How to Apply to Medical School: What You Need to Prepare
Quick answer: To learn how to apply to medical school, start with the prerequisite science courses, a high GPA, and an MCAT taken after your core coursework. Build clinical experience, research, shadowing, and service over time, then line up recommendation letters, draft your personal statement, and submit your AMCAS, AACOMAS, or TMDSAS application early. How […]
Research Opportunities For Pre-Med Students
Quick answer: Research opportunities for pre-med students include faculty labs, hospital-affiliated clinical studies, summer programs such as NSF REU sites and the NIH Summer Internship Program, and full-time gap year roles. Research is not required at every medical school, but most competitive applicants have it, and showing what you learned matters more than publications. Pre-Med […]
Best Major for Medical School: Is There A Perfect Degree?
Quick answer: There is no best major for medical school. Medical schools have no required or preferred majors, and they admit students from biology and chemistry as well as English, economics, and the arts. What matters is completing the prerequisites, earning a competitive GPA and MCAT score, and choosing a major you enjoy. Best Major […]
Strategies for Applying as a Non-Traditional Medical School Applicant
Quick answer: A non-traditional medical school applicant, such as a career changer or someone who took years off after college, can succeed by completing prerequisites through a post-bacc program, gaining recent clinical experience, preparing well for the MCAT, and explaining how a prior path led to medicine. Many schools value the maturity these applicants bring. […]
Letters of Recommendation for Medical School: Everything You Need to Know
Quick answer: Most schools require at least three letters of recommendation for medical school, usually two from science faculty and one from a non-science professor, or a committee letter from your college, and some accept up to six. Choose recommenders who know you well, ask at least a month before you apply, and submit letters […]
Worst Extracurriculars for Medical School: Common Activities to Avoid
Quick answer: The worst extracurriculars for medical school are short-term or passive activities, such as one-time volunteering, club membership without contribution, or brief service trips. Medical schools value sustained clinical experience, service, research, and leadership that show your commitment to patients and communities, so depth matters more than the length of your list. Worst Extracurriculars […]
Medical School Essays: 50 Questions to Ask Yourself
medical school essays
What to Do During a Gap Year Before Med School
Quick answer: What to do during a gap year before med school depends on your profile. Gain clinical experience as a scribe, EMT, or medical assistant, work in a research lab, volunteer or shadow physicians, retake the MCAT or take post-bacc classes if needed, and make time for interests and reflection beyond medicine. What to […]
A Guide to Combined BS/MD Programs
Quick answer: Combined BS/MD programs admit high school seniors to both college and a partner medical school at once, reserving a medical school seat for students who meet continuation requirements. Programs typically take six to eight years, and some waive the MCAT. They are highly selective, and Brown’s eight-year PLME is one well-known example. A […]
Questions to Ask at Medical School Interviews
Quick answer: The best questions to ask at medical school interviews are specific and genuine. Ask faculty about curriculum structure, research, mentorship, and clinical exposure, and ask students what surprised them, how accessible faculty are, and what they would change. Skip anything the school’s website already answers, and prepare three to five questions. Questions to […]