Show Summary
The 2024-25 medical school application cycle is looming. In fact, for many it’s already started. Would you like to learn how to craft a quality application to medical school, a compelling persuasive application? Well, that’s the topic of today’s episode, so tune in.Show Notes
Welcome to the 567th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. (Listen here on Spotify) Thanks for joining me. I have many times said that in order to apply successfully to medical school, you need to have competitive qualifications, and you also need to present those qualifications effectively via your primary and secondary applications, as well as the all important interview.Today, we’re going to address how to do exactly that, so hold onto your hats or your earbuds. There’s a lot to cover here. Also, because there’s so much to cover, Accepted is providing a worksheet for you that you can use to take notes on today’s show or to set up a to-do list that you can use throughout the application process. Remember, a goal without a plan is really a wish. And it’s a goal to get accepted to medical school, not a wish. So, the note-taking and to-do list with due dates can help you turn your dream into reality and make sure that that goal is not just a wish, along with the personal guide that I mentioned a minute ago. Again, you can find the free worksheet here.No registration is required. So, just get your copy and enjoy.
Five essential ingredients of a successful medical school application [2:57]
A successful medical school application has five essential ingredients, if you don’t mind me mixing travel and cooking metaphors in the show. Include them all in your application and your chances of acceptance are excellent. Leave off any one element, any one ingredient, and your chances are simply greatly diminished. Again, if you have all five, then medical schools will want you and accept you. My goal for this podcast is to show you that a successful medical application has to have each of these five elements, not one, not two, not three, not even four, all five. And I’d suggest that you see page three of the worksheet, where you can jot down to-dos for your medical school application during the podcast or after, I mentioned that a second ago, I’m mentioning it again. The task list will probably shrink and grow during the process at different points in time, but it will guide you and help you as you apply.1. Demonstrate you can do the work in medical school [3:48]
Okay, so essential ingredient number one. I’ll list them all at the end, but let’s go one by one for now: demonstrate you can do the work in medical school. That’s just foundational. Do you have the educational foundation, intellectual ability, the capability to succeed and handle the work? And how do you intend to show that you have that, that you can do that work?Well, the most common way, and here I’m talking academically, the most common way is through your undergraduate transcript and your MCAT score, and this is usually presented in the primary application, because it is so foundational. And you ideally want to be at or above the averages for accepted students, particularly students, for both your grades and your test scores.
If you don’t have that, how can you convince schools to accept you with below average, let’s start with grades. Well, first of all, realize that averages are what they are because some are accepted with below-average stats. However, the farther away you are from the average on the below side, and if both your grades and MCAT scores are below average, the less likely it is that you can effectively demonstrate you can do the work. What if you have below-average grades? Well, I would suggest that you consider a post-bac program, preferably one, depending upon the circumstances that you were dealing with, that will help you with study skills. If science grades are below average, consider a post-bac program that will allow you to bring them up. Perhaps one that also, again, provides the study skill support that I mentioned.
A high MCAT score can mitigate somewhat low grades. For U.S. allopathic schools, ideally, you want to be at 510 plus. A 511 doesn’t guarantee rejection and a 511 plus doesn’t guarantee acceptance. The average MCAT score for those accepted to allopathic medical schools in 2022, 2023 was a 511.9. In other words, a 512. So, that should be a guideline to you in terms of what you are aiming for, what you have, and where you should apply.
In terms of showing that you can do the work and meet the expectations of the medical schools you’re applying to, you need to apply to medical schools where your test scores and GPA are competitive in range. Yes, the medical schools consider other factors. We have holistic review and all that, and that’s going to deal with the next four elements that I’m going to discuss, deal with all that other stuff, but the grades and test scores count. They count. And that ability to do the work, to handle the academics is generally evident in your transcript and test scores. The objective, quantitative elements of the application. Okay, so that was ingredient number one, or essential element number one.
2. Show that you know what clinical practice is [6:26]
Essential element number two, show that you know what clinical practice is and have a realistic idea of what you’re getting into, that you’re committed to it, and perhaps have some direction within medicine.Medical schools want to admit people who are committed to medicine, who are committed to a life of service, and in this particular way. And the way to show that you know what you’re getting into and that you have that passion, that calling for medicine, is to have been in clinical settings. If you’ve done this before, they know that you’re not going to be squeamish at the sight of blood. They know that you are realistic about the demands of clinical medicine and that you understand that not all patients are nice, not all family members are polite, and not all outcomes are good. That’s just a reality in medicine. Can you handle the workload, the emotional strain, and the sheer hard work of being a clinician, especially being a medical student and resident? Because that’s what’s going to come first, and that is really critical.
I’ve interviewed many, many medical school admissions directors, and there are some distinctions, but not one has said, “Clinical exposure is not important to us.” It’s mandatory. And it’s not just clinical exposure where you’re checking the box, “Okay, I got X hours. I’m done. I’m good. I can apply.” No, it’s this sense that you find this kind of work fulfilling and you really want to help people in this particular way. My plumber helps me too, my roofer helps me, all these people help me when I have a plumbing problem or a roofing problem, but do you want to help people in healthcare situations? Many times, life-and-death situations.
Then, do you have the direction both in terms of your educational needs and your post-med school plans? The road to becoming a doctor, a physician is very windy. It has curves, it has dips, it has potholes, and you don’t have to know exactly what you don’t want and what you want to do. You don’t have to know what specialty you want to go into. But if you have some direction, it will help you show that you have the realism that medical schools want, help you choose your schools, and many secondaries will ask you why you want to attend their school.
Well, have you thought about the kind of education you want to have; problem-based learning, systems-based learning, team-based learning? Are you more interested in primary care specialties? Do you have areas of interest that match the school’s focus and strengths? If a particular school sends a large percentage of its graduates into family medicine and you’re interested in family medicine, an unusually large percentage, then that’s one way of showing fit with the school. To the contrary, if the school sends a lot of people into nephrology, for example, or OB-GYN, or cardiology, or whatever after internal medicine, then again, that is one indication that that’s a really good school for you.
But there are other kinds of foci in medical school; social justice and advocacy, urban versus rural medicine, primary care versus specialties, and of course, in-state versus out-of-state.
You want to apply to most of your in-state schools if you have any chance at them. But then, if you have to look out-of-state, are you going to be looking at schools that accept a fair number of out-of-state applicants? If they don’t, you really have to question why are you applying unless you have some ties to that particular state or region that are demonstrable. Do you have a research or a clinical focus? Do your activities, experiences reflect your stated interests? Don’t say you have this interest in rural medicine when you’ve always lived in a big city and you’ve never traveled to rural areas. Vice versa. If you’ve always lived in a rural area and you’ve never been in a big city, don’t say you have a fascination with urban medicine because you’ve never experienced it.
This realism will come out in your essays, both in the primary application, the secondary application, your letters of recommendation, and of course, your interviews. Realize that in admissions, past behavior reflects your true interests and values and frequently is considered to predict future behavior. So, no disconnects, please between what you say you’re interested in and what you’ve actually done.
So, that’s ingredient number two, essential ingredient number two, show that you have a realistic idea of clinical medicine and an experientially based idea of clinical medicine.
3. Show that you share the school’s value and mission [10:55]
And essential ingredient number three, show that you share the school’s values and its mission, which I touched on a little bit in number two, but you really want to show that alignment. And the secondary applications and interview is where the main point will be this alignment and fit. The primary is going to all medical schools. You can’t show fit with any one school. By the time you get to the secondary, it’s directed, it’s focused on the specific school.“Why do you want to attend this program?” is almost always asked. If it’s not asked, it’s thought of by the people reading your application. Why should they want you intheir program? That’s not usually asked. I can’t even think of one school that specifically asked that question off the top of my head, but it is something that you should be addressing in your application. Again, showing that your interests, your values, your sense of mission matches theirs.
And have you provided evidence that you share their values and mission through your activities and lessons learned from different experiences. It’s not just that you’re going to say, “Oh, I did X, Y, Z. I spent Y hours doing,” whatever it was. What did you learn from it? What did you contribute? How did you grow? How did other people respond? What were the results? You want to bring that out also. That will show self-reflection and maturity, as well as, again, this ability to show that you share fit, values, mission, and that there’s an alignment.
Now, what is the reason, I keep talking about fit and alignment? Look at the school’s mission and values. I’ve interviewed many, many medical school admissions directors and deans. Check out Admissions Straight Talk for relevant interviews, and you can find them at blog.accepted.com/listen-med.
In secondary essays, if you’re asked, and as well as in interviews, be able to talk about your experiences and draw from them the qualities that your target programs value. So, again, if service to the urban underserved is a priority for the school, talk about your experience at an urban soup kitchen and how effective you were as a member of the food service team. That’s just an example. If your target has programs in rural medicine, and that’s your interest, then you can talk about your upbringing in rural Montana or Georgia or whatever rural area you lived in and your desire to settle there, if it’s true.
I want to again emphasize that there’s a big difference between mouthing platitudes, spitting back the school’s website, which they don’t want, and showing that you share the values. They know what their website says. What they want to do is know about you. So, make sure that you’re not trying to pull some magic trick or rabbit out of the hat.
Most admissions committee readers have excellent baloney sniffers, and they don’t want baloney. They want realism. And the examples that you provide in your essays, your experience descriptions, your bullet points, in your CV or your work descriptions, if you provide a CV, sometimes you do for an interview, items in your activity history, what your recommenders say about you, and your responses to interview questions must all demonstrate these qualities.
And there is nothing wrong in saying, let’s say in an interview question, let’s say you know a school values advocacy, and you can talk about how you worked in a congressional office and you were advocating for whatever you were advocating for. Can definitely bring out these qualities without just mouthing the terms or social justice that you’re going to find on the website. You don’t have to spit that back, phrases at all. You have to demonstrate these qualities through the examples you choose to provide in your essays and interview responses.
Again, if you have professional direction or think you know what area of medicine you want to go to, check out residency placement data to select the schools that are strong in your area of interest. You can still change your mind in medical school, no problem, but if your current focus turns out to be your most desired residency, you may just be a little bit ahead of the game, and it’s one more way to show fit and alignment.
Caution, if you focus on stats, rankings, and forum rumors or Reddit rumors, you’re going to really obscure this aspect of admissions. Medical schools have the lowest acceptance rates of any professional programs, any of them, lower than MBA business schools, lower than law schools. They have lots and lots of applicants and they can be and are choosy. You need to know each of the school’s missions when you’re applying, especially when you’re filling out the secondaries, in order to both choose the most appropriate schools for you and convince them to accept you.
4. Demonstrate you’ll make the school proud [15:57]
All right, number four, the fourth essential ingredient, demonstrate that you’ll be able to contribute to class discussions and teamwork, the school’s community, and ultimately make the school proud. How do you do that? Well, you want to reveal a habit of contribution and commitment to serving others through your essays, resume, activity, history, interview, and letters of rec. Have you contributed in the past? That’s the best way to show you’ll contribute in the future. Again, past behavior predicts future behavior.This is a reason that non-clinical community service is increasingly important in the medical school application process. The definition of community can be very broad. It can be any group that you’re a part of and that you serve, but it’s a service where you really make a commitment and you assume responsibility. That “assume responsibility,” by the way, is the differentiator between being a nice person, which is definitely a good thing to be, and actually assuming a role, a community service role. And that makes it more valuable from an admissions perspective.
It is increasingly important that your community service also includes service to the underserved. So, if your community is relatively affluent or not considered underserved, then branch out. There are lots and lots of opportunities, but show that you’re culturally multilingual, if you will, and you can deal with people who are different from you, especially the underserved.
Now, non-traditional applicants may have extensive experience to draw on. They might have been working for several years. They might have been working in a field that is not directly medical. And they can use that diverse experience and should use that diverse experience to show an ability to contribute that many applicants who’ve followed more traditional paths may not be able to do it.
So, let’s say you are an engineer, you’re really a problem solver, and that can be highly relevant in diagnosis and creating treatment plans. Perhaps you were a teacher. Well, then, presumably you’ve developed your communication skills and particularly your ability to explain complex topics to people who weren’t previously exposed to them, whether it’s children or older people. Maybe you were a team leader or engagement manager as a consultant or in business, well, then you have leadership, teamwork and organizational skills. And you can point this out, again, when relevant in your application, and try and use that non-traditional background as a strength, provided that you also show the other things that medical schools are looking for.
And again, medical schools definitely want to increase the percentage of underrepresented groups in their programs, and ultimately, in the physician population. So, that’s another way of distinctive background. Personal background can be used to show an ability to contribute.
I know I’m repeating myself, most medical schools have too many qualified applicants. Many of the people rejected by most medical schools can do the work. They might be accepted by another medical school and have fine careers. But informally, medical school admissions is a two-step process. One is evaluation, determining the qualifications, and there are always too many qualified people in applying to medical school. And the second one is selection, and that’s crafting a diverse class of committed, talented future physicians.
The implication of the selection process, yes, they want someone who can do the work, they want someone who shares their values, they want someone who knows something about clinical medicine. However, given the competition, if you have those four items, that’s just not enough. Medical schools have no reason to admit someone without something distinctive to contribute or someone lacking a record of past impact and contribution. Again, that past impact and contribution will be evidence to them that you’re going to be a person of impact and contribution, both in their medical school and beyond.
5. Revealing the character and qualities that medical schools value [19:55]
And the fifth element that’s absolutely critical and vital in medical school applications is revealing the character and qualities that medical schools value. Now, I’m sure if I were able to present this to you in a dialogue or in a webinar, I would ask you, “What character traits are med schools looking for?” I’m not going to do that because this is a one-to-many kind of presentation, a podcast.What are some of the qualities?
Think about it yourself just for a second, but now I’ll tell you what I think of: compassion and humility. That might surprise you, but I do think that’s an important one. Attention to detail, professionalism, teamwork, communication skills, both the ability to speak clearly and to listen well. These traits should come through in the stories you tell in your personal statements, the MMEs, the most meaningful experience essays, the activity descriptions, the secondaries, the interview, both traditional and the MMI, and your letters of recommendation, and also in the impactful activity essay in the medical school application. Leadership is highly valued, as is teamwork and the ability to work collaboratively, because as I can remember many admissions directors and deans telling me, “Medicine is a team sport.” Compassion and caring is absolutely required. Humility doesn’t mean that you demean yourself, but definitely is the opposite of arrogance and is required for effective teamwork.
Attention to detail is reflected in the care you take in your essays and applications. I can remember an assistant dean of admissions absolutely railing against the typos and lack of punctuation she sometimes saw in her school’s at the time simple secondary application.
And also realize, people, your application isn’t Facebook, it isn’t WhatsApp, or X, or Instagram. You’re applying to a professional school. Show that you’re a professional in the way you address the school via your application, or even in simple emails. Be professional.
Now, in selecting the examples in your essays and interviews, choose those examples and experience and anecdotes that answer the question and reveal these traits, most of which are also reflected in the medical school’s values and mission in one way or another.
And don’t make the reader think too hard. As Accepted consultant, Cydney Foote articulately laid out in her Nail Your Medical School Interview webinar, and which I’ll link to from the show notes at accepted.com/567, you want to explicitly weave into your anecdotes the traits you want the schools to recognize. Don’t rely on them to figure it out or come to a conclusion that you want them to reach, just tell them. And again, I’m not talking about spitting back the website, I am talking about articulating the qualities that you exhibited in particular anecdotes and stories. Don’t hit them over the head with it, but do articulate it, so they don’t have to guess, they don’t have to figure it out.
One more way to show professionalism, commitment, discipline, and organization is to apply early and respond to all secondaries quickly. Almost every med school admissions person I have ever spoken with says, “Apply early.” And the metaphor I heard once from Ryan Gray, a competitor IS:, “Medical school admissions is like musical chairs. As you go through the process, there are fewer and fewer chairs available in the circle, especially for interviews.” So with secondaries, return them ideally within two weeks of receipt, and don’t compromise on quality with those secondaries either.
I know, I know, I know it’s hard. What I suggest you do is research the schools, take notes as you do your research, before you choose where to even apply, and before those secondaries start raining down on you, and you can use the time between the submission of your primary and the arrival of secondaries to pre-write the most common secondary questions for the schools you are most interested in. That way, you’ll be able to really turn around those applications quickly. There are lots of places, including Accepted, where you can find secondary essays. On Accepted, you can also find tips on how to respond to many of the most common questions.
Some bonus advice…[24:00]
Now, let’s go back to your goal, get accepted this year and start medical school in 2025. And basically, you want to show you belong in medical school, and particularly in the schools that you’re applying to. And here’s a little bonus advice to keep in mind, the admissions committee readers are sharp, intelligent professionals. They’ve seen it all. They’ve read every kind of nonsense possible. Don’t try to craft, fake, or fool. The best presentation of you is an authentic reflection of your achievements and dreams, keeping in mind the five essential ingredients of a successful medical school application. That’s what you need to get accepted this year and start medical school in 2025.Are any of you feeling a little bit overwhelmed now? Well, that wasn’t my intention, but applying to medical school is one tough process. I’ve spoken with hundreds, if not thousands of medical applicants like you, and sometimes their parents, and they are striving to get into medical school, stressed at the work involved and the possibility that they may not make the cut, because, frankly, over 50% of medical school applicants are rejected. We, here at Accepted, know how difficult and stressful this process can be, and we’re here to help you. Your goal is to apply confidently and successfully to the right programs for you. The art of what I like to call the art of the possible.
Now, you’re at a crossroads now. You can take a do-it-yourself approach, or you can invest in your professional future. Every year, we work with applicants who talked to us a year earlier and decided after taking the do-it-yourself approach and getting rejected they wanted to work with us. As a matter of fact, I just spoke to somebody yesterday who said he had considered using us several years ago, but he applied twice without success, and now he’s seriously interested in working with us. When you work with a consultant, and he would’ve been better off working with us initially, and frankly, so would you. Why? Our clients benefit from the know-how supplied by experts applying their expertise to them. In this case, you, as your application journey unfolds, and that advice is for you on an individual basis.
No matter how hard I try in a podcast, my advice has to be general. When you work with an Accepted consultant, the advice is specific to you and custom. It’s individualized, personalized, and just for you. Given the complexity of the application process and the stakes, you need a guide who knows the process inside and out, can support you through this grueling journey. You need Accepted to be your guide. When you engage with Accepted, you can access professional expert advice, experience, objectivity, which is sometimes really, really hard to maintain. You can save time, apply with confidence, and hopefully apply successfully.
We have admissions experts, the guides, who can mentor you through the process so that you achieve your goal of applying confidently and successfully. Former admissions directors, staff members, post-bacc program directors who have been on the other side, evaluating applicants and guiding applicants, who can mentor you through the application process.
So, here’s what I suggest you do, visit accepted.com/primary if you haven’t yet visited our services section. And there are other services also. This is the primary application page. If you want just a little bit of help, you can also see that there are hourly options from that page. And you can also sign up from any of these pages for that free consultation I talked about at the beginning. Try us out at no cost to you.
And some of you may say, “Isn’t Accepted expensive?” Well, frankly, so is rejection. Our fees are clear, but the cost of rejection is not quite as obvious, even though it can be significantly higher. So, let’s take a look at the risks of not applying with an Accepted consultant by your side. The cost of reapplication can easily be a few thousand dollars in application fees alone, a year of earnings at a much lower level than after you earn your MD or DO degree, an additional year of those earnings, and there’s the potential that you could have gotten into a better program with greater lifetime opportunities and even earnings. The key one though is that year of earnings at a much lower level than if you had gotten into your MD or DO program a year earlier.
So, once again, this is what I recommend you do as a follow-up to today’s podcast, I guess, a little homework for you, go to accepted.com/medschool2025 and use the worksheet to apply today’s podcast to your situation and plan what you need to do going forward. If you are considering accessing professional guidance as you advance toward your future career, and you should at least consider it, request a free consultation at accepted.com/freemedcall. Again, that’s accepted.com/freemedcall. And we’ll also have links in the show notes at accepted.com/567 to all these links. To check out the services, get the guidance you need to apply confidently and effectively, I recommend going to accepted.com/primary, though you can check out any of our services.
And again, I’m going to emphasize my final thought, my main point to you here is that all five of the essential ingredients we’ve discussed are necessary for a successful application. It’s not one or two or even three or four that will do. You need all five. Accepted applicants have the five, our successful clients have the five, and you can have them too.
This article was originally posted on blog.accepted.com.
