You know you want to become a doctor, but you also realize that you’re not quite ready for medical school. Whether that’s because your academic profile isn’t as competitive as it needs to be; your GPA or MCAT score needs attention; you’re low on clinical, volunteer, or research hours; or you’re a career changer (in need of more time to study basic sciences, offset low grades, or update them since graduating), a postbac could be just right for you.

A postbac can be an ideal way to regroup, focus, or demonstrate commitment to your goal of becoming a doctor. Postbacs are legitimate ways to improve your candidacy for your future in medicine. 

Any student who would like to  can benefit from completing a postbac master’s program or earning a postbac certificate.

Let’s jump right in and determine whether a pursuing a postbac is the right path for you, which type of program would be a good fit, and what steps you need to take to get started.

Eight Postbac Benefits

Completing a postbac program or coursework can help you with all of the following:

1. Fulfilling your premed prerequisite requirements

Some students take additional coursework to complete the required prerequisite courses to apply to medical school. If you’re a career changer, there are postbac programs that offer classes and services specifically for you.  

2. Improving your GPA (cumulative and science)

Some students take additional science courses to improve their academic record.

3. Boosting your MCAT score

If you have a low MCAT score, simply retaking the MCAT – after completing a prep course – might be the best approach for you, unless you need assistance in other areas as well. Many postbac programs include MCAT prep as part of their curriculum.

4.  Generating more activities 

If you need to participate in more health-oriented clubs, shadowing, clinic(al) volunteering, community service, or research to strengthen your application, consider pursuing a program that offers what you need. Most formal postbac programs offer a variety of opportunities and activities, including research.

If you choose to pursue postbac courses individually (non-matriculating, supplemental, and/or repeating classes at a local or online college) rather than attending a formal program, arrange supplemental activities and opportunities early so you can maximize the number of hours you can complete in your gap year while taking courses.

5. Securing impressive letters of recommendation

The additional coursework you complete (with stellar grades) will provide opportunities for you to request letters of recommendation from your new science professors. 

6. Strengthening your team-building skills

Including your postbac program or coursework on your med school application boosts your candidacy, because it indicates that you thrive on teams in a classroom setting. Taking lab classes or completing research will show the admissions committee that teamwork is a strength of yours, that research and collaboration are areas of depth brought about by steady academic progress (note that you need to have achieved competitive grades and a strong MCAT score). Ideally, “team building” research experience results in publication. Many postbac students achieve publication by the end of their program.

7. Building your confidence

Taking additional classes and excelling in them will boost your confidence. If you find yourself struggling, ask for help. Enlist the help of tutors and study groups. Balance your schedule, including making time to unwind and exercise. 

8. Continuing to grow and mature

By taking additional time to prepare for medical school, you will gain more life experience and therefore approach your professional education with greater maturity and more clearly defined goals. 

Additionally, most postbac programs’ application requirements mirror those of the AMCAS and AACOMAS applications. Therefore, writing a postbac application is good practice for what’s ahead and can reduce the anxiety that tends to accompany completing the medical school application. 

The Types of Postbac Programs Available

There are multiple types of premedical postbaccalaureate programs. They are all designed to assist students with matriculating in medical school, but they provide varying levels of support and target different parts of the application.

Single-Focus Programs

This type of program allows students to concentrate exclusively on improving their academic record or taking premed requirements. This option is great for students who already have an extensive record of long-term service in multiple areas but who simply need to demonstrate that they are ready for the rigorous curriculum of medical school.

Dual-Focus Programs

While taking coursework, students in dual-focus programs are encouraged to participate in research, clinical, or volunteer work. This combination allows students to strengthen their academic record as well as their activities section. Students often take coursework only part-time in these programs, which frequently provide outstanding opportunities in community outreach or research.

Multifocus Programs

This type of program provides the most comprehensive level of support – often in multiple areas. Depending on your needs, this might significantly increase your success in the medical school application process. The programs might help with general advising, class selection, study skills, academic achievement, MCAT preparation, and activity opportunities, as well as the application process. 

Linkage Programs

Some postbac programs have linkage agreements with their own or other medical schools. This means that if a postbac student meets the criteria for linkage (usually a GPA of 3.6 or above and a minimum MCAT score), they are automatically guaranteed an interview or a seat in the following year’s M1 class without needing to submit a medical school application. 

Getting Accepted to a Postbac Program

The following tips can help you formulate an effective strategy for applying to postbac programs.

1. Do your research on each program’s requirements.

Before applying to a program, check its website to confirm that you fulfill all of its basic requirements. You don’t want to spend hours on an application, only to find out that you are not eligible for the program because of a technicality.

2. Attend informational workshops.

At these events, faculty or staff members give presentations about their program, often providing inside information that is not available on the program’s website. Sometimes, students will host a panel to answer any questions prospective applicants at the workshop might have. In addition to being a valuable source of information, these events are an opportunity to network.

3. Request letters of recommendation early.

The most common reason that students’ applications are not given serious consideration is that they are missing letters of recommendation. Recommenders often need significant time to write and submit their letters, so you want to be sure that you give them plenty time to . Request your letters early. It can also be helpful to explain your reasoning for taking a postbac route to medical school and to provide some basic information about what you accomplished while working with your recommender to refresh their memory and make writing their letter easier. 

4. Use all the space available.

Check the word or character limits on all essays and use the maximum amount of space allowed. Using only half the allotted word limit for your essay(s) could make you look lazy, inattentive, or both (read our next post in this series for more advice on writing your postbac application essays). 

You can also schedule a free consultation to learn more about working with an admissions expert to create a postbac application that gets you accepted.

Securing Strong Letters of Recommendation 

Your letters of recommendation (LORs) can make a strong impact on the admissions committee, potentially making or breaking your review. Given their importance, you might feel concerned that you do not have much control over them. However, how you request your LORs, and from whom, can ensure that you will get the best letters to support your application’s success.

1. Request your LORs as early as possible.

Approach your potential recommenders as early as you can to request letters from them. Most professors are not easily accessible during the summer months or toward the end of each semester or quarter. The earlier in the term you can secure your letters, the better.

2. Choose your letter writers strategically.

Request letters only from professors in whose classes you earned A grades and/or from mentors with whom you established a strong rapport. Make a thorough list, and think carefully about who knows you very well and is therefore in the best position to write about you knowledgeably. If you have only a couple of names on your list, start going to office hours and networking to find a suitable mentor. Reach out sincerely to favorite professors if it has been a while since you’ve worked together. 

3. Request your letters in person, if at all possible.

It is always best to request LORs face-to-face. Doing so will demonstrate the respect you have for the person and how much this opportunity means to you. When you request the letter, look the person in the eyes. Based on the person’s response, you can then provide them with the materials they need.

4. Prepare a letter packet.

Prepare a packet for each LOR writer that includes a copy of your personal statement, a copy of your resume or CV, and any other information they might need to write you a strong recommendation. If your recommender is not familiar with or confident about writing a letter for a medical school applicant, feel free to share this resource with them: How to Write a Letter of Recommendation for Medical School: Nine Tips for Recommenders.

Be sure to always send a thank-you note/email to your recommenders after they submit their LORs, and thank them again after you’ve been accepted to medical school.

Next Steps

You’ve decided that a postbac is a wise move for you. Now it’s time to create an application that will get you accepted. Schedule a free consultation and collaborate one-on-one with an expert advisor who will work with you to create your winning postbac application.

Dr. Mary Mahoney, PhD, is the medical humanities director at Elmira College and has more than 25 years of experience as an advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. She is a tenured English professor with an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a PhD in literature and writing from the University of Houston. For the past 25 years, Mary has served as a grad school advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. Want Mary to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources

• Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose, a free guide
• Applying to Medical School with a Low Science GPA
• How to Apply Successfully to Med School from Postbac Programs, podcast Episode 526

The post The Basics of Postbac Programs: What You Need to Know appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

On one eagerly anticipated day each March, after years of study and hours of applications and interviews, thousands of medical school students and graduates discover where they will begin their specialty training. This Match Day – March 21, 2025 – 47,208 applicants got their answer.

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which oversees the matching process to pair eligible applicants with available residency training positions, reported that this was the largest Match in the program’s 73-year history, with 52,498 registered applicants (a 4.1% increase in applicants over 2024). Participating specialties offered 43,237 PGY-1 and PGY-2 training positions (a 4.2% increase from last year), and 40,764 of these were filled by from the pool of 47,208 “active” applicants (those who submitted a rank-order list) on Match Day.

Accepted would like to congratulate the successful participants who will now take the next step in their training. We also have noted a number of interesting results that could be important for current or future medical students who hope for successful matches in the years to come.

Closing Gap Between DOs and MDs

Osteopathic medical students (DO Seniors) had their most successful year ever, with a match rate of 92.6%, despite having more active applicants in the Match than ever before. This group significantly increased their presence in several specialties including Child Neurology (4.9% increase), Medicine-Pediatrics (2.9% increase), and Orthopedic Surgery (1.3% increase). Meanwhile, allopathic medical students (MD Seniors) maintained last year’s match rate of 93.5%. 

When you consider that just a decade ago, DO Seniors matched at 77.7% versus 94.4% of MD Seniors (2014 Match), this is a remarkable achievement in leveling the playing field between these two medical educational approaches. With the gap between allopathic and osteopathic training continuing to close, any lingering stigma against osteopathic training is clearly out of date.

International Medical Graduatess Lag Behind

While fewer US citizen international medical graduates (US-IMGs) participated in the 2025 Match, their overall match rate increased slightly to 67.8%. In contrast, a huge increase (14.4% over 2024) in non-US citizen IMGs pushed their match rate down slightly to 58%. Most went into Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Family Medicine.

Primary Care Remains a Popular Choice

Primary care fields matched strong overall, with a 93.5% overall fill rate. Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, and Pediatrics all increased their match rates over last year, even while adding significant numbers of new positions – 877 overall. However, Family Medicine only filled 85% of its 5,357 positions, which the NRMP attributes to the addition of 144 new positions in the Match.

Emergency Medicine Recovers After Covid

Also of note is that Emergency Medicine, which had record numbers of unfilled spots immediately following the Covid pandemic, continued to rebound. This year’s 97.9% match rate isn’t quite the 100% fill rate it achieved in the 2022 Match, but it’s far better than any year since.

OB/GYN Continues to Appeal to Applicants

Despite fears that the current political climate might depress the training of future OB/GYNs, Obstetrics and Gynecology proved to be another popular specialty in the 2025 Match. With 1,604 positions offered, only one categorical position and nine preliminary PG1 positions remained unfilled. 

NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, MBA, BSN, praised the applicants in this year’s match: “This year’s Main Residency Match marks a milestone of continued success for the graduate medical education community as a record number of applicants and residency training programs matched.”

Accepted would also like to extend a hearty congratulations to everyone who matched, and we wish you continued good fortune in your future training. For more information about this year’s Match, please visit the NRMP website.

If you are planning to apply to the match next year, and would like guidance and assistance with your application and essays, schedule a free consultation today!

Since 2001, Cydney Foote has advised hundreds of successful applicants for medical and dental education, residency and fellowship training, and other health-related degrees. Admissions consulting combines her many years of creating marketing content with five years on fellowship and research selection committees at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She’s also shared her strategy for impressing interviewers in a popular webinar and written three books and numerous articles on the admissions process. 

Related Resources

• 13 Essential Do’s and Don’ts for Your Residency Personal Statement
• Residency Admissions: What if I Didn’t Match
• Medical Residency/Fellowship Application Assistance

The post It’s A Match 2025 appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

In today’s world, where everything moves at lightning speed, we’re constantly making fast decisions. 

This applies to admissions committees, too. The pressure of their job forces them to make very quick decisions about whose applications they will invest more time in and whose will merit only an obligatory but cursory review before being set aside. 

Their reality is one of managing an overwhelming volume of applications with limited time for review, so when you’re applying to business school, medical school, graduate school, or college, you must capture your reader’s attention with the very first lines of your essay. Your opening sentence cannot fall flat. It needs to pull your reader immediately into your narrative. Every word counts.  

Engaging Your Readers Right From the Start

Think of your essay’s first line as the opening of a great novel. You want your reader to think, “I need to know more!” Let’s take a look at some good examples:

• Horns blare as tiny auto rickshaws and bicycle-powered school buses weave through the crowded streets of Old Delhi.
• After a near disaster on my first week as a case manager at a community center for women and children, I realized that to succeed, I’d have to suppress my anger at how poorly things were being run.
• My aunt’s cancer had spread throughout her body before anyone had diagnosed it properly – too late for treatment. That moment changed everything for me, making my interest in science personal.
• From the age of seven, while struggling with math but excelling in spelling tests and writing stories, I knew I was meant to be a writer.

Notice a trend? Three out of these four openers are personal stories. There’s no mention of GPAs or scientific breakthroughs. The first example is so vibrant and full of action that we instantly want to know who’s experiencing this scene. In each case, the reader’s curiosity is piqued, and that’s what you want. 

A strong opener will include three key elements:

1. A glimpse of your theme or story – who you are, what you’re passionate about, and the path you’re on
2. Creative details or descriptions – something that paints a picture and grabs attention
3. Energetic writing – language that makes the reader feel like they can’t stop until they’ve read the entire essay

Your opening should show a connection between where you’ve been and where you’re heading. Here are a few more examples:

• It was pitch black when we quietly climbed into the back of a truck, beginning our journey to freedom.
• Only six months after launching my start-up, I realized the money wasn’t flowing in – just out the window.
• Finding a green, scratched 1960s Cadillac in a junkyard last summer made me realize that mechanical engineering was my calling.

These lines pull you in. You can’t help but want to know the rest of the story. When done right, these kinds of personal anecdotes don’t just offer facts – they paint a picture, making your story more real and engaging.

Having read these examples, you might now have some ideas for your own essay introduction. Start by jotting down some key moments in your life that helped shape your career or academic goals. Maybe it was a job experience, a family event, or a “light bulb” moment that made you realize what you wanted to do.

For example, an electrical engineering applicant might remember the first time their home lost power and realize that that was the moment they discovered their career path. A future MBA student might recall a pivotal time when they helped a struggling person understand financial basics, which sparked their interest in nonprofit work. A law school applicant might recount witnessing a courtroom scene during an internship that inspired them to specialize in criminal law.

Once you’ve created a list of these defining moments, dig deeper. What stood out about each one? How did it make you feel? What sensory details can you include (what did you see, hear, or smell)? These tiny details will help you build a narrative that draws your reader in.

Still struggling to find that perfect hook? Our team of experts is here to help! We can guide you through crafting an essay that stands out, from brainstorming a compelling opening line to polishing the final draft. You’ve got a great story to tell. Let’s make sure the admissions committee doesn’t miss it.

Kara Keenan Sweeney has more than 15 years of experience in MBA admissions, having worked for some of the world’s top business school programs, including Columbia Business School, INSEAD, and The Lauder Institute’s joint degree MA/MBA program with The Wharton School and the MA/JD program with Penn Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Kara has guided, coached, and counseled thousands of MBA and EMBA applicants, reviewed innumerable applications, sat on admissions committees, and interviewed countless applicants, including while running Wharton’s Team Based Discussions both virtually and in person. Want Kara to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources

• The Resilience Factor: How Flaws and Failures Can Strengthen Your Application
• Three Must-Have Elements of a Good Statement of Purpose
• Proving Character Traits in Your Essays 

The post Writing an Engaging Essay Introduction appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) places special emphasis on the relationships students form during medical school with their classmates and professors. Students join one of four colleges on campus to participate in small group learning activities. In their first two years of medical school, students create their own project to self-direct their learning process, with mentorship. The school seeks individuals who will contribute to the diversity of the class and share successful strategies in building communication skills and a solid foundation of scientific knowledge. The VUSM’s secondary application involves three required essay responses and three optional responses.

VUSM Secondary Essay #1

Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words)

Family, culture, norms, expectations, and experiences all play a role in shaping who we are as individuals. This is a reflection answer. What in your past has influenced who you are today? You could answer this question in broad strokes, focusing on a value that was constant through your childhood, or you could tell a story about a specific event that defined or changed you (with a positive outcome, ultimately). What makes you tick? What makes you the introspective person you are? This prompt aims to help the adcom get to know you by revealing your humanity, empathy, and/or compassion, or your leadership, advocacy, and investment in the well-being of others.

VUSM Secondary Essay #2

Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words)

Meeting someone who is very different from you and moving forward with a bond and an understanding of difference requires being a secure and aware individual. Perhaps you learned something, not only about yourself or the other individual but also about how to interact to foster a safe and productive exchange for both of you. Perhaps you learned something about how to build a respectful friendship that includes sharing norms and traditions.

VUSM Secondary Essay #3 

Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words)

Asking for help, especially for something meaningful, is difficult. Who are the people you can rely on? Who are the resources and contacts you feel comfortable reaching out to in a time of need? What does this say about you? What was the outcome when you reached out to others? This prompt seeks a personal story about vulnerability and finding support, resources, and strength.

VUSM Secondary Essay #4 (Optional)

If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words)

You must demonstrate how engaged you are, or have been, during a gap year or two. How has the activity you present improved your immersion in medicine? If you have been drawn into personal responsibilities, such as caring for a family member, this would also be a valid answer here.

VUSM Secondary Essay #5 (Optional)

Why are you interested in Vanderbilt University School of Medicine? (200 words)

Why VUSM? When did you know you were interested in the program? What led you to apply to the school? Vanderbilt prides itself on having a “cutting-edge curriculum” and a “vibrant” social mission, and on its website, it profiles its students in warm tones, sharing connections and activities that foster the program’s mission while promoting relationships with peers, building legacy bonds within families, and encouraging outreach initiatives among its medical students that are inclusive and antiracist. In fact, the profiles convey “why us?” as genuine, personal connections and affiliations with the school, alumni, faculty, and mission. So how did you develop an affinity for Vanderbilt? Let the adcom know, personally and with warmth.

VUSM Stats

All data are taken from the US News & World Report in 2024.

Average MCAT score: 521

Average GPA: 3.95

Acceptance rate: 5.2%

Has this blog post helped you feel more confident about approaching your VSUM secondary application? We hope so. It’s our mission to help smart, talented applicants like you gain acceptance to your top-choice medical school. With so much at stake, why not work with a consultant whose expertise and personalized guidance can help you make your dream come true? We have several flexible consulting options — click here to get started today!

Dr. Mary Mahoney, PhD, is the medical humanities director at Elmira College and has more than 20 years of experience as an advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. She is a tenured English professor with an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a PhD in literature and writing from the University of Houston. For the past 20 years, Mary has served as a grad school advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. Want Mary to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources

• Accepted’s Medical School Acceptance Calculator, a free tool
• Prewriting Secondaries for Medical School
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for Med School Applicants

The post Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips [2024-2025] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Predictably, the rate at which aspiring medical school students are taking a gap year is rising. According to the AAMC’s 2024 student questionnaire, 74.3% of M1s took at least one gap year between their undergraduate education and starting medical school. That rate was 60% in 2017. Clearly, the takeaway from this data is that the percentage of medical school applicants who took a gap year to improve their scores, experiences, or research before being accepted to medical school is overwhelmingly greater than the percentage who did not. Additionally, the length of the gap for most of these applicants was brief – one or two years.

Reasons to Take a Gap Year 

Rather than fretting about whether to take a gap year, you should focus your energy on determining what would turn a gap year into a growth year for you – and then plan accordingly. Many premed students use the gap year to work on improving what they see as their weakest application credential. A gap year gives you the opportunity to retake the MCAT, enroll in a postbac program to improve your GPA, volunteer, or gain clinical exposure. During a gap year, some premed students become emergency medical technicians. Others work to save up money (to decrease their future medical school debt) while volunteering, performing community service, or building research and publication achievements. Others engage in medical mission opportunities to bolster their experience with diverse populations and global health.

Determining How to Spend Your Gap Year

Clearly, as the percentages I noted earlier in this post demonstrate, the admissions committees do not view gap years negatively. But the key is ensuring that whatever you do during your gap makes sense with respect to your interest in becoming a doctor. For some people, that means dealing with practical issues and addressing whatever they need to do in preparation for applying to medical school. 

What you might do during a gap year also needs to make sense for you personally, separate from your medical career aspirations. This means being inspired. What do you intuitively feel would facilitate your growth and satisfaction as a person and/or a future doctor? For example, would you like to gain experience with a particular patient population? Volunteer with Doctors Without Borders? Work at the NIH to help with policy and research initiatives?

Other people use the time to assume personal responsibility for a family matter, such as taking care of an ailing family member. They might pursue certification in a complimentary therapy, such as acupuncture. Or they might consider studying Latin. 

Still other aspiring medical school students choose to get involved with activities and opportunities that show their commitment and enthusiasm for their intended career. What else could you do that would help you achieve your ultimate goal of becoming a doctor – something that would serve humanity and increase your humility? You could go on an international trip to service the health needs of people in a country/culture other than your own, one where people speak a different language. You might work on gaining more community service or research opportunities. Another option would be attending a postbac program or an “ancillary health” graduate program (e.g., one in human nutrition or narrative medicine) or retaking the MCAT with the help of a prep program. 

Whatever you decide makes sense for you, consider speaking with your premed advisor to discuss their recommendations for ways to boost your candidacy. As tempting as it might be to take a gap year to rest, get a break from academia, or go on an overdue vacation with family or friends, do not “underwhelm” the admissions committee with minimal professional commitments during this time. You must demonstrate that you spent your gap year(s) well, working to improve your candidacy via growth, achievements, and experience – with full dedication. 

Addressing the Gap Year in Your Application

If you take a gap year, you will need to explain what you did during that time to the medical schools you apply to, either in writing or in person. So, it is a good idea to take notes about your activities along the way. Practice writing about your experiences, and make connections between challenges and growth. Show how your gap year was time well spent and beneficial to your advancement. Explain how the experiences you had during that time changed you and have made you a stronger medical school applicant and future physician.

Also, if you have any ambivalence about becoming a doctor, taking a gap year or two makes perfect sense. Medical students who suffer a change of heart professionally find themselves unhappy and stressed. And medical students experiencing significant stress often demonstrate a progressive decline in empathy, which is a red flag. If they decide to drop out of medical school as a result, they often do so with sizable debt – and with no profession to show for it. So take your personal inventory early and strategically. Examine the reasons you want to be a doctor. If you feel you need some time to confirm that this path is truly the right one for you, take a gap year or two before applying to explore your commitment to medicine and patient care, and your motivation for and dedication to the profession.

It’s never too early to start working on your admissions strategy for your medical school application. Schedule a free consultation, and work one-on-one with an expert advisor who will help get you accepted!

Dr. Mary Mahoney, PhD, is the medical humanities director at Elmira College and has more than 20 years of experience as an advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. She is a tenured English professor with an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a PhD in literature and writing from the University of Houston. For the past 20 years, Mary has served as a grad school advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. Want Mary to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources

• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for Med School Applicants
• Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Med School & Secondary Essays
• Medical School Selectivity Index, a free tool

The post Should I Take a Gap Year Before Medical School? appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

There are approximately 300 accredited PA (physician assistant) schools in the United States. In 2024, these schools received more than 27,000 applications. The matriculation rate for PA schools hovers near 30%, which is lower than the approximate 40% matriculation rate for medical schools. 

To stand out in this crowded applicant pool, you need to ensure that your personal statement for your PA application truly shines from the first sentence to the last. It must tell a compelling story that focuses on your sustained interest in the field, while at the same time building a case for your qualifications. 

The character limit for the CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants) personal statement is 5,000 – which includes spaces! Some people initially misunderstand the limit to be 5,000 words and end up having to severely cut back their overwritten drafts. Don’t let this happen to you! 

The following successful essay responds to the question “Why PA?” After reading this essay, you’ll understand why the candidate was accepted to a PA program. (The individual has given permission for their essay to be shared publicly. All personal identifiers and details have been removed to protect their privacy.)

A fascination in medicine was evident at an early age, leading to exploration of healthcare careers at [undergraduate institution]. Without a clear career focus or study skills, I struggled early in my academic career. After a professor encouraged me to research becoming a PA, I found my excitement about science and desire to make a significant impact on others’ perfectly fit that role. At the same time, I was able to see the role of PAs in the clinical setting while I worked as a medical scribe in the emergency room. Their robust medical knowledge combined effortlessly with the balance of autonomy and collaboration, ensuring patients had the best possible outcomes. Being able to witness firsthand the multifaceted role of a PA confirmed my decision to pursue the profession, resulting in a significant increase in my GPA. Not only did I improve academically and grow as a student, I decided to pursue a Master’s in Human Nutrition at [graduate institution], a step on my path that enriched an understanding of evidence-based care in medicine. Completing a research-based thesis has also instilled an appreciation and interest in clinical research. I am eager to continue to build and deepen scientific knowledge and apply learned research concepts during PA school.

Having an interest in how accessibility to adequate healthcare affects various populations led to a decision to seek out volunteer opportunities in the community. Volunteering for Americares, a non-profit health clinic for uninsured individuals, taught me to be resourceful in communicating with a diverse patient population, many of whom English was not their first language. Witnessing how communication barriers can significantly affect patient care gave a profound sense of compassion, and an eagerness to serve these communities. On the other hand, volunteering at Caring Hospice reminded me of the continuum of our lives and the importance of empathy, respect, and understanding when caring for those who are near the end of life’s journey. As a PA, I want to educate patients about their health in an inclusive and respectful manner. 

Transitioning to the role of an ophthalmic technician at [clinical practice] was a pivotal experience in my journey. As I delved into this position, I found myself immersed in the lives of patients facing sudden vision loss. One particularly memorable encounter was with Joe, who presented with a retinal detachment. Joe communicated that he was a bit worried, as he was playing tennis before the vision in his right eye became black. I guided him through each step of the encounter, which began with a medical history and ended with optical imaging, finding ways to comfort him without relying on visual cues. Treating Joe alongside Dr. [Name] was rewarding as we restored his vision, but what was most impactful was the genuine gratitude Joe expressed afterward. It served as a poignant reminder of the profound influence we as healthcare providers can have on patients’ lives, as well as the reciprocal impact patients can have on us. 

I am driven by a desire to evolve for the betterment of my patients, like Joe, while fulfilling a passion for medicine. Being a PA allows no room for stagnation; for it is my responsibility to impact and add value to patients and the healthcare team alike. I want to educate patients about their health in an inclusive and respectful manner. As I reflect on my path, the role of a PA uniquely aligns with core values and aspirations to directly engage with patients as their empathetic listener, voice of advocacy, and collaborative leader in their care. 

This essay shows that the writer invested a great deal of thought into the question “Why PA?” The resulting personal statement is exceptional for the following reasons:

1. The writer specifically explains “why PA” from the first paragraph to the last.

She writes with honesty and skill, responding directly to the essay prompt. Each paragraph illustrates an additional reason that becoming a PA is the only profession for her. She builds her case by discussing her academic achievements, shadowing and volunteering, and learning to appreciate the essential “soft skills” of compassion, sincerity, and care in a PA, which convinces the reader that she is grateful for, dedicated to, and thirsts for knowledge in the field of medicine. For these reasons, the candidate was invited to interview and received an acceptance.

2. The writer demonstrates a longitudinal pattern of behavior and involvement that supports her educational goal.

In my experience, past behavior predicts future behavior. This candidate’s pattern of behavior aligns with a PA’s work and responsibilities. With a love of learning and teamwork, demonstrated by the experiences she chose in the medical arena, the writer proves through her long-term involvement with medicine that she will seamlessly fit into the role of PA. It is clear how much effort she has invested into preparing for this career.

3. She expresses vulnerability.

There are several lenses of vulnerability in this essay. First, the applicant offers a vulnerable view of herself when she discusses how her undergraduate GPA was subpar before she had clearly identified her career goal. However, once she found the PA profession, all of that changed, and her grades began to improve. Admissions committees appreciate this level of honesty and forthrightness. Second, the applicant acknowledges the vulnerability of the patients she has encountered. Understanding and voicing that medicine is a delicate balance of science and humanity is key.  

The PA profession continues to grow in stature and popularity. When submitting your application to CASPA, remember that you will be evaluated on the competitiveness of your holistic portfolio, and your personal statement is a critical component of that. Take time to craft your narrative, leave yourself sufficient time to review and edit your drafts, and ensure that the statement you submit will captivate the admissions committee!

As the former assistant dean of student affairs and career development at the William Beaumont School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Wherely worked directly with the dean of the School of Medicine, the associate dean of student affairs, the associate dean of clinical curriculum, and the assistant dean of admissions, as well as with Year 4 students on both residency application reviews/critiques and mock interview preparation. Work with Valerie! Schedule a free consultation today!

Related Resources

• How to Get into Physician Assistant Programs, podcast Episode 515
• How to Get Accepted to Physician Assistant (PA) Programs
• The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Physician Assistant, a free guide

The post Writing Your PA School Personal Statement with Impact (includes PA personal statement example) appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Show Summary:

In this episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Dr. Beth Piraino, Associate Dean of Admissions at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM), explores the school’s innovative Three Rivers Curriculum, emphasizing small-group learning, early clinical exposure, and the integration of “Streams” (special interest areas) and Threads” (core competencies like leadership and clinical reasoning). Dr. Piraino also discusses the role of secondary essays in evaluating applicants and explores why teamwork, resilience, and cultural awareness are important in the admissions process. She goes on to  highlight a common mistake applicants make in the application process.

Show Notes:

Our guest today is Dr. Beth Perino, Associate Dean for admissions at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr. Piraino graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in biology, and earned her Md. At what is now Drexel Medical School. She returned to the University of Pittsburgh for her residencies in Internal Medicine and Nephrology, and joined the Faculty in 1982. She has held many leadership positions at the University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and is currently a tenured professor of medicine and associate Dean of admissions and financial aid at UPSOM. 

Dr. Piraino welcome to Admissions Straight Talk.

Well, thank you. I’m happy to be here.

Great. We’re happy to have you.

Can you start by giving us an overview of UPSOM’s curriculum and specifically the Three Rivers curriculum focusing on its more distinctive elements?

Right. So the Three Rivers curriculum was something that the curriculum committee worked on for several years. It’s very, very much focused on small group learning. The students are broken up into 16 groups. There’s about nine students per group, and they have a longitudinal educator. So these are faculty who have volunteered to do this. They’re getting some salary support. So there’s a relationship between the longitudinal educator and the small group. Some of the kind of innovative things on it are the flex week. So there are about five different times in the first year and a half, which is the preclinical, where the students take a break from the regular curriculum, and they do another activity, and they get a lot of choice on that. So the clinical year starts after the winter break in the second year. So it’s been moved up a bit. There’s a lot of new things about the curriculum. It’s working out very well.

That’s great. How long has it been around since 19-20?

So the second year students are the first that have entered this curriculum. So the first year class are the second class to be in this curriculum.

I noticed that you seem to have compressed the didactic portion of the curriculum. Am I correct?

Correct. That’s correct. So the basic science portion goes up to the winter break, and then they start the block system which we had before. But now it starts in January of the 1st year and then they still get the summer off. Between the 1st and second year. Almost all of our students actually do research during that. But that’s optional, and they come back and they finish the blocks. Then January in the second year is study time for step one. Once they take the step, once they start their clinical rotations.

Wow! That’s pretty good. That’s pretty pretty fast, and they already have some clinical exposure.

From the beginning they learn how to take a history, do a physical exam. We have a lot of actor patients that we use for that.

What are the Streams and the Threads in the curriculum? And what is the difference between them?

Well, the Streams used to be our areas of concentration. So these are areas where students have a special interest. They get together in small groups. They have a faculty mentor, and then they do extra activities around that. So, for instance, it might be on neuroscience, or it might be on disability medicine, could be geriatrics, could be addiction medicine, or they could do things like primary care or global population. So there’s a lot of different areas that they could get involved in. But it’s kind of extracurricular.

The Threads are woven into the curriculum, just like a thread is in cloth, and these are things like clinical reasoning, which is extremely important for a physician, medicine, interprofessionalism, and leadership. And that’s not extra. But that’s built into the curriculum.

And if somebody is interested in one of the Streams, would electives be available for them to focus on that in the curriculum?

Well, there are groups that meet, and they do like, they may have a journal club about it, or different activities, discussion groups and all that sort of thing.

Alright getting back to something you said earlier about this, the small group learning. And they, I think you said it was groups of nine. Is that like one group for the first year, one group for the second year? Or is it throughout the curriculum, or is it for different courses?

Yeah, yeah, that’s a good question. So the first group is for the first semester. So it’s from the beginning up until the winter break, and the longitudinal educator with that, and then they flip into another group. And this is very good because they get to work with a number of their different classmates, and then they get a different longitudinal educator, and then that stays with them until the summer, and then in the fall they have a third group. So they’re with quite a few of their classmates through that period of time.

And what is the longitudinal Alliance program as well as the Community Alliance program? Those were two interesting elements I noticed.

The Student Alliance program is where the student gets assigned from the beginning to a patient with some sort of chronic illness, like my mother did this years ago, when this was sort of an optional thing, and the students would would call and check on her, actually even come to our house sometimes, and the idea is for the student to see medicine from the patient’s point of view, so they may be able to go to some of their appointments with them, and so on and so forth. And that starts from the very beginning. 

The Community Alliance program is our attempt to really connect the students with our surrounding neighborhoods and the issues that they have so they get a project and a community group to work with, and they find out what they feel they need. It’s not us imposing it on them. And then they work with that group to help them achieve it. And I think this is pretty successful. We do have some neighborhoods right around the medical school that are underserved, and there are areas of need. So this has been a very important part of the new curriculum.

Could you give an example of a project they work on?

You know, I’m not so familiar with that and wouldn’t want to give you anything. And it’s sort of a work in progress, too, because, you know, some groups are more successful than other groups, and so on. So I’m not too sure.

No problem. Let’s turn to medical school admissions, which I know is your specialty. What do you learn from the secondary essays that you don’t get from the primary.

You know, the committee spends a lot of time discussing what the secondary essay should be. So you know, the three essays that we have are about three aspects of the application that we’re very interested in finding out about. So one is about teamwork, what experience they’ve had working in a team.

How that influences them. And that’s really important, because, you know, physicians always work as a team, you know, as a nephrologist, you know, I would work with the renal social workers. The dialysis nurses, the dietician, and we would meet every month and go over the Care Plan, and it was a very satisfying way to work. So teamwork is one of the things that we want to hear about. Another one is a difficult situation that they faced and how they overcame that that shows resilience, which is a very important feature for a physician. And the third one is how they have interacted with people, with other backgrounds than them and make sure they understand, you know, the cultural differences of people, and this is very important for a future physician also, who will take care of all kinds of people.

That was a great answer. Thank you. Does UPSOM prefer Pennsylvania residents?

Well, we do have a fair number, and the tuition is just a little bit lower for Pennsylvania residents. But we are really a national, actually, even an international school. We usually get applicants for maybe 48 of the States and from a number of countries around the world.

So you take international applicants, also? 

We take international applicants, and so on. So, but the cost does end up. eing maybe 25% [up] from Pennsylvania, because people, especially those from Southwestern Pennsylvania. They kind of know what the school is all about. They understand the relationship with the Medical Center, and so they’re more likely to come if we accept them.

Sure that makes sense.

I noticed an interesting chart on your site that showed the following 83% of admitted students have non-clinical community service. 86% have clinical community service, 92% have research experience and 87% have shadowing experience.

How much do you like to see each of the above and what, qualitatively, are you looking for with these experiences? And I’ll tell you why I asked about the qualitative aspect after you respond.

Well, I would say, number one is the clinical experience. So going to medical school is a very big decision to make. I mean, it takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of money, and it’s just not for everybody. So the committee absolutely wants to know that the person has really tested this decision, and that they know what they’re getting into. So the committee likes to see both exposure to patients, but also shadowing, so exposure to physicians. So they understand, I would say, combined together, it should be a minimum of 100 hours, and that would be on the low end. We actually rate the amount of clinical exposure using a 5 point scale 5 would be high. So I would say 100 hours might be a 3 on the 5 point scale. So that’s absolutely critical. 

Number two, because we have research as a requirement to graduate from our medical school. We do like to see exposure to research, that they’re interested in research. They need to understand that they will be doing research while they’re in medical school. It’s not that we expect everybody to become a researcher, you know, once they’re done with medical school, but they all need to understand the importance of research in advancing medicine. You know there’s going to be new discoveries. And so they need to understand that. And then we also like to see activities that show that the candidate really cares about other people, and that they’re willing to invest their time in that, so that might be a helpline of some sort. It might be volunteering in the prison system. There’s a lot of different things that they could do in that area.

Gosh, yeah, the opportunities are endless.I have personally found that applicants tend to focus on the hours, “I’ve spent X hours doing this Y hours, doing that, and Z hours doing whatever,” but when I talk to most admissions officers, they want the applicants to go deeper into the experience. Just telling them in your application what you did is not usually enough.

What would you advise applicants on a more qualitative level in describing these experiences or this exposure that they’ve had.

Well, you know the AMCAS application which everybody pretty much uses, does have a place where you put in the hours and the period of time that you’re doing it. So I would say that the committee members do like to see sort of a longitudinal experience that shows that they have a commitment that it’s not, they’re not just, you know, dialing in it that they really have a commitment to it, and so on. So that’s important now for research. They may have several different research experiences, because they may do it in the summer, and then they may pick up and have a mentor that they work with in their lab even during the school year they may take a gap year and do more research there. So all of these things are important, but you know, I would say the committee does look at the number of hours. So what I would advise candidates is to keep track of what they’re doing right now and keep track of their hours, so that they have that easy to fill out when they do the application.

What are some of the more common mistakes you see applicants make in their either the primary or the secondary applications?

Well, first of all, it’s very important to put your application in early, and most people do. Most people are ready and put it in. And you need to have all your ducks lined up. So if you are really not ready because you just didn’t have enough time to get that clinical experience, or to do enough research whatever, then it’s best to really take an extra year and wait, and then put it in the next year early, and make sure that you have all those activities ready for you. So I think, applying prematurely. If you have started undergraduate and you have a few stumbles at the beginning. You’re having a little trouble adjusting, so maybe you get your grades aren’t great, but then you get adjusted and your grades are much stronger. Your science, GPA. Is rising. Then it’s really best that you do your senior year, and you take that gap year so that the committee can see that you’re making a very, very strong finish. So I think applying prematurely is a somewhat common mistake. Actually.

I think you’re right. I agree with you. 

Dr. Karin Ash, one of Accepted’s consultants, recently posted on our slack channel the following:

It is such a pleasure to read an essay that reflects a client’s personality, experiences and goals. But this year I have noticed more clients are using ChatGPT to “ refine their essays”. I’m seeing similar phrasing across different clients sentences like this. I experienced firsthand the financial and structural barriers that limit opportunities for many. Yet even in these challenging circumstances there were glimmers of hope. Education became my beacon, promising a path to overcome financial and gender biases.

Are you seeing robotic sentences like this one? And if you do, do they harm an applicant’s chances of admission or do you overlook that kind of verbiage?

You know, artificial intelligence is very interesting, and it’s going to have a tremendous impact on medicine. I was visiting a dear friend, also a nephrologist in Philadelphia last week, and she was showing me their new clinic, and I was just amazed with it, and they have a lot of abilities to use AI to do their notes, and so on. So it’s definitely going to be, and is already part of medicine.

I know that some people get very upset with the idea that people are using AI to write their essays, and so on feel so strongly about it. As long as you make it yours. It needs to be your essay. What I have found over the years, even before AI. Is that people get so much help with their personal statements, you know, the long essay, and personality comes out of it. It comes across almost like a little CV, and it’s sort of boring, actually. And the person doesn’t come across.

Right.

It’s very important when the person writes these essays, both the long essays and the supplemental essays that it comes from their heart. It’s what they are all about, and it needs to be real. And if that’s the case and they use a little, you know, chatGPT to write it, but then they have to revise it, and they have to make it theirs. And that’s important, actually.

I’ve occasionally used chatGPT, either in coming up with a subject line or a headline, or just a…

I mean, I have a sister, and she uses it to take the notes of the meetings online meetings. 

Yeah, there’s going to be a lot of using it. But I think your point of making it yours is the key.

Yes, yes. Yes, and you know they need to tell their story and it it will be clear if it’s a kind of fake that that will come across, and that won’t help them.

No, no, I agree and and when I have used it I’ve always changed it. I’ve never taken it verbatim.

Exactly. Yeah. The other thing is, they need to be very careful that their grammar is correct, that their punctuation is correct. You know we’re the University of Pittsburgh, and so Pittsburgh has an H at the end. So you know, make sure that you spell it correctly, because we kind of think they haven’t paid a lot of attention to looking at us and finding out what the school is like. If they’re going to spell Pittsburgh incorrectly. So little things count up.

What can someone expect from interview day, or interview experience at UPSOM?

Yeah, well, getting an interview is a big first step. So for whatever reason, this past year, we had 10,000 applications complete their interviews.

Wow!

Yeah, we’re not quite sure why that was the case. But it was so. We actually have taken to hiring seasonal screeners that we train to read over these applications, because with the SCOTUS decision, it really is important to read over and learn who this person is, and that takes a great deal of time. So you know, we have maybe a dozen or so, and they do the first screen here, and then they use metrics to look at things like compassion and clinical exposure and research, and so on, and then they can decide either no, or maybe. But then there’s a second screener who’s a very experienced person. It could be a committee member, or it could be those of us in the office. I do a lot of these. And then the second screener, if the first is a Maybe says Yes, and then goes ahead and invites them, or may say No. Now the Nos by the first reader also gets a second look, and some of them get converted, not too many. And then they may get a third screen actually. So that’s an important part of it. So once we invite them, then they schedule their own online. They pick from one of the open dates, they schedule themselves, and then, on the interview day, we have a very structured process, and it’s very consistent from one applicant to another. We want to be very fair to everybody. We’re online. We’re all virtual. So we can’t start at, you know, 8 o’clock in the morning because we get a lot of people from the West Coast. So we start at 10 o’clock. That’s 7 o’clock on the West coast. We think that’s reasonable.

And then I do what’s called a greeting. So we have about 12 to 15 per day. So I have them all introduce themselves to each other and to me, and then I go over the day, so they know exactly what to expect and then that takes about half an hour, and then they get 15 min off, and then they have their faculty interview. The faculty member gets their short essays and their activities from AMCAS. That’s all. They don’t get their academics and that interview is from 10:45 to 11:15. 

Again it’s virtual, and then they have a whole hour before the student interview. Now, the reason we have that time is, if the faculty interviewer has to cancel at the last minute. For instance, we have an obstetrician who interviews for us. Well, she called me right before interview, and said, I have to go deliver a baby.

Things you can’t plan right?

Then, you know, we have to find somebody else to do it, or maybe I have to do it, and I have to look at their essays and whatever. But even if I started at, you know, 11:30, I can still finish up by noon, and they’re still on schedule. So what we do with that hour is we have a what we call a waiting lounge, and they can always get on the waiting lounge and hang out together and get to know each other. That’s actually getting very good reviews. They like it. We don’t get involved with that; it’s just the candidates for the day, and then at 12:15, we have the student interview. This is when the students are free. It’s their lunch hour.

So the students are blinded to everything except what’s on the screen, which is the name of the student and their undergraduate institution that works out quite well for us. Both  the faculty and the student interview are semi-structured, so they have questions that they have to ask, and then it takes maybe 15 minutes of the interview, and then the rest of the time they can ask about other things, and so on. So the student interview is also about half an hour, and then the last thing we have, which is kind of a little unique for Pitt Med is, we have a small group exercise.

So we split the group into three. So there’s four or five in each small group. They have a facilitator who’s usually a faculty member who’s very experienced with doing small groups. I do a lot of the small groups myself. We have about 12 cases from which we can pick which one we want to use. We put it in the chat. We have somebody read aloud, and then they discuss it for about 40 min. The facilitator just puts prompts in whatever, and the facilitator keeps track of what they’re saying and they’re being evaluated on how they work as a team. As I said, teamwork is really important to us, and then we wrap it up at the end, and when I do it I usually talk a little bit about how this exercise is a little different than how we do. We do a flip classroom in our small groups, and this is more like a problem-based learning exercise, and they seem to appreciate that. And then we have a little closing session at 2, just very short to say what’s coming next, and that’s the day. So it’s from 10am to a little bit after 2pm, and we think that’s enough time to be spending online.

That would be a lot. I’m trying to remember if I’ve come across other medical schools that do group interviews, that have a group project.

A lot of schools do MMIs, and we thought of going to MMIs. But I think MMIs favor a certain personality, and so we never moved to that. Also, we see the day as sort of a two way street. It’s also to recruit the candidates, sure. And so we send them an evaluation at the end of the day electronically, and ask them to rate the different parts of the day. And then they can write comments. And so we read all these over, and then we kind of tweak the day based on that and the faculty and the student interview. They get very, very good scores. The candidates really, really like them. So we don’t want to get rid of that, because it’s really for them as well as for us.

 How do they rate the group exercise?

Well, it’s so the faculty and the student interview are like a 4.8 or a 4.7 out of 5.  5 being high, small group exercise gets maybe a 4.3. There is a core, maybe 8% of them who just don’t like it. And they say that in the comments. But you know those people, maybe they don’t belong at Pitt Med  because iIt’s small group curriculum. So if they’re not comfortable with that, then they should go to a different medical school.

That makes sense.

When does Pitt stop sending out interview invitations?

Well, we start kind of early, and we did that back when we interviewed in person. Because, you know, the weather isn’t so good always in January and February in Pittsburgh. So we usually start interviewing in August towards the end of August. Now we never interview when the students are on break because students do the interviews for us. So during our breakwe don’t interview. This year we managed to finish before the winter break, but often we have to go a little bit into January. So the deadline for the secondary is the middle of November.

So we’re kind of reviewing up until sort of the end of November. And then those last people, if invited, they’re gonna have their interview spots in December. If we’re finishing in December before the winter break.

Actually finished pretty early.

We finish earlier than a lot of places. So out of that 10,000, we invited about 845 to interview. That’s a tough decision. Very, very tough decision. Yeah.

How do you winnow it down?

Well, our Dean, who came in 2020, he came up with this little mnemonic, called, you know we have this phrase, Hail to Pitt! Hail!

Okay.

He took the hail and he turned it into this. H is for healer. A is for activist. I is for innovator and L is for leadership, and he’s telling us this is what we should be looking for in the students that you know come to Pitt Med. And so we do. And of course we want strong academics. We want all the activities and so on. And but we’re also looking for people that we think that if we accept them, we have a reasonable chance of matriculating them. We’re not an Ivy League school, so if somebody has gone to Harvard or Yale, or one of these Ivy League schools, Brown. Then they’re not so likely to come to Pitt Med. So we do get students from those places. But we do take that into consideration when we invite them to enter. We like a wide variety of people from many different undergraduate schools, many different states, and sure. So. that’s part of our search for diversity.

That sounds like you will get a lot of diversity if you go that route. 

How do you assess multiple MCAT scores?

Well, we have something called a phase sheet, which sort of summarizes all the academics and it will have all the MCAT scores. We do mostly consider the one with the highest score, but we do look at all of them, and if they have taken it three times, and they just haven’t done very well, then, that’s going to be a little bit harmful to the candidate. We do like to look past the MCAT, though I personally think the grades are very important, especially the science grades.

But we do run statistics, you know, on, I know there’s national statistics, too, on these, and if somebody has a like a 506 or higher MCAT, then pretty much just as well as far as passing things and passing step one on the first try as somebody who has like a 520. So we do look at a wide variety of MCATs in now. The grades are kind of important. If they don’t do very well as an undergraduate. Then they need to have some more coursework.

Right, posbac or Masters.

Even some sort of science courses other than MPH. Is fine. But that’s not really hard science, so they need to show that they can do the hard sciences.

Okay makes sense. As we’re speaking, it’s the very end of January. This will probably air in early March, and by then most applicants will know if they applied this past cycle, will know if they are accepted or not.

What advice do you have for those applicants who are concluding they weren’t successful, and who want to reapply?

Well, they need to really look and see what schools they’ve been applying to. Is it reasonable? I mean, if they’re applying to all the top schools like Harvard and Yale, whatever. And they’re sort of. And they have sort of okay academics, but not fabulous. Then they’re not not making a wise decision, are they? They have to be realistic about the schools that they’re applying to. And you know, some students, maybe they need to go to a Doctor of Osteopathy school. You know. Those schools take people who have a little bit lower academic credentials. You could still become a physician. You can still do a residency, and so on. And they tend, some of them are pretty big, and take a lot of people, and so on. So. And you need to think about what your deficiencies were in your application. Was it that you applied to the wrong schools? Was it because, you know, you just don’t have a good enough science grade point average? Do you need to think about the MCAT and maybe take a course and retake it? Do not have clinical experience?  I mean there’s a lot of possibilities about why you might not have been accepted.

Did you apply late?

You’ve been given an interview. If you don’t get in interviews, then there’s really something wrong, isn’t there?

Some schools are pretty stingy with their interviews. Some schools are more generous, but certainly, if you don’t get an interview anywhere then you did something wrong and you have to figure out what it is.

I have many times said that the foundation of a successful application is applying to the right schools, which is another way of saying what you just said, so you know I couldn’t agree with you more.

Very big classes. So they’re going to interview more people, and they’re going to accept. So like in Pennsylvania, we have both Pennsylvania, Jefferson and Drexel. Both of them are very large classes, schools. So you know, these might be school, and they interview much later in the season, too. So these might be schools that a person could consider, you know, applying to. 

And on a forward-looking note, let’s say, somebody’s listening to this podcast and they’re a first time applicant. Maybe they’re planning to apply this upcoming cycle 2025, maybe they’re looking ahead to 2026. What advice would you give them?

Well, they need to make sure that if they, if they go to a school that has pre-med advisors, they need to go and talk to those people, and they need to listen to those people. If those people are telling them you’re not ready. You need more clinical experience. You need, XYZ,. You need more coursework, or whatever they need to listen to that person. That person knows what they’re talking about, and then they need to correct those deficiencies. They’re in such a hurry to apply sometime. You know. They’re young. They’re in their early twenties, and they have plenty of time. It’s kind of a mistake to keep having to apply over and over again and break your heart, you know, with this, and maybe not even get any interviews. You want to get everything lined up, you know, the 1st time and make sure you’re successful. 

Absolutely. I recently saw somebody ask a question,  am I behind? I think they’re sophomore or junior in college? Am I behind?  It’s not a race. You can’t be behind.

Right? Right? So half of our students, you know, take at least one gap year. Some people take 2 gap years. I’m a big fan of that. I think it makes the candidate more mature. I think it makes them a much stronger candidate. They can do a lot of things with that extra year or two a lot of things that I mean they need to do something related to medicine, either research, or some sort of clinical experience, or or whatever, but it will enhance their application, I feel.

Right, and it’ll probably make them happier people, too.

Yes, I mean, it might be a good idea to take a little break. So yeah, we have a guaranteed admit program where we admit, you know, a core group of people straight out of high school to the University of Pittsburgh and as long as they maintain their grade point average they get into the medical school and they don’t take the MCAT. So it’s a pretty popular program, actually. And I met with some of them today just to get a little feedback about the program. And this one young lady said, well, she had finished her undergraduate in 3 years, so now she is getting an MPH, so there’s a lot of things you can do because we don’t like,  we don’t let them start after three years, If they’re guaranteed. We don’t want them coming in when they’re 20. We want them to be mature people. But you know there’s a lot of interesting things they can do.

And people are different. And you know, some people love school, and they’re going to stay in school as long as they can, and maybe she’ll go into, who knows, be an Academician. And other people, I think, would be much happier college students if they didn’t feel this intense pressure to go straight from college, and they probably would have higher grades and possibly a higher MCAT, so they’d be able to be more successful medical school applicants.

The average age for years and years of our incoming students is 24. So that tells you right there that those, you know, a lot of people who are taking that little bit of extra time.

Is there a question you would have liked me to ask you.

You know. One of the things that I think a lot of people who are not from Southwestern Pennsylvania don’t realize is one of the tremendous strengths of our school is the relationship with the Medical Center. So UPMC, I mean, it’s University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, but it’s not University of Pittsburgh. It’s kind of confusing.

It’s really a healthcare system. And when they formed in the late 1980s, it’s because these hospitals that were affiliated with the medical school, but they were independent from each other. So they came together, and they formed this medical system. And it’s really a tremendous powerhouse. They have about 40 hospitals, many, many and so on. And it’s a tremendous resource for our students. So the clinical training is just fabulous, you know. I mean, we have outstanding hospitals in every area. So I, for instance, trained at Presbyterian, which is physically connected to Ellen Magee Scape Hall, which is where the medical school is, and it’s an excellent hospital, about 600 beds. It’s a med surgical hospital, no children, and that’s where I did my medicine and my nephrology training. Well, now, they’re building a brand new Presby tower right in front of the old one. It’s going to be just absolutely fabulous, and all of our students do at least 4 of their 8 weeks of medicine there and then we have Magee Women’s Hospital just down the street. This is a huge OBGYN hospital. It’s a women’s hospital. It’s part of UPMC, too. Everybody does their OBGYN there, and they deliver just a huge number of babies there. And then we have a pediatric Children’s Hospital when it became part of UPMC that allowed money to build a brand new Children’s Hospital, they moved it a little bit off campus. But there’s a shuttle that runs between them, and it’s just a beautiful, fabulous hospital with wonderful pediatricians to teach our students. 

So we have these core hospitals that are there for our students, and this is where they do their clinical training. And I think it’s just, you know, outstanding, outstanding, clinical training, and always has been even before. So the new curriculum,  I don’t see that it’s changed the clinical rotations all that much, because it was already a strength of our curriculum. Yeah.

It sounds like that access to that medical center is a tremendous strength, and I’m glad you raised it. You mentioned it very early in the interview, and I’m glad you came back to it.

They’re very similar, you know. I mean the physicians there. So there’s about 4,000 physicians, and about 2,000 are academic physicians, and they’re paid for by both Pitt and by UPMC. And so, you know, they’re there because they want to be in an academic medical center. So they enjoy working with the students. And so the students, I mean, there’s a core group of faculty, maybe 3- or 400 that do a lot of the teaching. But you know there’s something for everybody, no matter what you’re interested in, we’re going to have it for you. 

Dr. Piraino. I think we’re just about out of time. This has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining me today and introducing me and our listeners to the University of Pittsburgh.

Relevant Links:

• University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 
• Are You Ready to Apply Med School Quiz

Related Shows:

• Inside Geisinger Med School Admissions with Dr. Michelle Schmude
• Accepted: Your Guide to CU School of Medicine 
• Get Accepted to Washington University School of Medicine
• Deep Dive into Duke Medical: An Interview with Dr. Linton Yee
• Get Accepted to Loyola Stritch Medical School

Subscribe links

Podcast Feed

The post Inside Pitt Med School: Innovations in Medical Education [Episode 602] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Harvard Medical School (HMS)  as “self-motivated, visionary in their ambition, and compassionate in their approach to the art of healing.” And the school highlights the importance of diversity in its mission statement, as both a critical component of campus culture and a factor in promoting excellence in medicine. As you approach your secondary application, aligning your essay responses with HMS’s community values will allow you to highlight work you have done in global outreach, community engagement, social justice, teamwork, and academic discovery.  

HMS Secondary Essay #1

If you have already graduated, briefly summarize your activities since graduation. (4000 characters maximum)

This essay is strictly for applicants who have already graduated from an undergraduate institution. Explain any work you have done in the interim, as well as any volunteer activities and MCAT plans, in whatever order you choose. Provide details about the level of your responsibilities, what you are learning, the impact you’re having on the community you are working with, and/or how the experience is influencing your goals as a future physician. Provide clear and succinct summaries. If you are a reapplicant, highlight activities that might rectify any weakness in your earlier AMCAS application. Your answers should convey your engagement with the work you’re doing, revealing opportunity, growth, and learning. Explain why the work is, or has been, a wise way to use your time during the gap year.

HMS Secondary Essay #2

If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity not addressed elsewhere in the application that may illuminate how you could contribute to the medical school and that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, or other aspects of your personal or family background to place your prior academic achievements in context or provide further information about your motivation for a career in medicine or the perspectives you might bring to the medical school community. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. (4000 characters)

This prompt is open-ended on purpose. As you write, keep the part of the prompt that says, “how you could contribute to the medical school” at the forefront of your mind. The admissions committee is providing you with an opportunity to share something unique about yourself. For example, were you raised by a relative? Were you raised by a single parent? Does someone in your family have a disability? Do you identify as a member of a marginalized community? Did your race or ethnicity influence what opportunities you had access to? Were you raised in a non-English-speaking household? Did you attend a diverse public school? Did any of these circumstances affect your educational opportunities or progress? Take care to ensure that the story you tell is not already shared in a different part of your application.

The words “important” and “significant” are key here. As the prompt itself notes, “Many applicants will not need to answer this question.” If you do not have an aspect of your background or identity you feel could genuinely be deemed “important” or “significant,” do not respond to this prompt. 

HMS Secondary Essay #3

The interview season for the 2024-2025 cycle will be held virtually and is anticipated to run from mid-September through January 2025. Please indicate any significant (three or more weeks) restriction on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, please leave this section blank. (1000 characters)

Simply answer this question by providing the admissions committee with the information they are requesting.

Essay for the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

The HST MD program draws on the combined resources of Harvard and MIT to provide a distinct preclinical education tailored to preparing students for careers as transformative physicians who will shape the future practice of medicine. Our students come from the full spectrum of disciplines including biological, physical, engineering and social sciences. HST classes are small, commonly include graduate students and have an emphasis on quantitative and analytic approaches. The unique HST pre-clinical curriculum prepares students well for the HMS clinical education while also emphasizing disease mechanisms and preparing students to solve critical unmet needs in medicine and healthcare (ranging from novel diagnostics and therapeutics to applications of ‘big data’ and systems engineering). Please focus on how your interests, experiences and aspirations have prepared you for HST (rather than identifying specific HST faculty or research opportunities). (4000 characters)

Innovations in medicine abound across academic disciplines. In particular, Harvard is interested in sophisticated medical technology and data application systems that solve unmet healthcare needs. What experience or education in technology or engineering have you had? How does this tie into medical innovation? How has your experience with or education in technology or engineering prepared you for this hybrid program? What is the intersection of technology (or engineering or social sciences) and medicine for which you are a good fit? What research or experience do you have with this interdisciplinary intersection? Tell Harvard about that research/experience and its potential influence on healthcare in the future.

Take particular notice of the second parenthetical comment in the prompt: “rather than identifying specific HST faculty or research opportunities.” Avoid, at all costs, writing what the program can do for you. Rather, how are you a good fit for the HST MD track? How are you uniquely suited to thrive and succeed in this hybrid opportunity? Your answer should convey your knowledge of the program’s mission and a thorough understanding of the relevance of your expertise to healthcare innovation and improving healthcare outcomes.

HMS Stats

All data are for the Class of 2028 and taken from the Harvard Medical School website.

Average MCAT score: 520.42

Average GPA: 3.9

Applications: 6,856

Class size: 165 students

Hopefully, the next step in the medical school application process for you will be your HMS interview. And the best way to prepare for your interview is by practicing thoroughly with a medical school admissions expert who understands the system and can give you feedback and guidance throughout the process. 

Has this blog post helped you feel more confident about approaching your Harvard Medical School application? It’s our mission to assist  applicants  to gain acceptance to their dream school. Schedule a free consultation with an Accepted med school consultant today.

As the former assistant dean of student affairs and career development at the William Beaumont School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Wherely worked directly with the dean of the School of Medicine, the associate dean of student affairs, the associate dean of clinical curriculum, and the assistant dean of admissions, as well as with Year 4 students on both residency application reviews/critiques and mock interview preparation. Work with Valerie! Schedule a free consultation today!

Related Resources

• Make the Most of Your Experiences for ERAS
• Do’s and Don’ts of Medical School Recommendation Letters
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for Med School Applicants

The post Harvard Medical School Secondary Application Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

If you have retaken classes in the past – or expect to need to retake a class in the future – this post will help you understand this element of your profile, in general, for the AMCAS application, and for the AACOMAS application, as needed.

1. All grades earned are calculated into the cumulative GPA.

Although your college might offer grade forgiveness on transcripts for any classes you failed and repeated, AMCAS does not and will calculate all grades for such courses. Even though the failing grade will negatively affect your GPA, not retaking the course and earning a passing grade would be worse. This is true whether the course is a prerequisite or not.

Do people get accepted into medical school despite having failed a course or two? Yes.  The most important thing you can do is to learn from the experience and do better going forward. Many students have been accepted to medical school after failing and retaking a course or two early in their college education. That said, three or more Fs might be considered a deal-breaker.

2. If you fail a course, retake the course on the same campus

If you decide to repeat a class, whether you passed or failed it, be aware that only courses taken on the same campus can be labeled as repeat courses. In other words, if you fail a class on Campus A and take a similar class on Campus B, you cannot label the second course as a “repeat,” though you will receive GPA credit for taking it.

If you are not able to retake a course you failed on the same campus, it is still a good idea to take an equivalent course on a different campus, even though AMCAS will not consider it a “repeat.” You can simply explain in your application essays that you retook the course for a higher grade.

4. Don’t retake courses you passed unless you are returning to school and need the foundational knowledge.

If you received a C or better in a course, there is no need to retake it. It is far more impressive for a student to take new, upper-division courses and excel in them than to repeat lower-division coursework. Upper-division courses are more similar to the level of course you will take in medical school. The only situation in which someone should retake a course they passed is if they have been out of school for years, need the foundational knowledge, and plan to take additional courses in that subject. 

How the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) view your grades

The AACOM and the AAMC use all grades received for repeated coursework in a candidate’s total GPA (i.e., including the failing grade and any subsequent attempts).

For the AMCAS application, candidates must manually enter all coursework and grades. You might wonder why you need to complete this seemingly repetitive and arduous section, given that the organization collects official copies of all your transcripts. This is because it allows AAMC to create a standardized GPA calculation with which to compare all applicants.

Both of these application services request that applicants enter their coursework to create a standardized approach and final calculation, but each medical school has its own way of reviewing academic records. Individual schools might rely only on official transcripts, only on the data entered by the applicant, on some combination of the two, and/or on only a portion of either. For example, some osteopathic medical schools review only the last 60 hours of a candidate’s coursework. Each school and each individual selection committee member has their own approach.

Here is the most important information that you need to know for each application system.

For AACOMAS

• All attempts at repeating a failed course must be recorded with the units and grades earned each time, because the grades are calculated into the GPA.
  
• It does not matter where you took or retook a class, as long as you designate it as an equivalent course by labeling it “Repeated.”
  
• Withdrawals cannot be considered repeats.
  
• Classes that are designed to be retaken repeatedly, such as PE classes, should not be listed as repeats.
  
• If your undergraduate institution allows you to take a class for credit again, you can list the class as “Repeated,” even if you did not receive a failing grade in it the first time.
  
• Some DO medical schools use this GPA calculation, others rely on official transcripts, and still others might review only the last 60 hours of coursework.

For AMCAS

• All attempts at repeating a failed course must be recorded with the units and grades earned each time, because the grades are calculated into the GPA.
  
• AMCAS relies on the institution’s guidelines with respect to allowing a student to retake a class. Often, repeating is allowed only for classes in which a student has received a failing grade, which is defined by each individual institution. AMCAS does not have its own definition.

• Any class you repeat but do not receive credit for should be listed as an “Exempt” course. Such classes have no impact on your GPA.
  
• Do not include withdrawals and incompletes as repeat courses.
  
• AMCAS will not consider courses retaken on other campuses as “repeats.”

Summing up

• If you do need to retake a class, retake it at the same institution if at all possible, so that whether you apply to osteopathic or allopathic schools, it will be considered a repeat course and demonstrate your improvement.
  
• Before deciding to repeat a course, research your undergraduate institution’s policies on how it defines a failing grade and what rules are in place around retaking classes, including the number of times you can retake a class.
  
• Taking classes for which you will not receive credit will not help you in any way. Be strategic in your approach. Many students who have had to repeat classes have gotten accepted into medical school – it’s a matter of how quickly you can bounce back.

Madison Searle managed admissions for three undergraduate honors programs at the College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin and read more than 5,000 applications, while also advising students applying to graduate and professional programs. He has taught writing seminars in two programs at the College of Natural Sciences – Health Science Scholars and Polymathic Scholars – and worked with students on their applications to medical school and other health professional schools.

Related Resources:

• Applying to Medical School with Low Stats: What You Need to Know, a free guide
• Applying to Medical School? Here Are Some FAQs about the AMCAS Application
• The AMCAS Primary “Deadline”

The post Retaking Classes For Med School: What Every Premed Needs to Know appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

A speaker recently told a story about traveling in Asia, where he saw a stunning emerald. Enchanted by the stone’s beauty, he decided to buy it on the spot.

He returned home and took the emerald to a jeweler for appraisal. The jeweler began examining the stone through his magnifier, and as he did so, his face went pale.

“What’s the matter?” asked the proud owner of the emerald.

“I can’t find a flaw,” said the jeweler.

“Wonderful!” said the stone’s owner.

“No, it’s not. If it’s flawless, it’s a fake. A phony. Nothing in the natural world is flawless,” replied the jeweler.

“Then find a flaw!”

After a few more tense moments, the jeweler discovered a small flaw, and the owner of the stone stopped worrying that he had been taken in by a piece of plastic masquerading as a gem.

What does this have to do with admissions? Just this: When the adcoms ask you to write about a flaw or weakness in your essays, and you either fail to offer any or the ones you come up with sound like you are just checking a box – mentioning something vague and generic and not of much significance – you will seem like a fake in their eyes.

Everything in nature has an imperfection or two (or three), including human beings. Don’t misunderstand: we’re not suggesting that you talk about every weakness you know you have and say, “This is me. Take it or leave it.”

But if you have learned and grown from your weaknesses or succeeded in overcoming obstacles, you are well positioned to flip those shortcomings into strengths in your essays. It takes honest self-reflection, a desire to improve, and hard work to break an unhealthy habit, pattern, or way of thinking. The ability to demonstrate self-awareness by working to minimize your flaws and develop new skills or talents to compensate for weaknesses will prove your maturity while also building your resilience. These are qualities that adcoms especially want to see these days. 

How Failures and Flaws Can Build Resilience 

Recently, we worked with a client who was applying to MBA programs and had once made the type of mistake that could have not only gotten him fired but also destroyed a lucrative business relationship between his employer and a major customer. 

Here’s the story: “Sami” was working in an analytics department and played a role in the incorrect interpretation of some key data. This incorrect reading led his employer to recommend a business strategy to the firm’s customer that was the exact opposite of what it should have been. What a disaster! Sami didn’t discover this catastrophic error until after the new strategy had been implemented. 

He could have watched from afar as the strategy failed and things fell apart. Instead, he came clean and waited for the blowback. Sami expected the worst and nearly began clearing out his desk.  

Instead, he was rewarded for his integrity, despite the risk to his reputation. Not only did he keep his job, but the relationship between his employer and the firm’s customer actually flourished. This experience clearly positioned Sami to write about a “failure” and the lessons he learned about owning up to one’s mistakes and accepting responsibility. He didn’t look smaller because of his mistake – his stature grew because of his honesty.  

“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”

Essay questions that ask you to discuss failure, risk, mistakes, conflict, difficult interactions, or overcoming obstacles often make applicants cringe. After all, you’re on a mission to show the admissions committee that you are on top of your game and ready to conquer the world. The last thing you want to do is call attention to the details of when and where you’ve fallen short. 

As Sami’s experience proves, however, questions about failure provide a window into your character. How resilient are you in the face of a setback? How did you respond to the situation? Did you shrink from the impact of your actions, or did you muster the courage to try to set things right, as best as you could, under the circumstances? What did you learn about yourself, about the world of business, about relationships, and/or about communication? What wisdom did you gain that you have applied in your life since then? Can you show convincingly that you view your stumble as an inevitable, vital, even transformative step on the road to achievement?

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” So take heart: Writing about your flaws and setbacks is an opportunity for you to shine by showing your humility, commitment to growth, and determination to apply the lessons learned. Reading about your setbacks allows the admissions committee to understand what you’re really made of. 

Follow these four steps to transform your setbacks into achievements:

1. Demonstrate how your failure led to success.

The mistake you made might have led you to discover a new idea, strategy, or invention that you otherwise would not have discovered. Or, it might have given you the determination to strengthen your skills or knowledge base. It’s hardly a secret that some of the most successful entrepreneurs failed before achieving remarkable results. The late Steve Jobs was famously terminated from his own company before Apple became a household name. James Dyson created thousands of faulty, nonfunctional prototypes before patenting his best-selling vacuum. So, why do we forget the silver linings of these legendary failures when confronted with our own mistakes?

Be specific when you present your examples. A mistake you made in the lab might have cost you weeks of work. However, as a result, you learned something important about lab techniques, and now you’ve adopted more fastidious research practices. If you are discussing a personal failure, maybe you neglected an important relationship to the point where the relationship died. Feeling this loss keenly, you now make a point of treating people with greater respect. 

When writing about professional or personal failures and lessons learned, you cannot simply claim that you’ve changed without citing evidence. Clearly spell out what you learned and how you have changed. Offer true, believable examples of times when you behaved differently – more purposefully and sensitively – as a way of investing more deeply and wisely in your relationships.

2. Show that you truly understand why something went wrong.

Explaining what went wrong is only half the game in these essays. You must also explain why it went wrong. Doing so will show the adcom that you have taken time to really think about and reflect on your role in the situation and your understanding of the dynamics that led to the problem. Don’t play the blame game. Explain the process you went through to get real answers and solutions. Relate some of the steps you have taken to avoid making similar mistakes since. Perhaps you caught yourself about to repeat the mistake but realized that impulse was not the “new you” and saved yourself from making the error again.

Let’s look at an example. You pushed your colleagues hard to complete a work project, but your hard-driving nature made them resent you, and with no benefit to the project. Having realized your mistake – even though your sole intention was to get the job done on time – perhaps you could write about the focused attention you now pay to your colleagues’ suggestions, efforts, and capabilities. In other words, from that error, you have learned to turn lemons into lemonade. Offer at least one specific example of how your efforts have paid off.

3. Focus on what you’ve learned on a personal level.

Mature applicants view and consider situations and people differently – and make decisions more deliberately – after making mistakes. Prove that you are this kind of applicant. As the philosopher Plutarch stated, “To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.” Show how you grew by, for example, taking a course in time management to become better at effectively juggling all your responsibilities, starting therapy to help with your anxiety when work pressure feels overwhelming, or another significant step forward.

Add power to your explanations by describing “before and after” situations: the “before” stressed-out, not-well-organized person staying up till 3 a.m. to get everything done and delivering haphazard work, and the “after” person practicing time-management and mindfulness skills, and coping with responsibilities more calmly, deliberately, and competently. Demonstrating these changes through real-life examples presents you as more grown-up and emotionally intelligent. And you can bet the admissions committee wants to see these valuable traits.

4. Show the adcom how you’ve become more resilient.

“Resilience” has become a cliche, but it’s critical to appreciate the concept: it is the building of inner strength and fortitude in the face of conflict, pain, or disappointment. Successful adults must be resilient to cope with life’s rocky patches. Naturally, colleges and universities want to see evidence that you have this important quality. 

Earlier in this article, we said that a weakness or failure could be flipped into a strength, given the right attitude and effort. Similarly, a weakness can also be the flip side of a strength. For example, perhaps your tendency to be “too detail oriented” resulted in your discovering a critical error before it triggered a larger problem. Identifying your weakness and giving it careful thought might have prompted you to take steps to correct or minimize it.

Be thoughtful in your responses to questions about weakness or failure, and don’t shy away from them. Successful leaders must have honesty and integrity as part of their DNA and be able to identify and admit to failures and weaknesses. 

Nobody’s perfect, but a “perfect” answer to questions about flaws and failures just might get you admitted! To make sure your essays reflect you at your best, work with us. Every consultant at Accepted has years of experience in admissions and guiding applicants to gain coveted acceptances at top schools worldwide. Let them do the same for you!

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Dr. Ali has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources

• From Example to Exemplary: How to Use Sample Essays to Make Your Essay Outstanding!, a free guide
• Three Ways Writing About Obstacles Strengthens Your Application Essays
• Writing a Compelling Accomplishment Essay

The post The Resilience Factor: How Flaws and Failures Can Strengthen Your Application appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Residency applicants can submit applications via ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) starting September 7. Don’t wait until the last minute – get cracking on those residency essays now!

Your personal statement is a vital part of your residency application; it’s where you explain why you’ve chosen your specialty and show the committee why you’re the best candidate for training. And unlike other pieces of your application (such as your letters of recommendation and your medical school transcript), your personal statement is something that you have complete control over. 

For a knockout personal statement, heed these do’s and don’ts!

1. Don’t reuse your med school personal statement.

When you applied to medical school, you had to express an interest in medicine and demonstrate that you had the potential to become a successful doctor.

However, at this point in your education, you are a doctor – or about to be one. Unless your premed school career is particularly relevant to your specialty choice, there’s no need to explain why you originally pursued medicine. And if you reuse your med school personal statement, your specialty decision could come across as unformed or immature.

2. Do explain why you have chosen your specialty.

Your decision to pursue a certain specialty is a personal one, and program directors want to hear about it. Did you have a mentor who helped you see dermatology in a new way? Or did you love your time in the pathology lab? What is it about delivering babies that thrills you? Use specific examples to illustrate your story and present your distinctive experiences and perspectives. Most importantly, where do you see yourself in the future? Make your choice unambiguous and your commitment undeniable.

3. Don’t offer superficial or generic explanations for choosing your specialty.

“Internal medicine is like solving a puzzle.” “GPs serve as gatekeepers.” “The OR just feels like home.” Clichés like these – without the proper care – can be the death knell for a candidate’s personal statement.

4. Do incorporate your unique experiences and perspectives.

Perhaps you truly love diagnostic puzzles or helping patients navigate the healthcare system. Maybe you really do feel most comfortable in a surgical environment. Sharing the details of your experiences and supporting your explanation can elevate your reasons from a generic cliché to a specific and personal insight. Use anecdotes to illustrate your story and bring your unique experiences and perspectives to life. To explain why you like the fast-paced energy of the emergency room, describe a particular experience you had there, how your people skills and your ability to stay calm under pressure came into play, and how you felt a sense of accomplishment in helping the patients in distress. To explain why pain medicine appeals to you, you might mention how you connected with an anesthesiologist who opened your eyes to the potential of this field. The more examples you can give about why your chosen specialty is the specialty for you, the better.

5. Don’t sound pompous or self-important.

When describing your skills, be mindful of the line between confidence and smugness. You want to sound enthusiastic and confident, but never arrogant or boastful. For example, it can be very off-putting to a reader if you talk about how your work was too easy for you, implying that you think you’re more skilled than everyone you worked with. After all, your readers are considering you as a potential colleague.

6. Do emphasize your strengths with tact, grace, and illustrative examples.

You’ve gained some valuable technical skills and exposure to clinical practice, but so have all your classmates. Which of your unique qualities will make your number one residency program rank you as their number one choice? Your personal experiences, both in medical school and outside of it, reveal more about you than your CV and USMLE Step exams. A good way to think about this is in the context of what’s needed for that specialty. Will the listening skills you developed through mentoring premeds help you as a family practitioner? Have quick reflexes, honed through years of playing piano, prepared you for the technical dexterity you’ll need in surgery? Will teamwork skills developed at the student-run clinic help you contribute to an obstetrics team? Select specific examples that demonstrate your strengths and make your essay come alive.

7. Don’t send the same personal statement to every program.

You’re probably applying to multiple residency programs, and the thought of tailoring each statement to each individual program is daunting. Yet each one has certain distinctions that make it unique. If your personal statement talks about how much you love research and hope to continue that pursuit during your residency training, program directors in community-based programs might not think you’re a good fit for them. On the other hand, a completely generic statement of what you’re looking for in a residency won’t appeal to anyone.

8. Do create multiple, interchangeable versions of your personal statement.

While it’s unreasonable to suggest that you write a different essay for every school, tailoring certain features in a limited number of essays can be a good strategy. For academic programs, you might have one version that emphasizes your future research interests, while your version for community-based programs leaves that line out and focuses on clinical opportunities. Or you might have a version for rural programs versus urban ones, or for programs in your preferred geographic location versus elsewhere in the country.

ERAS allows you to save multiple versions of your statement that you can then upload to certain schools. Just be sure to give each version a unique name to keep them all straight.

9. Do tailor your essay to your top program.

Do you have a dream program, one where you’re sure you would excel? If so, it’s well worth the extra time and effort to detail exactly why you want to rank it at the top of your list. This might sound like a lot of effort, but it really doesn’t take long to identify why you want to work with a specific researcher or continue learning where you had a great externship. Don’t underestimate the bonus points you can earn for this approach. Tailoring your essay to a program’s specific offerings demonstrates that you’ve done your research on it and your interest is genuine.

10. Don’t use all 28,000 characters for your personal statement.

ERAS permits 28,000 characters for your essay – that’s approximately 7,000 words! But no residency director wants to read even close to that much. Instead, stick to a one-page essay (usually 600-800 words) that addresses your key points. Your essay will be more effective if you’re to the point and concise. (Tip #10 will help you to do that.)

11. Do keep your purpose in mind.

As you write, remember that you’re trying to land an interview, not detail every aspect of your medical school training. If you throw everything but the kitchen sink into your personal statement, your story will be generic and lack any impact. Instead, highlight the key experiences that led you to your chosen specialty, share the details that will demonstrate your fit for it, and explain where you see your future contributions in this field.

12. Don’t submit without proofreading.

In their rush to submit, some applicants skip the proofreading step, only to later find a typo that they’re unable to correct. To avoid this, take a break from writing – at least a few hours, but a full day would be even better – before carefully proofreading your essay. A good strategy is to read your statement out loud. Your ear will often pick up on things your eye misses on screen, so you’ll be more likely to catch awkward phrases, repetitive sentences/ideas, and any other glitches.

13. Do have someone else read your essay.

Even if you’ve done your own quality control, your writing is so familiar to you that it’s all too easy to miss a typo or other error. You also want to ensure that your entire essay reads well, hitting the high points that are most important and striking the right tone. Getting the all clear from another reader will give you confidence that you are ready to submit!

You’ve worked so hard to get to this point on your journey. Now that you’re ready for your next achievement, make sure you know how to present yourself to maximum advantage in your residency applications. In a hotly competitive season, you’ll want a member of Team Accepted in your corner, guiding you with expertise tailored specifically for you. Schedule a free consultation today!

Since 2001, Cydney Foote has advised hundreds of successful applicants for medical and dental education, residency and fellowship training, and other health-related degrees. Admissions consulting combines her many years of creating marketing content with five years on fellowship and research selection committees at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She’s also shared her strategy for impressing interviewers in a popular webinar and written three books and numerous articles on the admissions process. Want Cydney to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• From Example to Exemplary: How to Use Sample Essays to Make Your Essay Outstanding, a free guide
• All You Need to Know About Residency Applications and Matching
• M3 Journaling: How it Can Help Your Residency Application

The post 13 Tips for Your Residency Personal Statement appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Historically ranked among the country’s very top medical schools for primary care by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) looks for applicants who have demonstrated a strong interest in patient education and community health. It is committed to serving the needs of the citizens of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho through its WWAMI program. If you are from Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, or Idaho, you will receive an automated secondary after the school screens for your address. Washington residents complete an additional residency questionnaire before receiving a secondary. All other applicants undergo additional screening to determine their fit for UWSOM.

To learn more about UWSOM, check out our podcast interview with Associate Dean for Admissions Dr. LeeAnna Muzquiz.

UWSOM Secondary Application Essay Tips

The UWSOM aims to build a diverse class of students to enrich the field of medicine. What perspectives, identities, and/or qualities would you bring? (250 words)

This essay prompt is asking you to consider how you might contribute to the diversity of the school’s next incoming class. You should consider diversity in terms of both background (e.g., cultural, ethnic, linguistic) and experience (e.g., dealing with mental illness, experiencing loss). Explain how your background will be of value to your fellow students and what you can bring to the class. In your response, focus on emotional and mental maturity, and reflect on how that will enable you to work with or understand others.

What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them? (250 words)

In answering this question, choose setbacks or life experiences to discuss that will allow you to show how much you have grown and changed. Be sure to highlight challenges that you actively worked to overcome, and maintain a positive focus. The bulk of your essay should explain how you overcame the challenge and how the skills you used or gained will help you in medical school. It can be helpful to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between your efforts and the net outcome. What approach did you take to address the issue(s)? What were the results? If possible, select challenges where the stakes were somewhat high, for either yourself or someone else.

How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or people you have worked with? (250 words)

This question is asking you to discuss your experience working with people who belong to an underserved community or your own experience as a member of an underserved community yourself. Provide a specific example from your personal life or your clinical or other volunteer/work experience. Then explain what social inequities you encountered in that scenario and how they affected you or the others in your story. You also want to briefly conclude by explaining how you will handle these inequities as a med student and physician.

Describe your competency by explaining how you have explored and come to understand issues in the social sciences and humanities as they relate to the practice of medicine. (250 words)

To respond to this essay prompt, try to offer a small lesson about the value of life, such as the regard for critical illness or the particular path to embrace healing for a population or group associated with a disease entity (e.g., breast cancer, glioblastomas), that sheds light on lived experience and what we can learn from it.

Reapplicant Essay: From your most recent application until now, how have you strengthened your application? (250 words)

As a reapplicant, you are demonstrating the depth of your determination to attend medical school. Reiterate that determination in your response to this question. Strategically focus on the improvements you have made to your application – your new GPA, MCAT score, and life experiences. Focus on how the time you have spent improving your application has made you a better and more focused applicant. Motivation and your specific interest in medicine are essential, and you should show how these have guided your recent activities.

The Casper test is also required.

UWSOM stats 

UWSOM average MCAT score: 512

UWSOM average GPA: 3.7

UWSOM acceptance rate: 4.51% overall 

Since 2001, Cydney Foote has advised hundreds of successful applicants for medical and dental education, residency and fellowship training, and other health-related degrees. Admissions consulting combines her many years of creating marketing content with five years on fellowship and research selection committees at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She’s also shared her strategy for impressing interviewers in a popular webinar and written three books and numerous articles on the admissions process. Want Cydney to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources

• Medical School Selectivity Index
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for Med School Applicants
• A Strategic Guide for Applying to Medical School

The post University of Washington School of Medicine Secondary Application Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

The PREview exam is a type of situational judgment test designed to help admissions committees assess applicants’ pre-professional competencies. Unlike quantitative measures, such as one’s MCAT score and GPA, the PREview exam attempts to evaluate the qualitative, or “soft,” skills believed to be just as important for future physicians. By assessing skills such as resilience and adaptability, service orientation, ethical responsibility to self and others, empathy and compassion, cultural awareness, cultural humility, and teamwork and collaboration, the PREview exam can flesh out an applicant’s profile and give admissions committees a more holistic picture of them.

Do I need to take the PREview exam?

In the 2025-2026 application cycle, the PREview exam will be required by nine allopathic medical schools; it is recommended by twelve more. Because the PREview is relatively new, many other schools accept it for research purposes. Several osteopathic programs also recommend taking the PREview exam. Please check individual school websites as well as the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) to learn whether your target schools use the PREview exam and whether they require, recommend, or accept it for research only. 

When do I take the PREview, and what does it cost?

Sign up for a test date as soon as you decide to apply to one of the participating schools to ensure you get your preferred testing date. The 2025 test is now open and will be offered twice a month from April to September. You can access the PREview Portal and register for the exam at 2025 AAMC PREview Essentials.

There is a flat registration fee for the AAMC PREview of $100 plus taxes; the first sitting of the exam is free for pre-approved FAP recipients. If you need to reschedule your exam, there is a $25 fee (as long as other test dates are still available).

Note that if you are unable to attend the exam, log in late, or have computer issues and cannot log in, you will be subject to a new fee.

How do I prepare for PREview?

To prepare for the exam, your first step is to download the AAMC PREview examinee
preparation guide. This will help you understand the nine core competencies assessed in the PREview exam. These competencies are as follows:

• Commitment to Learning and Growth 
• Cultural Awareness
• Cultural Humility 
• Empathy and Compassion 
• Ethical Responsibility to Self and Others 
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reliability and Dependability 
• Resilience and Adaptability 
• Teamwork and Collaboration

The test presents 30 written scenarios and 186 questions related to these competencies. To answer the questions, examinees must decide on the “effectiveness” of possible responses or behaviors. Each question has four potential answers: 

• Very ineffective   
• Ineffective   
• Effective  
• Very effective 

The tricky part is that some scenarios have more than four possible responses or behaviors, which means that you might assign the same answer to several of the offered responses. In other words, for a single scenario, you might decide that two of the responses presented are effective, two are ineffective, one is very effective, and three are very ineffective. You will get full credit when you match the best response, and partial credit for being “close to” the best response for each item. For example, if the right answer is “effective,” you can get partial credit for choosing “very effective.” 

Additionally, a response that might be “very effective” to the person doing it might be scored as “ineffective” if it means putting a burden on someone else or creating a problem in the future. You might want to interpret “effective” as a response that promotes the common good, rather than what is good for the individual.

Ultimately, the only way to truly understand what the test considers “effective” is by taking practice tests. The AAMC provides two full-length practice exams that include a variety of scenarios you might see on the actual exam. The scoring key presents the rationale for each preferred answer. Reviewing these rationales will help you better understand what the exam is looking for. 

What happens on PREview exam day?

PREview is an online exam that is monitored by a remote proctor. Before your exam, watch the PREview Test Day Experience Video to become familiar with the remote-proctored online experience. The video explains the check-in process, key functions and features of the exam platform, and how to submit your exam after completion. 

You should also complete the online testing system tutorial before the exam. This allows you to test your equipment and ensure that there will be no technical issues while you are taking the test. You are allowed to repeat this testing tutorial as many times as you want.

The exam day starts with examinees showing their photo ID and having their identity verified by the proctor. The test portion is 75 minutes long, with no break (unless accommodation is requested beforehand), but you should allow 90 minutes for the entire process, including pre- and post-test procedures. Make sure that you are ready 15 minutes early, and have a clean workspace and no applications open on your computer.

Scores are released about a month after the exam is taken. They are visible only to schools participating in the PREview. Scores are not expected to expire, but each participating school decides for itself how many years it will consider a score valid. 

As with every aspect of applying to medical school, the PREview exam is just one piece of a complex puzzle. To do well, make sure you understand the nine core competencies and why they are important. This is accomplished by taking the practice exam and studying the rationale behind each answer. As a side benefit, the PREview exam might even introduce you to skills you can use in your future practice as a physician! 

Since 2001, Cydney Foote has advised hundreds of successful applicants for medical and dental education, residency and fellowship training, and other health-related degrees. Admissions consulting combines her many years of creating marketing content with five years on fellowship and research selection committees at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She’s also shared her strategy for impressing interviewers in a popular webinar and written three books and numerous articles on the admissions process. Want Cydney to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Casper, A Situational Judgment Test: All You Need to Know, podcast Episode 513
• Med School Acceptance Calculator
• Ace the AMCAS Essay, a free guide

The post The AAMC’s PREview: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Maybe you’re familiar with the concept of macros, which are the nutrients your body needs to function. Achieving the proper balance of macros in your diet leads to optimal health. When it comes to writing your MBA personal statements and application essays, it might be helpful to think of your accomplishments as the macros that can make your submissions the best they can be. A fascinating discussion among Accepted’s admissions consultants revealed that MBA applicants don’t always understand how the adcoms define an accomplishment, so we wrote this post to help remove the guesswork on your part. Here are the kinds of accomplishments you should strive to include in your essay:

• Examples of impact and initiative
• Evidence of having overcome obstacles
• Demonstrated leadership

Examples of Impact and Initiative

In your accomplishment essay, offering examples of when you have had an impact and/or took initiative are what will show the adcoms that you have the “right stuff,” that you have had a meaningful influence on a person, organization, or entity.

For example, maybe you proactively stepped up to boost membership in a group or to lead a team to victory. Perhaps you built a coalition in student government. Or you might have increased sales, cut costs, or found a solution to a problem that paved the way for a critical deal to go forward.

When you are assessing whether an achievement belongs in an essay about your greatest accomplishments, consider the level of impact it had and/or initiative it demonstrates. 

You might now be wondering whether awards count. It depends. If you won an award for a story you wrote that was published, your performance in an athletic competition, or some other “personal best,” then yes, those would be excellent choices for an essay about a personal achievement. More often, however, you will be asked to write about a significant achievement that involves impact beyond your own personal growth. In these situations, an award that would be appropriate to write about would be one that resulted from an effort – either academic or professional – that involved a team or people other than yourself. This is the kind of achievement that transcends a “personal best.”  

By now, you can probably see the difference between a primarily personal achievement and a career-related one. And you might already recognize some of your accomplishments that would be notable enough to write about. 

A good place to find potential experiences for your accomplishments essay is by reviewing your resume. Ideally, it will be loaded with quantifiable achievements, from both your professional and extracurricular roles. If you work in marketing and clinched four new accounts in a single year, leading to a promotion, that’s an achievement. If you work for a social service agency and developed a new intake system for clients that the agency adopted, leading to a more organized and streamlined process, that’s an achievement. In college, you might have been involved in a student organization that promotes career development and leadership among minority students, and even became president of that organization. That’s an achievement.

Which experiences on your resume stand out to you now? No doubt you’ll start to see things popping out at you.

Seemingly small achievements can actually be big. The following sample essay offers a great example of an impact that initially seems limited to one person but that ultimately radiates outward: 

From the first day I was tasked with mentoring a new hire, Thomas, it was a challenge. He had strong work experience in product development from his previous job, but he was soft-spoken and reserved, and had a strong stutter. I felt pain for him as he struggled to complete a word or a sentence, but it was also awkward for both of us as I waited for him to finish his point. During a department meeting, someone actually rolled her eyes as Thomas was answering a question. I just glared at her for being so cold. At our weekly department lunches, which were meant to be a relaxed social time for everyone, Thomas hung back quietly, seeming like he was a million miles away. 

I didn’t understand why Thomas seemed a little slow to catch on to the ways of our department. He was clearly very intelligent. It was taking longer for me to complete my own work because of the extra time I was spending with him on his assignments. One afternoon on a whim, I invited him to join me for dinner at a popular burger place. He looked surprised but agreed.

That night broke the ice. Thomas relaxed and enjoyed his dinner, and I noticed his speech was more fluid. We discovered a mutual love of soccer and political thriller novels. I really enjoyed his company and told him so. We went out again the following week to an Italian place that he chose. On our third “date,” Thomas opened up about a broken engagement that happened just before he started this new job. He was aware that his grief was distracting him, clouding his thinking, and making his stutter worse. 

“I know I’ve not been easy to train,” he told me, “but I’m starting to come out of it now.” After that night, Thomas’s work improved rapidly. He risked speaking up more at the weekly lunches and at meetings, and everyone was patient when he struggled to say something, though those occasions were less frequent. 

I consider this mentoring experience one of my greatest accomplishments, because in trying to befriend a coworker, I not only gained a true friend for myself but also helped him gain confidence and perform to his capacity at work. It was the first time in my life I felt I had such a strong and positive impact on another person. It showed me the power of small gestures of friendship and understanding. 

This writer’s decision to offer a listening ear to a coworker who was clearly in some sort of distress became an inspiring achievement that was both personal and professional. His actions had impact that flowed outward beyond just Thomas to the entire department and organization. 

Evidence of Having Overcome Obstacles

Showing the adcom that you have , such as a lack of resources (e.g., time, money, talent, people), magnifies your accomplishments. Our best-laid plans rarely go smoothly, so make sure you discuss any difficulties you faced. Be aware that obstacles can often work “double-duty,” not only by representing a setback that you experienced and found a way to navigate, but also by showing that you emerged from the experience wiser and more capable. When discussing obstacles, never blame other people or circumstances, or complain about the unfairness of the situation. Pointing fingers makes you look small and as though you are trying to avoid accountability. State the facts simply, and the situation will speak for itself. 

Here’s an example of how one applicant dealt with a significant obstacle: 

My book launch had been planned for nearly one year. This was my first book, a biography about my great-grandmother, a trailblazing homeopathic physician who lived at a time when even regular women MDs were a rarity. I wanted to self-publish but knew there was a huge amount of work involved that I didn’t feel suited for. There was editing, design, layout, marketing, getting the book accepted into the book distribution system, logistics, and more. Most published books are quickly forgotten and sell few copies. I didn’t want that to happen to mine. 

My solution was to sign an agreement with my friend Haley to publish my book. She was a talented graphic artist who had set up her own publishing company to publish her husband’s book. Our agreement spelled out our individual financial obligations and responsibilities, but I had a nagging worry. Her marriage was tumultuous, and she could make impulsive decisions. 

Six weeks before the publishing date, a popular book blogger promised a 5-star review on her blog. I also sold an excerpt to a women’s magazine with more than 4 million readers. I was still doing my “happy dance” when Haley called to tell me that our deal was off. She was leaving her husband and driving to stay with her mother, who lived in another state. She said she’d be in touch to work something out. She didn’t say when.

I was furious and anguished. My biggest problem was that the book’s ISBN (identification) numbers for print and digital downloads were assigned to Haley’s company and could not be reassigned to anyone else. Haley also had the distribution and payment agreements in her name. I could have kicked myself for not listening to my intuition, which warned me against working with someone whose life was so upside-down.

I researched my options. The ISBNs could not be transferred to me, but if I bought her publishing company, I would also own her ISBNs. I had no idea whether Haley would agree to my proposal or how we would work out terms, but the only way to save my book was to do the very thing I had tried to avoid: become a publisher myself. 

The following week, Haley agreed to sell me her publishing company for a token amount. It had no assets, and I had already paid for all book-related costs, except for Haley’s time. She also promised to help me with the transition of all the accounts. I decided not to look too far ahead and just focus on giving my book the best send-off into the world that I could. I named the publishing company after my great-grandmother. 

This story about a close call with a publishing disaster reveals the applicant’s achievement of stretching beyond what she thought she could do and finding a way to keep moving forward to achieve her goal. Making lemonade out of lemons this way is certainly an achievement worth sharing.        

Demonstrated Leadership

Leadership accomplishments that work well in application essays usually involve one’s ability to influence, motivate, persuade, direct, and work effectively with others.            

To identify good examples for your accomplishment essay, think about how you have worked with other people – how you led a team, what you learned, and so on. What specifically did you do in your role as leader that can demonstrate your leadership skills for the adcom? What did you learn about leadership, and how did you grow as a leader through the experience?

In the following essay example, the applicant’s leadership-related accomplishment seems almost accidental but had a profound influence on her career path:

My job teaching in a private school began uneventfully. I had a class of bright 4th graders, with only a handful expected to be “challenging.” I loved my supervisor, Monica, who was a gifted teacher but new to her role as a team lead overseeing the 3rd and 4th grades. In addition to having one class of her own, Monica was supposed to create interventions for struggling students, incentivize specific behavior or achievements, plan events and trips, and offer guidance to teachers. 

Monica quickly showed that her skill set was strong in the classroom but not in administration. She let requests from teachers for interventions or advice pile up, and she got testy when I reminded her that I was waiting for her feedback. I wanted to work with her, not against her, so I offered to help. I suggested we meet twice a week after school to review her inbox, which was when I discovered that she focused much better just by having me sit and listen to her discuss the situations. Although I only had two years’ experience as a teacher, Monica still seemed to value my opinion on handling awkward situations, such as when a wealthy parent who was on the school’s board of directors refused to face the reality of her daughter’s chronically aggressive behavior in class. This case was bigger than the both of us. We agreed that Monica needed to bring it to the headmistress of the school for her intervention.

About halfway through the year, Monica and I were still meeting regularly. It was an unexpected partnership, and it was clear to both of us that she wanted to return to full-time teaching. I realized that the administrative tasks and decision-making came more naturally to me than to her, and that after a few more years of teaching experience and a master’s degree in education, I might enjoy having a job like hers. 

Another person in her situation might have simply become angry or resentful at my trying to play a role in her job. She could have shut me out completely. But Monica and I became friends, and I learned a lot from watching her dynamism in the classroom. Additionally, she courageously told the headmistress about our arrangement and asked if the school could pay me for my extra hours – which it did. 

This was a totally unexpected situation that helped me realize that I wanted to take a fork in the road of my career in education. 

Finding the experiences in your life when you have shown initiative and impact, overcome obstacles, and demonstrated leadership will help you write an essay deserving of a chef’s kiss!

Are you thinking about what you could include in a winning accomplishments essay? Team up with an Accepted consultant for help identifying your best material. As your partner and guide in this process, we will ensure that your selections make you stand out for all the right reasons!

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Dr. Ali has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources:

• From Example to Exemplary: How to Use Sample Essays to Make Your Essay Outstanding, a free guide
• Four Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future
• Four Ways to Highlight Your Strengths in Your Application Essays

The post Writing a Compelling Accomplishment Essay appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Show Summary

In the 601st episode of Admission Straight Talk, host Linda Abraham speaks with Dr. LeeAnna Muzquiz, Associate Dean for Admissions at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM). Dr. Muzquiz, a graduate of UWSOM and a family physician with ties to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, discusses the unique five-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) curriculum, which allows students to complete their foundational training in their home states.

The School of Medicine emphasizes training for rural and underserved communities, offering special programs like TRUST (Targeted Rural and Underserved Scholar Track) and CUSP (Community Urban Scholars Program) aimed at fostering future physicians committed to these populations. Dr. Muzquiz highlights the comprehensive and transparent admissions process at UWSOM, including the importance of personal storytelling in applications and interviews. 

Show Notes

Welcome to the 601st episode of Admission Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply to your dream medical schools? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted’s Med School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check and you’ll not only get an assessment of your chances, but tips on how to improve them. Plus it’s all free. 

Our guest today is Dr. LeeAnna Muzquiz University of Washington School of Medicine’s Associate Dean for Admissions. Dr. Muzquiz graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine herself in 2000 and received a Native American Center of Excellence certificate for successful completion of the Indian Health Pathway at the University of Washington. She did her residency at the Seattle Indian Health Board Clinic through the Swedish Family Medicine Residency Program in Seattle and was chief resident from 2002 to 2003. She has tribal citizenship with the Confederated Salish and Kuteni tribes, CSKT, and you can correct my pronunciation, in Montana. She has worked as a family physician with CSKT since 2003 and in 2011 became the medical director for CSKT Tribal Health. She has also taught medical students and physician assistant students for the University of Washington School of Medicine for the past 12 years. She assumed the role of associate dean in 2018 after serving as assistant dean for approximately one year. 

Dr. Muzquiz, welcome to Admission Straight Talk.

Hi, Linda. Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

Delighted to speak with you today. Today’s podcast will have some review, possibly of a previous podcast interview that we did three years ago, but not a lot.

Dr. Muzquiz, can you give us an overview of UW’s curriculum focusing on its more distinctive elements?

The University of Washington School of Medicine is a five-state regional medical school that is in partnership with the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. We have six campuses across those five states, two in Washington state, one at the sort of original site at the University of Washington in Seattle, and one in partnership with Gonzaga University in Spokane on the eastern side of the state.

Additionally, we have campuses in, as I said, Alaska, which is at the University of Anchorage, in Montana at Montana State University, in Idaho at the, University of Idaho, and in Wyoming at the University of Wyoming. And with that, really the mission of the School of Medicine is to train the next generation of physicians to serve the workforce needs of our WWAMI region. So WWAMI stands for the first initial of all five of those states. So it’s W-W-A-M-I, WWAMI. So you’ll hear me reference that throughout. And the unique part of our curriculum is that we utilize the medical education resources in all five of those states to deliver a one of a kind curriculum that allows students to do their first 18 months of their curriculum in their home state. So that’s their foundations phase.

So each of those campuses has a cohort of students that are selected from those states to be at those foundation sites. The sizes of those classes vary. Seattle is the largest site with 100. And some of our smaller sites have 20 students in those foundation phases. Once students finish their foundation phase of the curriculum, it is integrated block style learning with clinical skills in, you know, right from the very beginning intertwined throughout. And then they sit for their step one exam and then they go into the patient care phase, which is our next phase of our curriculum. And that’s really kind of the exciting part, which is when our students have the opportunity to do their required clerkships in one of many locations across any of the five states within WWAMI. So I, for instance, was a Montana WWAMI and did my sort of basic science learning at the Montana State University campus. And then once it came time to do clerkships, I was able to do a variety of clinical experiences throughout the WWAMI states. So I did some in Washington, some in Montana, Idaho, you get to travel around to the five different states. It allows our students to really have exposure to, of course, kind of urban academic high level tertiary care in Seattle and some of our larger cities throughout WWAMI but also have access to rural sort of sometimes frontier medicine as it’s practiced with independent private practitioners outside of the academic setting, which is oftentimes what many of our students aspire to do. 

The strong, you know, sort of other parts of our mission or goals within our mission are to serve underserved populations, primarily understanding the importance of primary care, and with, you know, special consideration for rural medicine as well. So our students come with that passion and so then we’re able to provide them an experience of learning medicine in those situations.

So regardless if they decide to eventually practice in rural medicine or not, they’ve had that exposure and they’ve had those experiences and they have a good appreciation for what medicine can look like in a variety of different settings.

When I was preparing for the call, at one point I was thinking that UW could really be U-WWAMI. There already was the connection to WWAMI and it was a WWAMI school, when we talked previously, both three years ago, and I think we even had an interview before that one. It was even more pronounced this time, from my perspective, as a visitor. 

Does everyone at UW’s school of medicine have a connection to the region?

In terms of the students who matriculate or students who matriculate, exactly.

Yes. So, you know, I think what you’ve hit on there, Linda, and what we’ve really strived to sort of help build a community that’s really of WWAMI and for WWAMI, that our mission really is about the entire WWAMI region. It’s not just about Washington, although that is our, you know, sort of our original institution that really saw this vision and partnered with these states. But we really wanted all of our students to feel like they owned and they were part of this larger community and family. What you have observed has been intentional to maybe decentralize it a little bit so that we understand the importance and the value that our students from Montana and Idaho and Alaska bring in addition to the importance of the students who are located in Washington and particularly in Seattle.

So yes, everyone who comes to the University of Washington School of Medicine has some, we actually call them WWAMI ties. So either you’re a verified legal resident of one of the WWAMI states, or if you’re not having legal residency or verified residency through the academic institutions and you must demonstrate that you have some connection to WWAMI and that can be through a variety of different ways, perhaps, and we actually list them on our website and there are very specific criteria. And it can be something like being a member of a federally recognized tribe whose traditional or customary travel boundaries include portions of any of the WWAMI states, having been born in a WWAMI state, having graduated from high school, having family members who currently reside in one of the WWAMI states. Sometimes folks currently live in the WWAMI states, but they’re not verified as residents. We’ll still consider those folks, but then they have to go through a little bit of extra… So all of the people who come from out of region go through a little bit of extra screening to ensure that their mission aligned with us in some fashion.

Also active military members and also folks who participate in any of our enrichment programs that are sort of specifically targeting different communities that are either sponsored by or in partnership with the University of Washington School of Medicine. And then there’s always that option of like, if you don’t meet any of these criteria and you still think you have WWAMI connection, please tell us what that is. And then those are actually manually reviewed and decisions are rendered based on the information that’s shared. Other than that, everybody has a connection to WWAMI. 

UWSOM has two programs. One is CUSP and one is TRUST.  When these two programs compliment each other, can you describe them?

Yes. So TRUST, we’ll start with TRUST, TRUST was the original sort of, we call them special programs.

And the idea really is to tailor an opportunity and an experience for our medical students who particularly have some interest in a specific service in a specific area. So TRUST stands for Targeted Rural and Underserved Scholar Track. And those folks in both of these programs, special programs you apply to during the admissions cycle specifically, and you’re considered for those programs all throughout the admission cycle. TRUST originated in the state of Montana where it has one of the most robust special programs there. Nearly half of the class end up becoming TRUST Scholars in Montana. It’s a cohort of 30 and they reserve around 12 seats in their class for TRUST students. What that amounts to is that TRUST students, TRUST scholars, will actually be partnered with a rural community or an underserved clinic in a small city or a smaller location. And they’re partnered with that community and educators in that community from actually prior to starting medical school. They have a pre-matriculation experience where they go to the community, meet the medical community there.

They kind of get immersed in the community, start to understand the community. And then in between this, in the summer between their first and second year, they actually go back and do a four-week rural underserved opportunities program kind of rotation. They’ll also do a community project. And then once they get into their patient care phase of their education, they go back to that community and they do a longitudinal clerkship experience called WRITE.

So one of the things that’s interesting about UW School of Medicine and WWAMI, we have a lot of acronyms. 

All medical schools have a lot of acronyms. 

Yes, it’s alphabet soup. So WRITE is our WWAMI Rural Integrated Track Experience. And so it’s a longitudinal clerkship experience that TRUST students do. Other students do it too, but TRUST students are required to do a WRITE in the community that they’re assigned to.

And then they have the opportunity to even come back and do electives if that’s what they choose to do. But the idea is really to give them that continuity to get them immersed in a community and understand what rural medicine or medicine in an underserved space looks like and have that mentorship and the support from the medical educators in those communities. So that’s TRUST. 

Then students who participate in TRUST and complete all of the requirements, then graduate with special distinction as a TRUST scholar. And, you know, they’re likely to be people who are looking to go into rural medicine or underserved medicine, and that serves them really well as they’re looking at residency sites and being competitive in those spaces. 

CUSP is our Community Urban Scholars Program. Similar in structure or an idea to TRUST but really focused on recruiting people who are interested in serving urban underserved communities and have a sort of a connection with those communities either being from them or having demonstrated some specific interest in and experiences related to that part of the workforce, which is, we’re often struggling to find practitioners for physicians particularly who will who will serve in that space. 

So CUSP scholars also go through a special admissions process. And then once they matriculate, they too are sort of paired with some mentorship. They often participate in one or more of our pathways programs as do TRUST, but CUSP particularly where we have some particular rotations that are outlined for them. They get preference in certain rotations in certain clinic sites that serve those populations that are relevant to their CUSP work. They also do some special elective, non-clinical elective learning around taking care of populations such as this. So in the same kind of fashion that TRUST is designed, CUSP is, it’s a little bit of a smaller cohort and currently only exists in our Seattle cohort. So there are four CUSP scholars in Seattle. 

The original grant and idea about it was to be able to expand it to all of our WWAMI sites. So that is still in the works. Just, you know, when the pandemic happened and lots of different things in the transition of different kinds of forces, as you will, within academics have occurred, there has been a little bit of shift of it, but the vision is still eventually to offer a CUSP opportunity in all of our, in all of our sites.

Obviously they all have cities, but the biggest city in the WWAMI region would be Seattle. So it’s just the reality of it.

Let’s turn to medical school admissions at UW. You are one of the few medical schools that actually posts your four 250 word secondary essay questions that make up the UW SOM secondary application. 

What do you glean from the application that you don’t get from the primary? What are you looking for there?

Yeah, well I think, you know, part of our, what we at the School of Medicine, particularly in our admissions team, part of what we strive for is that we want to be the resource for education in terms of what the admissions process looks like.

So we really feel responsible for that. So we want to be completely transparent. So when people are interested in going to medical school and they’re looking specifically at UW, we want to ensure that they have as much information and resources they can have that we can provide them to help guide them on this very complicated and very expensive and very time consuming venture. So we pride ourselves in being very transparent. 

We publish, you know, our secondary questions, we publish examples of questions you might have in the interview, et cetera, et cetera. We want people to be prepared. 

You have a great, highly informative website. Students listening to this, even if you’re not in WWAMI and you’re not applying to UW, go look at that site. 

Yeah, thank you for that. So when we ask our committee members, you know, what is the information that you need to know about our applicants? What are you looking for? We review that regularly.

That’s who informs the information that we’re asking for on our secondary questions. And we’re really looking for who are these people? We know that applicants oftentimes approach it in a checklist sort of way of like, everybody knows you need to have good grades, you need to have some volunteer experience, you need to have sort of this, that, and the other components to it. 

But what we want to know is, how does that prepare you to be a good medical student and physician? Those experiences that you tell us about in your primary application, come to the secondary and really kind of dig a little bit deeper. Reflect on that. What are you bringing? My first question is, what are you bringing, you know, sort of to the class? What is your unique characteristic or what perspective do you have? And that’s really important because as we try to build our class and our community, we value a variety of perspective of diversity of

experience. And so we want to hear from each applicant what they think about themselves. It also demonstrates that they’ve really thought this through, right? Like they are understanding a little bit more about what they’re getting into and how, you know, it’s not a one way street. Medical education is not a unidirectional experience, right? We are expecting our students when they show up to be ready to participate and to you know, to some degree, educate and, and help others learn based on their experiences. And so we’re looking for people to tell us that. 

Our secondary questions are really designed to help us really get to know those applicants in that context. You know, primary tells us a little bit about your metrics and your grades and about where you’ve been and kind of what you’ve done and you get a little tiny bit of the space to look from that. 

It’s more the stats and the, you know, vitals, if you will, about applicants and the secondary is really meant to kind of dig a little deeper. So our questions are framed in that way. Again, we try to review them periodically to ensure we’re getting the kind of information that we need. There is one secondary question that people ask a lot about it, which is our final one, and it’s around the competency in social sciences and humanities. We recently, or not recently, years ago, kind of, and periodically look at our prerequisites. And we decided that we really wanted again to dig a little bit deeper about…  people can check a box about I took this class in this class and does that satisfy? Does that help you be prepared for the kinds of conversations that you’re going to have as a medical student and eventually as a physician around kind of the human aspect of medicine? Do you understand something about the humanities? Not just that you took a course, but what is your understanding? So we ask people to explain that and we really, you know, that does help frame, you know, sort of what maybe an experience you had or maybe a class that you took that really sort of helps you get to the heart of practicing medicine, which is about people. And it’s about the human condition and those sorts of things. that’s kind of how we landed on the variety of different secondary questions that we have.

Years ago, I was with a friend who was an English major and somebody was kind of teasing her like, “What’s the value of an English degree, a degree in English? What are you going to do with it? What’s the value of it?” And I think I said (I was not an English major)  I said, you learned about human nature. 

There’s so much more to it. I mean, obviously, medicine is very much a science driven profession, it blends that. I mean, I think that’s the beauty of medicine, right? It blends the science and the humanities. So we just want to, you know, and that actually stemmed, we had students on our committee that looked at our prerequisites, and our students really value having conversations with people who have thought about these things and have, and or experienced them and can bring that perspective and understand that boy, seeing a patient is more than, you know, what is their, you know, sort of genetic abhorrence or what is their, you know, pathology that’s in front of them, but how does that pathology show up in them as the total human being? And so that’s what we’re striving to understand to some degree as much as we can in a written application. 

Since we last spoke, it was about three years ago, AI, chatGPT, et cetera, have really burst onto the scene and into our consciousness, whether we know what it is or not.

One of the Accepted consultants, Dr. Karin Ash, recently posted the following on our Slack channel. And it’s a little longer than I normally take, but I’m going to take it because I think it’s a really good question. She wrote, “it is such a pleasure to read an essay that reflects the client’s personality, experiences, and goals. But this year, I have noticed more clients are using ChatGPT to, quote, refine their essays”. I’m seeing similar phrases across different clients, sentences like:

“I experienced firsthand the financial and structural barriers that limit opportunities for many developing countries. Yet even in these challenging circumstances, there were glimmers of hope. Education became my beacon, promising a path to overcome financial and gender biases.”

She asked me if I could ask admissions officers if these robotic sentences, cliche ridden, harm the client’s chances for admissions, or do you overlook this kind of verbiage given the age of AI?

That’s a great question. I don’t have the exact answer because it’s ever evolving. I mean, just in this current admissions cycle from last June, from when it started, we were just having very early conversations about the possibilities and what might happen all the way through to literally two days ago.

During an orientation of one of the regional committees, we had a very in-depth conversation about utilization of AI during the interview, because as you know, we do virtual interviews. And we’ve had some committee members who have the suspicion of applicants actually perhaps having enhancement during their interview, or thinking they were having enhancement. It seemed like the cadence of their response and just the way that it was going, that they seem to be relying on some external force. So we are constantly having discussions about what does it mean to have AI enhancement? How do we feel about it? How do we evaluate folks equitably then? You know, sort of thinking about that and where we’ve landed thus far is really, you know, we’re

We’re understanding that it’s here. It’s here to stay, people are using it. How do we, I don’t know if we’re quite ready to embrace it yet, but how do we at least acknowledge that and understand that it’s happening and then take that into the grain of salt of whatever’s in front of us. Because some people will use it and some people won’t. The couple of places we’ve landed on is applicants have been asked to attest in their application and prior to their interview with us in the system that we use, that they are not utilizing external sources, including AI, that everything that they’ve submitted is of their own creation. 

Now, does that, it’s a boxed check. Nobody’s checking, doing a background check beyond that. But medicine is also a profession of integrity and honesty. And we are hopeful that if folks are truly sort of the people that we want to have in medicine will find value in that. Knowing that people are going to use AI also, we just asked our committee to read their applications thoroughly, to look for some of these aberrations.

 And I will just say, from the applicant perspective, if you are going to use another resource like ChatGPT to help you refine your statement, it is in your best interest to really read what you’re submitting. 

We’ve had a couple of instances and just in this season where people have forgotten they’ve copied and pasted whatever ChatGPT provided them. And then they forgot to delete the part that says, here is a better or more, here’s a more concise and eloquent way to say that, or whatever the, the feedback that ChatGPT gives you. They forgot that was included. 

You know, so then you’re tipped off and we’re not going to throw your application out, but that is going to count against your communication skills, right? Like that’s just not great in terms of attention to detail. You know, sort of those sorts of things that you need to have. And it’s those tiny little things that make a difference when we’re comparing equally impressive applicants to each other. But with the one person who forgot to delete their prompt from ChatGPT, that doesn’t look great.

Similarly, we also say in the interview about communication, if it feels like there’s a weird cadence or there’s an awkward pause, and then the verbiage that comes out doesn’t really sound like how, you know, they are talking, they’re speaking otherwise, our committee members are going to pick up on that they’re they’re trained, we’ve done enough of this virtual interviewing now, that we can, you know, sort of pick up on that. And again, they’re not going to stop the interview and say get out or they’re probably not even questioning it. But when they’re assessing the picture as a whole, they’re going to be like, this person’s communication skills obviously lacked or their confidence was lacking because they’re not able to sort of, or their analytical skills are lacking because they’re not able to, you know, sort of, up with an answer. And part of being a physician is thinking on your feet. Yes, we have resources at our fingertips all day long to help take care of patients. So that’s the reality. And that’s what we’re trying to incorporate into this. 

But sometimes we have to think on our feet and we have to rely on our own experience, our own expertise and our own wisdom. And that’s what we’re trying to get out in the interviews. So, I don’t know if that answers your question, but we don’t know the answer yet. We’re just cognizant that it exists. 

Are you seeing more essays? I mean, in this cycle that appear more robotic, more cliched?

Our committee has reported that. I’ve looked at lots of different applications, and you can kind of sometimes see that. And I take that in the context of the whole, right? I mean, I think it can be super helpful though for some people if you’re an English language learner and so your communication sometimes in your written language, your trying to write in English, if that’s not your primary language can be complicated and struggle. So it doesn’t hurt to have that proofreader and if ChatGPT is your source. But if it suddenly sounds like you’re just speaking in sort of these standardized, really sort of fluffy,  plasticized… We’re trying to think of strategies to help our committee become more aware of that as well.

We, like I said, have this ongoing conversation throughout the season about the influence of AI. 

Well, I think it is still evolving. I think the question was a good one though. 

And I think, I would have to poll individual committee members. I think some of them are probably really good at sort of seeing that. And some of them are like, this just sounds well written. 

Because you could, I know some of our consultants have said that they’ve seen essays, well obviously that Dr. Ash has, but others have said, you know, that they’ve said to clients, did you write this or is this from ChatGPT, and almost always they were right. It was ChatGPT. 

There’s just something about it because it uses a lot of the same things over and over and over.  

You mentioned the interview a few times. What can someone invited to interview at UWSOM expect on interview day? Is there anything else for applicants in addition to the 30 minute panel interview? 

Yeah, so as you mentioned, we are still doing more of a traditional panel interview. So it’s kind of a not super traditional one-on-one, but we do a three-person panel interview. It takes 30 minutes. There is, of the three people, there’s a senior person called the executive committee member. And then there are two like adcom committee members. These are made up of people from all across the WWAMI community and various, some of them are faculty, some of them are students, some of them are staff, some of them are community members who have vested interest in the WWAMI program or UW medicine. And they’re bringing their different perspectives, but they’re all interviewing the same candidate at the same time. And we really feel like that does help mitigate the bias to some degree.

And it really provides a variety of perspectives on the same situation. So that executive committee member also sort of knows a little bit more. They’re privy to things like MCATS and GPA, that sort of information that the other two interviewers are completely blinded to. So they’re basing their impression of the applicant based solely on what’s in the application outside of metrics and their interview performance. So that occurs.

And then they, as a committee, individually score each applicant, and then they come together and make a recommendation to the larger decision-making committee. So each applicant who interviews goes through that process. Additionally, depending on your cohort, so for the Seattle-based applicants, there is one, what we call WWAMI First Look Opportunity.

Once they’re invited to interview, they’re also given a calendar of WWAMI First Look dates where we host a virtual experience that lasts about a little over three hours where we introduce our applicants, interviewing applicants to the school. We introduce them to all of the sort of support players throughout the different programs. They have an opportunity to interact with faculty and students. We do a student panel where there’s no administrative people, you know, sort of in the room where they can have, you know, sort of open Q &A with our students.

So that’s offered to the Seattle students. That’s the one of the additional things offered that’s actually open to everybody also from throughout the way, I mean, region, we do we do them on weekly or every other week for the entire interview season, essentially. Interesting. We just did one this morning.

Yeah, and we typically have somewhere between 30 and 50 applicants who show up, sometimes smaller. 

And it’s all virtual, right? 

And it’s all virtual. And it’s mostly just about being able to give you a little bit of information and ask questions and meet the people. Additionally, if you’re applying and interviewing at a regional campus that’s outside of Seattle, so any of the other five locations, they actually have their own admissions subcommittee, support folks who guide admissions at each of the the regional sites. 

And they also put on an information session for their applicants, sometimes including students, sometimes at the same time, or sometimes having separate student panels. So each site does it a little bit differently, but there are definitely information sessions that are specific to each of the sites, as well as the overall WWAMI First Look. 

So those are a couple of the things that are available. Once folks are, if you’re accepted, if you’re offered a spot in the class, you’re also then invited to do campus visit days. So then there’s the in-person component where, and we just, you know, it’s a big lift to travel and do all those things, so we kind of reserve that for folks who’ve been accepted so that, you know, people aren’t wasting their resources coming to an institution and visiting when they, if they are not successful. And each of our locations does that just a little bit differently as well as a campus thing. 

Am I correct that all interviewing is finished by the end of February? So are you still sending out invitations? 

We are. And it’s just sort of depending on, like right now, it’s the middle of January. We have finished with our Seattle cohort. And now we’re focused more on what we call our regional cohorts. And over the next five weeks or so, we will complete all of the interviews for all of those sites. We do them in blocks. So this week, for instance, we are interviewing for Wyoming. All of the folks who apply to us from the Wyoming cohort are being interviewed this week. There will be a decision-making meeting on the Friday, and they’ll receive their notification sometime probably over the weekend or by Monday. 

Wow, that’s fast. That’s fantastic. 

We like to do the cohort. So they waited. They submitted their application back in July. Once they do their interview, we try to get the cohorts done. The larger cohorts take a little bit longer. So like Idaho, we often do a whole week of interviews. And then their decision meeting is the following week. But we are on schedule to be done mid-February with everybody’s decisions. 

So one question occurred to me, it probably would have been better asked earlier, is there a set number of people that you admit from each state in the WWAMI region? 

Yes. And I was going to mention that earlier too. Yes. So our total class size is, well, it’s 280 total. Because all things go well. It’s been 275 last year and 270 for years before that.

And I say that because our Alaska cohort is in the middle of expansion. It’s exciting. There’s more seats for Alaska residents to join our medical school. So, Seattle site is our largest with 100 students in each of the cohorts based out of Seattle. And that includes Washington residents and those who are from out of region. So if you’re an out of region applicant, you only apply to the Seattle campus. It’s the only place you can apply to.

Spokane has 60 seats and those are Washington residents, can be from anywhere in Washington, doesn’t have to be from the Eastern side, but preference is sort of there because looking to build that workforce for Eastern Washington. Idaho has 40 seats, Montana has 30 seats, and then both Wyoming and now Alaska had 25 and with plans to go to 30 this season if all things work out well.

And then Wyoming still has 20. Variety of different sizes and cohorts kind of based on population, really. You think about where the more populated parts of our WWAMI region are. 

Now I noticed that the admissions committee consists of over 200 people, including faculty, students, community, physicians, and representatives from the lay community. There’s also a 20 member executive committee with one representative from each of Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho, and I assume Washington as well. 

How does that evaluation process work with such a large committee? I mean, they don’t all do all applications, I assume. 

Our process is complicated, when you put all of the little pieces together, I think it really serves our applicants very well.

Their application is reviewed by multiple people. You know, lots of different people have input on them. So as they move through the process, there’s a lot of deliberation that goes on through each of the applicants. And I really do think that having a variety of perspectives really does serve our applicants really well. So the way that it works is yes, the overall admissions committee or anybody who does interviews for us. So everybody on the admissions committee, regardless of if you’re executive or not, does interviews. That’s the bulk of the work that gets done. And again, it’s a volunteer situation. It comes from all over the WWAMI region. It can come from all of the different, you know, sort of types of folks that you described. And that’s how you enter, you know, that’s the introduction to admissions. for folks who really, you know, there are terms, three year terms, and, know, you can renew for another three years. And so people get really involved in admissions and they like it.

 If they really become involved and want to become more involved, then they’re invited to become part of the executive committee. That’s the smaller committee. The responsibilities there are not only to do the interviews and they kind of lead the interviews. They’re the lead interviewer in any panel, but they also are responsible for screening applications. So those that meet our you know, sort of our metric requirements that get pushed into screening who are invited to complete secondaries. 

Those are all screened by a minimum of two people with eyeballs on applications. So our executive committee does that as does our admissions committee plus some retired executive committee folks, because we have so many applications to screen. We need the help of other folks. But our executive committee also, like I said, does the interviews and then they also are responsible for the decisions. So they hear about each applicant who’s been interviewed and render a decision on acceptance or not, you know, sort of based on those presentations. So they vote, that’s the voting body, essentially. It’s also the body that helps us do our quality improvement or quality assurance. So they review the process for us and anytime we want to make a change, they’re the body responsible for deliberating that and voting on whether or not we implement something different in our process. So they’re also kind of the governance for the work of admissions. So yes, so that’s probably the folks that we work mostly with, but our admissions committee members, we ask them to do about 20 interviews a year. So 200 people, 180 of those being admissions committee members.

You know, because we end up doing roughly, you know, it has varied in previous years, somewhere between 650 to 950 interviews over the course. And there’s three people on each of those panels. And so we do need that, that big of a workforce and it’s distributed as well. Each of the regional sites, those states select their committee members in their own fashion, that is something that’s autonomous to them. So some of them utilize their commissioner of higher education or their education department in their state. Because all of those seats are funded in partnership with the state legislatures. So we work closely with them to ensure that we’re meeting their needs in terms of who’s selecting or the next generation of students for them. 

Let’s go looking at the evaluation process, kind of stepping back a little bit. 

How does UWSOM evaluate multiple MCAT scores? That’s a question that a lot of applicants want to know.

Yeah, so I think, and everyone sort of looks at this a little bit differently. The sort of very basic answer is that we consider your most recent MCAT score.

So whatever your most recent MCAT score is, the score that we use to determine whether or not you meet our threshold. Having said that, any MCAT that you’ve taken over the course of your basically lifetime, I suppose, is visible in the AAMCAS application. And so our executive committee members do have access to that information to see what kind of trends you might have. So if you took it multiple times, what does that look like? Did you improve each time? you, you know, those sorts of things. 

And I will say during the interview, if there is a question that arises out of, you know, sort of somebody’s MCAT scores that things just aren’t adding up or it doesn’t make sense, or there’s just question, our ex-comm might ask that independent of the other interviewers, because we’re in a virtual space, we can kind of go into a, you know, another room and ask some of those questions. It’s kind of the exit interview.

And so applicants should be prepared to, it’s part of your story, right? Like, I don’t know if I’ve said this enough or at all today, but you know, we’re really looking to hear people’s stories. Like what has the journey been and how does it all make sense? Put your application together for us. And that’s part of the story. So if you’ve taken the MCAT multiple times, there must be a story behind that. Help us understand what the decision-making behind that was and how you improved or perhaps what impeded you from having your best performance, those sorts of things. So we try to look at it holistically. I guess that’s what I would say. But the basic answer is, it’s your most recent MCAT that tells us whether or not you meet our threshold. 

Now, for those applicants who are regretfully concluding that their application wasn’t successful this cycle and who want to reapply, do you have any advice for them?

I’d also add that applicants should read the advice on the UW page devoted to applicants who are screened out before the interview. And again, I had several notes in my notes about how excellent and informative the UW website is. 

That’s great to hear because we spend a lot of time trying to cultivate that so that it can be repository of information for anybody who’s interested in medical school, particularly ours, but really anybody who’s looking to be involved. 

I end up visiting a lot of med school sites. And I’m very happy to call out one that is a cut above in terms of the information provided, with you providing the secondary so somebody doesn’t have to run to some third party site to get them. I mean, why not?

To your point, I mean, we recognize that the minute we produce anything, you know, it is getting replicated somewhere else. And we don’t, there’s no reason to hide it. 

So advice for unsuccessful applicants, people who think they might be unsuccessful, visit our website because like you said, we do provide a ton of information there specifically for re-applicants. We also put on some information sessions in the late winter, early spring around, you know, sort of information updates for our school, but also some sessions for re-applicants specifically. Places that we recognize people stumble at times in terms of their, what our committee is telling us around, you know, sort of people who look like or seemed like they would be on the verge of being great applicants and what they could do to improve. One thing is, if you apply to us, you are unsuccessful. We do offer one time, and you’re from within the WWAMI region, we do offer a one-time feedback opportunity. So we will provide a written review of your application and or interview if you got that far, summary to you about what the committee said and what the committee said, where their concerns were to help you improve. So you do need to request that. It’s part of our communication that says, we’re sorry, we couldn’t have you in our class this year, but if you would like feedback, here’s what you do. And so disappointed applicants do have that opportunity. We do it just one time, even if you were a multiple you know, applicant, we try to reserve the capacity and the, resource that we have.

It’s retired committee members and our admissions team staff that actually do the feedback. So it is, you know, it, it does take time and it does take some effort and review, but we think it’s a, it’s important that particularly our WWAMI folks who are applying who seem, again, like I said, it’s often those folks who just maybe need a little bit more seasoning, a little bit more experience here or a little bit of just life here. Or maybe the feedback is, go retake that MCAT because we just don’t want to not confident about your academic ability. So that’s available as well. 

But I think the advice is, again, it’s about the story. It’s about your journey. It’s about being able to articulate that well, to be sure in yourself that you are confident in your preparation. So the things that you have done have adequately prepared you for what your expectation is of being a medical student and a physician, and making sure that that is communicated through your application and if you make it to the interview in your interview responses. Because I think when we…

The most common thing is, I still don’t know why they want to be a doctor. They don’t seem like they know what they’re getting themselves into. They, I’m trying to think of the other, or they just haven’t reflected really well on the experiences they have had. So you might’ve, for lack of a better term, and I don’t like this term, but you might’ve checked all the boxes for a school application.

But if you can’t reflect on what that means to you personally and your journey into medicine and why that’s important, that usually just doesn’t fly with our committee. The other place that people often lack is service. We are very, we take service very seriously at the UW. Swim medicine, part of our mission. We’re just a very mission driven institution. And so oftentimes if it comes down to comparing one person over the other, that might be the space that we go looking for in terms of somebody’s demonstrated service to other people, because that’s what medicine is about. It’s a very service-oriented profession. 

And what would your advice be for a first-time medical school applicant, either planning to apply this cycle as a 25, 26 cycle, or perhaps further into the future? 

Yeah, going forward. I think

I learned this from my admissions team, most of whom have been doing the admissions game longer than I have. And one of the most, I think, important things that they have imparted to potential applicants is don’t apply until you’re ready. This isn’t a game of like, I think I’ll just throw my hat in the ring and see what happens. Like sometimes we can get away with that in life. Like I’m just going to explore this and it’s okay. Applying to medical school is hard.

It’s emotional, you know, it can be just a lot. It’s expensive, and it takes a lot of time. So apply when you’re ready. And if you don’t know if you’re ready, employ some resources to help you figure that out. And it doesn’t have to be invest financially and something like that, but look for things like this podcast. Look for, you know, free. 

The UW website. 

Our website. Yes.

We also have drop-in hours for prospective applicants that are available throughout different parts of the application process. We are not doing them right now because this is a very busy time for us with interviews. But throughout the different aspects of the year, do have information like a drop-in office hours that our staff does just to help answer those kinds of questions. But really it’s about, can you reflect, internally and look at your experience and say, feel really confident about what I’ve done, what I learned, what I know and what I know about what I want to do, that it all makes sense, that I’m ready. Because again, I just think we see a lot of people who just aren’t quite ready yet and we like them as people. We think they’re fabulous and there’s always that lot of potential, but it’s a little bit heartbreaking to have to say no when people aren’t ready, but we also are not willing to, you know, sort of offer acceptance to somebody who isn’t ready and put them in a position where they won’t be successful. 

Is there any question you would have liked me to ask?

Gosh, this has been great. We’ve covered a lot. We have. Thank you. Yeah. And I appreciate that. I think one of the things that we talk a lot about in medical education across the country, in particular at the University of Washington, is what are we doing about, you know, sort of health equity, the or equity in medical education, the ability for different kinds of people to access medical education and the profession. And I would like to say that this is a, so yeah, what are we doing about it? Or what is our position? Or I don’t even know what the question is exactly, but I think it’s important to recognize that while we are a, because we are an institution that partners with a variety of different other institutions across multiple state lines that spans almost a quarter of the landmass of the country. That within that comes a variety and a great diversity of thought and values and perspectives.

And we as an institution have long recognized the importance of that. We haven’t always gotten it right in terms of what that looks like for our students, for our faculty, for our staff, but it is something that we value highly and that is part of any sort of strategic plan or thought going forward is ensuring that our students have an experience and for me, because I do the admissions work, that our applicants have an experience that is as equitable and inclusive as it can be. And so we really put that in the forefront and it’s part of the fabric of how we approach all we do in admissions and the majority of what we do at the School of Medicine. And I think that’s an important aspect to highlight because there are parts of our WWAMI region that perhaps aren’t the most racial or ethnically diverse areas, but beyond that, hold a wealth of diversity and hold a wealth of experiences and perspectives that actually add to the just brilliant tapestry that is sort of the school of medicine and the idea around WWAMI. 

So I just wanted to, we often people want to know about you know, how do we select students after SCOTUS and, you know, sort of all of those sorts of things. We’ve talked a lot about that, but I think at the core of all of it is really just valuing equity and inclusion and diversity in their, in the context of we need that in medicine in order to take the best care of people that we can. 

Wouldn’t it also imply what you know, if you’re to value diversity, you’re going to value difference. Right. 

Okay, then applicants are much better off being themselves. In other words, getting back to the whole ChatGPT thing and generic writing, the more generic you are, the less you are a brilliant threadin a tapestry. Tapestries are made up of lots of different colored threads, usually gorgeous colors if it’s a good tapestry.

Right? Yes. Yes. And that’s how we view WWAMI really right. Instead of our individual factions of you know the different states where we’re all you know sort of coming together to blend that in, and I can’t couldn’t agree with you more on that and people always want to know how to stand out like what do I need to do that’s a question we get a lot. What do I need to do? What do I need to say to “stand out,” and my answer is always you know like be you because there is no other you right.

But whatever that looks like and whatever your unique you feel is your strengths and your unique features of you, help us understand that and how that applies to sort of moving medicine forward, moving, helping a community that you’re interested in, whatever that is. That’s how you are unique. But if you try to duplicate your friend’s application because you think it’s great, that’s going to come through because you won’t be able to speak to it. You won’t be able to get into the detail when my excomm asks you a specific question about your application because they will. They ask you specifically about your application, not the generalities of sort of all medicine. 

I wanna help people. Not how that is. 

I like science and I wanna help people. 

Where can listeners learn more about UW School of Medicine? 

Well, as you said, our robust UWSOM website is available and from there, you can navigate. There’s a variety of different places and spaces you can go. But if you look for the admissions page specifically, you’ll learn all about what our expectations are and what we have to share.

Relevant Links:

• University of Washington School of Medicine
• University of Washington School of Medicine: Interview with Admissions Dean, Dr. LeeAnna Muzquiz 
• Are You Ready to Apply to Med School Quiz

Related Shows:

• Accepted: Your Guide to CU School of Medicine 
• Get Accepted to Washington University School of Medicine
• Deep Dive into Duke Medical: An Interview with Dr. Linton Yee
• Get Accepted to Loyola Stritch Medical School 

Subscribe links

Podcast Feed

The post Navigating Admissions at the University of Washington School of Medicine [Episode 601] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Check out the other posts in this series:

1. Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay
2. Writing Your Career Goals Essay
3. Starting Your Application Essay: Three Tips
4. Revise and Polish Your Application Essays

All original essays have a unique and distinctive theme, and it can take time and careful thought to identify what yours should be. If you go back to the essays we examined in the previous post in this series, you will see that the public health program applicant opened her essay with her theme, which she cleverly presented as a question: “What if people lived healthier lives, practiced preventive medicine, and took precautions against illness and disease?” This theme was her passion for finding answers to significant public health issues. 

In contrast, the law school applicant’s theme was his yearning for greater intellectual challenges while remaining in the healthcare field. While he persuasively built his case in his initial paragraphs, he saved the clincher for the final one: “I feel that my successful work experience and rigorous scientific training will allow me to debate with the best attorneys. Since medical technology and the law in this area are developing rapidly, I am also confident that this field will be constantly challenging.” 

Today, introspection isn’t as popular an activity as, say, yoga or streaming TV and movies, but it’s an invaluable part of this process. Give it the time it deserves. Your essay will be much better after it. If you are beginning to think about what the themes should be for your essays, the following questions will help you identify and define your essay’s main message. Your answers will also guide you toward expressing your goals, values as they relate to your career choice, motivations for pursuing a graduate degree, and professional dreams.

• Why are you passionate about – or at least committed to – your career choice?
• Exploring the previous question more deeply, what experiences in your life (personal, educational, professional) have influenced your career goals most powerfully?
• Has any individual played a major role in helping you discover these goals or values?
• What do you hope to achieve in your career?
• Can you visualize what career success will look like in five years? Ten years?
• What personal strengths, such as communication skills, empathy, and persistence, do you bring to this career?
• What professional skills, such as organizational abilities, clinical knowledge, teaching, and mentoring, do you bring to this career? 
• What experiences do you have that will showcase these strengths?
• After the admissions committee reads your essays, what three words do you hope they will use to describe you? How about “driven,” “intelligent,” and “creative”? Or “dedicated,” “leader,” and “focused”? Whatever the image is that you want to create, identify experiences from your life that will illustrate those qualities.

As you think through these questions, some of the answers will come to you quickly, while others will need time to percolate. Write down your ideas, memories, and insights as they come. Eventually, they will build into a satisfying little inventory, and you will be able to identify the ones that are colorful or dramatic enough to become your essay introduction. 

If you are writing multiple essays, such as for different MBA programs, each one must have its own theme. The admissions committees want to see you as a multifaceted individual and have, therefore, crafted their essay prompts accordingly. These questions provide you the opportunity to display various aspects of yourself, your values, and your personality.

Summary Tips

• Carve out some time for introspection about your career goals, values, and motivation. (That means your phone is in another room or at least in “do not disturb” mode.)
• Develop a distinct theme for each essay required by any program that demands more than one. Use each essay as an opportunity to show yourself as a multifaceted individual.

In the next post in this series, we’ll share insights into how to write an exemplary MBA career goals essay.

Work one-on-one with an expert who will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application. Our admissions consultants have read thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay.

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Dr. Ali has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources:

• From Example to Exemplary: How to Use Sample Essays to Make Your Essay Outstanding
• Three Ways Writing About Obstacles Strengthens Your Application Essays
• Admissions Straight Talk podcast 

The post Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

The average age for a first-year medical student (known as an M1) is 24.  This means that if you are currently a 15-year-old high school freshman, you have approximately nine years to learn, explore, and discover as much as you can about the field of medicine! 

So, if you are considering a career of some kind in medicine, what can you do in high school to best prepare yourself for college and, eventually, medical school? Here are four important tips:

1. Build a solid academic foundation in science, math, and communications.

If a career in medicine is on your radar, plan to take foundational science classes, including biology, chemistry, and physics. Exposure to this material in high school provides you with insight into these critical science areas at an early age. Quant classes are also vital. Beyond algebra, you will need to take geometry, pre-calculus, calculus, and statistics to cultivate problem-solving, reasoning, and critical thinking skills. Consider taking science, math, or language classes at the AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate) level. Either category indicates a higher level of academic rigor and might be accepted for college credit.

Beyond being strong in math and science, good doctors need to know how to communicate effectively. So, focus on communications classes, including language and composition, literature, and/or a foreign language. Not only will these courses prepare you to write essays and personal statements for college applications (and ultimately medical school), but knowing how to write clearly is also an important life skill.

2. Pursue a variety of extracurricular experiences.

Between school, sports, and work obligations, you might already have a tightly packed schedule. But if you are considering applying to med school one day, it’s important to gain exposure to a variety of experiences, which can shine a light on different aspects of healthcare, medicine, and life as a physician.

For example, join relevant clubs, such as those for premed, biology, chemistry, sports medicine, and neuroscience. As a member of one or more of these clubs, you will not only learn more about the specific topic but also collaborate with peers, discuss relevant research, and participate in academic dialogue.

Consider volunteering as well, especially at a hospital, clinic, or assisted living community. You will gain insight into the complex and interrelated tasks of a medical facility, while also familiarizing yourself with the many medical specialties available in that setting and the scope of patient care offered. Just as important, if not more so, is that in a volunteering role, you will learn to practice empathy, compassion, and communication skills. You will also demonstrate a commitment to service that is fundamental to medicine.

Shadowing a physician is another volunteer activity that many students find so inspiring that they decide, “Yes, medicine is for me!” Shadowing a physician allows you to carefully observe, listen to, and watch a doctor in clinical practice for several hours each week. This is an excellent opportunity to witness patient-physician interactions, the scope of practice, work-life balance, and professionalism.

3. Don’t feel locked into a science major in college.

When I was director of pre-health advisement at Sacred Heart University, the most common question I heard from incoming premed students was “What major should I choose?” My answer: “Any major you want!”

As a premed student, you can select any undergraduate major you desir, as long as you are concurrently enrolled in premed prerequisite courses. These prerequisite courses should fulfill two goals: they should be required by medical schools, and they should help prepare you for the MCAT entrance exam. Most premeds select biology, chemistry, biochemistry, neuroscience, or something similar as their major, but there are also premeds who major in psychology, history, business, English, or philosophy, for example. When you consider your major, make sure you find it personally interesting and motivating, something that will provide you with academic growth and stimulation during your four years of college.

4. Make the most of your summer!

The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) has a database of summer enrichment and pipeline programs. These programs vary but tend to offer either volunteering, research, shadowing, educational workshops, and/or clinical exposure, all related to healthcare and medicine. Most programs require an application and have posted due dates, so give yourself adequate time to complete and submit all required documentation. When accessing the database, be sure to select “High School Level” in the “Education Level” choice box. 

As the former assistant dean of student affairs and career development at the William Beaumont School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Wherely worked directly with the dean of the School of Medicine, the associate dean of student affairs, the associate dean of clinical curriculum, and the assistant dean of admissions, as well as with Year 4 students on both residency application reviews/critiques and mock interview preparation. Work with Valerie! Schedule a free consultation today!

Related Resources:

• Med School Admissions: What You Need to Know to Get Accepted, a free guide
• How Your Academic Statistics Influence Your Medical School Choices
• Prepping for Med School Acceptance: Gap Year, an Accepted YouTube video

The post Four Tips for High School Students Interested in a Career in Medicine appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Landing on a school’s waitlist can be disappointing and even nerve-racking. As a result, waitlisted applicants sometimes let their anxiety or disappointment cloud their thinking, but if you’re waitlisted, try to stay calm and focused.  

Remember, if you’ve been waitlisted, you have not been rejected. If you play your cards right, you still have a fighting chance of getting into your dream school. 

In this post, I will explain how to make the most of this opportunity. But first, I want to tell you about some common but unwise actions that really turn adcom members off. 

1. Reacting emotionally

One thing adcom members really cannot stand is having to deal with waitlisted applicants who – perhaps without even realizing it – become demanding, rude, disrespectful, or otherwise inappropriate. This behavior can show up in emails and calls, and even in the form of unscheduled drop-in visits to the adcom’s offices. These types of responses reveal immaturity, self-absorption, and lack of judgment. If you react emotionally and engage in any of these unpleasant tactics, they will be duly noted and could easily eliminate your chances of moving from a “maybe” to a “yes.” 

2. Not following instructions

As a waitlisted applicant, you’re still a contender. Don’t blow your chances by ignoring the school’s exact instructions on managing your new status. Follow the adcom’s directions precisely. Send the schools what they ask for, and don’t send what they don’t want.

For example, if the school states explicitly that it doesn’t want to hear from you, leave the adcom alone. Contacting them isn’t smart perseverance; it’s arrogance, and that will hurt your case.

If your target program is open to further communication, tilt the odds in your favor by writing a well-crafted waitlist update letter or a letter of continued interest. If the program allows, you could also submit a few letters of support written by others on your behalf. These letters should focus on three areas: your enhanced qualifications, the steps you’ve taken to overcome any shortcomings, and the ways in which you are a perfect fit for the school.

Five Rules for Writing a Winning Waitlist Letter

1. Keep it short – no more than two pages, double-spaced. 

How are you a stronger candidate now than when you first applied? That’s what you need to focus on. As you brainstorm about the content of your letter – and then again after you’ve written the letter – double-check that you haven’t repeated material that is already in your application. The adcom has read that already, so don’t waste their time.

2. Update your qualifications.

What is new and improved about your profile since you submitted your application? Ideally, you will be able to convey these new elements and link them to some of the themes or experiences you addressed in your essays.

Have you earned a promotion? Scored A grades in relevant courses? Taken on a leadership role on a project or assumed additional work responsibilities? Volunteered or taken on other initiatives in your department, business, club, or community? Be specific when describing these roles and achievements.

3. Explain how you have strengthened areas of weakness or mitigated other shortcomings.

Show the adcom how you have upped your game in areas where you might have originally come up short. Rather than dwelling on a specific shortcoming, focus on what you have done to become stronger in that area, personally or professionally. For example, if you had weak communication skills, discuss how you joined Toastmasters and are now a more confident, fluid speaker as a result.  

Also, if you have plans to take additional classes for work but have not yet begun to do so, state when and where you will take them, as well as your willingness to enroll in any additional courses the school recommends or to follow any other instructions it provides.

4. Thank the school for continuing to consider your application.

Restate your commitment to the program and your belief that its philosophy and approach make it an ideal fit for your educational objectives and goals. For example, if you are 100% sure that you would attend if accepted, say so. The message you want to get across is this: You were born to attend this school, and the program was created just for you. 

Other ways to prove your “fit” include explaining what specifically you have done to expand your knowledge of the program and how you have worked to build your network there. If you mentioned in your application or interview how the school’s philosophy and approach match your educational objectives and goals, in your waitlist letter, you could cite new examples that support your argument. For example, if you have visited the campus (post-submission), share which class you sat in, who taught it, and what your impressions were.

Similarly, refer to any recent email exchanges you’ve had with alumni or students. What else have you learned about the program through these connections that align with your interests? Offering this evidence proves that you are invested in attending the program and drives home the message that the school is the best place for someone with your goals.

Admissions directors want waitlisted applicants to show passion, not obsession. Follow these steps with professionalism, maturity, and courtesy, and you can be sure that schools will respond favorably to this extra bit of personal effort.

Writing Effective Waitlist Letters: A Quiz

1. Waitlist letters can be three or more single-spaced pages long…

(a) if you have a lot of accomplishments to talk about. 

(b) never. They should never exceed two pages. 

(c) only if they are law school waitlist letters.

(d) if you are not including an additional letter of recommendation.

2. Expressing frustration or disappointment in the waitlist letter about not being immediately accepted is…

(a) okay, if the school is really your number-one choice.

(b) appropriate if it reflects how you honestly feel.

(c) never a good idea.

(d) useful in the letter’s conclusion to elicit sympathy.

3. During the waitlist process, you should generally aim to contact the waitlisting school…

(a) a few times a week if it’s really your number-one choice.

(b) weekly by email or mail.

(c) only when prompted by the school.

(d) every three to four weeks (if the school allows contact).

4. The main topics of a waitlist letter should be…

(a) developments in your work life since applying that underscore professional achievements.

(b) supporting evidence that the school is a good fit for you.

(c) updating the school on ways you have strengthened areas of weakness in your application.

(d) all of the above.

5. It’s acceptable to repeat wording from your application essays in the waitlist letter…

(a) never.

(b) if you are in a rush to get the letter done on time.

(c) if it was an especially strong part of your application.

(d) if you think it’s important enough to reinforce.

[Answers: 1b, 2c, 3d, 4d, 5a]

So, how did you do? 

I hope this post has helped you understand the purpose of a waitlist letter and how to make yours stand out in a positive way. Still, there’s nothing like having an expert who can guide you in drafting a winning letter that will turn the school’s “maybe” into a resounding “yes.” Our admissions experts have helped hundreds of waitlisted applicants do just that, and we can help you, too. From developing a waitlist strategy to identifying key areas you can highlight to your advantage to helping you edit your letter so that it makes the strongest case for your admission, we provide personalized, supportive guidance at this critical juncture. Sign up for a free consultation to discuss your waitlist options. Let’s get started!

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Dr. Ali has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources:

• The 9 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on an MBA Waitlist
• The 9 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on a Med School Waitlist
• The 9 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on a Law School Waitlist

The post Get Off That Waitlist! appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

Planning to apply to medical school in the upcoming cycle? With so much to do and so many deadlines to stay ahead of, the next few months can be a hectic time. Here are ten tips to help you hit the ground running.

1. Get cozy with AMCAS and AACOMAS (and TMDSAS, if you’re in Texas).

Medical schools in the United States use centralized application services that process your transcript(s), verify your coursework, and calculate your GPA before distributing your primary application to your chosen schools.

The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) is the primary gateway for allopathic medical programs. If you’ve taken the MCAT or applied for fee assistance, you will already be registered with the AMCAS; if not, you should register immediately.

Osteopathic medical applicants apply through the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS), and Texas medical schools have their own application service – the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS). 

Each service has different timelines and requirements, so it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with their guidelines for completing your applications:

• AMCAS information
• AACOMAS instructions
• TMDSAS guidelines

You’ll spend lots of time on these websites this year – whether you’re inputting your primary application, adding programs for submissions, or checking the status of your applications – so take time now to explore them.

2. Apply for fee assistance.

Applying to medical school is expensive, and each program you target comes with a hefty price tag. But don’t let the costs unfairly limit your choices. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Fee Assistance Program and the AACOMAS Application Fee Waiver can help defer the costs of applications and the MCAT.

Note that the AAMC’s program is good for an entire year (applications open in early February), and you are encouraged to apply early. By contrast, the AACOMAS fee waiver is only valid for two weeks, so be ready to submit your application when you apply.   

Make sure you’re approved before you submit your application or you won’t be reimbursed.

3. Register for the MCAT.

If you haven’t already done so, go claim your MCAT slot. Spring and summer dates are in high demand, since ideally, you want to have your score in hand by June so you can make smart decisions about your school list. And if you require any accommodations, be sure to get your request in early.

If you’re waiting to get your MCAT score before submitting your application, don’t! You only need your MCAT score to identify your target schools. Submit everything else for verification as early as possible. This will make the process go much more quickly once your scores are available.

4. Sort out your recommendation letters.

Hopefully, you’ve already contacted the people you would like to write your letters of evaluation. If not, think about who can write about your suitability for medical school. When you request their help, supply them with an up-to-date copy of your resume or CV, along with notes as to any specific areas you’d like them to address. 

Recommendation letters are also collected and distributed by a centralized service, whether you’re applying through AMCAS, AACOMAS, or TMDSAS. While individual schools have their own requirements for letters, these services will allow you to collect more letters. You can then pick which letter goes to which schools. 

Don’t postpone submitting your application while you’re waiting for your recommenders to complete their letters. If a recommendation arrives after your application has been verified, it will be sent immediately to your selected medical schools.

5. Apply early.

Schools set their own deadlines, and some of those deadlines might seem far away. But don’t wait! There is less competition early in the season, so applicants who wait to apply until later are at a disadvantage. Also, keep in mind that your application must be verified by your application service before it’s even forwarded to the med schools. AMCAS can take up to six weeks during peak season – and longer, if any issues arise – so budget that time into your timeline.

Also, remember that you do not need your MCAT score or your letters to submit your primary application. You don’t even need a full school list; the verification process can begin with a single school. With that in mind…

6. Decide where to apply.

One of your biggest decisions will be how many programs to target. With 51,946 unique applicants submitting nearly a million applications to allopathic schools during the 2024 cycle, the average candidate submits applications to 18.6 programs. If your GPA and MCAT score are above average, then you’re safe targeting fewer schools, but if in doubt, spread your chances out. To guide your decision, be sure to study each program’s website to understand its specific admission requirements and, in the case of allopathic schools, the Medical School Admissions Requirements (usually released in April).

You can find additional program information compiled in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Medical Schools list, but always take such rankings with a grain of salt. Many medical schools do not participate in the rankings, and deans are quick to point out that every accredited North American medical school provides a comprehensive medical education.

7. Start completing secondary essays.

After you have submitted your primary application, you might be tempted to take a break, but a better use of your time is getting started on your secondaries. Although some programs “screen” and invite candidates to submit secondaries only after reviewing their application, most programs automatically release their secondaries to you if you select their school. This means that you’re likely to get a deluge of secondaries shortly after you apply. Heed the “apply early” rule here, too – the general guideline is a two-week turnaround, but some programs have even shorter turnaround times. Prewriting some of your secondaries will ensure that you don’t miss a deadline or get flooded with a lot of new essays to write all at once.

8. Prep for interviews.

If you applied early in the season, you should start getting interview invitations by late August, and September-November is usually the peak of interview season.

Getting your first interview invitation is exciting, but it can also be nerve-wracking. Interviews do get easier with practice, which is why we always recommend that you start preparing early. It can take some time to increase your level of comfort in talking about yourself, and it’s best to practice with someone who will give you honest feedback.

9. Don’t worry until you need to. 

The medical school application process is long – it’s often compared to a marathon rather than a sprint – and your patience will be tested. In most cases, there is little you can do but wait. But what happens if January rolls around and you haven’t heard anything? Chances are you’ll need to start thinking about reapplying. However, there’s still one tactic at your disposal: submitting updates and letters of interest. This should not be done indiscriminately, though. Only submit additional materials if the program allows, and focus on substantive updates rather than repeating things you’ve already said. 

10. Carry on carrying on.

Don’t put your life on hold while you apply for medical school. Keep doing what you love, whether that’s sports or volunteer work or community activities. Not only will you be a lot happier and a lot less anxious about the whole admissions process, but you’ll also have something to share if and when you get those coveted interviews.

If you’re applying to medical school in the 2025-2026 season, this next year could change your life forever. Get started right, and stay on top of things, and you’ll be able to make sure the year is both enjoyable and momentous.

Since 2001, Cydney Foote has advised hundreds of successful applicants for medical and dental education, residency and fellowship training, and other health-related degrees. Admissions consulting combines her many years of creating marketing content with five years on fellowship and research selection committees at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She’s also shared her strategy for impressing interviewers in a popular webinar and written three books and numerous articles on the admissions process. Want Cydney to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Medical School Selectivity Index
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for Med School Applicants
• The Quick Guide to Acing Your AACOMAS Application, a free guide

The post Med School Applications Kick Off: Ten Tips to Get You Through the Season appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.

If the application season isn’t going as you’d hoped, your thoughts might turn to alternative routes for your medical education. Perhaps you’re thinking about retaking the MCAT, boosting your GPA with postbaccalaureate coursework, or spending a year in a clinical or research environment.

Or you might be thinking about warm, tropical breezes and the island life that awaits you at a Caribbean medical school.

This is not a decision to take lightly. As a U.S. medical student at a Caribbean program, you will have to contend with many different challenges – from language barriers to culture shock – that could affect your studies. Classes tend to be large and might feel impersonal, and attrition rates are high. You might not have as many choices for clinical rotations, and you might even need to arrange your own elective rotations, especially for some less common specialties.

By far the biggest concern for U.S. citizen graduates of international medical schools (also known as U.S. International Medical Graduates, or USIMGs) is matching with a residency program after completing medical school. Some international schools have very poor records of residency placement. Attending the “wrong” medical school could result in incurring thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to practice medicine once you’re finished.

Despite these issues, an international program can be a feasible option for some people. The required GPA is often lower than the U.S. average, and some programs do not require the MCAT. You will interact with peers, professors, and patients from around the world, who offer a wealth of different perspectives. And even though securing a residency can be challenging, it’s certainly not an insurmountable obstacle. In the 2024 Residency Match, there were 4,751 USIMGs; of these, 3,181 (67%) matched in PGY-1 positions. 

If you’re wondering whether a Caribbean medical school is right for you, ask yourself four key questions.

1. Can I improve my profile and reapply successfully in the next cycle?

Identifying where you might have gone wrong in your application is an essential part of your decision-making process if you’re contemplating Caribbean med schools. Carefully consider whether retaking the MCAT, completing more clinical or research hours, or raising your GPA might make a difference in your future application. Also consider timing. If this is your first cycle, it’s probably not wise to give up on American medical schools just yet. Graduating from a U.S. allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO) program will still make you more competitive, with more than 92% of U.S. graduates matching to PGY-1 positions in 2024, compared with 67% of USIMGs.

But what if you’ve already applied multiple times to both DO and MD programs? What if you have taken and retaken (and retaken) the MCAT but haven’t been able to improve your score? If you’re positive you still want to become a doctor at this point, keep reading to determine whether looking outside the United States for medical school is the right decision.

2. Am I interested in a primary care specialty?

The match rate for USIMGs varies by specialty, and applicants in the primary care fields fare the best. Consistently, the top five specialties for USIMGs are Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry.

There are a lot of reasons for this, but probably the most critical one is lack of access to other specialties for rotations and research experiences. Medical students at Caribbean programs can and do arrange rotations in surgical specialties, neurology, anesthesiology, and others, but this is not always easy and usually takes personal initiative (more on this later). Research opportunities might be less available as well, which is not ideal for some specialties.

The bottom line is that if you’re resolute about becoming a diagnostic radiologist, being a plastic surgeon, or entering another highly specialized field, your chances of matching as a graduate of a U.S. medical school, whether allopathic or osteopathic, will probably be higher.

If you are interested in a primary care specialty, you will still have a harder time in the residency match than a U.S. graduate. 

3. Am I resilient and flexible enough to live on a remote island?

Let’s not beat around the bush – a Caribbean medical education isn’t about studying under palm trees while sipping pina coladas. Instead, you’re likely to have lab facilities that are older or less well equipped, or that lose power regularly. The study materials you need might not be as widely available as you’d like. Many of your classes will be too large, with less faculty attention than is ideal. Studying at a Caribbean medical school can be tough. 

Life outside medical school can be challenging as well. It can be difficult to live without all the little luxuries you’re used to in the States. Those you can get will be more expensive. You’re likely to be evacuated at least once during hurricane season. You’re definitely going to lose power more than once. And you’re going to be an ocean away from your friends and family for at least two solid years, possibly in a country where English is not the primary language. All of this can be very isolating.

This life isn’t for everyone, which is one of the reasons for the high attrition rate at Caribbean medical schools. But some people manage to not just survive but even thrive. They’re the ones who embrace these challenges while keeping their eyes on the prize, making the most of what this environment has to offer. 

4. Do I enjoy taking initiative, and can I make opportunities for myself where they don’t exist?

I’ve worked with many successful USIMGs over the years, and what consistently sets them apart is that they make up for any lack in their initial qualifications by working harder than the average medical student. They’re heavily involved in university activities, community healthcare initiatives, international case competitions, and so on. They lift up their classmates by sharing study resources and mentoring newcomers on the island. And they go above and beyond in every single one of their clinical rotations, demonstrating their cultural competence by adapting seamlessly in varied environments and contributing on different teams. 

And significantly, they can express the advantages of their non-U.S. medical education in their applications and interviews. They can talk about the deep grounding in diagnoses that comes from doing without modern diagnostic equipment while volunteering in their local community clinics, or the resourcefulness that grew out of necessity while supporting local hurricane relief efforts. These are invaluable skills that can set USIMGs apart, making them very appealing to primary care residency programs, especially in rural areas.

That said, I do have a very important caveat for anyone considering a Caribbean program.

Do your research.

If studying medical school in another country appeals to you, you need to do your research. There are roughly 60 Caribbean programs of varying quality. Of these, Ross University, St. George’s University, Saba University, and the American University of the Caribbean have the most consistently high placement rates. Courses are taught by U.S. academic physicians, and the programs have well-established clinical rotations in the United States.

Other programs might work well for you, but be sure to pay attention to their students’ performance on the USMLE Step exams. For Step 1, the first-time pass rate for students at non-U.S./Canadian medical schools was only 72%, compared with 92% for students at U.S. MD schools and 87% at DO programs. (Note that this includes all international medical schools and students.) If a medical school does not freely share information on its pass rates and residency match success rate, this is cause for concern.

It can also be more difficult to secure funding at international med schools, so when you’re doing your research, insist on a realistic estimate of the cost of your studies and living expenses. Talk to students as well as admissions personnel to confirm everything you hear.

Finally, as you consider Caribbean medical schools, also look to other countries. I highly recommend Ireland’s Atlantic Bridge program. Although quite competitive, Irish medical schools are flexible with regard to the GPAs and MCAT scores of otherwise qualified U.S. and Canadian students and offer a diverse, world-class medical education (including U.S. and Canadian rotations). With a single application, you can apply to the six Irish medical schools, plus the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Bahrain. Irish medical schools are highly regarded in the States and Canada, and many graduates secure residency spots every year.

The other program I recommend is the UQ-Ochsner MD Program. This is a partnership between the University of Queensland in Australia and Louisiana’s Ochsner Health System. The program offers U.S. students the chance to do their clinical years in Brisbane and complete clinical rotations in New Orleans. In 2024, it matched 99% of its graduates.

Being a USIMG is not for the faint of heart, but if you’ve tried everything else and still have your heart set on medicine, it is something to consider. Your road might not be as easy as that of other medical students, but it’s likely to be more interesting. Personally, I love working with USIMGs, hearing about their unique experiences, and helping them see the value they can bring to a university program. If you would like to discuss whether an international medical school is right for you, schedule a complimentary call with one of our expert consultants today.

Since 2001, Cydney Foote has advised hundreds of successful applicants for medical and dental education, residency and fellowship training, and other health-related degrees. Admissions consulting combines her many years of creating marketing content with five years on fellowship and research selection committees at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She’s also shared her strategy for impressing interviewers in a popular webinar and written three books and numerous articles on the admissions process. Want Cydney to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• A Strategic Guide for Applying to Medical School
• Retaking Classes for Med School: What Every Premed Needs to Know
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for Med School Applicants

The post Should You Consider a Caribbean Medical School? appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.