Let鈥檚 face it. Applying to medical school can be a long and confusing process, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be. This article offers advice from students who made it to the finish line with the help of the SPDC!
By Taylor Garner ’20: Student Ambassador
In college, they tell you that it鈥檚 ok to take your time, it鈥檚 ok to switch your major again鈥nd again. However, what they don鈥檛 tell you is that if you are planning on going to medical school or any other healthcare specialization school (i.e.: nursing, dental, etc.) you have to start early. This includes completing two courses of general biology and chemistry within your first year in order to be on track for graduation.
Emma Renfro 鈥20, a senior biology major who was recently admitted to nursing school, recommends meeting with a pre-health professions advisor early on to create a manageable 4-year-plan and understand all of your options. It鈥檚 also a great idea to reach out to students who have been through the process and know the secrets to success firsthand.
So, you鈥檝e taken all of the classes, you made it through organic chem. What next? Applying to medical school can be intense and daunting, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be. The staff who work in the Student Professional Development Center (SPDC) know you鈥檝e been waiting your whole life for this moment and want to help you to the finish line.
The offers this timeline for applying to medical school:
Sophomore Spring:
- Start researching different medical schools and their programs
- Create relationships with professors. These will be your future recommenders!
Junior Fall:
- Keep researching medical schools
- Identify your potential recommenders
- Maintain relationship with recommenders, your favorite professors might be from sophomore year
- Since so many students study abroad in the fall semester (pre-med students are no exception!) getting a jump on this is crucial
Junior Spring:
- Begin drafting your personal statement
- Request application from non-AMCAS (this is like the common app for med schools
- AMCAS app opens in April
- Collect letters of recommendation to turn in by September
Senior Summer:
- Complete the primary application by June or July
- The Early Decision Program application is due by August 1st
- Technically some applications can be submitted until December but if you want to be seriously considered it鈥檚 best to submit by September at the latest
- Start researching financial aid options (don鈥檛 forget you鈥檙e paying for this!)
Senior Fall:
- Do more research about individual programs
- If you make it past the primary application process, there will be a secondary application that is tailored to why you鈥檙e interested in that particular medical school
- Prepare for the interviews (these usually take place between the fall and winter months)
- Submit the FAFSA
- Don鈥檛 forget to send a thank you letter to your recommenders!
During all of this, make sure you are also getting experience in healthcare. This includes volunteer positions or observerships. Don鈥檛 be afraid to ask that family friend to shadow them for a month or two. Any experience is good experience!
OK, now what about the MCAT? Don鈥檛 worry, we didn鈥檛 forget.
By the fall of your junior year, you should start creating a study plan for the MCAT. Remember you have to take it by mid-May of your junior year, so that the scores can be submitted with the application the summer before your senior year. You can take a free practice test with the Princeton Review to decide what kind of preparation you will need before the real thing. Important note! This is not like the ACT or SAT. If you鈥檙e like me, you took the ACT five times. That鈥檚 not the case with the MCAT. Most people only take it once, maybe twice, and the basic fee is $300. Plus, the test itself lasts, wait for it鈥even hours and thirty minutes. So, plan ahead, don鈥檛 wing it. You can register to take the test at
Photo: Emma Renfro ’20
I also want to clue you in on some tips and tricks. Remember, 黑料不打烊 has January-term. One secret that Renfro 鈥20 shared was that students can use this time to their advantage. Rather than taking a J-Term class, study for the MCAT and then take the MCAT at the end of the term.
Now, the personal statement. Nope, we didn鈥檛 forget about that either. Here鈥檚 where the SPDC professionals can really help you out. This is the time to show admissions committees who you really are and why you want to go to medical school. It is important to weave your various experiences into a carefully crafted story about yourself. Make an appointment with Ren茅 Jackson or Rhonda Kosusko, graduate school specialists who work in the SPDC. Both have helped countless students perfect their personal statements and get them to that second application stage.
What about a gap year? Yes! Most medical schools now strongly encourage a gap year between graduation and applying to medical school so that your can obtain more experience, and make yourself a more attractive candidate. Renfro 鈥20 encourages doing something out of the norm. Work in healthcare in a different country. Take that weird anthropology class. Make yourself interesting to the review committee. You can also take this time to study for the MCAT without the craziness of being a full-time student.
Needless to say, it鈥檚 so important to be strategic when approaching medical school, so take advantage of the resources 黑料不打烊 provides. Join the page on Facebook! Review their web page. It provides all of the prerequisites necessary for the health professional tracks. Also, don鈥檛 be afraid to take those summer courses!
We obviously know that medical school is not the endgame for many biology and chemistry majors so please get informed by your advisors about your unique process and don鈥檛 forget to stop by the SPDC for help along the way.
Here are some other helpful sites for exploring health profession options: