You never know which schools will interview you. Some schools completely surprised us with interview invites, and others that we were hoping to get an interview from never even got back to us. The most difficult thing about the application cycle is accepting this fact, and accepting it early on can help you down the line.
As the title says, this process is extremely expensive. You'll be paying to submit your primarily application, along with $40/school you apply to. Each secondary application costs $70-120 to submit, so if you are applying to a lot of schools, the cost will really add up. Plus, if you have to fly across the country and book hotels, it can get difficult. Setting aside some money for the application cycle can really help to alleviate some of the stress around applications!
Additionally, if you qualify, definitely try to look out for fee assistance opportunities. AMCAS® has its own fee assistance program, and when you start secondaries, you can reach out to some individual schools to see if they can waive or reduce your secondary fee if you provide certain documents.
Here is a good calculator to estimate the costs of the application cycle based on your own application cycle:
Some of the necessary things you would need include - MCAT scores, letters of recommendation, clinical and non-clinical volunteer hours. Other things that may be good to have are leadership experience, work experience, awards, and experience with underserved communities.
Here are a couple of good resources highlighting what the application cycle is like and what to focus on when you are gathering materials together for your application:
https://www.aamc.org/system/files/reports/1/aibvol11_no6.pdf (Check out Figure 1 at the end of this - it gives you a sense of what metrics of your application are important at different stages of the cycle. If you are looking to improve your application - this may be a good start when deciding what to prioritize!)
https://students-residents.aamc.org/choosing-medical-career/article/how-medical-schools-review-applications/ (Really interesting advice from deans and admissions officers from actual medical schools!)
https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/ask-the-experts/ask-experts-create-winning-application/ (A great FAQ about different aspects of a medical application with some admissions officers. The biggest takeaway from this is that officers look at an applicant very holistically!)
https://www.prospectivedoctor.com/5-parts-of-a-competitive-medical-school-application/ (Different things you should make sure to have on your application)
https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/5gc2ri/welcome_to_rpremed_heres_our_faq/ (Another awesome, comprehensive guide that includes information on applying!)
This is an extremely crucial step in ensuring that your personal statement and activity descriptions reflect how you want schools to perceive you. Did you feel like service was a large part of your time in college? Make sure that your personal statement reflects that!
On top of this, ask trusted friends to read over your work. Do they think this accurately reflects your personality and brings out the best in you? Also, ask a mentor or acquaintance that doesn’t know you as well to proofread your essay. Ask them their impressions – does this give them a new window into your personality? Admissions committees do not know who you are, so making a first impression that gives them a better sense of who you are is crucial.
One of the most important things in determining whether or not you will get into medical school is the actual list of schools you end up applying to. Here are two great resources for building your school list:
a) Medical School Admission Requirements TM (MSAR®)
b) https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/6dvpp1/some_thoughts_on_schools_as_you_build_and/
MSAR® is a great resource for determining which schools might fit your statistics, interests, and desired curriculum the best (note: there are no DO schools on MSAR®, just MD). You can see the percentiles of different GPAs and MCAT® scores for both the schools accepted and matriculated students. A rule of thumb amongst other applicants is that you are competitive at a school where your GPA/score falls in at least the 10th percentile of the accepted students.
Then, after narrowing down which schools you are competitive at, separate them into schools you are above their average/median GPA/MCAT®, schools you are about the same as, and schools you are below. You want to keep this list as diverse as possible (not too many schools with GPA/scores below yours, not too many schools with GPA/scores above yours). If you have lower stats, you may want to from applying to too many top schools (ESPECIALLY if you do not see yourself living in the place that the reach school is at).
Some Additional Considerations:
There is a list of schools that are "Low Yield," which means that they get many applications for a very limited number of spots. If you decide to include these, make sure they do not comprise your entire school list (but don't hesitate to add the ones that you like - there is still a chance of getting an interview, especially if you fit the school's mission!).
Apply to all of your state public schools! Most state schools give preference to residents of their states, so this could help you potentially increase your chances of getting in! This is by no means a guarantee, but it doesn't hurt to try.
A big mistake that a lot of applicants make is that they do not actually consider if they would go to a school if it was their only option. Would you be willing to move to the middle of rural Wisconsin or urban New York City if it was your only option? These are really important questions to ask yourself - if you can't answer Yes to a question like the one posed, then you probably should not to that school. While medical school admissions are difficult and it is good to apply to a large variety of schools, be realistic about whether or not you would attend. You may find that the schools you are hesitant about were the ones that you are reluctant to submit a secondary to, and you may end up losing money thinking you should apply to a lot of schools.
Make sure the schools you do decide to apply to are actually a good fit for you. Schools like Tulane and Rush have a huge community service focus, so if service was not a huge part of your application or identity, really think about if the school reflects your own personal values and career goals.
Medical schools consider three GPA’s when deciding who to offer an interview. These GPA’s are your overall cumulative GPA, your science (BCPM), and your non-science (AO) GPA. You can start calculating this GPA at any point in your time in college - it can help early on to track your progress, or help later to determine where you stand before you apply!
This is a great calculator that you can update as you go through undergrad:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10xv_43XXgYI14baJroSGyrHIpub4u6g060QaoznnXB4/edit#gid=322342932
Use this to determine which classes would fall under your BCPM or AO GPA:
https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/course-classification-guide/
Some schools also do what is called pre-screening, which means they have a minimum GPA or MCAT score that they use to filter out some applicants based on statistics. Here is a list of schools that pre-screen (this is not a comprehensive list, just from a student who happened to call some schools they were applying to!):
https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/8vlwi7/i_called_over_60_schools_regarding_screens_here/
CASPer® is a situational judgment test that will measure your ability to respond to various types of conflicts/problems, and assess how you can address follow-up questions related to the topics brought up in the test. For example, the test will cover situations that one may encounter in a workplace, such as ethical dilemmas relating to colleagues and bosses.
For many schools, this serves as a robust way of determining if a candidate may fare well in interviews and can work effectively and ethically in future work settings. Fortunately, CASPer® can be taken online in the comfort of your home, and includes very flexible timings/dates to take your exam. However, you never get to know your own score and it does take a few weeks to process your score and send it to the correct schools.
Therefore, make sure you a) take CASPer® at least 1 month before you expect to receive secondary applications and b) make sure that you confirm which schools require CASPer®, as it is easy to accidentally forget to send your score to a school.
Overall, CASPer® is not meant to be a stressful exam - review our Guide to CASPer® tab for tips on how to succeed. Good luck!
Here is a sample timeline of how an application was submitted this past cycle to give you an idea of how the verification process works:
May 1, 2019: AMCAS® Application opens, edits can be made but it cannot be submitted yet
May 30, 2019: AMCAS® Application opens for submissions, application submitted on this day
June 6, 2019: Notification from AMCAS® that the application was processed/verified (in this time, they verified grades with the official transcript and determined if experiences were correctly classified)
June 28, 2019: Earliest date that AMCAS® Application was sent to medical schools, first day secondary applications were received
The verification process can take longer, depending on when you submit. The process can take anywhere from a couple of days to almost a month, so keep that in mind when submitting. Additionally, if you have any mistakes on your application, this can delay the process. AMCAS® can take up to six weeks to verify your application (especially later in the cycle).
Try to submit early if you can, but as long as your application is verified before the first day primary applications are submitted to medical schools (which, in the sample, was June 28), you will be in the first batch of secondary applications. You do not need to be in the first batch to be competitive for medical schools, as some people submit secondary applications as late as September and still receive admissions offers. However, medical school admissions typically operate on a rolling admissions basis, meaning that the earlier you apply, the more spots are available, thereby increasing your chances.