INQUARTA

Graduate School Admissions Consulting

Mobile Menu
  • Menu
    • Menu
      • Login / Access
      • Course Catalog
      • Support
      • About
      • Medical School
        • Medical School Articles
          • [Video] Smart MCAT prep will boost your confidence and your score
          • 2 Things to do in Your MCAT Prep Classes to Improve Your Score
          • 4 Ways to Study for the MCAT
        • Medical School Courses
          • Premed Assessment – Find out your chances of acceptance to medical school.
          • The MCAT Club – Be ready for MCAT 2015! Tons of MCAT review and prep.
        • Featured Medical School Course
          • home-widget-assessment
      • Dental School
        • Dental School Articles
          • For Parents: Is Networking Important for Medical School Admissions?
          • How to End Your Personal Statement
          • Low DAT Score? These four tricks will help you get In
        • Dental School Courses
          • Dental School Assessment – Will you be accepted to dental school? Find out!
          • Dental School Blueprint – Everything you need to know to get into dental school.
        • Featured Dental School Course
          • dental-assessment-ad
      • MBA School
        • MBA School Articles
          • How Important is attending a top MBA school?
          • 3 Common MBA essay prompts: How to write winning MBA essays
          • Are MBA Program Rankings Important?
        • MBA School Courses
          • MBA Application Essays
          • Letters of Recommendation
        • Featured MBA School Course
          • mba-essays-ad
    • Close
  • Member Login
You are here: Home / Medical School Admissions / How to Package Yourself for Medical School

How to Package Yourself for Medical School

October 7, 2011 by Don Osborne 1 Comment

The Flawed Premise

Most pre-meds develop their application to medical school from a flawed premise, which is “What should I say/be/do that will make admissions committees like me?”

A source for this premise comes from medical schools’ surface requirements – gpa above 3.5, MCAT over 30, sufficient experience in the allied health field, sufficient interpersonal experiences, sufficient skills in research (for some schools). So the question – “What do medical schools want?” – creates a grail quest to become the ideal applicant.

This is a myth – there is no such thing as an ideal applicant in reality. In theory, yes, but in reality every candidate for medical school has areas of strengths, and areas of perceived weakness – and (with one exception – which I will address below) this supposed weakness is recognized only in hindsight. In the moment of doing, what will be labeled as a weakness later is really a “best choice” based on the in-the-moment reality. So nearly all weaknesses in candidates are choices – good choices – that were made in a moment in time and then six months or a year later the candidate labels that choice as a ‘weakness’. Stop labeling.

So the motor that runs many applicants turns out to be a Quixotic chase – there is no such thing as a perfect applicant, there is no point in pursuing this ideal, AND pursuing this for most students results in suffering.

“What Do I Want” Is More Important

Resolve the problem by replacing the fear-based question, “What do medical schools want?” with your purpose- and spirit-based question, “What do I want?” And more specifically, “What do I want to achieve as a physician within 10 years after I finish my residency?”

Develop your candidacy from this perspective – not, “What do they want?” but “What do I want?” Begin tonight by taking a blank piece of paper and writing out five things you want from your life as a doctor. You can absolutely want things from your life, and I give you complete permission to ask your life for things you want.

So what do you want? Package this aspect of yourself – your actualized, real self – and see how attractive your purpose is to medical schools.

What are your chances of getting accepted to medical school, if you were to apply this cycle? Find out here.

Filed Under: Medical School Admissions

Comments

  1. Mari Brown says

    December 28, 2011 at 1:29 pm

    So helpful for planning my med school application. Much to learn, considering the number of changes since I first thought of becoming a physician nearly 30 years ago. Thank you for the wonderful resource!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Copyright 2021 INQUARTA · Privacy Policy · About Us · Site Map · Affiliates · Support

FREE Assessment for Premeds

What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?

FREE Premed Assessment:

  • See how you rank on 8 key medical school admissions metrics
  • Discover your chances of acceptance
  • Find out how to maximize your odds of getting in
x