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10 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Medical School Application

Joshua — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:28:11 +0000

Applying to medical school is tough. Really tough. There are more qualified applicants than there are spots. The number of applicants is increasing every year (and subsequently, the number of qualified applicants) while the number of medical school spots isn’t keeping pace.

But if you want it bad enough, with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck, you will get there. No matter how good an applicant you think you are, there is always room to be better, and ways to increase your chances of getting that medical school acceptance.

Feel that you’ve done everything you can? Looking for the next thing you could work on? Then this article is for you. I present to you: 10 things you can do right here right now to make yourself a better applicant to medical school.

1. Study
Whether it’s for tomorrow’s exam, the MCAT, or for a quiz five days from now, studying a bit more can’t hurt – it can only help. The truth is GPA and MCAT are the two most important factors for getting your foot into the door of a medical school, so academic excellence should be at the top of your list of priorities.

2. Review your application and identify areas of improvement
It’s always a good idea to review your progress as an applicant and find holes in a future medical school application. Are you very involved in your community but lacking direct leadership experience? Are you missing 1 or more of the 3 strong referees you need for letters? Are you overly-involved in the community but struggling in your university courses?

I am strong believer in self-reflection to figure out what your next steps should be. If you have extensive leadership experience, there’s no point joining the executive of another club (unless you really want to). Try something else and make yourself an even more well-rounded and interesting applicant. Not to mention trying new things will increase your skill set and often give you added perspective on life.

If you want to know what you need to work on as a medical school applicant, don’t ask me – I won’t know the answer. You need to spend time looking at your own progress and identifying what’s missing from your application.

3. Look up the latest information on medical school admissions
Admissions requirements can change from year to year. The MCAT cutoffs are the University of Western Ontario’s medical school change every year. In the last few years alone, McMaster added the Verbal Reasoning component of the MCAT to their admissions process and McGill University completely removed the need to take the MCAT.

Smart students are resourceful students. Keep up to date with the latest admissions information and don’t miss out on opportunities. I wonder how many potential future doctors didn’t apply to McGill this past year just because they didn’t realize they didn’t need the MCAT anymore.

4. Ask friends and family members to review your application
As the authors of our applications, we know exactly what our words and sentences mean, even if they aren’t necessarily written well. It’s always good to get a second (or third or fourth) pair of eyes to read over your essays and applications. From small things like spelling and grammar to large things like ideas and themes, it’s good to get someone else’s perspective – someone other than you is going to be evaluating your application, right? So it makes sense to see that your work is understandable to complete strangers.

5. Keep track of your activities and accomplishments
Even if you’re not applying to medical school for a year or two, I highly suggest keeping track of your accomplishments and activities, both academic and non-academic. It could be as simple as a list of these items or a professional resume, whatever you like, as long as it includes pertinent information such as dates, name of activity/accomplishment and brief description of activity/accomplishment.

I suggest this for a few reasons. 1.) It’s easy to forget all of the amazing work you accomplish over the years and you’re bound to forget something as time goes by. 2.) Having all of this prepared makes completing your medical school application a lot less of a pain (especially the 48-item OMSAS autobiographical sketch).

6. When you experience an event in your life that impacts your interest in medicine, take time to reflect and write it down
“Why medicine?” is the toughest question you’re going to have to answer when you write your essay, when you take part in interviews, and in fact, is a question you’re going to keep asking yourself even throughout medical school as you realize it doesn’t actually get easier. The reality is that the answer to this question is rarely going to be one obvious thing. For many of us, the answer to this question is going to be a myriad of reasons and experiences, and if you can keep track of any key revelations you go through, it will make answering this questions (and understanding yourself) easier as you go through the admissions process.

7. Read HealthyDebate.ca
I have been asked about my opinion on the Canadian health care system at both traditional and MMI medical school interviews. Clearly, having a basic understanding of how our health care system works and some key problems we are facing today would be useful for both your interviews and for practicing as a future physician.

In retrospect, I actually think it’s kind of funny that we are expected to answer questions like this. In my first two years of medical school, I have basically learned next to nothing of significance about our health care system, which I think is actually concerning, but I digress and that rant is for another day. I have spent my summer so far working on a project that has significantly increased my understanding and shaped my current perspective on our health care system. If I had to answer those interview questions all over again, questions like “what are the biggest problems facing health care today”, my answers would be extremely different.

In any case, a newly developed and excellent resource for learning about Canadian health care issues is HealthyDebate.ca and I highly encourage you to read their articles. I admit I am probably biased because I know some of their authors, but based on my conversations with them (who by the way have terrific credentials/qualifications), I am confident they are providing you with good information.

8. Work on your ECs
We all have unanswered volunteer emails, club events to organize, and 99 research papers to read for our lab work. Get off this blog and spend an extra 30 minutes today and take care of one of those things!

9. Plan ahead for the future
Getting into medical school is hard. It’s important to have a plan for both getting in and for what happens if you don’t get in at your next attempt. Think about how you are going to spend your summers, how you are going to spend your non-academic life during the school year, and what you might do if you graduate and do not get into medical school. If you are in your fourth year of undergrad, realize that grad schools have deadlines. If grad school is something you are thinking of, make sure you know those deadlines. The same goes for any other opportunities you are thinking of, even if it’s just for a summer – all opportunities have deadlines, keep track of them, and plan ahead.

10. Start completing your application
The earlier you start your application, the less work you have later on, and the more time you have to fix any bugs and fill any holes. Inevitably you’re going to find yourself stressing out the night before your medical school applications are due and telling yourself “I wish I started earlier”. Well, earlier is now, so get cracking!

Any more tips to add to the list? Let us know!

Medical School Rejection: Having a Healthy Attitude

Joshua — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:53:43 +0000

In recent days, Canadian medical schools have begun spreading joy (through interview invites) and crushing dreams (through rejections) among students everywhere. Great for those invited to interviews, but feelings of disappointment, sadness, and sometimes anger for those who received bad news. As we all know, it’s never fun to be rejected for anything.

When you receive a rejection, many thoughts can go through your head, like: What did I do wrong? Was I not good enough? Boy, they really screwed up!

While some of these thoughts can end up leading to something positive (e.g. you work harder for next year’s application cycle), some of them can be quite destructive (e.g. you blame the medical school admissions process solely and spread a lot of negativity).

In perusing the Canadian premed forums this past week, it’s quite clear that all kinds of thoughts formed in response to rejections. In reacting to rejections, I think it helps to stand back and take an objective look at the medical school admissions process.

What happens every year around interview invite time is that students who hear back from medical schools post their “stats” and a status update for their application. For those unfamiliar with I’m talking about, here’s an example:

Rejected!
4th year applicant
3.91 GPA
PS12/VR14/BS10/WSQ
EC’s: 2 summers of research, started a club, lots of leadership positions, volunteered at a hospital every week
Application: Strong essay and reference letters

There are lots of good applicants with really good “stats” who get rejected from medical schools every year – stellar GPA, strong MCAT, lots of extracurriculars and leadership experience, etc. In their mind, they have put together a pretty darn good application and are shocked when they don’t get an interview – especially when they see other students with similar or even lower “stats” moving on in the admissions process. So what’s going on?

The easy way out would be to blame the admissions committee and say they screwed up. I see this a few times every year and unfortunately this is an unhealthy attitude. It suggests a sense of “entitlement” to the applicant when the reality is that there isn’t one. Understand this: the admissions committee can do whatever the heck they want. It is their process. Their goal isn’t to get you into medical school. Their goal is to create a medical school class that they and the medical school are happy with.

What do we really know about the process? Really, a whole lot of nothing

We are told some things about the medical school admissions process, but not a whole lot. We know that GPA matters more at UofT than it does at Western, for example, but there are many things we still don’t know. How is GPA scored? How much of a difference does it make if I’m a graduate student, 4th year student, or 3rd year student?

The same goes for other parts of the application. Sure we might be told that a school looks at our essay, reference letters, and autobiographical sketch – but in what way? Is the essay worth the most or the least? Are reference letters worth something or are they just a flag?

The truth is that as an outside applicant, you really have no idea. You might be an outstanding candidate, but if personal statements are your weakness, and you so happen to apply to a medical school where personal statements are, unknowingly to you, worth the most, then you might just not make it – unfortunately, you won’t know this. Which is why your goal should be to put forward the best application you can in all aspects.

Subjectivity in the process

Unless a computer does everything, there will always be subjectivity in the admissions process. Human beings read your applications and will have their own subjective interpretations of you as an applicant. It’s the reality, and we just have to deal with it. Maybe if you’re lucky you will have an evaluator who identifies with the same issues you speak passionately about, and maybe if you’re unlucky you will have someone who completely disagrees with your point of view.

Realize that there is only so much you can do as an applicant. All you can do is put your best foot forward, and hope things work out.

Is the process fair? It depends on how you look at it. If you look at it theoretically, it’s fair in the sense that everyone has an equal chance of getting lucky or unlucky. You just have to hope you’re on the right side of the coin when your application gets read. That’s not to say that the admissions process is completely based on luck (it’s not), but let’s face it, everyone needs a bit of luck sometimes to do well.

Being honest with the quality of your application

When people post “stats” like the example above, I often read things like “strong essay, good reference letters, stellar EC’s” – however, realize this is just your opinion and not necessarily a reflection of that of the admissions committee. What you might think is a strong essay might not hit any of the points the admissions committee is looking for. Just because you had a strong relationship with your referee doesn’t mean that they know how to write reference letters well (just like with essay writing, reference letter writing is a skill). And just because you had medical students and medical professors give you a thumbs up on your essay still doesn’t mean your essay is good enough to get in – the only people who decide that are the people who are assigned to read your essay and mark it. I am sure there are medical students who got in with their essays being the weakest part of their application, and medical professors who are now quite far removed from the current admissions process. And even if these are medical students and professors involved in the process, well unless they are the actual people reading your application for marking, then their subjective interpretation is only worth so much.

The admissions committee knows exactly what they are looking for in applicants. They might not agree with your perspective, but this is the reality.

My advice is to reflect on your application experience and work towards making your application better for the next cycle. Many people apply more than once before getting in, have a healthy attitude, and don’t give up!

The Giant Med School Admissions FAQ

Joshua — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:08:50 +0000

Over the past year and a bit, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the medical school admissions process. As you can imagine, a lot of students have the same questions. I figured it would make a lot more sense to just compile these common questions and my answers for everyone to see. Overtime, as we get more questions and write more answers, we will keep adding to the list. Enjoy!

General
Undergrad
MCAT
Extra-Curriculars / Non-Academic Experiences
Reference Letters

General

Could you give a general timeline of how the med admissions process went for you?

It’s a pretty basic process, but keep in mind that this won’t be the same for everyone, and there’s no “correct” way.

Summer after 1st year – took MCAT prep course during May to July, then MCAT in August

August to Sept of 3rd year – apply to Ontario medical schools through OMSAS (Google this if you want to learn more, this is the online application service)

January to February of 3rd year – hear back about possible interviews (and rejections)

Late Feb. to Early April of 3rd year – interviews

May 15 of 3rd year – first round offers from medical schools (as well as waitlist and rejections)

What courses would best prepare me for medical school?

The best courses to prepare someone for medical school are anatomy and physiology (and maybe a few other ones, like immunology, genetics, biochemistry, etc.). That being said, these are NOT prerequisite courses for med school. I’m just saying that these types of courses are most relevant to the type of information covered in medical school.

Undergrad

Do students from universities like York stand just as much chance of getting into medical school as a student from UofT with similar GPA and MCAT scores? Do you know of any other York peers that were accepted to medical school?

Which university and program you attend in undergrad does not matter at all in the medical school admissions process. There are at least 5 students in my UofT med school class from York undergrad and I have many friends from York at other med schools. Medical school classes are full of students from many undergraduate programs and universities.

Why does York have fewer students in med school than say UofT? Honestly, I think it’s a combination that York has fewer medical school applicants in the first place, and from my experience, it seems that most students who go into university serious about medical school end up at more popular undergrad schools for science like UofT, Queen’s, etc.

Does it matter what program I take?

As long as you take any necessary prerequisite courses for specific medical schools, you should be fine. Sure, it’s a lot easier for a health sciences major to explain that they have prepared themselves for medicine than a music major. That doesn’t mean a music major has no shot – it just means that when you write your application and go to your interview, you need to make sure you have a good explanation for how your undergrad experience will contribute to your medical training.

What courses do I need to take?

Some medical schools have a few prerequisite courses. You should spend some time researching the medical schools you are interested in to find out what you might need to take. For a quick glance at Ontario medical schools, check out page 14 of this document.

Should I take a full English course?

It depends on which med schools you would consider applying to in the future. If you only plan on applying to Ontario schools, then there’s no need to take english. However, I know some schools in Western Canada (e.g. U of Alberta) require English, and I believe a lot of American med schools also require a year of english. That being said, if you do want to take english, you don’t have to take it this year, particularly if you think it will be one of your lower marks (as a lot of science students might believe). So instead of taking english earlier, you can take it the year you apply so that the mark won’t show up on your application if you’re worried about it being a bit low compared to your other courses.

What happens if I’m in a 4-year undergraduate degree but get into medical school after 3 years? Do I just stop doing my university degree and start med school?

Yup, you just leave your undergrad program and start medical school. However, at some undergraduate institutions, you can apply for a 3-year degree if you have achieved enough credits. For example, I was in the 4-year Biomedical Sciences program at York. After getting into med school, my science counsellor found out I had enough credits to graduate with a 3-year Bsc (general science) and I got a degree.

What elective courses did you take in university?

In general, I took a few economics, one psych, and a lot of philosophy. I took two economics courses over 1st and 2nd year because I knew I could do well in them, and I wanted to get as good a GPA as possible since I was planning on applying to med schools in 3rd year. In 2nd and 3rd year I took a lot of philosophy courses because I was really interested in those topics. I didn’t pick them for marks (getting an A+ in an essay based course is pretty tough), but I thought I would do okay in them too.

Should I just go to a university program that is “easier” to get marks in?

It depends on what’s most important to. A lot of factors come into play: location, other opportunities (e.g. research), campus life, etc. It really depends on how you balance your priorities and interests. Some people care about getting a higher GPA less than others, some people care more.

MCAT

When should I take the MCAT?

I wrote a whole article about when you should take the MCAT, but here’s a short answer. My general advice is to plan to study and take the MCAT after having taken your science courses like 1st year physics, biology, and chemistry, as well as 2nd year organic chem. Which is why I would suggest taking it after 2nd year, or even after 1st year if you think you can figure out organic chemistry without having taken the course. Taking it after 3rd year is okay too, but you have to keep in mind that a lot of the science material won’t be fresh in your mind anymore, and you will have more review to do.

Should I take physics in university to prepare for the MCAT?

I would say that in terms of the physics material you need to know for the MCAT, it is basically high school physics plus a bit more – however, this doesn’t mean the difficulty of the questions are the same. All I’m talking about is the type of material covered.

The advice I always give when people ask me this is to pick up a MCAT prep book, go over the physics material, and see if you can understand it on your own. If you can, then don’t take 1st year physics (unless you want to, or think you will do well in it). However, if you have trouble with the MCAT physics in your own, it may be worth taking a physics course.

What courses should I take to prepare for the MCAT?

I would say that you should take 1st year biology, chemistry, and physics, and 2nd year organic chemistry courses to prepare you for the MCAT. Physiology, biochemistry and genetics would also help.

How did you manage to participate in EC’s while studying for the MCAT?

I volunteered in a lab part time (2.5 days a week) one summer while taking a MCAT prep course and studying for the MCAT. I also spent the following summer doing research full time.

Personally, I highly suggest NOT committing to anything like a full time job while preparing for the MCAT if possible. A lot of people end up burning themselves out doing both at the same time, and as a result, some people don’t do as well as they can their first time on the MCAT and end up retaking the next summer. I’m sure there are some people who can handle full time commitments and preparing for the MCAT – if you’re one of those people, great, go for it. But it’s important to be realistic about how many things you can juggle. Don’t just burn yourself out because you think everyone else is volunteering, doing research, and preparing for the MCAT at the same time. The MCAT is an important test, and not a particularly fun one – you want to aim for taking it once and once only.

What MCAT score should I aim for?

The real answer is that you should try your best and get the best score possible for you. But if you really need a number to aim for, I would suggest aiming for something like a 11/11/11/R so that you are eligible at pretty much any Canadian medical school. It’s not fun when you miss the chance at an automatic interview at Western or Queen’s because of being one point short in a section.

I want to caution that each school uses the MCAT differently, and everyone should be aware of this when considering which schools to apply to. For a lot of students just starting to think about medical school, there seems to be some misconception that all medical schools are the same and perhaps have the same admissions process, when that really couldn’t be further from the truth. Each medical school has the same basic components (e.g. a combination of GPA, MCAT, application/essay, interview, etc.) but they all use and value these components differently, and may even administer them differently (e.g. some schools use the Multiple Mini Interview format while others have stuck to the traditional style interview).

Which MCAT prep course did you take and was it worth it?

I took the Princeton Review prep course. I would say that if you already have a background in science (e.g. you are a science major who is already taking 1st year physics, bio, chem, etc. in your program) then it’s not worth it. The prep books are pretty easy to follow if you’ve taken those courses before, so I think you’re just wasting a lot of time showing up to class to be taught stuff you could review on your own much more quickly. However, if you have never taken science before or haven’t reviewed it in many years, a prep course might be helpful. Prep courses also usually give you access to practice tests, which are useful.

What books would you suggest for studying for the MCAT?

If you’re going to study for the MCAT on your own and just get the books, I think Princeton has the best book for the Physical Sciences, Kaplan’s is probably better for Biological Sciences (Princeton is better if you want all the details, though I think that is unnecessary), Princeton has the best book for Writing Sample, and Exam Kracker’s has the best book for Verbal Reasoning.

Should I take an organic chemistry course before I do the MCAT?

As someone who didn’t take organic chemistry before doing the MCAT, I would personally suggest taking the course first. It’s possible to learn on your own if you’re willing to put in the effort and have good resources, friends, etc. who can help you. I personally didn’t get organic chem. while learning on my own for the MCAT, and I think I probably bombed most of the organic chem questions on the actual MCAT. I get the feeling if you take the organic chem course, you will breeze through the organic chem parts of the MCAT, so you should take advantage of that if possible.

Does it matter if I take the MCAT more than once?

For Canadian medical schools, no, I don’t believe it matters how many times you have taken the MCAT (most schools look at your best or most recent score). I think it might matter for some American schools, but I’m not sure.

Extra Curriculars / Non-Academic Experiences

What extra-curriculars (EC’s) did you do? What EC’s should I do?

The short answer is that I was involved in a lot of random things. I’ve been involved a lot with science promotion to youth, my church choir, volunteered with recreational therapy at a kid’s rehab centre, some band/symphony stuff. To be honest, I probably did less “EC’s” on a regular basis than many applicants, but I think I benefited from having being involved in my community for many years already and having diverse experiences.

I wrote an article previously analyzing how important non-academic things like ECs actually are to the medical school admissions process. Pretty much my conclusion was that it doesn’t matter as much as people think. This is because most medical schools rely on your GPA, MCAT score, and interview way more than the list of ECs/awards/experiences you give them. In fact, to my knowledge, schools like Western, McMaster, and Queen’s pretty much don’t really look at the list of ECs you give them. In general, it’s not so much that you have a stellar long list of ECs, but rather, their importance is that if in an interview (or application question) you are asked say “tell me about a time you had to be a leader”, you have a good example to talk about because of your ECs. That’s why quality of your ECs/experiences is way more important than volume.

I generally don’t like answering the “what ECs did you do” question because I think it might give the impression that you need to do X, Y, and Z to get into medical school, when that isn’t the case (at least not for Canadian medical schools). People get into medical school doing completely different things. Some people volunteered in a hospital and some people didn’t (I never did). Some people did research (I dabbled with this for two summers), other people didn’t and got in. There’s no magic formula.

The reasons why non-academic things like ECs, volunteering, hobbies, etc. are important to medical schools is because those experiences help you develop skills like communication, teamwork, patience, etc. that aren’t necessarily developed in the academic environment – all skills that a good doctor should have. It doesn’t matter so much how or where you developed those skills. What’s important is that you actually did develop them. So whether you were captain of your sports team or president of a club doesn’t matter as much as the fact that you can develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills from both.

All that being said, I do highly suggest gaining some sort of experience in a health care environment, whether that be volunteering in a hospital, shadowing a doctor, etc. It’s not only important that you gain some insight into the field so you kind of know what you might be getting yourself into, but from the admissions committee point of view, how serious can a candidate be if they haven’t spent the time to learn what a doctor does?

How important is it to have consistency in EC’s between high school and university?

As for ECs, I would say that consistency is not that big of a deal – it’s pretty normal for many students to move to new cities for undergrad and start from scratch. I do think you should try and show some dedication to a few things, partially because the longer you do something, the better and more complete your experiences will probably be.

Do you need to do research to get into med school?

No, you don’t “have” to do research to get into medical school. Some people in medical school did research, some didn’t. It is by no means necessary. If you did do research, it’s another aspect of your life that the admissions committees might find interesting and you should definitely mention on your application. That being said, it is true that a lot of the doctors involved in the admissions process tend to be university-affiliated physicians who do research.

So why do people say some medical schools like research?

In terms of research, I believe research is valued by some medical schools because: 1.) doing research often means you have someone who can give you a letter of reference commenting on your academic skills, and 2.) many faculty and staff in medical school are academic physicians, meaning that they are doctors who do research. As you can imagine, like attracts like – doctors who like doing research themselves will like applicants who do research. No, as an undergrad you might not be doing medical research, but even doing any research shows you might be open to doing some sort of medical research later on.

How did you get a NSERC student award to do research with a professor?

For the NSERC, I think it depends on your university. At York, you had to find a professor willing to apply with you, and then you fill out an application form, and a committee at York selected the recipients from the list. From what I hear, GPA played a big role in the selection process at York. I have no idea how it’s done at other universities though.

How should I approach a professor about doing research with them?

I would first research potential supervisors and find ones whose work interests you. Then send them an email letting them know you’re interested in their work, let them know you’re interested in working for them, ask them if you could meet to discuss your interests, and attach your CV.

Do extra curriculars from high school matter?

ECs in high school are important for applying to certain university programs (i.e. those with supplementary applications). As for medical school, I think most medical schools allow you to put anything from 16 years old and on, but I would think that things happening earlier on in your life are given less weight. What you do now or what you’ve done recently provide a more accurate picture of who you are now as a person.

Reference Letters

Who did your reference letters come from? How did you choose them?

For a more complete answer, check out my article on reference letters.

In short, you should ask people who you know genuinely support you and want to help you get into medical school. It’s amazing how good a letter you can get from someone who genuinely wants to support you. A lot of people think that you need to get lucky to find someone who writes well, and while that’s true, the quality of your letter is significantly affected by being smart about who you ask. Don’t just ask a random professor you had a class with because you “need” an academic letter. If the letter isn’t going to be spectacular, then it’s not going to improve your application.

Personally, I got my three letters from my research professor, the director of the science charity I work with, and the head of the church choir I volunteered with. The big tie between all three, like I mentioned before, is that all three genuinely wanted to support me in my endeavours. I knew that my church choir director, for example, would not have had as fancy a “title” as perhaps someone else, but I knew she would write the best letter she possibly could – and that’s way more important than having some really famous person write you a short, generic letter.

The admissions committee knows you’re going to sell yourself the best you can in your essays and application. But if you can find 3 random people who will sell you just as well, that speaks volumes.

So I didn’t get into medical school… what now?

Joshua — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 05:17:07 +0000

If you applied to medical school this past year, you probably know where you’ll be this fall by now. Some of you may have been accepted into medical school and are excited for the journey that lies ahead. If so, congratulations, and best of luck as you start a brand new chapter in your life! Getting into medical school is an amazing accomplishment, but a lot of hard work and challenges still lie ahead. I’d suggest enjoying your summer as much as you can before the work really piles on =).

Others, however, may have fallen a bit short in the process and are now wondering what your next steps should be. If that’s you, then this article is for you. Before we go any further, you need to do something first.

Give Yourself a Pat on the Back

I know giving yourself a pat on the back won’t change the results of this past year, but fact is, you deserve it. Applying to medical school is hard, especially when you consider that you’ve really been “applying” since day one and not just when you started writing your application last fall. I’ll say it again: applying to medical school is hard. And tiring.

From filling out applications, to getting references letters, to doing interviews (not to mention staying on track of your school work, extra-curricular involvements, and your personal life) – the whole process is draining. And don’t delude yourself into thinking the process ends once you get into medical school. It keeps going because, well, you will have to compete for residency spots as well. Of course that is ways into the future, but it’s important to keep in mind that you’re still going to have to compete in the years that follow entering medical school. It is what it is.

So congratulate yourself for getting through this year. Even though you didn’t get in this year, going through the application process can only make you a better applicant for next year’s cycle. You will learn from your mistakes. Not only that, but you can build on last year’s application – a lot of the basic grunt work (for example, figuring out who your references will be, creating a list of all your achievements/experiences, etc.) is now done, and what happens now is more about improving than starting from scratch. That makes a huge difference.

Still, we can’t start analyzing what you should do in preparation for applying again. There’s still one more important question to ask at this point.

Should I even apply to medical school again?

Just because you have applied once or twenty times already, doesn’t mean you have to apply again this year, or ever again. Before you consider how to improve your chances, you need to decide whether this is something you want to try for again.

Perhaps you have realized there is something else you want to pursue instead of medicine. Maybe your responsibilities in life are increasing and taking a chance on medical school is no longer an option (e.g. you have a growing family, and you need to start your career now). Maybe you think you’ve done all that you can and you won’t be able to do this again.

Whatever the case, take the time to think about whether you really want to apply again. As we have established, the application process is time consuming, draining, and hard.

If your answer is still yes, you want to apply, then keep reading.

GPA / MCAT

As I have written many times before, if you are applying to medical school, you should care about your GPA and MCAT scores the most. Your academics are what get your foot in the door. It doesn’t matter how good the rest of your application is – if your academics aren’t good enough, you have no shot.

You need to ask yourself if your GPA is preventing you from being eligible or competitive for certain medical schools. If not, can you do well enough with another year of undergraduate courses to give yourself a better chance at more schools? For instance, if you had a <3.70 GPA for your first three years of undergrad, but a >3.70 GPA for your last year, it may be worth doing a fifth year of undergraduate studies and hopefully be eligible for Western and Queen’s medical schools, which require two years with a GPA >3.70.

Similarly, is it worth re-taking your MCAT? If you know you’re capable of doing better, and it could open up doors to more schools, then maybe it’s worth retaking. For example, you have a 40M on your MCAT, and have not gotten into the few medical schools you’ve applied to the past few years. It might be worth taking the MCAT again to give yourself a shot at Western/Queen’s (which require a higher WS score), especially since having scored 40, it’s likely you will do more than well enough on the non-WS sections. On the other hand, if you struggled to get a 30P, then it might not be worth taking the risk of writing the MCAT again unless those schools you will apply to again only look at your best score, and not your most recent.

Volunteering, Extra-Curriculars, etc.

Do you have medically/health care related experiences? Do you have leadership experience? Do you have teamwork experience? If your answer is no to any of these, then I’d suggest starting to do something in those areas.

Medically/health care related experience like shadowing physicians, volunteering in a hospital, attending a conference for students interested in medicine, etc. demonstrate a real interest in medicine and show that you have some basic understanding. It shows you are at least somewhat serious about a career in medicine – that you’ve really though about it and taken the time to explore medicine.

Physicians often need to take on leadership roles, such as in a health care team. You want to have some sort of leadership experience, such as running a school club.

Of course, physicians aren’t always in charge, and are very often team players. If you haven’t yet, get involved in something where you have to work with others, such as a team sport, musical band, school club, etc.

If you want to be really safe, read the CanMEDS roles, and see if you have some sort of experience that demonstrates those qualities.

Reference Letters

It would also be a good idea to think about whether you got the best reference letters possible the last time around. Is there someone who would write you a stronger letter? Could you benefit from a bit more diversity (e.g. are all your referees academics? Are they all non academics? etc.)?

Remember, most importantly, you want a referee who wants you to get into medical school. If you don’t think they support you that much, I would suggest looking for an alternative referee if you can.

Essays

If your essay(s) were good enough to get an interview, then it is probably not worth changing completely.

But if you didn’t garner an interview, it is probably worth starting completely from scratch and coming up with new and improved angles to answer the question.

And don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about something as challenging as revising, or perhaps, re-writing your essay. A friend of mine asked me for advice on an essay that wasn’t successful in this past year’s cycle, just a few months ago. I am confident his hard work will pay off in the upcoming application cycle.

Have a Contingency Plan

I have to conclude by saying that no matter what, you need to be planning long term. Although you don’t have to stick to this plan, it’s good to think about your alternatives. If I don’t get in the next time, is that it for me? Should I apply again? Should I take a year off first?

These are all important questions you want to have at least some vague answer to so that you can form an outline for not just the coming year, but for the next few years to come.

Mastering the University of Toronto Medical School Essay – Part 5: Putting it All Together

Joshua — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:06:34 +0000

Disclaimer: I will be a University of Toronto medical student starting this fall, but I am not on the admissions committee and never have been. All of the advice I will provide here is based on my own opinion and personal experience with the application process, so please take anything I say with a grain of salt.

Over the first four parts of this series, we looked at the overall message we wanted to convey through our essay: that we are proven serious about medicine, that the career makes sense for us, and that the reader will be thoroughly convinced to do whatever it takes to help us become a doctor. We also looked at the three guidelines/questions the University of Toronto admissions committee wants addressed in the essay, and what to consider when approaching them.

So now that you have your overall plan, as well as the main content for your essay (i.e. how you will answer those three guidelines), how do you put it all together?

While there is no “correct” way to write the essay, I think there are some important aspects to address, discuss, and debate. I will give you my thoughts on these aspects, as well as insight into how I approached them, not as necessarily guidelines for what you should do, but rather, guidelines about how to consider thinking about formulating your own approach.

First Person Perspective

I think this should be a pretty obvious one, but there are always a few applicants not sure about which perspective to use when writing their personal essays (i.e. 1st versus 3rd person). My advice is to almost always write in the first person perspective. This is your story, and you can make a much stronger connection with the reader by emphasizing how personal the story through the first person perspective. The immediate reaction isn’t that these experiences happened to some random young man named Josh, for example, but rather, they happened to this very person writing the essay – this makes a big difference.

Essay Structure

Assuming you have compiled all of the experiences and events in your life that you think should be included in the essay, there is always the next question of how to structure those experiences. What order should you put them in?

There are definitely many ways to go about it. Personally, the one I look used was the chronological approach. That is, writing about your important experiences in the order that they occurred. While my essay was not completely written in chronological order, I would say a large chunk of it was. The reason for this was that it allowed me to chronicle my “journey” towards medicine, and nothing makes more sense than chronological order. In a way, I was able to show how each subsequent experience mentioned built upon the previous one, and eventually pointed me towards applying to medical school.

As an example, an early part of my essay talked about my interest in neuroscience, which led to an elementary school project on the brain and nervous system. I would later do a high school science project on an issue involving children. My interest in neuroscience and working with children and youth eventually led me to shadow a pediatric neurosurgeon. I described those experiences in that order, and because of the chronological significance of that order, I didn’t have to do much work transitioning between the ideas.

As you can see, writing in chronological order allows for a good sense of “flow”. The basic idea of flow is for ensuring each main idea in the essay to transitions seamlessly from one to the next. Essays that flow better will be more easily absorbed by the reader. Using the chronological approach as an example, I’m sure you can why it would be much easier to talk about a childhood experience first before describing your transition into university. While the opposite is certainly possible, it is quite clearly more difficult to do.

In short, given the same set of experiences you want to mention, there will obviously be a better way to order them than others. If you are at all stuck at a way to approach the ordering, I highly suggest sticking with the chronological approach until you find something better, or perhaps a combination of both, that works for you.

Essay Style: Like a Story

While this is an essay, remember that it is a personal essay. My personal suggestion is to forget the word essay, and instead, focus on the concept of telling your story. I have written about this concept extensively in my advice on scholarship essays, and the idea remains the same here. Most people who rather read a riveting story than a random, formal essay. Take advantage of this fact.

One way to look at this story is that the ending is the present – that is, your story should be about your journey towards this very moment as you are applying to medical school. How have you gotten to this point, and perhaps, where do you want to go in the future? That’s really all this “essay” is.

Angle

The concept of your essay “angle” is pretty similar to the common idea of having a “theme” for your essay. The angle you choose is essentially going to be the method by which you achieve your overall goal of convincing the reader to help you through to the next round.

The angle I chose to employ was to show that my interests and experiences in life point me not towards just medicine, but specifically something in pediatrics, and quite likely, in neurology. This is a powerful angle because it not just shows that I have seriously thought about medicine and what type of medicine I see myself doing (i.e. a focus), but also it shows that it actually does make sense for me to potentially pursue that specialty.

I am of course by no means saying that you need to know what specialty you want to do, and I am cognizant of the fact that I may very well end up in something completely distant from pediatrics and neurology. People change their minds all the time (and admissions committees of course realize this). That being said, if there is a specialty you do see yourself seriously pursuing and you have experiences that support it, then it is definitely an angle worth considering.

Your experiences, interests, and aspirations will dictate the angle you choose to present to the admissions committee. The important thing is that you have some sort of angle/focus/theme, and that this angle is obvious.

The Introduction: How do I start?

A lot of applicants have writer’s block, particularly with the introduction. They want so badly to have that magical “hook” that absorbs the reader into their story.

If you already have an idea for that that “hook”, then great – go ahead and develop it. But if you don’t, forget it for now. My advice is to write out the main body of your essay, and then come back to your introduction if need be. You can always come up with that amazing introduction later.

I’m guessing it’s fairly obvious that you want your introduction to pull the reader in some way. Like any good story, you want the reader to be interested throughout the entire thing, and of course, creating this interest has to start at the beginning.

The key thing to keep in mind, however, is that the introduction cannot simply be a stand alone – it has to transition to the body of the essay. It doesn’t matter how great your introduction is if it doesn’t make any sense at all with the rest of your essay.

One common hook used in the introduction is some sort of short story, almost in real time and often with dialogue. If you are at all interested in using a real story anywhere in your essay, I suggest you use it in the introduction, mainly because it would stick out too much in any other part of your essay (assuming this story introduction still flows well into the body of your essay).

Personally, the story approach is what I used for my introduction. If you do choose this route, bear in mind that it should literally be a short story. I have seen essays where in order to make the story seem more interesting, the writer spend literally a quarter of the essay telling the story. This is a mistake. Always remember that it is still an introduction, so if you do want to tell a story, make sure it’s something you can tell in a concise fashion. The main role of the introduction is to draw the reader in, but the longer it goes, the less space you have to get to the important stuff (that is, selling yourself as the best applicant).

Concluding

There are many ways you can end your essay, but personally, I think the best way is to end strong with conviction. I think some applicants go the route of trying to make a fancy, stylish ending the way they develop the introduction, and I personally believe that’s the wrong way to go about it.

Like we’ve discussed throughout this series, our goal is to convince the reader that we are someone they want to help be physicians. In order to convince them with that strong of a feeling, it only makes sense that we need to encourage ideas of strength and conviction in the very last words they read. Your essay should end the same way you would end an argument in a debate – loud, strong, and clear. I remember all those times I would end my opening speech in a debate in a soft spoken, volume decreasing manner, and I kept being told this was a leak. In my opinion, the same goes for concluding your essays.

This is why I prefer an ending that is clear and blunt, that essentially sums up your angle for the essay.

Good luck!

I think I have covered most of the important aspects of writing this essay. I hope you enjoyed this series, and if you have any more questions or comments, I’d be happy to hear them.

All the best!

Mastering the University of Toronto Medical School Essay – Part 4: How Your Premedical Studies have Prepared You for Medicine

Joshua — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:27:15 +0000

Of the three idea the University of Toronto medical admissions committee wants you to address in your essay, I think the guideline referring to how your premedical studies have prepared you for medicine is least important. Not saying that you can neglect it (because you shouldn’t), but rather, it’s the one you should spend the least time and effort on compared to the other aspects. It’s also why this will be the shortest article in the series!

So Don’t Worry About It

The simple reason why you shouldn’t worry about this guideline too much is that good doctors can come from a variety of backgrounds, which is why medical schools have come to realize that it does not make sense to prefer certain undergraduate experiences over others, let alone certain university institutions. Everything you need to know to become a competent physician can be learned in medical school, but the question is which candidates have the best potential for medicine, and of them, who is ready at this point in time.

So don’t fret if your university background is not one of the more “popular” areas of premedical studies. Yes it’s probably easier for someone who is a kinesiology major to talk about their studies in anatomy or a biology major to describe their experience with immunology to demonstrate preparation for medicine, but don’t count yourself out if you come from something completely different, such as music.

There is more to being a doctor than simply basic science knowledge. Being able to work in teams, displaying compassion for your patients, problem solving, etc. are all important skill sets that go beyond knowledge, but are necessary for being a good physician. Some of these skills can definitely be better developed in programs other than kinesiology or biology, and if you’re in that group of applicants, then perhaps that’s something to think about.

Everyone Can Answer this Guideline

My message is simply this: no matter what your prior university studies have been, I’m sure you have learned something that will benefit you in a career for medicine. If you believe me, then the difficult part is already over – believing that you can answer this question. The next part is spending some time thinking about how anything you have learned or experienced in your premedical studies will help you in medicine.

How easy is it? Let me put it this way. In my own admissions essay, I wrote exactly two sentences about how I was attending York University for biomedical studies and how the courses I was taking are related to medicine. That is literally all I wrote for that guideline. I’m sure everyone, no matter what your university background is, can do something similar.

That’s not to say that you should only spend two sentences talking about your undergraduate studies like I did – if yours was very relevant to medicine and health care, and thus had a significant impact on your interest in medicine, then for sure, feel free to write more. For instance, perhaps you studied nursing, and thus already have a significant amount of experience in health care, then it would definitely be worth spending more time exploring this area of your life.

However, if you feel that your undergraduate experience had little impact on your interest in medicine, don’t worry about it. Do what you can, and if two sentences is all you can muster, be rest assured, that’s perfectly fine.

What’s Next

In the upcoming and final parts of the series, we will be looking at how to put our answers to these three guidelines together, and general tips for the overall essay.

Mastering the University of Toronto Medical School Essay – Part 3: Why Medicine and How Did You Prepare

Joshua — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:26:37 +0000

If there’s one question you should be able to answer, it’s “why medicine?”

Sure it’s arguably the most common interview question asked. But more importantly, you better have a darn good reason for wanting to be a physician because it would be pretty unfortunate if you did not think your decision though, and ended up regretting entering medicine after years of training and thousands of dollars invested. Of course it’s possible to change your mind and regret your decision even if you thought it though initially, though I would imagine you’re less likely to change your mind had you put a good amount of thought into it at the beginning.

That being said, I’m sure you also realize that your answer to this question is also important to medical schools, and the University of Toronto is no exception. As I outlined in Part 1, the UofT admissions committee wants your essay to: outline your choice of, and preparation for, a career in medicine.

Let me put that guideline in another way. Your essay needs to answer:

Why do you want to be a doctor?

What proof is there that medicine is something you have seriously thought about and are genuinely interested in?

How do you know being a doctor is a good fit for you?

Why do you want to be a doctor?

One of the key messages I have been stressing is that medical school admissions committees want students who have a genuinely strong interest in medicine because those are the candidates who are likely to try their hardest to be the best physicians they can be. The depth of your reasons for wanting to be a physician are going to have a high correlation with this, which is why being able to convey them in a powerful manner in your essay is paramount to your success in the process.

When I talk to younger students interested in medicine, some of them just “feel” like they want to be physicians but can’t give me a tangible reason why, or they give me a really general response that could be applied to anything. For instance, one of the most common responses is “I like and/or am good at science, and I want to help people, so I want to be a doctor”. The problem with this statement is that you could remove “doctor” and replace it with many other professions, such as researcher, teacher, professor, etc. There are many careers that involve science and improving the lives of others – so why medicine, specifically?

If you can’t answer that question right now, it could mean one of a few things. It could mean that medicine might actually not be right for you, and you should start exploring some other careers.

However, it could also mean that while you know you are attracted to medicine, you haven’t spent enough time thinking about it, and being able to extrapolate your thoughts onto paper. If that’s you, then now’s a good a time as any to start thinking. You want to be as complete as possible when answering why you want to be a physician, so here are some questions to help you brain storm:

Was there an event/experience that sparked your interest in medicine / becoming a doctor?

Do you have any personal / family reasons that made you interested in medicine?

What is it about being a physician that attracts you? What does medicine have that you want but can’t find in other careers?

Some students are concerned that they don’t have that “magical moment” of wanting to be a physician, like after using CPR to save a person’s life. Or they fret about not having a close relative who was afflicted with some disease. Basically, there are students who are concerned that they don’t have an “inspiring” set of reasons for becoming a physician, so dwelling on the reasons why is a waste of time for them, and so they focus their essay too much on other things.

This is a mistake. No one’s reasons for becoming a physician are “better” than anyone else’s. And regardless of how “amazing” you think your reasons and motivations are, realize that delivery of those reasons is just as, if not more, important than the actual content of those reasons. Remember, application essay writing is a skill. I am sure that if you put the time into thinking your reasons through fully and spending the effort to craft a strong delivery, you can answer “why medicine” just as well as anyone.

With regards to those three questions I wrote above, you might be able to answer only one of them well, or your answer might encompass all of them. It doesn’t really matter how you use those questions, so long as you can provide a comprehensive answer.

Prove to me that you have seriously thought about a career in medicine

It’s easy to say that being a doctor is something you have really thought about, but when you have to filter through thousands of applicants, having some evidence really helps.

Imagine you are the scout for a basketball team. A young man comes up to you, saying that he is interested in playing for your team. He sounds very passionate about basketball, so you ask him what experience he has. Has he been on a basketball team before? No. Okay, well has he ever just played basketball recreationally? No. Has he ever even watched a game of basketball before? Still the answer is no. As the scout, not only does this young man’s request to join your professional team sound rather strange, but taking him on would seem like an unwise risk. Furthermore, you question how he can even be sure basketball is for him, if he’s never even played before?

While it’s impossible to “play doctor” before actually entering medical school, the overall concept still applies. If you have never demonstrated the slightest interest in medicine, it’s not very believable to the admissions committee that being a doctor is something that you are actually serious about. Which is why I highly recommend that you do explore medicine in any way possible. Perhaps that’s shadowing a physician, volunteering at a clinic or hospital, etc.

But having these medically-related experiences isn’t the only important thing. You now have to go ahead and mention these experiences in your essay. If you volunteered in a hospital and got the opportunity to follow a physician around, even for a short period of time, I think it’s crucial that you mention it. It shows that you’ve taken the time to explore medicine as a potential career, and thus you are serious about it. Otherwise, your interest in medicine may appear questionable.

When writing about these medically-related experiences, it’s important to not just describe them, but explain their impact on you and your aspirations for a career in medicine. What did you learn from these experiences about being a doctor? How did they confirm or support your interest in medicine?

How do you know medicine is a good fit for you?

When the essay asks you to explain how you have prepared for a career in medicine, it’s a bit misleading in the sense that nothing you do before medical school can really “prepare” you the way that medical school does.

But in terms of preparation, I think one of the key things you can do is not just learn more about medicine and being a physician, but trying to find out if it’s something you actually want to do. It’s easy to say you like or don’t like something with limited information, but the conclusions you draw may not be fair – I mean for most of us, besides going to a doctor for check ups or when we are sick, how much do we really know about doctors and medicine?

Exploring medicine through volunteering, shadowing, and so on is a good opportunity to improve our understanding of what it means to be a physician, and whether it’s still something you want to do. And if these experiences do support your belief that you would enjoy medicine and would be a good fit for it, why do you think that?

Drawing on your past experiences, hobbies, and interests is crucial for making this connection. Perhaps you believe you would make a good physician because you have always been a very compassionate person and are passionate about taking care of others. It’s not only important that you say this, but connect this statement to prior experiences that prove this side of you.

Mastering the University of Toronto Medical School Essay – Part 2: Background, Interests, and Experiences

Joshua — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:29:34 +0000

As you have read in Part 1 of this series, I strongly believe that your essay should have an overall focus on your genuine desire to not only be a physician, but one who is dedicated for the long run – that is, help the judge understand that being a physician is something you are so passionate about that they will feel motivated to do anything to help you.

Just to be clear, when I talk about showing long term dedication, I’m not saying you need to say that you will do this or that once you are a physician. What I’m saying is that you need to illustrate that you have seriously thought about your decision to apply, because individuals who are serious about applying would have done some decent research into what it means to be a physician, and yet still want to be one. Someone who shows this seriousness and maturity about life decisions is likely to be someone that will strive to do their best in their role as a physician for years to come.

In this article, we will focus on the first item the University of Toronto admissions committee wants us to comment on within our essay: Your personal background, including particular interests and extracurricular experiences.

However, I’d like to make my own modification to that statement. I think your essay should comment on your personal background, including particular interests and extracurricular experiences, which are relevant to your journey towards a career in medicine.

This is a medical school essay, so talk about medicine

Even though the essay asks you to talk about your personal background, interests, and experiences, realize that you have a word limit (1000 words, which isn’t very much) and so you need to be selective – that being said, even without the word limit, you should be selective in the first place because this is not a random personal essay. This is an essay for your application to become a doctor. So if you’re going to write a life story, it shouldn’t just be your entire life story – it should be the parts of your life integral to your journey towards medicine.

Everything you mention in your essay should somehow relate to your overall theme – that is, if you were to pick any paragraph in your essay, you should be able to tell me exactly how it relates to your interest medicine and/or your journey towards becoming a physician. If you can’t do that, then you might need to rethink that part over.

Now, the relationship doesn’t have to be extremely direct – that is, every paragraph or idea you mention doesn’t have to be about doctors, hospitals, diseases, etc. But everything you write should always be relevant to your overall theme, and this relevance should be made obvious. The admissions judge should not have to think about why you’re mentioning this experience in your essay – you want to be direct and clear.

For instance, in my essay I mention that a lot of my community involvement has involved working with or advocating for children and youth. If I had just described these experiences and left it at that, this would be a rather weak component of my essay – it would be some floating experience. While those experiences have played a significant role in nurturing my interest in medicine, not elaborating further on why would be a big mistake. So I didn’t stop there. Rather, I made it quite clear (in fact, I even blatantly stated so), that these experiences have motivated me towards pursuing a medical profession in pediatrics.

Perhaps you ran a university club that has nothing to do with medicine or health care. Yet if you strongly feel that this experience has helped you develop collaborative, leadership, and communication skills that will make you a good doctor, then yes this is definitely relevant – but like I said, you need to make this connection clear in your essay.

The important thing is not necessarily the experience, event, or accomplishment itself in a vacuum, but how it has impacted/shaped your journey towards medicine.

So when considering what background/interests/experiences you should focus on in your essay, ask yourself these questions:

What experiences have inspired / motivated me to consider medicine as a potential career? Which had the most impact, and why?

What events have significantly impacted the type of physician I want or hope to be?

What experiences have helped me develop skills that would be useful as a physician?

Making sense: Why mentioning “relevant” experiences is crucial

People don’t like to be confused. Everything is easier when things make logical sense. In the same way, it is easier for an admissions judge to see you as a future doctor when the essay you give them suggests it makes sense for you to be one.

Imagine an applicant whose essay focused on him being the top student in his philosophy program, winning an Olympic gold medal in figure skating, and representing Canada at a prestigious international conference on climate change. Despite their amazingness in a vacuum, none of these experiences, without further elaboration, clearly point to an interest in medicine. So unless the applicant can clearly explain how mentioning these experiences relate to his interest in and long term dedication towards a career in medicine, it may have been better to mention less “unique” experiences, such as the year he spent volunteering in a medical clinic and interacting with patients.

You don’t want the admissions judge questioning either your interest in, readiness, or ability to be a competent physician. You put all of that at risk unless your essay demonstrates that it “makes sense” for you to be a physician.

The Obsession with Standing Out

I think there is sometimes an obsession with applicants about the need to “stand out” – to be unique among the rest of the applicants. Here are the facts though – admissions committees are not looking for individuals who are different, they are looking for individuals who they believe will be good doctors.

My take on this is that you can stand out by writing a more powerful, moving essay than anyone else. Write your true, honest story about your desire to be a physician. But in order to do that, you need to be selective about the aspects of your personal history you mention – and it should all be clearly relevant to your interest in the medical profession.

Mastering the University of Toronto Medical School Essay – Part 1: The Secret

Joshua — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:35:47 +0000

I want to share a secret with you. It’s something I discovered last summer, and is the reason I believe my essay was successful in the University of Toronto medical school admissions process.

It began when a friend of mine (who by coincidence, or perhaps not, is also entering UofT medicine this fall) showed me the essay of one of his friends who was accepted into UofT’s medical school last year. The content of the essay was rather unexpected as it went against the common intuition of what the essay should include. I think most applicants think that the essay should be some sort of interesting piece that simply highlights the applicant’s accomplishments and qualifications for medicine – but if anything, this essay had a different overall focus.

Without getting into the specifics of the essay, I remember reading through it, and being rather engrossed in it. And when I finally finished the essay, I had this strong feeling inside of me – the essay made me want to help him get into medical school.

It wasn’t that the applicant was a Rhodes scholar, or published in a million journals, or had a resume that blew my mind. And it’s not like he had some traumatic life changing moment that made him want to be a doctor that moved me to tears. No, nothing like that. In fact, there was nothing particularly outstanding about him on paper that would make him stand out among any other random applicant.

I mean, let’s think about it. If I read that you’re a Rhodes scholar who has been on the front page of Nature magazine, I’m sure as heck going to be really impressed and think you have the sickest resume ever. But that isn’t necessarily going to give me this strong, deep feeling that I want to do whatever possible to help you become a doctor. I’m just going to think you’ve done some crazy cool things.

However, this essay was different – in his own words, he was able to make me, the reader (and potential admissions judges) want to help him get into medical school. And if there’s someone you want to have that feeling, it’s the person deciding whether you get an interview or not.

Why is this so powerful and how was his essay able to make me feel this way?

The fact is that, right now, there are too many qualified applicants for medical school spots. As a result, the admissions committee probably receives a lot of essays that present very qualified applicants – and I’m sure many of these applicants would make good doctors. But with so many applicants who could be “good, competent doctors”, how do you sift through them even further?

Think about it from the admissions committee’s perspective. Training a medical student involves making a significant investment of time and money. So they want to pick students who they think will be good long term investments.

The reason this person’s essay was so powerful was because he was able to demonstrate to the reader that he would go above and beyond as a physician – that he is seriously interested in being the best physician he could be for the long haul. He showed that he has put serious, mature thought into being a doctor, and that he wasn’t applying just for the heck of it. He demonstrated that it really does make sense for him to be a doctor.

When there is an abundance of talent and impressive resumes, “stats” alone aren’t good enough. And from the perspective of medical schools and health care, perhaps that’s rightly so. They want (and as patients, wouldn’t you?) candidates who won’t just be competent at their jobs, but will be dedicated day after day for the unforeseeable future – because dedicated individuals are more likely to make significant impacts in health care and in the community. An essay just focusing on accomplishments and qualifications, while impressive, isn’t enough to create that special feeling in the reader.

And while you might very well be that serious, long-term dedicated individual, as I’ve mentioned countless times before, no one knows that unless you tell them – and the same goes for the telling the admissions committee in your essay.

So how do we show this serious, long term interest and dedication?

Of course, we need to present these ideas in a structured manner in the context of the essay. The UofT admissions committee helps us out by presenting three items they want us to think about and answer within the 1000 word essay. It’s amazing not only how often applicants neglect the guidelines (either absentmindedly, or as if thinking they know better than to answer the actual questions the admissions committee want answered), or don’t spend enough time thinking deeply about those items and why they might be asked. These guidelines are provided for a reason. Without further adieu, here they are:

As a general guideline, the statement should address and discuss the applicant’s personal background, including particular interests and extracurricular experiences.

Candidates should outline their choice of, and preparation for, a career in medicine.

Applicants should also describe their premedical studies, expanding on what they have chosen to pursue and how this has prepared them for their future, including a career in medicine.

In the next three parts of this series, we will analyze each of these questions in terms of what they really mean, figure out why the admissions committee want to know about them, and therefore, what we need to be presenting in the essay. Moreover, we will study how we should be answering these questions in the context of the overarching concept of showing our long term dedication, and thus, making the reader want to help us become physicians.

The Power of Marketing: Because Perception is Reality

Joshua — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:41:09 +0000

“What is real? How do you define real? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”

This is a famous quote from the character Morpheus of one of my favourite movies of all time, The Matrix. In this part of the movie, Morpheus is helping Neo to realize that the world he once believed to be his reality was no more than a computer simulation. Yet for everyone else stuck in the “matrix”, this simulation was as real as anything.

After watching The Matrix for the first time, I remember randomly asking myself: How do I know this world I’m in is real? I know I can hear my own thoughts, but how can I know for sure that everything around me is real? My family and friends seem real, but without being able to hear their thoughts, how can I know for sure?

But because I can perceive all of the world around me, I believe it to be real. Because I can smell roses, I believe them to be real. Because I can hear my brother speak, I believe he is real. In order to live in my reality, I have to rely on the notion that my perceptions are interpreting a true reality.

Marketing: Delivering a Perception You Want Customers to Adopt

Marketing takes advantage of this very same concept. In marketing, you’re not just promoting a product – you are also promoting a specific image or idea about that product. Essentially, marketers present a certain perception of their product that they want customers to have. And for potential customers, that perception is often interpreted as reality.

For instance, take the famous brand name paper towel product: Bounty – “the Quicker Picker-Upper”. Their television commercials portray Bounty as a superior paper towel that is able to absorb moisture much better than its competitors. Most of us don’t and will probably never know if Bounty is even among the best paper towel products, but due to the perception their company has created for their product, many of us who have seen the commercial probably believe that Bounty is indeed the best paper towel in the market.

The fact of the matter is what we only know what we’re told. That is, unless someone else comes along and tells us that Bounty isn’t the best paper towel, we see no reason to believe otherwise. I mean, seriously, when is the last time you researched studies for the best paper towels? Or the most durable shoe on the market?

By nature, humans are quite lazy in that sense. We don’t like working for information – we would much prefer that the information to come to us. The problem with this mindset is that by allowing other people to control the information that is “marketed” to us, we are essentially allowing other people to dictate our perceptions, and subsequently our realities.

Marketing Yourself: Creating the Image You Want

When I was in Grade 7, I was selected to represent Toronto at the Ontario Mathematics Olympics. Because of the size of our city, Toronto was allowed to send three teams to the competition. Each team was composed of one Gr. 8 girl, one Gr. 8 boy, one Gr. 7 girl and one Gr. 7 boy.

After the initial 12 students were selected, a single preparation day was held before the actual event for the students to go through some practice problems. In addition, the coordinators of Team Toronto would use this day to do a bit more evaluation of the students and try and make the best teams possible. Because of the difficulty of the competition, it would make sense for the coordinators to put all of the best students on the same team, thus maximizing the chances for Team Toronto to be victorious. There was one student was clearly the best mathematics student there by far, and it made sense for the coordinators to try and build the best possible team around him.

On the actual preparation day, I was just myself. But for those of you that know me, that meant just doing what I was told, not answering questions unless someone asked me, etc. On the other hand, I noticed a few students who were more talkative and participated more in the activities – these students ended up being on the “best” team with that exceptional student I mentioned earlier. Led by that student, this team ended up placing an excellent 5th in the province.

Nothing motivates me more than losing, so when I made Team Toronto again the following year, I was determined to be a part of the “best” team. Recalling the previous year, I realized that the coordinators probably assumed that whoever participated the most in the preparation day were probably the strongest students. That was their perception of ability, and in all fairness, the only real evidence they could go by. I mean if you think about it, if only certain students answer your questions, you can’t assume the other students even knew the answers. Maybe this logic isn’t the best, but I believe this is what the coordinators went by.

So when I was in Gr. 8, I went to that preparation day determined to be outspoken, answer questions, and generally participate as much as possible. My suspicions turned out to be correct when I ended up being on the same team as the other students I believed to have been the strongest. I definitely was not the strongest Gr. 8 male math student there (I am sure one of my other friends was), but I ended up on the better team because I projected the exact image the coordinators were looking for.

They believed I was the strongest candidate because they perceived me to be the strongest.

You Are Whoever You Say You Are

This is essentially the same concept I am talking about whenever I say that it isn’t necessarily the best candidate who gets rewarded, but rather, the candidate who the judges perceive to be the best – because perception is reality.

No one can know how great of a person you are unless you project that image. That’s why knowing how to market yourself properly on applications and interviews is extremely important.

Whether you are taking part in a job interview, applying for a grant, or anything else where you need to impress someone else, you’re not going to be successful unless you sell yourself as the best candidate.

If you look at any of my articles or videos about interviews or applications, you’ll realize the central theme to all of them is marketing. I think about the factors that could affect the judge’s perception of you, and try and highlight the specific factors that are good for you.

That being said, in the end, it comes down to you.

No one can market yourself except you!