Jessica Freedman, MD

By Jessica Freedman, MD
President of MedEdits

Your son or daughter wants to get into medical school. Of course, you want to help, but how? Many parents, including those who are physicians themselves, are overwhelmed by the medical school application process. They want to guide their young adult children but also want to allow their “kids” to work independently and don’t want to do too much hand holding.

So, what do you, as parents, need to know about the medical school admissions process to help your premedical student to succeed? This article reviews some basic material to help parents and their children make wise choices that will help them to gain acceptance to medical school.

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Alex Shalman

by Alex Shalman
AlexShalman.com – Practical Personal Development

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”

~Randy Pausch

There are certain goals in your life for which success is a non-negotiable conclusion. It’s inevitable that the bus of your life is going to drive towards a fork in the road.  The trick is to position yourself in the drivers seat.

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by Joe Sisk
SDN Staff Author

Ahh, simple childhood games. Music playing. Walking around a circle of chairs. I’m eyeing the one closest to me.

*the music stops*
I scramble for a chair.

“I’m sorry, Joe. You can’t sit in a red chair. Those are for people with Outies. Your belly button is an Innie. You need to find a blue chair.”
“But the kindergarteners took most of the blue chairs for their game…”
“I’m sorry. Just see if you can find a left over one.”
I cry.

While this never actually happened, it is a recurring nightmare I have (and may explain my deep seated phobia of blue chairs). This game represents how health professional school admissions, particularly medical school admissions, work.

For medical schools, there are a good number of chairs that are spoken for before you’ve even submitted your AMCAS. How many depends on the types of alternate acceptance programs the school offers, but these programs contribute to the ultimate class size and subsequently are fewer seats available during the AMCAS application cycle.

As an informed applicant, what you can do is realize that you’re only going to be competing for the blue chair. Read the full story

By Jessica Freedman, MD
President of MedEdits: Medical Admissions

AMCAS 2010 opens in early May and the next wave of applicants is preparing to submit applications, so it seems apropos to summarize some key observations I have made while privately advising medical school applicants. Here is my list of some essentials for medical school applicants to improve their chances of acceptance.

1. Submit an early application
   Everything you read tells you that the #1 rule of medical school admissions is to apply early. But, I find that many applicants still ignore this advice. You should not only submit your application as early as possible but also make sure that your transcripts and letters of reference are sent in promptly.
2. Take your MCAT exam early
   Again, the key word here is “early.” Your application will not be reviewed until your pending MCAT scores are in so, if you have worked hard to submit your AMCAS application in June, don’t negate this effort by taking an August MCAT.
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by Kara Hessel

Just over a year ago, I stood, heart racing and hands trembling, in front of my mailbox.  Any other Thursday I would have nonchalantly checked my mail as I came home from work, but today was an entirely different story.

A friend had texted me earlier in the day to let me know that decision letters had been delivered by our state school.  I had only been offered two interviews, and the letter which innocently lay in my mailbox represented my highest hope for attending medical school that year.  I paced for a full two minutes in front of my mailbox before I built up the courage to open it.  I probably would have paced longer, but someone came down my hallway, and I felt a bit foolish dancing around in front of the mailboxes.

Four attempts at inserting my key in the lock later, I was holding a too-thin, white, letter-sized envelope in my severely shaking hands.  Suddenly, I desperately needed to know the contents of that letter, and I ripped open the envelope with fervor akin to a starving man diving into a steak dinner.  I never made it past the first line.  The phrase

We regret to inform you…

jumped out of the page.

Panic gripped me, and it seemed that I could barely breathe, but no tears clouded my vision as I stared mindlessly at those dream-shattering words.  I stumbled down the hall to my apartment, where I collapsed in my desk chair.

In an attempt to think of something, anything, else, I opened the browser on my laptop and checked my e-mail.  I immediately noticed that I had received an e-mail from the one other school I had interviewed at, my last chance for the year.  I quickly opened the e-mail, only to discover that I had been waitlisted.

Utterly shocked, I crossed the room and lay down on my bed with one thought on my mind.  What in the world am I going to do now?

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by Christian Becker
Author of The Official Student Doctor Network Medical School Admissions Guide

The discussion here will focus on the MCAT scores, timing, strategies and other issues.  Discussion about the content of the MCAT and details about the exam itself will be held to a minimum and would extend this already lengthy post too much.

The GPA

Obviously, the higher your GPA, the better. Generally, anything above a 3.5 GPA is considered very good and very competitive. Jumping from a 3.0 to a 3.5 GPA will make a huge difference in someone’s application, whereas jumping from a 3.5 to a 4.0 GPA will not be quite as dramatic (although it is obviously an advantage to have a 4.0 versus a 3.5 GPA).

The GPA really reflects how seriously an applicant has taken his or her undergraduate studies. A high GPA is a reflection of strong study habits and work ethics. Medical schools look at an applicant’s GPA for that reason – to evaluate if the applicant is likely to work hard in medical school. A high GPA has been found to be a very good predictor of success and the likelihood that someone will NOT drop out of medical school.

It is also worth pointing out that a high GPA can compensate somewhat for a lower MCAT score. The GPA usually does carry a lot of weight in the admission decision. If both MCAT and GPA are lower, admission to medical school becomes much harder. However, having said that, there is more to the overall application than the MCAT and GPA alone. An otherwise stellar application can also overcome a lower GPA and MCAT score – to a point.

The 3.0 GPA is a cutoff for most medical schools. However, some applicants are accepted every year that have a lower GPA, so this value is by no means absolute. Again, it all depends on the strength of the overall application…and the MCAT score.

For example, for the 2005 school year, 155 applicants were accepted to allopathic medical schools (out of 17,978 total accepted that year) with a GPA that was lower than a 2.75. (Undergraduate Grade Point Average, Medical School Admission Requirements, 2007-2008, page 29) So, it is possible to gain admission with a low GPA, but you can see from these numbers that this is very rare. Also, these individuals most likely had stellar applications otherwise.

For most of the allopathic (MD) medical schools, an average GPA of 3.0 is the minimum they will consider for extending interview invitations, regardless of what the rest of your application looks like, but there are a few exceptions.

The MCAT

The MCAT (or Medical College Admission Test) is one of the most dreaded parts of medical school preparation and is required by all U.S. medical schools, including all allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) schools. Note that most Caribbean and international medical schools do not require the MCAT.

As of 2007, the test is administered in a computerized format throughout most of the year. Before 2007, it was only given twice a year as a paper test-once in April and once in August.

If possible, you should try to take the MCAT early so you receive your scores back by the time you submit your medical school application (AMCAS for allopathic schools and AACOMAS for DO schools). Before 2007, it took sixty days to grade the MCAT and release your scores, so taking the April MCAT around April 15 gave you the best possible timing for submitting your applications early (around June 15).

The earliest date applications can be submitted is June 1, but you needed to wait for your MCAT scores to submit your application. So, in reality, your earliest day for submitting your application before 2007 was around June 15. With the 2007 changes, scores are now returned within thirty days (and supposedly the eventual goal is a fourteen-day turnaround at some point). To submit your applications on the earliest day possible, you should therefore plan to submit your applications June 1 and take the MCAT no later than thirty days before this date (May 1). Submitting your applications early gives you a huge advantage in the admissions game.

The MCAT score

Each of the three multiple-choice sections (biological sciences, physical sciences, verbal reasoning) is worth 15 points for a total of 45 points, but it is nearly impossible to achieve a perfect score. The average MCAT score each year is somewhere around a 24 (eighty in each section).

A good score that is competitive at most MD schools is around 30 and a stellar score is somewhere above a 34 to 36, which is competitive at the top medical schools in the country. A score of 36 or better would put you in the top 2 percent of the country. The writing sample is scored with a letter system from J (lowest) to T (highest), but is much less important than the number score. You never hear anyone mention the letter score. All you ever hear people talk about is the number, although some people insist that the letter score is also considered in the admissions process somehow.

To give you an extreme example that the MCAT is not the only measurement that is important, 60 applicants were admitted to allopathic medical schools in 2005 who had an MCAT score that was less than 17 (Performance on the MCAT, Medical School Admission Requirements, 2007-2008, page 27). Keep in mind that there are a few allopathic medical schools in Puerto Rico, for example, that have very low MCAT averages (20.1, 21.3, and 23). These schools could be responsible for many of these numbers. Again, this sort of low score is a rare exception. Essentially, an MCAT score below 25 will make it almost impossible for you to gain admission to allopathic (MD) medical schools. You will still be competitive for osteopathic (DO) medical schools, podiatry schools, and Caribbean medical schools.

For most of the allopathic (MD) medical schools, an MCAT score of 21 is the minimum they will consider for extending interview invitations, regardless of what the rest of your application looks like. For some of the more prestigious medical schools in the country, the minimum MCAT score is around 30 to 32, below which you will not make it past any screening for interviews, regardless of how strong the rest of your application is.

The more applications a medical school receives every year, the more the school tends to eliminate applicants by MCAT scores and GPA alone when screening applicants. It is the easiest and most cost-effective way to limit the search for competitive applicants – and especially the more popular and prestigious medical schools use these criteria more heavily.

Medical schools like to use the MCAT as a way of screening and comparing applicants since it is the most objective measurement. Your GPA varies with the difficulty of the courses you take and the type of college or university you attend for undergrad. The MCAT provides one way to compare everyone at the same level.

The MCAT score is a reflection of your ability to reason, think, and interpret charts and data. It has less to do with your work ethic or your ability to memorize, which are two factors reflected more by your GPA.

MCAT Preparation

The MCAT test is intended to test material presented in general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and general physics. For review, it is important to stress the most important concepts and information in each of these areas. Generally, it is better to know the basic concepts very well than to know a lot of information superficially. Having said that, most of the questions on the MCAT are very difficult, and often it feels like they are testing concepts you have never heard of. Some additional course work can be helpful, but is not required. Although it is not necessary to memorize every formula in physics, chemistry, and the other courses covered, you should know the bread-and-butter formulas of each subject, particularly in physics. Don’t focus on all the derivative formulas. Memorize the main ones – you will need them.

They may ask a question like “If I throw a ball out of a window 25 m above the ground, at an initial velocity of 15 m/s, how long will it take until it hits the ground? How far does it travel vertically until it hits the ground?” So, you will need to know your formulas to figure out these questions. However, most questions are not this straight forward.

You will need to decide what type of person you are and what you will need for preparation. Some students swear by commercially available review courses such as offered by Kaplan, Princeton Review, Columbia Review, Cambridge, and Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. They are rather expensive, with a price tag up to $1,500, but many physicians and other successful applicants strongly suggest you take a review course.

Review courses often provide a classroom type setting with lecture format to review pertinent topics in all the MCAT prerequisites. You still have to study the extensive review material that comes with the course as you would in any class.  Other programs just provide the materials and the plan without classroom lectures. In either case, they provide the structure and the plan to get you through all the pertinent material in an orderly fashion.

You still have to put effort into the prep course like any other class you have taken before. Just attending the prep course may not help you out much, although they do cover a lot of test-taking strategies, which are helpful for test taking in general and not dependant on how much material you learned. Also note that these courses work only for review. If you have not had physics or organic chemistry before, you cannot learn the material in the prep course. These are review courses.

They also offer practice tests throughout the course and provide hints and tricks, do all kinds of analysis of what was on previous tests, and help you with time management techniques and other topics. This type of review may be very well worth it if you are the type of person who is a procrastinator or needs a structured program that is already set up and scheduled.

For those who are able and willing to work through self-study, there are many good review books and book series from the same MCAT review companies.  The Student Doctor Network has also published its own MCAT review book. The books contain the same basic material used in the courses, but you are on your own. So, you have to set aside a certain number of hours per week for a few months to review and work through the materials on your own. Expect to prepare for three to four months before the test.

I would highly recommend purchasing the Web practice MCATs online. They are the real deal, made available by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), the makers of the MCAT and not some version made up by Kaplan, Princeton Review, or other test-prep companies. These practice tests are well worth the money and you can take them under real testing conditions. Set aside a few Saturdays at your library in a quiet corner, or at home – undisturbed. You can grade yourself at the end to see how you did. One of the practice tests is available free of charge. You can purchase additional practice tests online (http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/practicetests.htm ) for $35 each.

The MCAT is really a thinking test. You will need to know the sciences to do well, but many of the questions do not directly test knowledge. They may ask you to interpret some data or extract some answers from a passage. It has been said that you cannot really cram for the MCAT.

Average GPA and MCAT scores

Note that the two following tables give average GPA and MCAT scores for both allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) school matriculants for a few years.

Data for allopathic (MD) schools

Mean Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Scores and Grade Point Averages of U.S. Medical School Applicants and Matriculants, AAMC Data Book, 2006, page 38

Data for osteopathic (DO) schools

Grade Point Averages and Mean Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Scores for Entering Students, Osteopathic Medical College Information Book, 2007 Entering Class, page 80

Note that it is easier to get into osteopathic (DO) schools than allopathic schools (MD) by roughly 5 points on the MCAT and something like 0.15 points on the GPA.

Regarding GPA calculation, MD schools count every course grade earned even if you have retaken a course. If you earned a “C” in organic chemistry the first time, retook the course and earned an “A” later, they will count both grades for calculating your GPA. DO schools only count the retake grade (”A” in this example) and not the lower grade you earned the first time.

The average MCAT score for MD schools is around 30 and GPA is around 3.6. For DO schools, the average MCAT score is around 25 and GPA around 3.4. Especially if your MCAT score and GPA are below these values, your extracurricular activities weigh heavier in the admissions decision and can make the difference between getting an interview and no interview.

Caribbean medical schools typically do not have any MCAT requirements with few exceptions. If they do, they will accept lower GPA and MCAT scores than MD and DO medical schools.

Retaking the MCAT

If you score low on the MCAT, it may be a good idea to retake it. However, you absolutely have to show improvement. I know some students who increased their scores a good three to five points and it made all the difference. If you score the same or lower than your original MCAT score, retaking the MCAT only hurts you because you have just demonstrated that you really cannot do well, even if you have another chance.

Often, it is advisable to take a prep course, if you haven’t already done so, to prepare for retaking the MCAT, especially if you didn’t take the exam seriously enough the first time. You have to be willing to put a lot of hard work into preparation before retaking the exam again; just retaking it will buy you nothing.

Sometimes, if the MCAT score is not very high but still acceptable, it might be better to work on extracurricular activities to increase the overall strength of the application to compensate. However, a lower MCAT can limit some of your medical school choices. Certain medical schools may not consider you at all. Generally, osteopathic (DO) and Caribbean medical schools have lower MCAT requirements than allopathic (MD) schools. There is also quite a bit of variation between various MD schools.

The decision to retake the MCAT may depend on your goals overall and not necessarily on the score you received the first time. Also, keep in mind that it is very hard to increase your MCAT score, especially if you were prepared for the test the first time and there is not much else you can do to prepare. Increasing a score from a 24 to a 28 is probably much easier than raising a score from a 30 to a 34.

Important Note: A premedical advisor should be consulted to help you decide whether you should retake the MCAT and what strategies are appropriate for you to maximize the effectiveness of additional preparation. Only an experienced premed advisor who knows you personally and knows something about the MCAT can tailor advice to fit your specific circumstances. This is a big and important decision.

You may retake the MCAT up to three times, which can be all in the same year if you wish. However, retaking the MCAT for the fourth time, and every time thereafter, you have to jump through some hoops to be able to take the MCAT again. The AAMC requires a letter proving that you are really applying to medical school and not just taking the MCAT for other reasons (maybe you are teaching MCAT prep courses on the side and you can teach it better by taking the MCAT yourself every year).

by Christian Becker
Author of The Official Student Doctor Network Medical School Admissions Guide

The application process for medical school is long and intense. It really begins much earlier than when you actually fill out the application to send to the schools. It includes completion of many premed requirements, meetings with your premed advisor and maybe a premed committee, taking the MCAT, and doing well in all of your premed coursework and extracurricular activities.

Understanding What Happens Is Important

Most medical schools will review applications as they are submitted on a rolling basis, extend interview invitations, and finally offer spots in their classes in the same way. This means that they fill their classes on a first-come, first-serve basis. Initially, they may have 150 spots to offer. With each passing week of conducting interviews, the admissions committee meets and extends offers and fewer and fewer spots are available. At the same time, the medical school still receives more applications, so the competition goes up and the number of available spots goes down. This means that an early application is one sure way of having the best possible chances of getting in – all other things being equal.

Main Events of the Application Process

Apply early, early, EARLY!!!! Did I say early?

One of the most important aspects of your application relates to timing. You can talk with many applicants who applied late because they took the MCAT late (August) or they just procrastinated on their applications. You will hear loud and clear that they would recommend applying as early as possible. I strongly agree. Applying as early as possible, interviewing on the first day possible, etc. gives you a huge advantage.

As already mentioned, as time passes with a rolling admissions process, your chance of gaining admission decreases due to more and more spots being filled with students and more applicants still arriving to be considered. Besides this factor of increasing competition, there is also peace of mind when you have received an offer early. Let’s consider each step of the application process in detail now, in light of timing.

Early MCAT (by May 1)

You should take the MCAT by May 1 so you can get your scores back by June 1 at the latest, which is about the first day you can submit your AMCAS medical school application.  The exact date may vary each year, but should be sometime in the first week of June.  Taking the MCAT later during the summer will put you behind in the application process. Many applicants have already received interview invitations and some have already been extended offers as the admission cycle progresses. Most medical schools will not consider your application and do not offer interview invitations until your MCAT scores are received, so timing your MCAT is essential for timing your application.

Early Applications

Make sure you start working on your AMCAS (MD) and/or AACOMAS (DO) applications right after the MCAT is out of the way if you didn’t have time for this before you took the MCAT. It takes a few months to get the applications put together, so you should ideally start about two months before June 1 to fill out the applications or at least gather the required information and start working on your personal statement. The online applications are made available sometime around May 1 each year, although they cannot be submitted until June 1 at the earliest. It is recommended to submit your completed applications (AMCAS and AACOMAS) within the first week after you receive your MCAT scores. That would be roughly the week following June 1. It is critical to submit your applications as early as possible.

Early Secondaries

Fill out all secondary applications received from the medical schools immediately and try to return them within less than seven days, ideally within two days, along with the money and other information they require you to submit. Turn these around as fast as possible. Some secondaries are more involved than others and all cost money. Do not procrastinate. To obtain early interviews, turning these around quickly is a must!

Early Interviews

If you have done the previous three steps very speedily (early MCAT, early application, fast turnaround of secondaries), you will have interview invitations very early and will have the opportunity to interview during the first few weeks of the interview cycle, maybe the first week or even the first day interviews begin. Try to pick the earliest day for interviewing the school offers. Ideally, you want the first day available on their schedule to interview, but realistically the first few weeks of interviewing are all excellent.

Early Offers

Most medical schools extend offers within two to three weeks. However, the notification time varies greatly from school to school. Some take only a few days (literally) and others take up to six months.

Why the Hurry?

You should know the answer to this question by now. If not, reread this post again from the beginning! Do yourself a favor and do things early. It’s the one factor of your application you have complete control over – and it really pays off!

Early Decision Program (EDP)

Don’t confuse the Early Decision Program (EDP) with applying early.  This is a separate admissions program and not really part of the regular admission process. Not all medical schools offer the Early Decision Program.

This is how it works:
You can only apply to one medical school’s Early Decision Program. The medical school has to make a decision by October 1 and must notify you of acceptance or rejection. If you are accepted to the school, you are obligated to attend that particular medical school and cannot participate in the regular application cycle at any other medical schools for that application cycle. So, you have to be sure the medical school you apply to with this program is really the school you want to attend since there is no changing your mind later.

There are also some huge drawbacks to the Early Decision Program, as you might have already guessed, since you can only apply to one medical school. If you are not accepted, you have wasted valuable time to get your application submitted to the other medical schools.

You cannot start applying to other medical schools until you have received a rejection letter from your EDP school by October 1. That is two to three months late in the application cycle! You are essentially in the same spot as if you had taken the MCAT late.

Note that if you were rejected during the Early Decision Program, you can still apply to the same medical school through the regular admissions process again and you will be considered for regular admission independently from the EDP decision. You may even get a spot in the class that way if you were rejected for EDP admission.

The Early Decision Program can be useful for very strong (exceptional) applicants or for candidates who have specifically been encouraged by the school to compete for early admissions. Generally, if you are a strong enough applicant for a spot through the Early Decision Program, you will also get a spot in the class through the regular process.

EDP Drawbacks in Summary

Personally, I think the Early Decision Program only limits your choices and is not very useful. Especially if you apply early (not through the Early Decision Program), you can also get offers by the middle of October. Also, the timing issue is a huge disadvantage, putting you way behind in the admission process if you are rejected. I would therefore strongly discourage going through the EDP at any school.

“The application is a lifeless thing — a few sheets of paper and a few numbers. The essay is the best way to breathe life into it.”

A frequent topic in the SDN Forums is the postgraduate application essay. In researching the field, we asked for help from one of the largest and well-known essay editing services, EssayEdge.

With the help of their editors, we co-developed a course for students which is available for free on SDN. Please click a link below to begin the course.

Each of the lessons should help you with a different aspect of the essay-writing process.

Enter the Workshop by selecting a link below:

• Lesson One: The Audience
• Lesson Two: What “They” Look For
• Lesson Three: Brainstorming a Topic
• Lesson Four: Tackling the Question
• Lesson Five: Introductions
• Lesson Six: Editing Checklist

Portions from the AAMC

The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) reported yesterday that, “First-year enrollment at the nation’s medical schools this year increased nearly 2 percent over 2007, to more than 18,000 students.” This represents the highest allopathic medical school enrollment in U.S. history.

Most of the enrollment increase was due to the three medical schools that have just established branch campuses (Mercer University School of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and University of Arizona College of Medicine). It does not reflect the anticipated enrollment at new schools expected to open within the next few years.

Notable is the growth in Latino students, with an increase in first-year enrollment by more than 10 percent. Latinos now represent 7.9 percent of the 2008-09 entering medical school class.

Additionally, the number of Native American first-year enrollees increased by more than 5 percent. The number of African American first-year students remained nearly the same as in 2007. Native Americans and African Americans represent 1.0 and 7.2 percent, respectively, of this year’s entering medical school class.
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by Glenn Gregory,
SDN Contributing Writer

You’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity. You practically snatch the mail from the mail carrier as it is being delivered and frantically search through the stacks of coupons and bills to find some good news; just as you are ready to steel yourself for yet another disappointment, your heart stops.

There it is.

The school’s emblem sits silently above the return address on the envelope, meeting your stare. Hands shaking, you fumble with the envelope and eventually manage to tear it open. Unfolding the letter it contained, you discover that someone out there thinks you are interesting enough to offer you an interview.

After you finish dancing with your neighbors who were minding their own business until that point and get done laminating the letter, you catch your breath and wonder, “How do I proceed now?”

It is possible that you have never been on a plane before, nor traveled out of state. Now you are expected to travel to a city you have never been to, alone, and make a favorable impression upon an admissions committee member-oh, right, and then there’s the issue of paying for the trip as well.

Luckily, on the Student Doctor Network Forums, many students have already been through what you are about to go through and can offer you some valuable advice. If, however, you don’t feel like perusing pages of threads to get the answer to a quick question, this article might be just what you need. Read the full story