Deciding to pursue med school is not a light decision to make. For one, you need to factor in many things, such as your specialization, preferred medical school to attend, tuition fees, living expenses, and so on.
However, if this is your lifelong dream, preparing to enter this new phase of your life is crucial.
While it’s already an achievement to be able to pursue your medical school dream, you can’t help the fact that competition will be fierce. During your applications, hundreds or even thousands of other medical students would want to get a spot for themselves.
For this reason, Medical Aid says you should prepare your admission application as soon as possible.
Here’s a quick checklist to help you prepare for your dream medical school admission:
Personal Statement
One of the primary components of admission requirements in some medical schools is the personal statement. The admissions committee will be able to know and understand you through this document better.
With that in mind, you should write a well-written personal statement and ensure it falls within the character limit. You should also address the overall essay question.
And since the admissions team usually receives a lot of personal statements every day, it’s best to devise strategies to make yours stand out from the rest. And one way is to tell an intriguing story for the reader.
Share a bit of background on why you want to pursue a medical degree. Whether it’s your lifelong dream or you’ve experienced a life-changing moment, ensure to share the story most intriguingly and excitingly.
Note that some students include common and generic answers in their personal statements, so try to avoid being one of them. Consider showing your true self, as being honest and original can help you write better and with more depth.
This way, you can increase your chances of landing that med school position.
From there, you can have your statement proofread by your current professor or advisor, as it would help to have different sets of eyes read your writing.
Letters Of Recommendation
A tip to note is to consider focusing more on quality than quantity when preparing your letters of recommendation.
It’s best to have two strong letters of recommendation rather than multiple recommendations that are not strong enough to back up your credentials and academic qualities.
In addition, to be considered for medical school, each evaluation letter must support your application. They should provide some concrete reasons why you’ll be an excellent asset to the university you’re applying for.
You can begin by approaching and asking for a recommendation from an advisor who has helped you with some research or a thesis.
A professional letter of recommendation or a letter from a practicing physician might also be nice. Still, it’s more important if someone who knows you personally can vouch for your qualities and strengths.
People who know you well can mention the specific qualities they’ve noticed in you that make you stand out as a medical student. They can fully express and support the reason why you’ll qualify in your preferred med school.
Building solid relationships is the first step toward finding strong recommendations. It is essential to build these relationships as early as possible in college. You may also reach out to employers and other professionals you worked with or worked for outside of school.
MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) Scores
A lot of medical schools require high GPAs and MCAT scores. The higher the GPA and MCAT scores, the better the chances of acceptance. Therefore, you must prepare for your MCAT exams to acquire an impressive score.
However, on the off chance that you receive an unsatisfactory grade in one subject, you can reach out to your academic advisor and devise a plan to retake the exam to improve your score possibly.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Aside from your academic performance and excellence, med schools are also concerned about how you could be able to balance education with other essential things in a student’s life.
For instance, you should be able to make time for volunteering. The commitment to serving humanity is another critical component of a great medical school application. Many medical school admissions experts today look for students with volunteer experience.
This backs up your commitment and willingness to serve the public.
While in college or studying for your undergraduate degree, make it a point to participate in social events that work with charities and NGOs. Work with organizations that share the same goal of improving the public or community’s overall health.
Now it’s time to do your research and find a volunteer opportunity that will impress the admission committee. Volunteerism can also help kickstart your career aside from helping you get into medical school.
Conclusion
Getting admitted to your preferred medical school will be possible if you prepare early for your admission requirements.
With the checklist enclosed in this article, you’ll have a guide as to which documents and requirements matter for the admission committee in your chosen medical university.