recommendation from people and the more they know you, the better the letters are. And lastly, apply early in the cycle and make sure everything is in. A lot of schools are on rolling admissions and so the quicker you get things in, the quicker you get interviewed, and the quicker you get accepted.

Good luck!
KyGrl

 

[doepug]

One word: extortion.

 

[Drewel]

lol "extortion" I'll make sure to remember that one

thanks for all the great info, take care =)

 

[rajneel1]

i would say to do more than the minimum. if you do research then try to present or publish it. if you are in an organization, take a leadership role.
definitely get to know a few key people on campus. they are helpful for scholarship and med school letters of recommendation.
travel aboard....very helpful. more and more sucessful applicants (i think) are doing it.
try to do very well on the MCAT. i know it's hard. but try, the pain will be over soon.
make sure to have clinical experience for atleast one year.
definitely apply early in the cycle. good luck.

 

[Katie]

If you have a 37 MCAT, 4.0 GPA from Berkeley or Ivy League School, vaccinated all the children of Africa, and have 9 first author papers published, you should have a good shot. and if you have found "the one" you plan to spend the rest of your life with and have a beautiful relationship that helps too...😀

um, really, the other advice on here is good.. i really am somewhat amazed as to how I got in since compared to many applicants my credentials were not spectacular..but i love med school and would never have it any other way..

 

[Docgeorge]

Knee pads😍

 

[oldman]

Originally posted by Drewel
Hey everyone, I'm still a premed and was wondering what everyone did to get into med school. Things such as grades, extra curriculars, research, mcats, etc. I hope I will only have to apply once, and want it to be perfect. Thanks for the help =P

Some general goals. These are not the law, only things to work for.

GPA: mininum 3.5
MCAT: minimum 30
Research: find a lab and try it out
Volunteering: do something fun and something you can stick with, it does not have to be medical
Medical: You can get experience by shadowing, volunteering, or get a job at a hospital.
LOR: 4, 2 from science, 2 from humanity. Try to find some science and humanity classes that you find interesting. do well in them and actively participate in the class. smaller classes are good for this.

 

[::Seabass::]

Originally posted by Docgeorge
Knee pads😍

ahh, someone has been reading affirmative action I see........ 😀

 

[oldman]

i accidently posted this in another thread:

One thing that I forgot to add that I have read others mention. Do everything early.

As an example here's what I did.

August '00 Take MCATs
December '00 Request LORs
February '01 All LORs are in
May '01 Committee Letter completed
July '01 AMCAS submitted
July '01 Secondaries start to come in (as well as rejection letters)
August '01 First interview offer comes in
Sept '01 first interview
October '01 first acceptance

The rest of the year was very laid back.

The key to this part of the process is to do things early, so that you have time to do it well.