A common question premed postbac applicants have is about research experiences.You may likewise be eager to learn: Research is Overrated TL;DR: In our experience helping hundreds of applicants get into premed postbac programs, applicants vastly overrate the value of research experiences. You likely will not need any additional research experiences to be a competitive applicant […] The post Why Research Is Overrated for Postbac Programs appeared first on PERSONAL PREMED ..read more

What research experiences do I need? A common question we get from our clients is: what are the best research experiences for postbac programs. Typically, they want to know how many hours they need and which types of research will be viewed most favorably on the PostbacCAS application. In our experience helping hundreds of applicants … The Role of Research Experiences in Postbac Premed Program Applications: A Common Misconception Read More » The post The Role of Research Experiences in Postbac Premed Program Applications: A Common Misconception appeared first on PERSONAL PREMED ..read more

What are they? Postbac program linkages are admissions agreements between postbac programs and specific medical schools. They allow qualified applicants to move directly from a postbac program into medical school without doing a gap or glide year. AI-generated Postbac program linkage art Specific programs like Goucher or Bryn Mawr have as many as 10-18 linkages whereas other programs have only one or no linkages. (Check out our infographic of the best postbac programs so you can see the programs with the best linkages.) Linkage Tips Some things to keep in mind about linkage programs. Firs ..read more

If you’re a nontraditional applicant who wants to be a doctor but who hasn’t taken the vast majority of the prereqs for medical school, then keep reading. I’m going to assume you have a reasonably good GPA and a reasonably good SAT/ACT score. You’ve read online about traditional premed postbac programs and are convinced that this is the best route for you to get into medical school as compared to the DIY approach. But now what? What can you do to make yourself as competitive an applicant as possible? At this point, many of our advisees assume (incorrectly) that what they should focus on next i ..read more

One of the most common questions that Dan and I get during interview season is about premed post-baccalaureate letters of recommendation. Applicants ask us questions like: how many letters of recommendation should I get? Who should write them? What should my letter writers emphasize?  This is an area where applicants can really struggle because there’s not much quality information out there specifically for premed postbac applicants.  We’ll take this one question at a time. Here are some of the most common premed post-baccalaureate letter of recommendation questions: 1. How many let ..read more

During each application cycle — for college, a premed postbac, med school, residency, fellowship — you have to be good at writing personal statements. While the specifics will change a bit depending on where you are on your journey, there are certain tips you can use to improve the quality of your personal statements. In our experience working with pre-meds, pre-med post-bacs, and med students there are a lot of mistakes that students make regularly. You can easily avoid these and vastly improve your chances of getting an interview. Below are seven of the biggest personal statement mistakes we ..read more

Prior to Covid, being able to effectively present yourself on a WebEx or Zoom virtual interview was not an essential pre-med skill. Now, it is. Here are 14 high yield tips to take your virtual video interview skills to the next level. These tips will work for any virtual interview, including post-baccalaureate, med school, and residency interviews. If you haven’t checked out our post with in-person interview tips, be sure to check that out as well. Before the Post-Baccalaureate/Med School Virtual Interview Setting up your interview environment: Ensure you have a strong internet connection. Ha ..read more

While many applicants to medical school do not attempt to negotiate a scholarship, it is a viable option for strong applicants who have already been accepted into two programs. For other tips on how to lower the cost of medical school, check out our 8 tips on how to lower the cost of medical school article. Below are two example emails used to negotiate a scholarship. Note that School #2 in this example is a state school. Dear [SCHOOL #1] Thank you for the amazing news! I am thrilled to receive this acceptance. [SCHOOL #1] is a great fit for my goals as I train to be a physician. I was pa ..read more

The following are the best medical schools with merit scholarships / aid to applicants. This is not an exhaustive list. If you know of other schools that have merit scholarships, please email us at personalpremed@gmail.com to let us know! Please note: these scholarships are really only available to top-tier candidates at some of the most selective medical schools in the U.S. This requires a solid GPA, a great MCAT score, and also a background that includes interesting life experiences. Going to selective premed postbacs as a non-traditional candidate vastly increase your likelihood of being ab ..read more

Like medical school admissions committees, the post-bacc admissions committees emphasize diversity. While certain forms of diversity are immutable (e.g., racial/ethnic background, sex, country of origin, age), other aspects of diversity are within your power to change.  Medical schools — and especially the most desirable programs — consider diversity of life experience an invaluable form of diversity. Even if you do not have a 4.0 GPA or a perfect MCAT score, admissions committees will be much more likely to interview you if you have had unusual life experiences. Our advice for how to mak ..read more