What makes a strong application ?

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

BellaEXE

Full Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2019
Messages
57
Reaction score
16
Points
926
  1. Pre-Medical
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Put simply, in your experience or opinion what makes a strong application?

Include examples (fictional or non) of grades, extracurricular's and other factors that would make medical schools interested.
 
BellaEXE said:
Put simply, in your experience or opinion what makes a strong application?

Include examples (fictional or non) of grades, extracurricular's and other factors that would make medical schools interested.
Click to expand...
Based upon reports from SDNers who made it into Really Top Schools, they have hundreds, if not even thousands of hours of clinical exposure and/or service to others less fortunate than themselves.

Obviously, they have good stats too.
 
Friendly, self-aware person with genuine interests who has worked to pursue those interests while excelling academically

Not an adcom but the above statement describes most people I've met at a "top" school
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Goro said:
Based upon reports from SDNers who made it into Really Top Schools, they have hundreds, if not even thousands of hours of clinical exposure and/or service to others less fortunate than themselves.

Obviously, they have good stats too.
Click to expand...
Dr Goro, we are still awaiting for your guide how to get into one of these powerhouses :cat:
 
I am describing a superstar applicant with stats above 3.8+/514+ as @Dr panda pointed out below. Most people will not be like this, so please don't think you need to have this to be competitive to get into to medical school. If you can't get all of this within 3-4 years, that's okay. Schools understand this. Your stats are not the only thing that define you. Yes they are a major part, and you need to devote most energy making sure your academics are great before worrying about the subjective parts of the application. You want to avoid the "digital shredders" when applying with competitive stats. Past that point, you need to look at your experiences.

1. Significant and long-term clinical experience (300hr+). I would recommend having a mix of work experience and volunteering. Work experience has the incentive of an income to get hours. Some schools are picky about clinical work, so try to cover your bases with some hospital or clinic volunteering.

2. Significant and long term non-clinical experience (300hr+). Find 1 or 2 organizations that focuses on underserved communities that you genuinely like. Please don't volunteer for the sake of hours. Volunteering at a place you hate or are unenthusiastic about will come though your writing and interviews. Start sometime during your freshman year.

3. Wow factor. Overcoming signifcant adversity, being a veteran, being URM, or having a unique experience will bump up your application. I know this will piss people off, but schools are looking for people who can provide perspectives outside of the pre-med norm. You really do learn from your classmates, and you will need to work with diverse populations. So they do want students who can bring diverse experiences.

4. Research. Try to have at least a year's worth of research, and try to find a PI who cares about you as a student. My PI ended up being one of my mentors, and he pushed me to apply for posters and writing responsibilities. Aim to get at least one poster for research.

5. Leadership. Use this as a way to display your passion. If you like dance, community service, music, education, or business, your leadership should reflect that, and you want to show initiative and growth as a leader. It doesn't need to be obnoxious like starting a non-profit, but you don't want to have a meaningless board role that prevents you from creating change and implementing new ideas.

6. Have fun hobbies. They want to see well rounded, social people who can have fun in healthy ways. So don't feel guilty spending time making art or collecting stamps. Also identify outlets to relax and release stress.

7. Have a clear recognizable theme behind your activities. For me, my activities centered around community service for underserved communities. I backed this up with my service, my clinical experiences, my research, my leadership, and my hobbies. Medical schools were able to see that I walked the walk and talked the talk. My application moved beyond normal pre-med boxchecking. Having a theme makes it easier for readers and interviewers to understand who you are and what motivates you.

8. Be a genuine, friendly, and sociable person. No matter how stern a person is, they can't think negative of someone who exudes kind, fun, confident energy. You need to know how to talk to people.
 
Last edited:
diasterdream said:
I am describing a superstar applicant. Most people will not be like this, so please don't think you need to have this to be competitive or get into to medical school. If you can't get all of this within 3-4 years, that's okay. Schools understand this.

1. Significant and long-term clinical experience (300hr+). I would recommend having a mix of work experience and volunteering. Work experience has the incentive of an income to get hours. Some schools are picky about clinical work, so try to cover your bases with some hospital or clinic volunteering.

2. Significant and long term non-clinical experience (300hr+). Find 1 or 2 organizations that focuses on underserved communities that you genuinely like. Please don't volunteer for the sake of hours. Volunteering at a place you hate or are unenthusiastic about will come though your writing and interviews. Start sometime during your freshman year.

3. Research. Try to have at least a year's worth of research, and try to find a PI who cares about you as a student. My PI ended up being one of my mentors, and he pushed me to apply for posters and writing responsibilities. Aim to get at least one poster for research.

4. Leadership. Use this as a way to display your passion. If you like dance, community service, music, education, or business, your leadership should reflect that, and you want to show initiative and growth as a leader. It doesn't need to be obnoxious like starting a non-profit, but you don't have a board role that prevents you from contributing change and ideas.

5. Have fun hobbies to be well rounded. They want to see well rounded, social people who can have fun in healthy ways. So don't feel guilty spending time making art or collecting stamps.

6. Have a clear recognizable theme behind your activities. For me, my activities centered around community service for underserved communities. I backed this up with my service,my clinical experiences, my research, my leadership, and my hobbies. Medical schools were able to see I walked the walk and talked the talk. My application moved beyond normal pre-med boxchecking. Again it makes it easier for readers and interviewers to understand who you are and what motivates you.

7. Be a genuine, friendly, and sociable person. No matter how stern a person is, they can't think negative of someone who exudes kind, fun, confident energy. You need to know how to talk to people.
Click to expand...
You forgot the most important parts
1) 3.8+ GPA
2) 517+ MCAT
 
Yeah, I'd say that 514 is a bit low for top-20 schools. Other than that, the guide's spot on.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I would agree with all of the above and also point to LORs. Naturally, good ones (should) come when you’ve dedicated so many hours to your extracurriculars, but so many people get letter writers that write forgettable letters. Like nothing that’s a red flag but also nothing that sets you apart.

It’s important to get someone who’s willing to truly advocate for an applicants greatness and craft a narrative that fits with the rest of your app.
 
The short no bull**** answer is money....... Money and lots of it, the richer the better!
 
BellaEXE said:
Put simply, in your experience or opinion what makes a strong application?

Include examples (fictional or non) of grades, extracurricular's and other factors that would make medical schools interested.
Click to expand...
Something so unique, that if you were to disclose it on sdn, you'd be almost effectively doxxing yourself, like cruise ship comedian who performed CPR on the captain after he was found incapacitated in the casino.
 
BellaEXE said:
Put simply, in your experience or opinion what makes a strong application?

Include examples (fictional or non) of grades, extracurricular's and other factors that would make medical schools interested.
Click to expand...

you can be strong numbers-wise.
The ultra high gpa or mcat etc and have a solid shot at some of the high stat schools that mostly prioritize numbers-WUSTL, Northwestern etc...

then you have the other schools which care about research, research, research...the T10s etc aka research powerhouses, for which publications and/or significant research does matter.
They would probably be more forgiving of a 518 (w pubs) vs 524 (checkbox type research exp)

some also care a LOT about service, working with underserved etc and often have unique MD programs dedicated to raising MDs enthusiastic about working in underserved areas.

then there’s always that outside intangible factor.
(HYPSM type schools seem to care a lot about this)

Did you help develop a new medication thru your research?
Do you speak 5 languages?
Were you or your parents refugees?
Are you a 4.0 applicant and an all star athlete?
Are you a 4th etc generation in a family of doctors?
Are you the first ever in your family to go to college? (Altho more common)

These are exceptions to the norm and while there’s no such thing as a guarantee with admissions, someone like that would have a high chance of getting top tier Invites.

The WOW fx is often outside of one’s control-and doesnt happen overnight. But if you believe you have a certain skill or circumstance that is truly unique, you can try to highlight that in your application.

And there’s always the luck of the draw with these things. Maybe the person reviewing your application was excited about something random in your file. Was from your hometown. Went to your school. Or personally knew someone u worked with etc. You can never know
 
n = 1. Take it for what you will.

I got an interview (and was eventually accepted), and my interviewer explicitly said “your interest in National Parks (hobby on AMCAS) was how I noticed your application, because my wife is into them too.”

Surely there’s numerous other factors that can lead to standing out, assuming stats are sufficient. I just found it interesting that that was the thing that caught the adcom’s eye.
 
Gudgeon said:
n = 1. Take it for what you will.

I got an interview (and was eventually accepted), and my interviewer explicitly said “your interest in National Parks (hobby on AMCAS) was how I noticed your application, because my wife is into them too.”

Surely there’s numerous other factors that can lead to standing out, assuming stats are sufficient. I just found it interesting that that was the thing that caught the adcom’s eye.
Click to expand...

What a game we are playing
 
TwoHighways said:
That would be an absolute riot of someone created a parody video of adcoms essentially swiping left or right based on super knit-picky stuff.
Click to expand...
I heard an adcom compare this process to Tinder. Honestly imagining the interview as a date has helped my confidence when it comes to interviewing.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Engrailed said:
🤣
Click to expand...
The backward glance over the shoulder with mouth slightly open seems popular with women.
Hands in pockets looking off into the horizon wearing shades (in B/W) is a male go-to.
 
gyngyn said:
The backward glance over the shoulder with mouth slightly open seems popular with women.
Hands in pockets looking off into the horizon wearing shades (in B/W) is a male go-to.
Click to expand...

I’m actually pretty happy to hear that given the sheer volume of applicants I’m up against. I can’t believe some people don’t have better judgement/situational awareness than that.
 
gyngyn said:
The backward glance over the shoulder with mouth slightly open seems popular with women.
Hands in pockets looking off into the horizon wearing shades (in B/W) is a male go-to.
Click to expand...

i’d rather not know that these might be potential applicants that Im losing invites to... ignorance is bliss here.
 
Engrailed said:
i’d rather not know that these might be potential applicants that Im losing invites to... ignorance is bliss here.
Click to expand...
No need for worry.
 
TwoHighways said:
That would be an absolute riot of someone created a parody video of adcoms essentially swiping left or right based on super knit-picky stuff.
Click to expand...
Caribbean schools would be the inebriated frat guy furiously and indiscriminately swiping right at 2 in the morning.

The equivalent of “just looking for fun” in a bio section would be “I like science and helping people”

URM, military, or Rhodes? Super-like
 
I think it depends on where you're applying, like strong for your state school isn't necessarily strong for Harvard. I'd assume being above the 50th percentile for mcat/gpa for a particular school would be considered strong if coupled with like 300+ hrs of clinical, nonclinical and some form of research. Throw in a leadership/mentorship role and maybe some unique experience and youre set

edit: if youre looking for something more general then maybe 3.7+, 512+, 2-3 extended volunteer opportunities, 50+ shadow hours, a publication is a nice thing to add but by no means necessary for a strong app with most programs and a cumulative 500 hours of clinical experience
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
BellaEXE said:
Put simply, in your experience or opinion what makes a strong application?

Include examples (fictional or non) of grades, extracurricular's and other factors that would make medical schools interested.
Click to expand...
As far as MD, I would think MCAT score. I had 6000+ solid clinical hours as a pediatric trauma nurse, 3.7+ GPA, great LOR's, research experience, polished personal statement and essays but had a low MCAT score and did not receive a II from any MD program. I believe that DO schools are more big picture as far as looking for well rounded applicants and I faired better in the cycle with DO schools.
 
bent1993 said:
As far as MD, I would think MCAT score. I had 6000+ solid clinical hours as a pediatric trauma nurse, 3.7+ GPA, great LOR's, research experience, polished personal statement and essays but had a low MCAT score and did not receive a II from any MD program. I believe that DO schools are more big picture as far as looking for well rounded applicants and I faired better in the cycle with DO schools.
Click to expand...
To be fair, you also only applied to 7 MD schools! Even applicants with great apps and scores who apply to 20+ schools can end up getting interviews and acceptances at < 3 schools, so your odds may have been a bit low from the start due to the randomness of the whole process. Applying strategically (fit and quantity of schools) can have a huge impact on the success of an applicant. I'm not sure I would agree that DO schools are looking for more well-rounded applicants than MD schools; they may just be more willing to forgive a poor MCAT score or GPA than MD schools are. The average scores for matriculants at each type of school can attest to that.

I think MD schools can be just as picky when looking for strong/well-rounded applicants and, as frustrating as this can be, will shrug off even a 520+ MCAT score regardless of how the rest of the app looks. Looking at many of the people who reported receiving full-rides to UCLA today, you'll see that their MCATs--though within a very respectable 510-515 range--are not the 524+ scores one might picture someone who gets to go to UCLA for free would have. I have to imagine their personality and life stories earned them that accomplishment, more so than a solid MCAT score. MD schools do seem to look at the "whole picture", at least once a certain MCAT/GPA cutoff is met.
 
Last edited:
strong app by default:
300+ clin hrs
3.75+ gpa/3.7sgpa
300+ service
515+ mcat
250+ hours of research, sustained interest in it esp when going for top schools

The differentiator between these carbon copies of high stat apps? Sustained passion in something particular (org, talent, group, clinic, etc) with genuine impact, and something true to yourself. Your eyes need to show its truth when you talk about it in an interview

Need to be able to convey it passionately yet concisely across your app and unify it. Thats my take on a strong app. No one asked tho. Or well i guess OP did?
 
Last edited:
imbesrs said:
strong app by default:
300+ clin hrs
3.75+ gpa/3.7sgpa
300+ service
515+ mcat

The differentiator between these carbon copies of high stat apps? Sustained passion in something particular (org, talent, group, clinic, etc) with genuine impact, and something true to yourself. Your eyes need to show its truth when you talk about it in an interview

Need to be able to convey it passionately yet concisely across your app and unify it. Thats my take on a strong app. No one asked tho. Or well i guess OP did?
Click to expand...
What if you're passionate about your service work? I talked about my senior care center service with passion and made it the center of a lot o fmy apps.
 
mwsapphire said:
What if you're passionate about your service work? I talked about my senior care center service with passion and made it the center of a lot o fmy apps.
Click to expand...
That’s exactly what I did. I Focused on palliative care. Talked about that in every interview while stressing the humanism part of medicine. But the one thing every school brought up was my research and even though I’m not as passionate about it was a major chunk of my interview
 
imbesrs said:
strong app by default:
300+ clin hrs
3.75+ gpa/3.7sgpa
300+ service
515+ mcat
250+ hours of research, sustained interest in it esp when going for top schools

The differentiator between these carbon copies of high stat apps? Sustained passion in something particular (org, talent, group, clinic, etc) with genuine impact, and something true to yourself. Your eyes need to show its truth when you talk about it in an interview

Need to be able to convey it passionately yet concisely across your app and unify it. Thats my take on a strong app. No one asked tho. Or well i guess OP did?
Click to expand...
Op did and I’m glad you answered
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
How to build a strong application question
Replies
7
Views
831
Luckycharms2024
L
N
Application Timeline - What is considered early, on-time, and late?
Replies
13
Views
1K
Rachapkis
Rachapkis
P
Worried about application timeline
Replies
3
Views
2K
LizzyM
LizzyM
K
Application Timeline Pending MCAT
Replies
1
Views
1K
wysdoc
wysdoc
L
Sudden MS drop after submitting application. What to do?
Replies
1
Views
695
LizzyM
LizzyM
Top Bottom