Would like some help from Pitt Med students

[Highschoolkid]

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OK, I'm a high school senior who wants to desperately go to Pitt Med. Its been my dream to go there for the past two years. I applied to the University of Pittsburgh as a pre-med major. Here's the catch: Because I have an outstanding high school transcript and record, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has chosen me to interview for them as part of their Guaranteed Medical School Admission Program, where they select a few highly motivated, qualified students to be admitted to medical school following their undergraduate studies provided a few criteria are met during the undergraduate years (3.7 GPA and a 32 MCAT). I REALLY want to get accepted to this program, but that means that I have to wow the admissions committee. They asked me to bring anything to my interview that I thought would help me because they have not seen my application yet (the interviewees were chosen by the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine has not seen my application). I plan on bringing my undergraduate application (SAT scores, ACT scores, Activity Sheet, and High School Transcript). However, like I said, I really want to wow them, so I would like to kind of fill out a mock School of Medicine application, especially the secondary essays. I know about the essays about an ethical dilemma and about why accepting me would bring diversity to their school. I need to know if there are any other essays which are part of the Pitt Med application, are there any more? Also, I have an idea of what I want to write about for the diversity essay; that I am a surfer, skateboarder, punk rock music listener, among other unorthodox hobbies. Does this soun like a good idea? Additionally, I don't know where to go with the ethical dliemma essay, any suggestions? Finally, I really want the admissions committee to be amazed at my interview, anyone know what they are really looking for during an interview? You have no idea how much I want this acceptance, please help. Thank you very much

 

[auster]

My advice - don't go overboard. Really. And don't write the essays - they probably won't be read (just being practical here), and even if they are, they won't make a difference. Make sure that the parts of your application that they actually WANT are done well, and don't try to act like someone you aren't (I HATE interviewing people who are pretending...) Don't kiss up, but also don't pretend like you aren't interested - in other words, be genuine.
And as another point - as much as I love Pittmed, I would have (very likely) been happy at many other places. Don't decide things now - you need to get a better idea of what else is out there. So, in other words, don't be crushed if you don't get in. It sounds like you may have prematurely set up a "dream school" for yourself. Wait to decide on these things [which isn't to say that applying for this program is a bad idea, but remember that your mind might change]. You might even decide that medicine isn't for you.

 

[Highschoolkid]

auster: when you say that I should make sure that the parts of my application that they really want should be done well, what parts do they really want done well?

 

[auster]

Originally posted by Highschoolkid
auster: when you say that I should make sure that the parts of my application that they really want should be done well, what parts do they really want done well?

What I mean is that, rather than inventing new essays for yourself to write, why don't you just focus on the essays that they are actually requiring? The secondary essay is really not very important for admission anyway (heck, I turned mine in more than a month AFTER my interview) - and the fact is, I don't think that anyone would expect a 16-17 year old to have really confronted many ethical situations outside of the academic context (maybe you have, maybe you haven't). If you want to write an essay to show a sample of your writing, then why not just write an essay on something that you care about or are interested in?

 

[Highschoolkid]

What are the required essay questions? Are there any essays on the AMCAS application?

 

[auster]

Originally posted by Highschoolkid
What are the required essay questions? Are there any essays on the AMCAS application?

I mean, do the application that they gave you for the program for which you are applying. If they want an essay, write one. If they don't, then you don't have to write one. It sounds like you are making this much more complicated than it has to be - they are not expecting a real med school application from you.
Don't kiss up, act yourself, and, as long as you are genuinely a nice, smart, interesting person, you should be fine.
Good luck.... AND RELAX!

 

[Highschoolkid]

All right. Thanks for the words of advice and encouragement. I am definitely going to bring a photograph (they asked for this), a Resume, Standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, a high school transcript, and the essay I wrote for the undergraduate admissions office. This is pretty much my undergraduate application. Is submitting an essay which was part of my original application, which they have not seen, ok? I think that would be better because this essay is about my motivation and portrait of a physician, and it is part of my application. This would so much easier if they had just seen my application to begin with. Any interview tips other than be genuine, honest, relaxed, etc... I hear that Pitt interviews are very conversational and relaxed, anyone get the opposite impression?