Taking a research position to gain research experience is becoming an increasingly important piece of the application package for pre-med students. Along with volunteer experience and shadowing or clinical exposure, it is now one of those factors that are technically optional (i.e., not a hard requirement) but widely recommended and...

5300 characters. You have 5300 characters, including punctuation and white spaces, to show a medical school that you are more than the sum of your GPA and MCAT score in your personal statement. Most personal statements will make or break your application. Admissions committees for medical schools give you one...

It’s Spring! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and you’re finishing up your medical school interviews. You’re in the home stretch! At the end lies your dream medical school. You (hopefully) have many schools to choose from. However, these schools have many applicants to choose from. How do...

One of the hottest topics among medical education learning specialists (MELS) is the behavior, motivation, and performance of medical students on USMLE Step 1 now that the exam has gone to pass/fail. Are students incentivized to study with the same intensity? Has stress increased or decreased in response to this...

As you start thinking about getting into med school and you prepare for the upcoming medical school application cycle, you should be thinking about which schools you will apply to. There are well over 100 accredited medical schools in the U.S. and Canada, but the average applicant applies to just...

Applying to medical school is a lengthy process. From the moment you get serious about applying in the current cycle to deciding which school to attend, you will spend more than a year writing, interviewing, and waiting. One of the most important steps you can take to ensure success in...

Knowing what is needed to present yourself as a successful applicant to medical school can be difficult. A lot of different sources and medical schools expect you to have certain achievements and to have participated in a variety of experiences.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.  —George Orwell, 1984 (1949)   You better not never tell nobody but God.  —Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982) It was a pleasure to burn.  —Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)     Some of the best...

So, you are considering applying to medical school and wondering how to get in? Every year, U.S. medical schools evaluate tens of thousands of applications from some of the brightest and most talented college students and recent graduates in the country. The admissions process is highly secretive, yet we know...

Shadowing is an extracurricular that most premeds participate in to fulfill requirements for medical school. However, it is also an important part of your journey in understanding medicine and connecting with your reasons for pursuing the field.      What Is Shadowing?   When shadowing, you will be following a...