PRIMARY APPLICATION (AMCAS) - What do you look like on paper?

• Academic Information - Are you prepared to handle medical school?

  • • MCAT - How many attempts? Are you in our middle 50%tile or an outlier?

    • GPA(s) - Are you in our range? Do you have explanations if needed? Upward trend?

    • Schools/Degrees - Did you go to a strong school? Did you take challenging courses? Other degrees?

• 15 Experiences, 3 Most Meaningful - 18 types and relative 3 categories (Medical, Research, and Other). How do you describe your experiences and how will they help you in medical school? Do you have genuine unique interests?

• Personal Statement - What is important to you? What drives you? Do you know what to expect in medicine?

• Demographics - Out of your control but may have an impact

  • • Ethnicity and Race - Are you underrepresented in medicine?

    • Childhood/SES/Disadvantaged - Did you have challenges that impacted your application?

    • Parents - What do your parents do and where did they go to school? Are they in healthcare?

    • Languages - Do you speak another language (ideally above a basic level)?

• Letters of Evaluation - Who endorses you? Do you have people in appropriate positions who took the time to write a strong letter for you?

SCHOOL CHOICE - Where are the programs that your application stands a chance?

• AMCAS DATA Table A-1 - "U.S. Medical School Applications and Matriculants by School, State of Legal Residence, and Sex, 2021-2022"

  • • Use this to verify that the schools you're applying to accept people from your current state

• Pay for and use the MSAR - https://mec.aamc.org/msar-ui/#/landing

• Do you have ANY connections to certain schools? Alumni? Work? Family friend? Consider having them reach out to admissions.

SECONDARY APPLICATIONS - How can you concisely answer questions specific to certain schools?

• Save all writing. You never know where you'll use it!

INTERVIEWS - How do you present yourself? What is important to you? Why would you fit into our program?

• Practice! Read example questions!

ACCEPTANCES - You did it! Do you have choices or leverage?

• More than one? Keep in contact with schools for what they will offer financially.

RE-APPLICATION - Did you improve? Did you make backup plans?