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Take the MCAT in April. If you take the MCAT in August of your senior year (the year you are applying to medical school), you will not get your score for 6-8 weeks. So in October when other students are receiving interviews, your application is sitting on some desk in the INCOMPLETE FILE box. Only once everything is in, including your MCAT scores, will they review your application. By the time they review it, send you the secondary, and offer you an interview, half the spots may already be given to other students. Fit your essay, personal statement, etc... in the allotted space. Here's the best way to do that. Type out your essay/response to a question on your typewriter or word processor. Place it in the exact location where it would be if you were to type it on the application. Make sure the margins fit as well. Print out your response. Put the response sheet on top of the application and hold it up to a lighted window. Does the response/essay fit in the allotted space? If not, redo the margins, rewrite the essay shorter, change the font, reposition the essay... make the necessary changes so that it fits. Then take it to Kinko's. They can transfer your response onto the application. Write a strong personal statement. What does this mean? Your personal statement should tell the reader about YOU. Who are you? Why do you want to be a doctor? Convince them that they want you in their medical school - that they'd be sorry not having you. Tell them what they can't find out from the rest of your application, transcripts, or letters of recommendation. Give specific examples of experiences that have lead you to choose medicine. Your personal statement should read like a story. Captivate them. Make them want to meet you!!!!!!!!!! Be nice to the secretaries who you speak to on the phone. The secretaries are often personal assistants to Admissions Directors and other important people on the Admissions Committees. If you are rude, mean, or hostile, you can bet the Admissions people will hear about it. There goes you chances at that school.... How do I know what schools to apply to? Be realistic. Often times, the first criteria schools look at are the MCAT scores and g.p.a.. People not meeting their standards are eliminated from the application pool right off the bat. The Medical School Admissions Requirements book has a list of every medical school in the country with statistics on average MCAT scores, g.p.a, male to female ratio, professor to student ratio, minority enrollment, etc... The majority of the schools you apply to should have similar MCAT and g.p.a. profiles as you. Then apply to some dream schools... Is going to Harvard or UCSF your ultimate dream? Apply. What have you got to lose except a little cash. Just don't apply to all "dream schools" or you'll be stuck. Finally, look at how many students the school takes from out-of-state. Many schools, particularly in the South, cater to their own state residents. Don't apply to a school, for example, that accepts 0 to 1 out-of-state students for a class of 100.......unless its your "dream school". How many schools do I apply to? That's entirely up to you. Remember, for each school, you have to fill out a secondary application and send extra money. You can always apply to a lot then decide later not to complete the secondary or go on the interview. The interview can make or break you. By the time they've offered you an interview, they pretty much know you have what it takes to succeed academically at their school. Now they want to see if you and they are a "good fit". When being interviewed, be honest. Take a stand and stick with it. Sometimes your opinion on a topic may be different from the person interviewing you, or the interviewer may want to "test" you to see if you change your opinion under a little pressure. Don't waver. Be strong. Have an opinion. Stand by your convictions. If you have to, take a moment to think before you blurt out an answer. Some sample question I was asked: The infamous "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" "Why do you want to be a doctor?" "Why do you want to come to _________ (our school)?" Some other odd ones: UCD clinician - What is your stand on abortion? Read the newspaper, know about current world events. There are two reasons for this. First, it's nice to use concrete examples in your MCAT essays to backup your opinions. Second, interviewers often ask you questions about who is running on the Democratic Presidential ticket, what do you think about the situation in Kosovo, what is the effect of world economy on the U.S., etc... Does this sound bizarre? During an interview for residency, I was asked "If you are the president of Peru, would you continue negotiating with the terrorists even though they continue to kill hostages, or would you send in the special forces to deal with the terrorists at the risk of losing more hostages?" I am not kidding about this. Luckily, I had been to Peru a few months earlier, so I had an interest in the hostage situation and was following it. Otherwise, I'd be up a creek... If you need help or have more questions (however trivial they may seem), don't hesitate to ask. There are lots of "tricks" to this application process and it's impossible to list them all. Good luck. Antonette Ciccarelli
(422-5704) |
Questions? Contact your advisor or one of the following:
John Sullivan, Department Chair, e-mail at
sullivan@usfca.edu
or phone 415 422-5975
Michael Bayon, Department Secretary, e-mail at bayon@usfca.edu
or phone 415 422-6755
Last update for this webpage was August 2, 2001