What Are Medical Schools Looking For?
The selection process takes into account all aspects of the applicant’s experiences, academic metrics, and other attributes that allow the committee to consider the applicant as a whole instead of just focusing on grades or MCATs.
How Many Schools Should I Apply to?
Students apply to an average of about 18 schools. This number should be based on an honest assessment of the student’s metrics. Students who have excellent grades, high MCAT scores, and leadership and research skills may need to apply to fewer schools than students with a less competitive portfolio. State schools take the majority of students from within their own state, so unless a student is very competitive, it is of limited usefulness to apply to other state schools.
How Should I Choose Which Schools to Apply to?
This is a very individualized decision, and the applicant needs to spend some time researching schools, curriculum, metrics of accepted students, and types of focused training. If a student has a particular interest or focus (research, primary care, etc.), they should find a school that has strengths in those fields. In addition, if a particular geographic location is important to the student, that should also be taken into consideration in the application process. Start researching those schools about a year before the application process starts.
When Should I Start the Application Process?
Your applications should be submitted as soon as possible after AMCAS (American Medical College Admissions Service) starts accepting applications. This is usually right around the end of May/beginning of June. You should start working on your application about a month before you are going to submit. The sooner you submit an application, the sooner the school can offer you an interview, and if the school has a rolling admissions process, the sooner you can be accepted. As the season goes on, offers have already been handed out, so the selection process becomes tighter.
Any Application Hints?
Use spellcheck and make sure your grammar is correct. Take your MCATs early in the season. Make sure you apply early and schedule your interviews as soon as possible after they are offered. Use your personal statement to talk about who you are – not just a copy/paste of the information on your resume. Double and triple check to make sure that you are sending the right essays to the right places (ie., gushing about how much you would like to go to WashU on an application to Harvard).