How to Get into a Top Medical School by Shemmassian Academic Consulting | Sponsored | The Harvard Crimson (2023)

In preparation for applying to medical school, you're probably hoping for admissiontop medical schoolswie Johns Hopkins, University of California-San Francisco, Stanford und Harvard.

If you work hard, earn great grades, and study for the MCAT, the good news is that you've already taken your first step toward a top-notch medical school. As a Harvard student, you might feel like you're under cover for most medical schools. But you're still unsure whether you'll get into a top program.

Not to mention the bad news: if you aim for the most reputable schools, it is certain that the majority of your competitors will also be well qualified. While a great GPA andMCAT-Scoreare the foundation of any medical school application, it is important to identify yourself as an excellent Harvard student in some other way so that you are not disappointed at the end of the admissions cycle.

In this article, we discuss strategies you can use to increase your chances of getting into a top-notch medical school. We go the right way in approaching extracurricular activities, application paperwork, and interviews to help you stand out on admissions boards.

How hard is it to get into a top medical school?

Entry into medical schoolis difficult, period. In the 2019-2020 application cycle, only 41 percent of applicants enrolled in American medical schools, meaning that nearly 60 percent of applicants most likely went nowhere. Even lesser-known medical schools often have acceptance rates below ten percent.

At the most prestigious medical schools, the odds are even scarier. The vast majority of top-notch medical schools have acceptance rates below five percent, and theaverage GPA and MCAT scoreof admitted students tends to be high (approx. 3.8 or 518).

If you are in this field, your odds of getting into medical school are good, especially given Harvard's rigorous reputation. In fact, GPA and MCAT scores are what we consider “Tier 1” admissions factors, meaning they are among the most heavily weighted qualifications admissions boards consider.

However, if you are aiming for admission into the most selective medical schools, consider your academic record as a foundation rather than a sufficient qualification. With the best medical schools receiving thousands of applications from academically gifted students, finding other ways to differentiate yourself is crucial.

What are medical schools looking for?

One way to understand what medical school admissions committees are looking for is to review the Association of American Medical Colleges' list of "core competencies." According to the AAMC, successful applicants should demonstrate a number of qualities that categorize them into the following competencies:

1. thinking and arguing
2. Science
3. pre-professional

The first two competencies include criteria such as critical thinking, written communication and knowledge of living systems. Rest assured that demonstrating these competencies should more or less take care of themselves if you focus on excelling in your prep and other courses.

The list of pre-professional competencies describes the personal qualities that are desirable in medical students and, more broadly, in physicians. This includes good social skills, reliability, cultural competence, service orientation and more.

How might you go about presenting these qualities? Your extracurricular activities, application materials, and interviews are excellent evidence that you are not only academically qualified to study medicine at the highest level, but also have the personal qualities necessary to become a first-rate physician.

Develop an outstanding extracurricular profile

Demonstrating a solid list of extracurricular activities is critical for several reasons. As previously mentioned, it offers admissions committees insight into your character, which is vital in a service-oriented profession like medicine. For example, volunteering at the same soup kitchen for four years shows that dedication. Working in a research team shows your ability to work in a team.

Active participation in extracurricular events shows that you are engaged and proactive in the medical field. It also shows your desire to gain as much experience and knowledge as possible.

Here are the five areas of extracurricular experience — and the minimum number of hours — that we recommend to be a competitive medical school applicant:

1. Community service or volunteer work:Over 150 hours during your college career
2. doctor shadowing:50-75 hours (we recommend internships in two to three disciplines and in two to three contexts in order to demonstrate diverse practical experience)
3. Patientenexposition:100+ hours (these hours should be separate from shadowing hours)
4. Guide:At least three separate leadership experiences, each lasting at least three months (You do not need to hold an official title such as club officer to be a leader; rather, any experience where you can demonstrate leadership skills counts)
5. Research:One or more years of research in the same laboratory

Previously we used the word "robust" to describe itthe best approach to extracurricular activities– but what does “robust” really mean? Medical school applicants often think they need to tick every metaphorical box and attend all available extracurricular activities. If you adopt this mindset, you run the risk of not playing a significant role in any of your activities.

A far more effective strategy is to focus deeply and intensely on one or two things. In other words, while it's important to demonstrate familiarity and experience in all five categories above, you should also undertake your extracurricular studies with the intention of developing an area or two of specialization.

As you can imagine, a specialist will always be more memorable than a generalist. So instead of dabbling in a variety of activities, try to be remembered for your worthwhile endeavors in something unique.

To use a sports analogy, Shaquille O'Neal was one of the most memorable players in basketball history, known for his ability to use his physical size to get past defenders and score goals. Most basketball analysts would agree that he was one of a kind and that few players have been able to replicate his dominant style since his retirement.

Try to be the Shaquille O'Neal of your chosen specialty. Be “the campus nutrition advocate,” “the caffeine addiction researcher,” “the founder of the medical interpretation service,” and so on.

Becoming a specialist takes hard work and dedication, but it's not a particularly mysterious process. The trick is to slowly but surely advance further than other students usually do in the same activity.

For example, if you are part of a volunteer organization, think about an issue currently unaddressed and how you can take the initiative to address it, whether it's coordinating a fundraiser, organizing outreach, or starting your own offshoot organization. Or, if you work in a lab, consider asking your PI if you can pursue your own project with the aim of publishing original research.

You might look at someone who has done independent research or started their own volunteer organization and think their achievements seem out of reach. However, if you take incremental steps over time, the same results are possible for you.

Creation of convincing application documents

Earning top marks and distinguishing yourself in your activities is one thing; Packaging for your medical school applications is another.

Investing the time and effort in your application is important for a number of reasons. Not only are they a space to highlight your accomplishments and character, they are your greatest opportunity to shape those accomplishments yourself and show that they qualify you for acceptance.

Three important parts of your medical school application are your personal statement, the “Work and Activities” section of your AMCAS application, and your secondary essays.

Write your personal medical school certificate

Along with your GPA and MCAT score, we consider yoursPersonal opinionbeing a Tier One Eligibility Factor. It's the part of your application where your personal attributes — the AAMC pre-professional competencies we discussed earlier — have the best chance of asserting themselves.

Of the first level admission factors, the personal statement is the one over which you have the most control. While your grades and test scores will speak for themselves, consider your personal statement a chance to speak directly to the admissions committees that your personal story sets you apart from other qualified candidates.

Conversely, academically competent students who do not gain admission to medical school might have underdeveloped or cliched personal statement essays.

So how do you write an outstanding personal statement? The key is to embed your specific experiences and personal qualities in a compelling narrative that clearly explains who you are and why you want to be a doctor.

When brainstorming what to write their personal statement about, applicants often have a hard time deciding on a topic that feels worthwhile. Great and lousy personal statements can be written on any subject, and how you write about it makes all the difference.

In other words, any topic can work as long as it's executed well, conveys your unique perspective, and explains why you will be an excellent doctor. We've seen fantastic personal statements on issues ranging from multilingualism to family cooking to the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Here's the step-by-step approach we recommend for writing a great medical school personal statement:

1. Make a list of personal qualities that you want to convey through your personal statement. For example, you might choose compassion, resilience, communication skills, and optimism.

2. Collect experiences, events, or contexts in which you expressed these qualities.

3. Begin writing by describing your chosen experiences in narrative form.

4. Discuss how your experiences led you to pursue a career in medicine.

5. Conclude your essay and tie it all together, emphasizing your personal qualities, your interest in medicine, and the perspectives your experiences have opened up for you.

Make a list of personal qualities that you want to convey through your personal statement. For example, you might choose compassion, resilience, communication skills, and optimism.

Collect experiences, events, or contexts in which you expressed these qualities.

Begin writing by describing your chosen experiences in narrative form.

Discuss how your experiences led you to pursue a career in medicine.

Conclude your essay and tie it all together, emphasizing your personal qualities, your interest in medicine, and the perspectives your experiences have opened up for you.

As you write, be sure to demonstrate the qualities you're focusing on rather than listing them outright—in other words, "Show, don't tell." Consider these two versions of the same idea: "Volunteering at the homeless shelter made me a more reliable person" vs. "In my four years of volunteering at the homeless shelter, I've learned that if I don't complete my assigned tasks, they might not get done." — that's what motivated me to show up every week.” The latter is undoubtedly more memorable and compelling.

Ultimately, what is important in your personal statement is not the experience you describe, but what the experience says about you. Although it's common to choose an experience to write about and then figure out its meaning, our strategy is more effective because it allows you to work in reverse. By first deciding what you want to convey about yourself, and then determining what experiences support those traits, you can more easily argue that you are a worthy candidate for medical school.

AMCAS work and activities

Although less commonly discussed, theWork and activities sectionis an important part of your AMCAS application. A key reason for this is that the "Works and Activities" section of your admissions file precedes your CV and is therefore responsible for making a positive first impression.

In the Work and Activities section, you have the ability to create up to 15 entries that succinctly describe your various non-academic experiences. AMCAS allows you to categorize your experiences into 18 different preset labels such as extracurricular activities, employment, research, service, athletics and more. However, you are only allowed to create one entry per category, so it is important to assign these carefully.

The heart of each entry is a 700-character description of the activity. As you write each description, you should make these key points: how much time you devoted to the activity, what your responsibilities and accomplishments were, what impact you made, and what skills and qualities you demonstrated through the activity.

Three of your entries can also be marked as "most meaningful", allowing you to write an additional 1,325 characters per experience. The important points to cover in this additional area are what you learned from the activities and how they helped you grow.

Much like your personal testimonial, your work and activity records are a valuable opportunity to carefully select the experiences you want to highlight for admissions committees. Given the limited space available, you should only list your most important experiences and avoid listing trivial activities just to fill the section, even if it means you end up with fewer than fifteen.

Here's how we advise applicants when choosing which experiences to include:

1. Make a list of any non-academic experiences you had during your college career (and after high school if you took some time off after graduation).

2. For each experience, write brief descriptions or keywords in response to the following: time spent, responsibilities and achievements, impact, demonstrated competencies, and lessons and growth.

3. For each experience, find out all the categories it could possibly fall under, as experiences that can be labeled in multiple ways give you more flexibility. For example, a campus organization where you hold a role might be labeled as "leadership," leaving the "extracurricular" space free for something else.

4. Use these descriptions and categories to select the activities you would like to include in your AMCAS application.

5. Take your descriptions and flesh them out into full sentences to create mini-narratives of your experiences, being careful to stay within length limits.

Make a list of any non-academic experiences you had during your college career (and after high school if you took some time off after graduation).

For each experience, write brief descriptions or keywords in response to the following: time spent, responsibilities and achievements, impact, demonstrated competencies, and lessons and growth.

For each experience, find out all the categories it could possibly fall under, as experiences that can be labeled in multiple ways give you more flexibility. For example, a campus organization where you hold a role might be labeled as "leadership," leaving the "extracurricular" space free for something else.

Use these descriptions and categories to select the activities you would like to include in your AMCAS application.

Take your descriptions and flesh them out into full sentences to create mini-narratives of your experiences, being careful to stay within length limits.

Given the space limitations, it is important to write briefly. Therefore, the style of writing you use will likely differ from that of your personal statement. In this section you can both "show" and "tell" as needed - your main concern should be to convey the necessary information and to highlight your achievements and excellent character.

By writing clearly and concisely about your experience, you can make a positive first impression for the admissions committees and set the stage for the rest of your application.

Write your secondary essays

The final pieces of the medical school application puzzle are your secondary application, which you turn to after submitting your AMCAS application. The majority of your second applications consist of essays that you have to write in addition to your personal statement.

Although second essays are often much shorter than the personal statement, including them in the application process increases your workload significantly, as most second applications require three or more additional essays. Since the average applicant applies to sixteen medical schools—we recommend that most students apply to 20 to 30 medical schools—this can be a lot of work.

Luckily, there are steps you can take to significantly streamline the secondary essay writing process. If you examine the secondary essay prompts, you will see that a large number of them fall into the following three categories:

1. The Diversity Essay
2. The challenge or adversity essay
3. The "why us?" essay

We advise applicants to use this to their advantage by pre-writing one of these essays which they can later adapt per school.

Writecompelling ancillary essays, you can use the same process we outlined in our discussion of personal testimony: select experiences that demonstrate the qualities you want to emphasize. Below are additional tips to help you write the three essays.

The Diversity Essay: In our experience, the biggest misconception regarding diversity essays has to do with the concept of diversity itself. Many applicants mistakenly believe that a diversity essay must consider their racial or ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion. These are excellent topics to write about, but the list doesn't stop there.

Rather, any element of your background, experiences, identity, or aspirations that gives you a unique perspective can be used to write a diversity essay. We've worked with applicants on amazing diversity essays about military service, competitive climbing, growing up on a farm, parenting, therapeutic uses of stand-up comedy, and the list goes on.

No matter what you write about, the key to a successful diversity essay is connecting what makes you unique to your potential and goals. Don't assume that your contribution to a medical school's diversity statistic makes sense in and of itself. Rather, be sure to use anecdotes that explain why you have something unique to add and that show that you will bring cultural sensitivity to your medical school community.

The Adversity Essay: Adversity essays are not intended to measure suffering, but to provide insight into how you deal with challenges, stress, and problem solving. Therefore, the best topic for these types of essays is not always the one that has the greatest setback; Instead, it's the one that shows the most growth.

To help you brainstorm, we recommend making a list of the challenges you've encountered, no matter how big or small, and listing the following points for each:

1. The challenge
2. Your answer
3. The result
4. The lesson you learned.

Once you have made a list, select the situation that shows the greatest development of maturity, improvement, and resilience.

The "Why Us?" essay: These prompts might ask questions such as, "Why are you specifically interested in pursuing your medical education at Mayo?" or "Please explain your reasons for applying to Penn."

Applicants are often surprised to learn that the best approach to answering these questions is not simply to discuss the school's laudable mission, desirable location, or distinguished name. Instead, a persuasive answer will equally focus on yourself.

The most effective "Why Us?" essays explain how your specific interests, background, and career goals align closely with a school's specific curriculum, resources, and ethos. Top medical schools know they are great - your job is to convince them that you would fit, benefit from, and contribute to their greatness.

How to Pass Your Medical School Interviews

Many applicants consider interviews to be the most nerve-wracking part of the admissions process. When you receive an invitation for a medical school interview, rest assured that your academic and extracurricular credentials have already proven that you are a worthy candidate.

The main purposes ofInterviews at the medical schoolare designed to confirm that in real life you match the amazing candidate you submitted on paper. You also want to make sure your social and interpersonal skills are sufficiently developed. We have made it a point to emphasize the importance of demonstrating desirable personal characteristics in your application; Your interviewers will make sure that you display these qualities in real life as well. Not only is it important for doctors to have well-trained social skills, medical schools also want to make sure you fit into their community.

Because of this, how you conduct yourself in your interviews (including social interactions on campus and correspondence with faculty and admissions staff) is just as important as what you actually say. Your job in your interviews is to give your candidacy a human dimension that is personable, personable and polished.

To prepare for job interviews, we recommend preparing thoughtful answers to frequently asked questions and practicing your presentation through mock interviews.

Start mastering your own materials - you should be prepared to discuss every detail of your AMCAS application, secondary essays, and academic records. Then, spend time on the school's website to get a fluent understanding of its programs, culture, and areas of focus.

To understand what questions you might be asked, look up interview questions given to previous applicants at the schools you're interviewing and prepare your answers. We also recommend having answers to the following frequently asked questions ready:

"Tell me about yourself": A good answer to this question touches on both the personal and the medical. We recommend that you first briefly describe your background, e.g. B. Your upbringing and interests. Then move on to a discussion of experiences that were relevant to your path to medical school.

"Why do you want to be a doctor?": Although many applicants fear that they will sound cliche when answering this question, an interest in science or a desire to help others are valid reasons for going into medicine. Our advice is to answer honestly and to back up your answer with specifics and anecdotes to ensure your reasoning is consistent with what you have written in your personal statement and secondary essays.

"Why do you want to go to our school?": You can ask yourself this question as well as your "Why us?". Essay: Use specific details to explain how you and the school are a perfect match.

"What do you see as the biggest public health problem in the United States?": This type of politically-oriented question can be intimidating, but calm down in the knowledge that your interviewer doesn't expect you to take a specific political stance. Rather, they want to see that you can defend your beliefs. For your interview, make sure that you are reasonably well informed about current health issues. When faced with these types of questions, show that you are aware of the current debates by acknowledging both sides of the issue. Finally state your position and support it thoughtfully.

Having rehearsed answers on hand will help you a lot during the interview; at least it will help you feel calmed and relaxed. However, it's also important not to look robotic or canned. Don't insist on sticking to your script if the conversation doesn't flow naturally or if your conversation partner brings up a complex question. It's just as important to show that you can adapt and think quickly.

We recommend arranging in-person interviews with trusted premed advisors, professors, admissions advisors, or friends who have already gone through the medical school application process. Ask your mock interviewers to grade both your answers and your presentation so you can perfect both, right down to eye contact and handshakes.

You have already demonstrated that you are intellectually fit to become a doctor. In your interviews, show that you are also socially competent and positioned to stand out from the rest of the pool of applicants.

Final Thoughts

Applying to medical school is a competitive, grueling process, especially for those hoping to break into the top flight. Earning excellent MCAT scores and excellent grades, especially from a top-notch institution like Harvard, will help place you in the realm of qualified applicants. If you become a specialist in your extracurricular activities, prepare excellent application papers, and excel at your interview, you can show that your attitude and character are as admirable as your intellectual accomplishments. Work hard to differentiate yourself from your competition and you will be on your way to acceptance into the most selective and prestigious medical schools in the country.

For over 15 years, our team of admissions experts have helped thousands of high-performing students get admitted to top medical schools like Hopkins, Harvard, and UCSF.

Crimson's news and opinion teams -- including writers, editors, photographers, and designers -- were not involved in the production of this article.