Creative Strategies for Your Medical School Application

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MOTRCNT

HOWTOANWR
"WHYOURCHOOL"
AY

TH5NCARYFACTOR
FORGTTINGINTOMDICAL
CHOOL
ep9,2016

June12,2014

Lastweek,welookedathowtoresearchmed
schoolsproperlinordertohelpimproveour
chancesofgettingin.Torecap,medschoolsonl

HIGHLYRCOMMMNDD:
VRYFIRTDRAFTIH*T,

wanttoacceptouifouwouldchoosetheir

UINGTHHMINGWAYAPP

medicalschool,evenifoureacceptedtoanother

UINGTHHMINGWAYAPP
TOYOURADVANTAG

schoolonourlist.Thatswhthemostcommon

Aug29,2016

secondaressaisWhourschool,oretter
interpreted,Ifweacceptou,howdoweknowou
willactuallchooseourschooloutofalloftheones
onourlist?

The"whourschool"secondaressaisour
chancetoprovethatouareindeedagoodfitat
thatmedschool.Let'sfigureouthowtotacklethis
trickprompt.

TH10IGGTMYTH
AOUTGTTINGINTO
MDICALCHOOL(PART2)
Aug22,2016

Herearesomesamplesecondarpromptsfrom
schoolsthataskthisquestion:

GeorgeWashington:Whatisourspecific
interestintheMDProgramatGW?What
opportunitieswouldoutakeadvantageofas
astudenthere?Wh?(2000characters)
Miami:WhhaveouselectedtheUniversit
ofMiamiMillerchoolofMedicineforour

TH10IGGTMYTH
AOUTGTTINGINTO
MDICALCHOOL(PART1)
Aug15,2016

medicaleducation?Pleaseeasspecificas
possile.(500wordsorless)
UPenn:Pleaseexplainourreasonsfor
applingtothePerelmanchoolofMedicine

Areyoutakingagap
yearbeforeyouapplyto
medicalschool?

andlimitourresponseto1,000characters.

Yes
ohowdooutacklethisessaquestion?Well,
wevegotaformulathatifouexecuteitwell
willhelpgiveoustructureandpurposetoour

No
I'mnotsure

essa.

Herestheformula:A+=C

Awhatamedschooloffers
whatIwantfrommedschool(asexhiited
pastexperience)
Chappconnection

Vote
ViewResults
Polldaddy.com

Let'sreakdowntheformulaoneletteratatime:

AwhateachmedschooloffersTherearetwo

mainsourcesofinformationonmedicalschools:a)
theschoolsspecificwesite,and)theMAR(paid,
$20foraearssuscription)Useone(or
preferaloth)totrtofindinformationaoutwhat
eachmedicalschooloffers.Rememeringourlist
fromlastweek,consider:

1. Locationistheschoollocatedinanuran
areawithadiversepatientpopulation?Arural
areawithmorechancesforhands-on
interactioninprimarcare?Aretherespecific
communitiesthatouwouldeinterestedin
gettinginvolvedwith?
2. Curriculumhowdoestheschoolteachits
scienceclasses?Organ-asedsstems?Is
theresmall-group,prolem-ased-learning?
Doestheschoolofferanopportunittoget
earlpatientcontact?Aresearchthesisas
partofitscurriculum?
3.ResidencplacementLookingatthe
residencmatchplacementlistfortheschool,
dotheresultslookgood?Aretherepeoplein
theareasthatmostinterestou?
4.Classsizeandstudent-facultratioisthe
classsmall?Wouldougetachanceto
interactwithfacult?
5. tudentgroupslookingatthelistofstudent
groupsontheschoolswesite,arethere
specificonesthatoucouldseeourself
gettinginvolvedwith?
6. Research-arethereresearchprojectsatthe
medicalschoolthatouthinkoucould
contriuteto?DoestheschoolhaveNIH
fundingintheareasthatmostappealtoou?

7. Missiontatementdoesanthingappealto
ouaouttheschoolsmissionstatement?
8. Overallasedontheschoolswesite,what
arethethingstheschoolpridesitselfon?How
doesthatmatchwithwhatouwantfroma
medschool?

WhatIwantfrommedschool(asexhiited
pastexperience)isalistofpreferencesaout

whatouwantfromamedicalschool.Yourlistmight
looklikesomethinglike:

Iwantaschoolinanuranenvironmentwith
adiversepatientpopulationthatwillprepare
metopracticemedicineinasimilarsetting.
relatetopastexperience:mtime
volunteeringinafreeclinicforthehomeless
Iwantaschoolwithlotsofradiologresearch
dollarssothatIcangainhands-onexperience
inthespecialtthatmostappealstomeatthe
moment.relatetopastexperience:m
undergraduateresearchprojectinaradiolog
la
IwantaschoolthatoffersProlem-ased
learning(PL),sincethatsthewaIlearn
materialest.relatetopastexperience:the
groupprojectsIdidasanundergrad.

CHappConnectionThehappconnection

existswhenthetwomatchupwhatouwantfrom
amedschoolandwhateachmedschooloffers.
Heresthelitmustestforwhetherouveanswered
thissecondarquestionwell:

Canouchangethenameoftheschooltoan
othermedicalschoolandhavetheessastill
work?Ifso,thenouressaisnotspecificenough.

Acompletedessalookslike3distinctreasonsfor

whouwouldattendagivenschool,alltiedtopast
experiencesandinlinewithwhatourelookingfor
fromamedicalschool.

othereouhaveitaflexileformulatohelp
answerthemostcommonsecondaressa.Happ
secondarwriting!

Inecondaries
Tagspersonalstatement,secondaries,medical
schooladmissions,medicalschoolapplication

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