Medical School Admissions – It’s Not Personal

Many applicants to medical school are used to doing well in whatever they put their mind to – be it academics, extracurriculars, or research. One of the hardest parts of the medical school admissions process is being rejected. Remember that not getting into a certain medical school has no bearing on your self-worth. It also does not mean that you will not be accepted elsewhere. Though admissions committees don’t like to admit it, there is significant luck involved in the process. What if the person in charge of reading your AMCAS application had a bad day and didn’t give your essay full attention? What if your interviewer did not have time to stay in the committee meeting to push for your acceptance and instead only filled out the standard evaluation sheet? What if three stellar candidates with your same major and similar non-academic experiences all applied to the same school the same year? When you look at all the steps involved in getting into medical school, it is amazing that anyone gets in at all! If you receive a rejection, don’t despair. Pick your chin up and keep moving.

Is the medical school admissions process getting you down? E-mail info@MDadmit.com for expert advice from a Harvard/Stanford MD and medical school admissions insider!

Medical School Admissions – Be On Your Best Behavior

This is the time of medical school admission decisions. You likely have and will continue to hear from schools regarding your acceptance status. Every school has a different time line for reviewing applications and offering acceptances. Naturally, you may feel inclined to check in with certain schools to see when final decisions will be made. Even though this is a time of high anxiety, please be sure to be polite when contacting schools. Angering the assistant answering the phone is a very easy way to sink your application. Also, remember to avoid slang, acronyms, and text shorthand in e-mails to schools. Every phone call and e-mail should use formal language.

Haven’t heard from schools yet and wondering what to do? Email info@MDadmit.com to set up a consulting session with a Harvard/Stanford MD and medical school admissions insider.

Medical School Interviews - Season Winding Down

This is often the last week of interviews. If you have not received an interview invite from a school at this point, you can consider that a rejection. Many schools, unfortunately, will never officially contact you to provide a rejection.

Now it is time to focus your energies on schools where you have been interviewed and are either waiting to hear or have been waitlisted. By this, I mean writing a letter of intent to your top choice or update letters to other schools that you are interested in (see last two posts for specifics on these letters).

This stage in the medical school admissions process is often a painful waiting game. It can be very difficult. Hang in there!

Need help getting off the waitlist? Email info@MDadmit.com to set up a consulting session with a Harvard/Stanford MD and medical school admissions insider.

Medical School Interviews – Letter of Intent (Part 2)

Many medical school applicants ask if they can send a letter of intent to multiple schools. By strict definition, a letter of intent should only be sent to your top choice. However, this does not mean you cannot send an update letter to other schools that are in your top 5 or 10. Such a letter will follow a similar format to the letter of intent but will not state outright that the school is your top choice and will focus more on updating the school on your recent progress. Such updates can include a recent publication, new grades from a post-bac program, an international experience from the Fall, or a new leadership position you gained, just to name a few. Keep these letters short (definitely less than a page).

Unsure of what makes a good update letter? E-mail info@MDadmit.com to get help from a Harvard/Stanford MD, published author, and medical school admissions expert!