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Medical School Admissions is Tuff! Here’s what to expect…
Everybody knows how daunting the medical school admissions process is.
You go through 3 years of grueling science courses after which, you take the medical college
admissions test (otherwise know as the MCAT) to demonstrate how much you learned from those
courses. As if incredibly difficult science courses and a killer medical school admissions test isn’t
enough, you’re expected to participate in a host of extracurricular activities such as medical and
non-medical volunteering as well as engaging in some sort of research. After you’ve jumped
through all those hoops, then you actually have to go through the medical school admissions
application process, which is intense in and of it. While you’re studying for and taking the
MCAT, you have to request letters of recommendation from at least 3 people and you don’t even
have the opportunity to read what they wrote. The actual medical school application itself is like
its very own college course. You have to obtain transcripts from any academic institution you’ve
attended and transfer that information into the application. Then you have to write personal
statement essay in which you are expected to present yourself in both eloquent and impressive
terms. Ok, so then you submit your medical school admissions essay and wait. During the next
few months, you may receive what are called secondary (secondaries) applications from medical
schools that may or may not be interested in you. Each secondary application contains anywhere
from 1 to 10 additional essays and they’re all different! Don’t forget, you’re still in college so
you’re also still taking courses!
Once you’ve written all those additional essays and submitted them, the next step is to hope and
prey that you’re invited to interview any school. Once you do actually get invited, then you have
to arrange for flights, which are incredibly expensive, and attend the interviews. You’re asked all
manner of question during these interviews while you future hangs in the balance. If you’ve
gotten this far in the medical school admissions process you’re doing great! You go home from
interviews and wait some more. One or two months pass and you get a letter telling you you’re
accepted to medical school. Great! But now comes the really hard part. How are you going to
afford to go to medical school? It’s well known that the average indebtedness of medical school
graduates in over $150,000! Medical school admissions is not for the feint of heart so make sure
that you actually want to be a doctor put you put yourself through the gauntlet!