Med School Application: Take Your Time
Before you hit the send button on your med school application, make sure that it is perfect. Although there is a definite advantage to submitting your application early, it is even more important to avoid errors. Therefore, take the time to ensure you are truly ready to submit your medical school application before you do so.
Be Accurate
Once you submit your med school application, you will not be able to make many changes. The program will only allow you to make changes to the following information:
-Name
-ID numbers
-Contact information
-Date of birth, birth address, and gender
-Next MCAT test date
In addition, the AMCAS program will allow you to add/delete up to ten letters of evaluation after you have submitted. In addition, you will be allowed to apply to additional schools if you desire to do so after your initial submission. However, the majority of your med school application can not be corrected, edited, or updated once you have turned it in. Therefore, take time to review your medical school application for accuracy, clarity, and typographical errors. An application that is riddled with errors will make a poor impression on medical schools. You want a school’s first impression of you to be a good one.
Pay Attention to Section 5
The ‘Work and Activities’ section of the med school application, (section 5) is of particular importance. Medical schools will review this section carefully as they decide which candidates to offer an interview. In order to make a good impression, you will need to ensure that this section of your application is accurate, organized, and well-written. The description of each activity should clearly state your role, what skills you demonstrated during the experience, and what you accomplished at the end of the project. Your writing should make it clear why the experience was meaningful and how it shows your preparedness for medical school. Here are a few tips when completing your ‘work and activities’ section:
Understand the Format
The med school application allots 700 characters to discuss your activities. In addition, you can designate three ‘most significant’ activities. You will have additional space (1325 characters) to discuss these experiences. AMCAS will request the following information for each activity:
- Experience Type
- Experience Name
- Dates
- Contact Name and Title
- Contact Email and Phone
- Organization Name
- City/State/Country
- Experience Description
- Most Meaningful Experience Remarks (for 3 activities)
In the ‘experience description’ and “most meaningful experience remarks’ sections, you will need to succinctly and clearly describe how the experience affected you and prepared you to become a medical student. You should think of your answers as short essays or miniature personal statements. Your writing must be clear, coherent, and effective.
Chose Your Activities Carefully
Although AMCAS allows you to mention up to 15 experiences, quality is much more important than quantity. Do not feel compelled to fill all fifteen spaces. Make sure to include any research, volunteer, or clinical work experiences in this section. In addition, you should include any hobbies that are not directly related to medicine but demonstrate unique traits or skills that you possess.
Do Not Worry About The Order of the Activities
AMCAS automatically puts the entries in section 5 in chronological order. However, medical schools are able to create a variety of ways to view your information. Therefore, do not concern yourself with the order of your activities. Instead, make sure that your entries are complete, well-written, and accurate.
Write an Outstanding Personal Statement
The personal statement is a great tool to catch the attention of an admissions committee. Most medical school applicants look very similar on paper. All are strong students with nice MCAT scores. One of the key ways to distinguish yourself from your peers is by submitting a superior personal statement. In order to do this, your essay must be interesting, engaging, and show how you are uniquely qualified for medical school. Your essay should make the schools want to meet you- and invite you for an interview. Writing a good personal statement can be a lengthy and sometimes frustrating process, however, you will be well-compensated for your hard work when you start getting interview invites.
Your med school application is very important. Therefore, it requires your careful attention before you submit. Although you may be anxious to begin your journey to medical school, make sure that you are completely ready to apply to med school before you hit the submit button.
