I’m just curious… who all is applying this year?
I am… I’m still rewriting my personal statement… probably for about the 4th or 5th time (I’ve lost track)…
I think I’m probably behind the game… still trying to get all my LORs together, as well as narrow down where all I’m going to apply…
Anyway… good luck to everybody applying this year…
I hope you get in to your top pick school… wherever that may be!
Andrea
Andrea -
I think I am going to apply this year. I will also be behind in the game if I decide to go ahead with it. I need this quarter’s grades to appear, so I will wait for those to apply. I am probably going to wait to make a final decision until I get a chance to talk to some admissions people at a couple of the schools I want to apply to in the next couple of weeks. If they indicate I should wait until next year, I probably will.
Just curious - aside from the personal statement, about how many hours does it take to get everything else around and fill out the AMCAS?
Best of luck to all!
Amy
I will apply too. And I am going to be more behind then you due to an August MCAT. I’m getting all the other stuff together and hoping for the best.
Jill
Best of luck to all who are applying. Here’s hoping you all get in and to your #1 school. All my best!!! 
I’m applying this year, although I do have some hesitation since I haven’t taken any classwork in 7 years. I do have all my pre-requisites, though, and am anxiously awaiting my results on the MCAT. I haven’t really started my personal statement yet. I’m still not sure how I’m going to approach it. My goal is to have my application in by mid to late June.
Good luck to all!
Alison
Alison, I would strongly urge you to put your thoughts on paper NOW for your personal statement. Even if you’re a good writer, the PS is a difficult piece to accomplish and you are likely to want to tinker with it quite a bit before you are satisfied. You’ll also want to show it to a few close friends or family members who can read it critically for you. Finally, this is something you want to work hard on, but then set aside for several days - definitely not something to crunch away at and then send in immediately. You will be surprised at how “different” it will sound when you haven’t looked at it for a week or two - when you revisit it with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective, you could find that it isn’t saying what you meant or intended.
In other words, you need to build two kinds of down time into the composition process: 1, a creative pause after you’ve honed a strong first draft, to wipe it from your head so that you can read it "again for the first time; and 2, critical review by people who know you and know what you want to do.
Good luck! Crafting a strong PS is challenging but certainly satisfying.
Because I had planned to apply last year, I’m good to go. I updated my personal statement and now I’m waiting until day 1 to press submit!! So far, I’m glad I waited until this year for too many reasons to name since I would have applied very late in the season last year. Good luck to everyone!!!
You can count me in. I’m working on my personal statement as we speak. Draft 9 or something like that–yikes.
I haven’t made my final list of schools yet, but it will include most of the schools in the US I think I could have a shot at, plus a number of Canadian ones, some in Ireland, Australia and maybe the UK. Then I’ll apply for the Navy scholarship!
My LORs are coming in now and I hope to submit to AMCAS by June 10 or so. Does that seem early enough? Is anyone else applying outside the US?
Good luck everyone and keep us posted!
Andrea
2ndave,
Are you applying outside?
I wasn’t planning on applying outside until the last minute… I know that probably sounds bad… I hadn’t really considered any schools outside the US except one… but that may change.
Fill us in on the details.
Andrea
I will definitely be applying to Canadian schools. There’s McGill in Montreal, which is a dream school, and Dalhousie in Halifax, which is also private and I think takes some non-Canadians in. I might apply to others too, but I’m not sure, since it depends on whether they take Americans or not. The applications are due a little later, so I’m not in a rush to decide.
Ireland has a program where North Americans can apply to their five year medicine degree program. I think there are five Irish med schools, with 2 being in Dublin, and they have a central application service. As for Australia, there are also five schools and a similar service. They too have a way of recognizing American credentials, and the degree is four years.
The UK is something I’m only thinking about. Last year I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that UK med schools are all but closed to Americans. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try, especially since apps aren’t due til October.
The reason for all these overseas apps, on top of my US ones, is that I would just love to live in any of those countries, but I don’t want to make that the sole focus of my application process, since there are other things to consider.
I’ll keep you posted as I find out more during this process. Good luck to everyone!
I am re-applying. I placed all my eggs in one basket last year, but I will apply to a few more DO schools. My goal is rural med. I’ve received wonderful assistance with my ps. I plan to take grad course work in micro to strengthen my gpa. The school I applied to last year indicated a good showing in grad course work would improve my standing, but is an up hill battle. My 13 y/o under grad gpa is 2.5. Lately I’ve been pulling A’s and B’s.
This may not be the appropriate area to say this, but I sure do appreciate everyone’s willingness to help and encourge those of us striving in attaining our dream/goal. Thank you.
Be well,
David
All y’all getting geared up to apply this year: REALLY gear up and get going with those applications! Set yourself a deadline that is on the early side and stick to it as if it were the ultimate, final, drop-dead cutoff. More than anything else in this process, you will help yourself by doing everything as early as you possibly can… and whatever you think is “possible,” then move the date up by several weeks prior to that. I am deadline-driven and under normal circumstances I am sure that I would have treated the AMCAS deadline of Nov. 15 or whatever as the date I had to get everything in by. DO NOT THINK LIKE THAT. You want to take the date AMCAS opens for applications, add the minimum number of weeks you’ll need to finalize stuff, and treat that as your deadline. Once you have satisfied your curiosity about the AMCAS “deadline,” put it out of your mind and never think of it again, because you are going to apply so much before that deadline that it is irrelevant. I am as serious as a heart attack about this, guys – it is that important.
The only thing in my entire LIFE that I did not procrastinate on was my medical school application, and I was rewarded with early interviews… okay well then I got waitlisted at both and anguished for MONTHS about whether I’d get in, but at least I knew my apps had been seen and I’d had my chance to make my case. A late application can leave you wondering if you are even going to get an interview… a late request for LORs will have you biting your nails about whether the person is ever going to mail the letter… a late request for transcripts is guaranteed to delay your application at AMCAS/AACOMAS.
There is a lot to do. Make yourself a flow chart and a checklist and stick to it. Good luck everyone!
Mary
Right on Mary! All I have to add is remember you are painting a picture of who you are to the ADCOMs. Put your best “foot forward” by writing an excellent PS and dressing well for any interviews. Be on time for everything. I know you all will do great! Good Luck!
Bill.
I agree… even though I’m not done yet… my hope is to have everything in by mid June… so… only 2 weeks left… I’ve already received my old transcripts… so I know what old classes to add etc.
The part I’m struggling with on my personal statement is… how in the world to you cram your entire life’s history, all of the influences that pushed you towards medical school, and all of the introspective thoughts that got me here into 5400 or 3600 words?
My first draft was 1150 words… but now that I have left it and then read it again, I hate it… and I have no real idea how it would get cut in less than 1/2.
Are there any tips for those that are rather verbose (me) for trimming things down to something manageable…?
I know hitting highlights is good… but how do you just hit the highlights and still give even a glimpse of who you are to the Adcoms?
This is something I’m really struggling with.
TIA!
Andrea
Andrea, I hear ya, and writing the PS was just downright grueling. I didn’t expect it to be - I pride myself on being an articulate writer. But I don’t normally write about myself - problem #1 - and I normally prefer to explain things in detail - problem #2. (my posts are NOT the shortest ones on this board, I’m sure everyone’s noticed! )
What I did was used a book to help me identify priorities; it was Barron’s Essays That Will Get YOU Into Medical School. Initially I bought it with the intention of just looking at their large collection of sample essays - but when I got so dissatisfied with where my own PS was going, I broke down and looked at the front half of the book which puts you through a variety of exercises to identify important events in your life, personal influences, etc. I did not expect this to be helpful, frankly, but was pleasantly surprised. More than that - honestly, I credit working my way through those exercises with developing a PS that I was proud of.
Even with the exercises, though, it was still too long. This is where you end up being ruthless, cutting out little phrases here and there that provide some nuance but don’t really move the story forward enough. This is also where it helps to have a good friend proofread, because they are able to identify these things easier than you can - you’ve invested a lot of sweat into every last word!
Good luck and keep pluggin’ away. You’re definitely on the right track.
Mary
Wow, I didn’t realize that Mary and I had so much in common (notice that my messages are not usually short either). I did the exact same thing she did. When I struggled with how to put everything into one page, I ordered that book, looked at the samples and then did the exercises. They are pretty neat, taking you on a journey through your life, helping you figure out how you got to this point. I realized that there were things that influenced who I am and how I got here that I had never known. Ultimately, I ended up with an essay that told them enough about the journey I had taken to get to this point in my life but left enough room for them to ask questions. One of the keys for me to shortening it was to only make a sentence or two (or a short paragraph) about a particular experience, enough to whet their appetite but not every detail I wanted them to know.
Hope this helps,
Tara
I’ll be applying this year.
I’m applying, too. Personal statement hell!!! I’ve been writing it for 3 weeks. I finally have something to work with. I need to cut it down for DO schools, though. What to cut, what to cut, every writers dilemma!
Hi all,
I am new to the group. Its so nice to know that there are others going through the same kind of process, emotions! I am going to take the August MCAT. I’ve started the application process, right now I am going through the personal statement saga!
Its nice to see you all! Good Luck!
Scout
Just applied to 6 DO schools, I’m exhausted so I’m waiting a few weeks to submit to the allopathic. Waiting for April MCATs to come out but I sent the apps anyhow…hope they were palatable.
I feel you all, who are going nuts finalizing your personal statements. I thought that mine was virtually complete over a year ago until I came across a philosophy professor, who was one of the most skilled writers I’ve ever met. I had him take a look at my version and he told me to put it aside, start from scratch and re-write my statement in 1 hour, as if I was being timed (i.e. MCAT). He said, “You will end up with a much more powerful piece of work,” he was right. I showed him the 2nd version, he offered a couple suggestions, and voila! It was a tremendous improvement. It is shorter (450 words), but states my cause and who I am much more effectively. Sorry for the long-winded anecdote, hopefully it’ll help someone.
Don 