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updated:
1/ 2010 Alex Shteynshlyuger |
Lessons in Strategy: Getting into medical school GPA, MCAT, Extracurriculars Lesson 1: Many, if not most schools and to be more precise their computers will first look at your numbers: GPA and MCAT scores. Each school gives different weight to GPA and MCAT scores--some think GPA is more important others give more value to MCAT. The bottom line is that if these do not meet the schools minimum requirements, which vary from school to school depending on its prestige level, your application will not be seen by a human being. At this point it does not matter how many awards you have listed on it or how good your extra-curriculars are. If you application does not pass through GPA/MCAT sift, no one will know of your other accomplishments. To get a foot in the door, you need to maximize your GPA and MCAT scores. Moral of Lesson 1: GPA and MCAT are high priority items that rank higher than everything else. Lesson 2: Try not to waste your timeby doing things twice that should only be done once. MCAT is a tough exam, no doubt about it. In my humble opinion, the secret to success is more obvious than one might expect: Doing well in pre-med classes, assuming your school's classes are rigorous. About 85% of questions on MCAT Organic and Inorganic Chemistry & Physics sections could be answered with the knowledge of the required premed courses: Intro to Chemistry and Intro to Physics as well as one-year long organic chemistry course. If you make some sacrifices and do well in those classes you will not only have good Science GPA (which is very important) but you will also pave the road to a good MCAT score! If you did less well than you think is desirable in those classes, you can still study your head off and prove to them that you can do the work by doing well on MCAT. Of course, given the choice it is better to do well in classes and then do well on MCAT with relatively little effort. Notice I said that about 85% of questions are covered in a typical pre-med curriculum. What makes or breaks a good MCAT score is knowing some of the answers to the remaining 15% of questions. These usually are not covered in typical premed classes. They not only help to determine WHETHER you will get in but also WHERE you will get in. If you're a science major there is chance that you will cover some or all of the remaining 15% in your other science classes but you might not. You should get the MCAT Manual which lists all the topics covered on MCAT well before you plan to take MCAT. In fact, if you're a sophomore you should have it by now. Note all the topics that you did not cover in your classes and study them on your own or with a tutor, or take classes where you will learn this stuff.. Early planning will give you great advantage later on since you will not be in a psychodelic rush to fit 72 hours in a day, which is not only impossible but also very stressful--I should know. You will probably find that the pre-med biology class you took covers only a minute portion of the biology content tested on MCAT. I highly recommend taking Human Physiology class if available.Genetics is also a must. Again check out the MCAT Manual and take good care of the topics you don't know. This requires advance planning since you will not be able to cover everything the night before MCAT. Another reason for working especially hard in your premed classes: When you apply for medical schools using the general AMCAS application, most schools will send you their own "secondary" application. Most schools where I applied, explicitly ask to list pre-med courses with grades on their secondary application. Guess what? They are not asking that just to make your life harder--they are trying to simplify their life. All medical schools receive thousands of applications for a class of about 100 people. Admissions people are very nice people, but their situation is such that THEY MUST LOOK FOR A REASON TO REJECT YOUR CANDIDACY. YOU MUST NOT GIVE THEM SUCH A REASON. YET REMEMBER A SCREW-UP IN SOME CLASSES DOES NOT DISQUALIFY YOU. Just like medicine, admissions is less of a science and more of an art. Even if you screwed up along the way, you might be accepted while someone without such a screw-up might be rejected to their great chagrin. Moral of Lesson 2: The best preparation for MCAT is doing well in your pre-med classes. Plan Early--Do Well!
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