How to be competitive.
Tens of thousands of applications are sent out each year by high school seniors to compete for an interview spot against other highly competitive students. Acceptance rates hover under 5% for almost all of these programs, so submitting an exceptional application is crucial. Everyone who applies has exceptional GPA and SAT scores. The question is, how will you distinguish yourself from the others?
While there is no conclusive 3-step procedure to assure anyone a spot, several factors will definitely make a candidate very competitive. The goal is to show your passion to serve, drive to become a physician, and overall well-roundedness.
While there is no conclusive 3-step procedure to assure anyone a spot, several factors will definitely make a candidate very competitive. The goal is to show your passion to serve, drive to become a physician, and overall well-roundedness.
Start volunteering.
Volunteer as early as possible. Make sure you have plenty of meaningful volunteering experience you can talk about in your admission essays and during interviews. Colleges do not want to hear about how fast you were able to file a patient's charts rather the relationships you were able to form and how volunteering helped affirm your passion to become a physician. Most of the time, applicants use volunteering as a major reason for wanting to pursue a career in medicine. So when you initially begin volunteering, sign up for a unit that will give you worthwhile experiences to discuss in your essays and interviews.
Start in your freshman year of high school -- tenth grade at the latest. 99% of the time, the quality of your hours is more important than the quantity of your hours. Some programs specifically want to see that you've had extensive experience in the hospital environment. Such programs may look for applicants with 300 - 400 hours! Its important that when you start, be consistent. Set aside a few hours every week for volunteering. Try to volunteer at one or two hospitals without changing around too much; consistency and commitment are important. Make sure to document your volunteering history on your résumé or curriculum vitae (CV).
Start in your freshman year of high school -- tenth grade at the latest. 99% of the time, the quality of your hours is more important than the quantity of your hours. Some programs specifically want to see that you've had extensive experience in the hospital environment. Such programs may look for applicants with 300 - 400 hours! Its important that when you start, be consistent. Set aside a few hours every week for volunteering. Try to volunteer at one or two hospitals without changing around too much; consistency and commitment are important. Make sure to document your volunteering history on your résumé or curriculum vitae (CV).
Shadowing.
Shadowing is an important piece you do not want to neglect. Along the same lines of volunteering, colleges want to see that you have experience in the hospital environment and know what the job of a physician entails. Having direct shadowing experience will not only help you with your admission essays and interview but it will show that you have directly experienced the health care field and the patient-doctor relationship. Even for yourself, it may help you narrow which field of medicine you are interested in. A well-written essay could convey how this experience made you want to become a physician.
You can include the physicians you've shadowed on your résumé as well. Make sure to create relationships with these physicians since they may be a good source for a recommendation letter.
You can include the physicians you've shadowed on your résumé as well. Make sure to create relationships with these physicians since they may be a good source for a recommendation letter.
Do research.
While programs do not generally require candidates to have done research, some successful candidates have some sort of research under their belt. Research helps students develop critical reasoning skills that help science majors in their pursuit for higher education. Some students research throughout their high school career while others apply for summer programs through a research facility or college university. More students are increasingly conducting research so its important to do it as well. Document your research history on your résumé with a short description of what you did. If you can get your research published in high school, you may have just caught a golden ticket.
Create relationships.
The BS/MD applications will request multiples letters of recommendation. Thus, it is important that you forge relationships with teachers, community leaders, doctors, or research mentors so that they could write about traits that cannot be seen from your resume. Every letter should talk about a different aspect of your character so that colleges can know you on a personal and professional level. Some recommenders could address how personable and empathetic you are while others could discuss your curiosity and perseverance. *When selecting who will write your letters, make sure that they will address different aspects of who you are.
*Family generally cannot and should not write letters of recommendation for you.
*Family generally cannot and should not write letters of recommendation for you.
Get the best grades & test scores.
It's needless to say but successful candidates do have the very best scores. The less competitive programs may require an SAT score as low as 1900 but the more competitive ones historically accept those with a 2200+. Some programs look at ACT scores as well depending on what part of the country you are from. Your GPA should be very competitive as many students will apply with a 90+ average. SATIIs should be taken in Math and Science and those scores should ideally be over 650+ (different programs want different SAT subject tests to be taken - if the information was provided by the college, then it is included in the next few pages that list all the current BS/MD programs). Consider taking SAT Preparation Companies like Princeton Review to improve your score - they have guaranteed score improvement!
Summary.
Start early and try to achieve as many of the above as possible. If you are unable to find a research position or not able to shadow, don't worry. You're still in a competitive position as long as the other factors are polished.
Look through the 6-,7-, and 8-year programs that you may be interested in/eligible to apply for (listed in the next few pages). Some students apply to as little as 5 programs while others apply to as many as 15 - 20. Almost every application costs money and sending SAT/ACT scores to each university costs more. Be reasonable and apply for the programs which you have a good shot at. Make sure that your SAT/ACT/GPA all align with the program's minimum requirements or historic successful applicants' data. Then go through each link and create a sheet for each program you plan to apply for and write down all the components of its application (whether it be submitting an additional essay, supplementary application, etc). Make sure to watch out for deadlines since they are much earlier than the normal college admissions process.
If you're interested in pursuing a career in medicine but have slightly less scores than needed, check out www.directbsdo.com to learn about alternative programs that will still make you a physician!
After you have applied, cross your fingers! If you've followed the above, you're in great shape and hopefully will get invitations to interview at these great schools. Once you're ready to interview, check out potential questions and interview tips through the link below!
Look through the 6-,7-, and 8-year programs that you may be interested in/eligible to apply for (listed in the next few pages). Some students apply to as little as 5 programs while others apply to as many as 15 - 20. Almost every application costs money and sending SAT/ACT scores to each university costs more. Be reasonable and apply for the programs which you have a good shot at. Make sure that your SAT/ACT/GPA all align with the program's minimum requirements or historic successful applicants' data. Then go through each link and create a sheet for each program you plan to apply for and write down all the components of its application (whether it be submitting an additional essay, supplementary application, etc). Make sure to watch out for deadlines since they are much earlier than the normal college admissions process.
If you're interested in pursuing a career in medicine but have slightly less scores than needed, check out www.directbsdo.com to learn about alternative programs that will still make you a physician!
After you have applied, cross your fingers! If you've followed the above, you're in great shape and hopefully will get invitations to interview at these great schools. Once you're ready to interview, check out potential questions and interview tips through the link below!
We created a brand new course to help prepare you for your BS-MD interviews. They go over all the types of questions asked and how to structure your answers for maximal points. It was created by a group of BS/MD coaches, including a number that have served on medical school admissions committees. Check it out here.