Why _____ School of Medicine?

[DielsAlder]

I am looking at secondaries, and it seems that my reasons for applying to a lot of my schools are the same few reasons. A lot of my reasons are based on research, patient diversity, and curriculum.

Will these come off as generic answers to the med schools I am applying to, although they are very genuine answers?

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[baxt1412]

Are any of them teaching hospitals? If so, do you have any mentoring/teaching experience?

For example, I'm applying ED to a teaching hospital and I have camp counselor experience, 3 year RA experience, elementary school tutoring experience, and TA experience so I'm going to highlight that in any interviews/secondaries because it aligns well with my own personal preference. I really enjoy teaching/mentoring.

 

[claduva94]

Look at this way. You want your essay to stand out. Many of your reasons are standard items on brochures that many applicants will use. Really try to research deeper to find specific programs you relate to.

 

[BlueCircle]

If you do your reserach before applying (school mission statements) , this question need not be asked.

 

[DielsAlder]

Are any of them teaching hospitals? If so, do you have any mentoring/teaching experience?

For example, I'm applying ED to a teaching hospital and I have camp counselor experience, 3 year RA experience, elementary school tutoring experience, and TA experience so I'm going to highlight that in any interviews/secondaries because it aligns well with my own personal preference. I really enjoy teaching/mentoring.

I don't have any formal teaching experience, unless you count teaching younger undergrads in a research lab how to do things.

Look at this way. You want your essay to stand out. Many of your reasons are standard items on brochures that many applicants will use. Really try to research deeper to find specific programs you relate to.

I was thinking exactly that too. I am a big research nerd. It is also pretty hard when some schools limit you by characters!

 

[claduva94]

The current student handbooks sometimes have some good information that is more unique! I'd give those a peek. I would;t say its bad to mention things such as patient diversity but you definitely want talk about school-specific programs as well. If you can copy and paste your essay from school to school with minimal changes then odds are you are approaching it to0 vaguely. In my essays I focus on one or two programs and connect them to my overall wishes (e.g. patient diversity) in order to cover my bases.

 

[baxt1412]

i don't think i would count that as teaching since it sounds like your main position was just to do the research. but you could include a short blurb that this position also required you to mentor the newer people on the project on the techniques, etc.

 

[Pacna]

If you do your reserach before applying (school mission statements) , this question need not be asked.

I disagree. Most applicants apply to schools because of comparable matriculant stats, not due to any mission statement BS.

However, the OP should try to sound like someone who cares deeply about the mission statement, programs, etc.

 

[DielsAlder]

I disagree. Most applicants apply to schools because of comparable matriculant stats, not due to any mission statement BS.

However, the OP should try to sound like someone who cares deeply about the mission statement, programs, etc.

I am applying to a lot of research heavy schools, which all offer great programs for various types of projects. My fear before was that this reason for applying could be applied to many other schools, although it is a sincere reason. Also, completely agree about the mission statement stuff too!

 

[LizzyM]

I am applying to a lot of research heavy schools, which all offer great programs for various types of projects. My fear before was that this reason for applying could be applied to many other schools, although it is a sincere reason. Also, completely agree about the mission statement stuff too!

What research? Don't drop names but if you can make reference to a particular type of work (by disease or using a specific technique or a certain animal model such as zebrafish) that you've done & that is being done there, you can show that you have made an effort to answer in a way that is more than just generic.

 

[NickNaylor]

As suggested above, crawl the schools' websites and see what kind of information you can find. Oftentimes there are resources designed for current students available publicly on the school's website; this kind of stuff is good fodder for getting a sense of what a school is about and the kinds of things you might want to emphasize in your responses to the secondary and the interview. Beyond that, yes, it's difficult to say something truly unique for every school you apply to. In truth, some of the distinctions are relatively minor and may be difficult to pick up on, but spending the time necessary to try and identify those things and take advantage of them is worth the effort IMO.

 

[MrLogan13]

Someone should answer honestly about this and see what happens. lol

I disagree. Most applicants apply to schools because of comparable matriculant stats, not due to any mission statement BS.

However, the OP should try to sound like someone who cares deeply about the mission statement, programs, etc.

 

[NickNaylor]

I disagree. Most applicants apply to schools because of comparable matriculant stats, not due to any mission statement BS.

However, the OP should try to sound like someone who cares deeply about the mission statement, programs, etc.

This is true, but the most successful applicants are those which fit well within an institution's culture - whether inadvertent or intentional. Yes, the mission statements all sound similar, but there are subtle differences which, unfortunately, may not become apparent until you actually spend time at the school and interact with some of the students, faculty, and/or staff.

 

[DielsAlder]

Thank you everyone!

 

[Lamel]

It is toughest for schools that have a ~200 word limit. You can barely expand on 1 aspect with that limit.

 

[Pacna]

Someone should answer honestly about this and see what happens. lol

I did to one school. Didn't go well. I have to vomit BS at you to be a doctor? Okay.

 

[Lamel]

What research? Don't drop names but if you can make reference to a particular type of work (by disease or using a specific technique or a certain animal model such as zebrafish) that you've done & that is being done there, you can show that you have made an effort to answer in a way that is more than just generic.

Just to expand upon this, is it frowned upon to name a PI that you may be interested in working with?

 

[mrh125]

This is true, but the most successful applicants are those which fit well within an institution's culture - whether inadvertent or intentional. Yes, the mission statements all sound similar, but there are subtle differences which, unfortunately, may not become apparent until you actually spend time at the school and interact with some of the students, faculty, and/or staff.

Please elaborate. most mission statements sound literally almost identical.

 

[gettheleadout]

It is toughest for schools that have a ~200 word limit. You can barely expand on 1 aspect with that limit.

Haha I know exactly who you're talking about.


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[Psai]

I did to one school. Didn't go well. I have to vomit BS at you to be a doctor? Okay.

Telling people bs to make them feel better is basically the job description

 

[DermViser]

I did to one school. Didn't go well. I have to vomit BS at you to be a doctor? Okay.

You'll be doing the same in med school and residency.

 

[Person0715]

As suggested above, crawl the schools' websites and see what kind of information you can find. Oftentimes there are resources designed for current students available publicly on the school's website; this kind of stuff is good fodder for getting a sense of what a school is about and the kinds of things you might want to emphasize in your responses to the secondary and the interview. Beyond that, yes, it's difficult to say something truly unique for every school you apply to. In truth, some of the distinctions are relatively minor and may be difficult to pick up on, but spending the time necessary to try and identify those things and take advantage of them is worth the effort IMO.

I am having a lot of trouble on these "Why ____" essays. How do you know when something is unique to a school? I feel schools all say pretty much the same things on their websites!

 

[Psai]

I am having a lot of trouble on these "Why ____" essays. How do you know when something is unique to a school? I feel schools all say pretty much the same things on their websites!

Yeah it's part of the game. Go on the old school specific threads and see if you can find a post from a current medical student. Sometimes people will post really good information because they've been through it and know more about their school than anyone else, from a student's perspective. From what I read here and from what I hear from my friends at other schools, I really feel like medical school is pretty homogenous with everyone doing the same thing and dealing with the same stuff. Maybe you have a few more world famous surgeons in your department at a school or your peds rotation is half a month longer than your buddy's but the amount of overlap is surprising

 

[LizzyM]

Just to expand upon this, is it frowned upon to name a PI that you may be interested in working with?

It might be okay if you have worked with other researchers doing related research and can go in saying that you want to build on your current skills by learning x, y, z but it might be best even in those situations to say, "I am interested in research in beta-cell neogenisis given my experience with ...." rather than saying "I would like to work in Professor Barry Sweets lab" if you don't know the professor or if he would be open to taking students in his lab. If you are just taking a name off of a list, you don' t know if you are choosing someone who is on the way out to another school, or about to retire or a complete SOB who no one in their right mind would want to work with.

 

[PlumbLine]

Someone should answer honestly about this and see what happens. lol

In essays and interviews I was always honest about this question. I elected to NOT go the route of "your school has (insert obscure feature of the school) which is one of the many reasons I want to go there." If it's not why you want to go there, why would you put it in the essay?

Think about what you want to accomplish in medical school. How can this school help you accomplish those goals? That's what this essay is about. You don't need to find some unique quality of the school and write some BS about that being the reason you want to go there (unless that's actually why, but don't go mining for it). Decide on your goals, read through the website etc. and figure out how this school has what you need. Will another school have similar qualities? Probably, but that's okay.


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[chiberian husky]

I disagree. Most applicants apply to schools because of comparable matriculant stats, not due to any mission statement BS.

Most of these type of applicants will not be matriculating next year.

 

[Pacna]

Most of these type of applicants will not be matriculating next year.

Of course. Most applicants won't be matriculating next year.

 

[chiberian husky]

Of course. Most applicants won't be matriculating next year.

Zing! 🙄

 

[Lamel]

It might be okay if you have worked with other researchers doing related research and can go in saying that you want to build on your current skills by learning x, y, z but it might be best even in those situations to say, "I am interested in research in beta-cell neogenisis given my experience with ...." rather than saying "I would like to work in Professor Barry Sweets lab" if you don't know the professor or if he would be open to taking students in his lab. If you are just taking a name off of a list, you don' t know if you are choosing someone who is on the way out to another school, or about to retire or a complete SOB who no one in their right mind would want to work with.

I see your point, I'll just stick to topics instead of names.

Thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

 

[sazerac]

Look at this way. You want your essay to stand out. Many of your reasons are standard items on brochures that many applicants will use. Really try to research deeper to find specific programs you relate to.

I wish medical schools put more effort into making their mission statement and secondary questions stand out. I'm sorry, but after reading 3 or 4 my eyes glaze over with the endless repetition.

You want to train leaders. Check.
You want to serve the under served. Check.
You want to contribute to scientific knowledge. Check.
You want to know "why this school". Check.

I long for some truly unique stand-out medical schools, and not a bunch of box-checking cookie-cutter institutions.

 

[claduva94]

I wish medical schools put more effort into making their mission statement and secondary questions stand out. I'm sorry, but after reading 3 or 4 my eyes glaze over with the endless repetition.

You want to train leaders. Check.
You want to serve the under served. Check.
You want to contribute to scientific knowledge. Check.
You want to know "why this school". Check.

I long for some truly unique stand-out medical schools, and not a bunch of box-checking cookie-cutter institutions.

That is why I am not using mission statements much at all for my secondaries. It does not give me much to work with. But there are variations in programs the school offers that indicate how the mission statement is emphasized by the school.

 

[LizzyM]

Rather than the mission statement, look at the curriculum, extracurricular opportunities,and facilities such as laboratories and simulation lab.

 

[Planes2Doc]

I wish medical schools put more effort into making their mission statement and secondary questions stand out. I'm sorry, but after reading 3 or 4 my eyes glaze over with the endless repetition.

You want to train leaders. Check.
You want to serve the under served. Check.
You want to contribute to scientific knowledge. Check.
You want to know "why this school". Check.

I long for some truly unique stand-out medical schools, and not a bunch of box-checking cookie-cutter institutions.

With cookie-cutter mission statements and most applicants not utilizing resources like SDN, what can schools honestly expect with this question?

Very few applicants are applying to one or two schools which they have their hearts set on. A majority of applicants apply broadly. This includes top choices, safeties, and everything in between. Are ADCOMs oblivious to the fact that applicants apply broadly, and a good portion of them would kill to get even a single acceptance? I realize everyone wants to feel special and no one wants to be second choice, but this is a horrible question along with what's your greatest weakness. In the context of medical school admissions and cookie-cutter mission statements, it's a poor question that is pretty meaningless, and will only penalize perfectly good applicants who might not be at the top of their BSing game.

 

[Lamel]

With cookie-cutter mission statements and most applicants not utilizing resources like SDN, what can schools honestly expect with this question?

Very few applicants are applying to one or two schools which they have their hearts set on. A majority of applicants apply broadly. This includes top choices, safeties, and everything in between. Are ADCOMs oblivious to the fact that applicants apply broadly, and a good portion of them would kill to get even a single acceptance? I realize everyone wants to feel special and no one wants to be second choice, but this is a horrible question along with what's your greatest weakness. In the context of medical school admissions and cookie-cutter mission statements, it's a poor question that is pretty meaningless, and will only penalize perfectly good applicants who might not be at the top of their BSing game.

I agree that it isn't a great question, but I think schools are just making sure you at least look at their website/curriculum etc. There are some schools that have amazing things that are relatively unique but most are fairly similar; either way, I don't think we have to find something completely obscure/unique about the school and force ourselves to talk about, but mentioning the curriculum and showing some interest is likely the best way to go about it.

I think if schools feel they have something specifically unique to them and want it touched upon, they should ask explicitly. For example, Stanford asks how their requirement for a scholarly concentration will benefit our future career.

Flat out though, mission statements are only good if you can utilize a buzz word or 2 that the school likes. Other than that, websites are the best tool.

 

[PlumbLine]

With cookie-cutter mission statements and most applicants not utilizing resources like SDN, what can schools honestly expect with this question?

Very few applicants are applying to one or two schools which they have their hearts set on. A majority of applicants apply broadly. This includes top choices, safeties, and everything in between. Are ADCOMs oblivious to the fact that applicants apply broadly, and a good portion of them would kill to get even a single acceptance? I realize everyone wants to feel special and no one wants to be second choice, but this is a horrible question along with what's your greatest weakness. In the context of medical school admissions and cookie-cutter mission statements, it's a poor question that is pretty meaningless, and will only penalize perfectly good applicants who might not be at the top of their BSing game.

I'm not an Adcom, but I don't interpret the question as asking "why is this school your top choice?"

All it's asking is why do you want to go this school.

I reiterate my point from an earlier post: Think about your goals and talk about how this school can help you achieve them.

Do not write BS! All this talk about mission statements... Smh



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