Questions?

Do you have burning questions about the pre-med, medical school admission, and residency process? Post a comment, and I will happily answer any and all questions.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Medical School Admissions: Medical School Choice – Location, Location, Location (2011 - 2012)


There are multiple factors that should guide choosing which medical school to attend. Location is paramount. You will be living in this place for at least the next four years. Do you like the city/town? Do you have family, friends, or other social supports there? How’s the weather? Is there anything to do outside of medicine? Does the location support your extracurricular and community service goals? Can you afford to live there?

As my father always says when we discuss real estate, “Location, location, location.” It’s just as important when deciding on a medical school. Choose wisely.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like personalized help from Dr. Miller, please visit www.MDadmit.com/solutions, e-mail info@MDadmit.com, or call 415.939.5251.

Medical School Admissions: Recommendation Calls to Admissions Committees (2011 - 2012)


Many clients come to me for help formulating a waitlist strategy. In addition to writing a letter of intent to the top choice school and update letters to other waitlisted schools, clients often ask if calls from recommenders or school alumni to the admissions office on their behalf are beneficial. In general, any glowing recommendations will help your case. But calls should only be from recommenders who know you well. A call from your uncle’s cousin’s wife who has met you once but happened to graduate from your waitlisted school will not be of much help and might even hurt you. So be smart. Don’t inundate the admissions staff with calls. A glowing phone call, or even unsolicited written recommendation, can improve your application.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like personalized help from Dr. Miller, please visit www.MDadmit.com/solutions, e-mail info@MDadmit.com, or call 415.939.5251.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Medical School Admissions: Multiple Acceptances


By now, you will likely have heard from schools regarding your acceptance, waitlist, or rejection status. Many schools put a strict deadline on the acceptance, meaning that you will have to accept the acceptance within a certain period of time. The good news is that you can hold multiple acceptances, thus deferring your final decision until May 15, after which you must withdraw your application to all but one school.

Though it may boost your ego to hold multiple acceptances, please only say yes to schools you are seriously considering attending. Don’t confirm multiple acceptances just so that you can brag on Student Doctor Network. Try to make a decision early so that others can get off the waitlist.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like personalized help from Dr. Miller, please visit www.MDadmit.com/solutions, e-mail info@MDadmit.com, or call 415.939.5251.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Medical School Admissions: It’s Not Personal (2011 - 2012)

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.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like personalized help from Dr. Miller, please visit www.MDadmit.com/solutions, e-mail info@MDadmit.com, or call 415.939.5251.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Medical School Admissions: Be On Your Best Behavior (2011 - 2012)


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.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like personalized help from Dr. Miller, please visit www.MDadmit.com/solutions, e-mail info@MDadmit.com, or call 415.939.5251.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Medical School Admissions: Medical School Interviews - Season Winding Down (2011 - 2012)


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).

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school examples of  update letters/letters of intent from successful applications, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like Dr. Miller to edit your letter of intent, please visit www.MDadmit.com/solutions, e-mail info@MDadmit.com, or call 415.939.5251.