Over the last few weeks, I have reviewed quite a few medical school admissions essays through my online consulting service EssaySensei. Without a doubt, it confirmed something I have believed all along: that there is no clear correlation between essay writing skills and quality of applicant.

I have seen both good and bad essays, and the quality of the essay did not necessarily reflect the resumes of the applicants. Some applicants have done absolutely amazing things, but have great difficulty marketing themselves on paper. My goal when it comes to reviewing essays is always to help applicants better understand what medical schools are looking for, and present the best and most relevant aspects of themselves.

All that being said, I continue to notice several key mistakes that applicants seem to make over and over when writing their essays. While it is just 3 days before OMSAS medical school applications are due, for those of you have not submitted yet (to be fair, I had not submitted by this time either!), hopefully you can learn from these mistakes and improve your essays.

1. Lacking an introduction

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For those of you unaware, since 2010, McMaster Medical School started using an online assessment tool known as CASPer as part of its applicant screening process. It is now an integral part of the admissions process, making up 32% of the pre-interview score. Two years ago, I wrote an article about how CASPer was developed and how an applicant should go about preparing for it.

As I have mentioned recently, I have developed a strong interest in project development and entrepreneurship, and it was a lot of fun taking a problem (preparing for CASPer), creating a solution (practice exams) and scaling that solution to a wide level (making it available online for applicants everywhere). We have developed some very cool features:

Online practice simulations

Our practice exams are the core of MockCasper. Each version is a full-length exam with 8 scenario-based sections and 4 self-descriptive sections just like the real CASPer. The only difference is that we currently use text-based scenarios instead of video-based scenarios. However, developing video-based scenarios is something we are looking at for the future.

McMaster CASPer Guide

Together, we have also written a comprehensive guide with a lot of tips for how to do well on CASPer. It includes advice on both preparing for CASPer and actually completing it.

Applicant profile

We have also developed a neat tool to help applicants organize their application. It is a personal applicant profile where you can store your GPA, MCAT scores (including multiple attempts), ECs/experiences for various categories (leadership, teamwork, scholar, etc.), and who your reference letters will come from. The idea is to start your profile early on (even as early as the beginning of undergrad), and by completing your profile, you will start to see where holes or gaps in your application might be. It also makes it easier when you do apply to medical school because all relevant information will now be in one place. You will need to create an account to have access to your personal profile. It is completely private and for your own viewing/use only.

This is an exciting project for us and we are stoked to share it with everyone. Whether or not you end up using our practice CASPer simulations, I hope you take advantage of the CASPer Guide and the applicant profile. In any case, I wish you all the best of luck applying to medical school this year!

As I write this, I am about to start my 4th and final year of medical school. The past year as a clinical clerk, working full time in the hospital and clinics, was the first time I ever came close to experiencing what it means to be a doctor. The amount I have learned about medicine in the past year – not just in terms of knowledge, but applying it like a physician – is sometimes hard to believe. Your first year of clerkship will be your hardest year in all of medical school, but it will also be the most eye opening.

Even though it’s been almost 4 years since I submitted my medical school applications, I still remember much of it. I know it’s that time of year again for many of you. Summer is coming to an end for many medhopefuls – a summer often full of stress and anxiety from writing the MCAT, doing research, volunteering or travelling. While that stress is soon to be followed by the normal stressors of the new school year, for many of you, this fall brings an additional pressure – completing your medical school applications.

For some of you, this may be your first time, and you are completely lost on what to do. For others, you have been through this before, and you’re hoping this is the last time you ever have to fill out these applications. Whatever the case may be, everyone has to go through this first step. It’s tough, it’s time consuming, and sometimes, extremely frustrating.

To try and help with that, today I present to you 7 tips to help you complete your medical school application.

7. Set yourself a due date of one week in advance

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