This post is written by Harleen, a third-year medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine. She went to Arizona State University for her bachelor’s in Biological Sciences. She then completed her master’s in Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University before starting medical school. She loves learning languages, dancing, cooking and baking, and photography!  It has been a long application cycle. You likely submitted some time in summer and filled those secondaries, waited for the interviews, and maybe even went to a couple of them. You may still be waiting to hear back or possibly a ..read more

Complete program prerequisites First, if you think that you want to apply to a certain graduate degree program, look up the application process as soon as possible. Learn about the types of applicants that are accepted. Then, make sure that you include these program prerequisites in your degree planning. Most medical schools have similar course prerequisites. Pay attention to the average GPA and MCAT scores for accepted applicants at your desired program. Although numbers aren’t everything in an application, they are a good benchmark to keep in mind. You may also want to look at the types of ..read more

This blog post was written by Alexa Johnson. Congratulations on reaching this point in your educational career! You are going to join an amazing community of individuals and make wonderful memories. My name is Alexa, and I am a second-year medical student at an osteopathic program in San Antonio, TX. My background is non-traditional as all of my experiences, successes, and failures have helped me to get to where I am today. Below you will find information about the application process, required and recommended coursework, and the MCAT as you prepare yourself for application season. We are cu ..read more

Having to reapply to medical school doesn’t mean you have failed. It doesn’t mean you won’t be a doctor, and it doesn’t mean you’re not a good applicant. There are a lot of reasons why you may not be accepted your first application cycle, but there are also just as many, if not more reasons why you will get in the next cycle.  I’m writing this from the perspective of someone who had to reapply, and not only reapply but I also took off 3 years in between my first and second application cycle. At the time I was heartbroken, and that is a normal reaction to getting rejected. However, if I w ..read more

This post was written by Hänel Eberly, a third-year medical student at Penn State College of Medicine. She is originally from Southern California and attended Brigham Young University, where she received my degree in Neuroscience. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, embroidery, surfing, and skiing. Choosing which medical schools to apply to is a daunting task, especially as a pre-med starting out in the application cycle. I remember being overwhelmed by the sheer number of programs, not to mention the cost associated with applying. Even though the focus right now may seem like j ..read more

This post is written by Kayla. Kayla is an MD/MBA student at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and Chapman Graduate School of Business. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Florida and a Master’s degree in Clinical Embryology from the University of Oxford. Kayla is interested in pursuing pediatrics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, painting, and spending time with friends and family!  Dealing with failure is hard. You tried your best, and it didn’t work out. You might feel discouraged and lost, but don’t ..read more

Kayla is an MD/MBA student at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and Chapman Graduate School of Business. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Florida and a Master’s degree in Clinical Embryology from the University of Oxford. Kayla is interested in pursuing pediatrics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, painting, and spending time with friends and family!  In 2019, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reported that approximately 60% of incoming medical students took part in a research exper ..read more

This blog post was written by Kayla. Kayla is an MD/MBA student at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and Chapman Graduate School of Business. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Florida and a Master’s degree in Clinical Embryology from the University of Oxford. Kayla is interested in pursuing pediatrics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, painting, and spending time with friends and family!  You’ve submitted your medical school or graduate school applications, what’s next? Interviews! The interview is a ..read more

Congrats!! You have just submitted your primary medical school application! Now what? Take a well-deserved break for a few days then start pre-writing those secondaries. You can google search “medical school secondary” and the school(s) you’re applying to find these prompts. Secondaries are yet another component of the medical school application that allows you to shine. Your goal is to leave the admissions committee with a strong desire to meet you in an interview. Here are five tips you should follow to help you get that interview! #1: DO NOT repeat information from your primary application ..read more

This post was written by Lily Trinh, MD, founder of Med Mentors and has extensive experience editing hundreds of personal statements and serving on her medical school admissions committee. 1. Talking too much about a patient or someone other than you. I have seen this over and over again. Students will write two paragraphs about a patient encounter they had to demonstrate how impactful that was to them. However, that’s not really the point of the personal statement. Remember this is YOUR personal statement. The admission committee want to learn about you and your purpose. While it’s important ..read more