The following piece was written by Dr. Michelle Finkel. Michelle has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former Harvard Medical School faculty member. She is the founder of Insider Medical Admissions. This is my second blog entry in a series on actions you can take immediately to help you obtain strong letters of recommendation (LORs). The first entry describes two initial strategies for improving your medical school letter of recommendation process. Today I’ll pursue the LOR topic further, specifically advising you how to positively influence the content of your LORs. As a Harvard Assistant Residency Direc ... Read More About Tips for Asking for a Medical School Letter of Recommendation

 The following piece was written by Dr. Michelle Finkel. Michelle has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former Harvard Medical School faculty member. She is the founder of Insider Medical Admissions. If you haven’t yet had a chance, please take a look at my last two Varsity Tutors blog entries (Part 1 and Part 2 here) on writing a medical school personal statement. Today’s topic will be letters of recommendation (LORs), a part of your application you should get moving on immediately if you haven't already. Having read many LORs as a Harvard Assistant Residency Director, I can tell you that thes ... Read More About How to Get Your Letter of Recommendation for Medical School

The following piece was written by Dr. Mike Frazier. Mike has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former UCLA Medical School Admissions Committee member. He is also the founder of Medical School Insider. The medical school personal statement can be a scary part of your application. However, it doesn't have to be that way! Think of this as a chance to show some personality and mainly to demonstrate your passion for medicine. Get Off to a Solid Start One of the most important parts of your medical school personal statement will be your opening sentence. You want to have something that really grabs the reader's attention ... Read More About How to Structure Your Medical School Admissions Essay

The following piece was written by Dr. Michelle Finkel. Michelle has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former Harvard Medical School faculty member. She is the founder of Insider Medical Admissions.  If you haven’t yet had a chance, please take a look at my last piece on writing a medical school personal statement. As I mentioned then, I wrote my personal statements for medical school and emergency medicine residency without much of a clue as to what went on behind the closed doors of medical admissions committees. But I quickly gained a lot of insight when - years later - I found myself reading essay ... Read More About What Your Medical School Essay Reader is Thinking

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Liza Thompson has advised medical school applicants for the past 20 years. As the former director of the Johns Hopkins University and Goucher College Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Programs, she has managed admissions processes, the premedical curriculum, MCAT prep, and the medical school application process. While at Johns Hopkins, she also served on the Premedical Education Committee. Liza has developed a great deal of expertise in premedical advising and regularly shares it with applicants through her firm, Thompson Advising. VT: How mu ... Read More About Ask a Medical School Admissions Expert: Liza Thompson

The following piece was written by Dr. Michelle Finkel. Michelle has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former Harvard Medical School faculty member. She is the founder of Insider Medical Admissions. At first glance, medical school admissions might seem a far cry from the subjects of reality television confessionals. The players are stalwart, steady characters who live restrained lives and channel their passions with extreme discipline. Yet the admissions game is arguably one where the drama is real, the intensity is palpable, and the stakes are high. There are winners and losers, with thin margins separating one group fro ... Read More About How to Write a Personal Statement for Medical School

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Dr. Michelle Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. Upon completing her residency at Harvard, she moved up as a faculty member and eventaully became the Assistant Residency Director for Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she interviewed many applicants and reviewed countless applications, personal statements, and resumés. Dr. Finkel is currently a board-certified Emergency Physician and the founder of Insider Medical Admissions. VT: What is the single most important thing applican ... Read More About Ask a Medical School Admissions Expert: Dr. Michelle Finkel

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Dr. Carleen Eaton is a graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine with nine years of experience in admissions advising. She has helped hundreds of medical school applicants get into their desired programs over the years and has frequently been a guest speaker at various colleges and universities on the subject. Dr. Eaton is the founder of PreHealthAdvising.com, an admissions consulting firm dedicated to assisting students in the medical school application process. She is currently working on her book, Getting into Medical School For Dummies, ... Read More About Ask a Medical School Admissions Expert: Dr. Carleen Eaton

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Dr. Mike Frazier is a member of the MedSchoolCoach team and the founder of Medical School Insider, a website he created to help aspiring medical students through the admissions process. He is a former member of the UCLA Medical School Admissions Committee and the author of his own eBooks, such as, Succeeding in Medical School: How I Landed My Top Choice Residency. A graduate of the UCLA medical school as well, Dr. Frazier has a clear and knowledgeable view of how to master the medical school application. VT: How much time should be set as ... Read More About Ask a Medical School Admissions Expert: Dr. Mike Frazier

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Dr. Jessica Freedman has not only written three best-selling books on the Medical School admissions process, she is the founder of her own consulting firm. Having previously served on the Medical School Admissions committee for The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, Dr. Freedman has closely assisted many residents and medical students through the admissions process with great success. She has received several honors including numerous awards for her mentorship at Mount Sinai and is extremely well-recognized for her expertise in th ... Read More About Ask a Medical School Admissions Expert: Dr. Jessica Freedman

Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Having been accepted to three of the top ten medical schools in the country as well as being the founder of a prominent Medical School application consulting service, Dr. Sahil Mehta truly knows all the ins and outs of the Medical School Admissions world.  Previously, he has served as an interviewer on admissions committees for both Columbia University and the University of Chicago.  He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University and then went on to attend the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.  Dr. Me ... Read More About Ask a Medical School Admissions Expert: Dr. Sahil Mehta

Med schools will consider where you attended undergraduate college. However, it may not be as important as you think. What is more important is your undergrad school’s commitment to preparing students for med school. Many undergrad schools are affiliated with a med school and a hospital, which can create more opportunities for students. Learn how MCAT tutors can help you improve your chances of acceptance into a top med school.  Being affiliated with a hospital can help undergrad students gain clinical experience. At these schools, you can easily find research opportunities in labs or even internships with the affiliate ... Read More About How Your Undergrad School Affects Med School Chances

Sometimes, whether you’re accepted to med school comes down to the numbers (GPA / MCAT score), and you can’t change those. However, there are many areas you can improve on – or spin to create a more impressive resume. These tips below can help you build a strong, professional resume to help your acceptance chances. Stop: Take a step back before you begin your resume, med school application or anything else. Try to find a theme, belief or mantra that describes you or what you stand for and thread it throughout your entire application. Write a little blurb about yourself, stating why you are bound for a great medical car ... Read More About How To Write A Resume For Med School

What are you doing to become a better doctor? Today? Right now? Med schools want the great, future doctors and physicians. They want undergrad students who are passionate about the medical field, those who are poised to succeed. The more you can convince med school admissions counselors that you will be a successful doctor, the better your chances are of getting in. Clinical experience is the best way to prove just that. An internship/co-op is the traditional way to gain clinical experience. However, most internships are reserved for undergrad upperclassmen. If you’re a freshman or sophomore – or student who did not get a chance ... Read More About How To Gain Clinical Experience Before Med School

It depends on the med school. But, the easy answer is: MCAT. Some med schools believe that GPA is a better indicator of future success because it measures your work ethic and determination. However, your MCAT score is the only factor that is completely objective. It is the only factor that can compare all students evenly. Admissions counselors can support every decision they make with a student’s MCAT score, and they have no problem making definitive answers based on your MCAT. But, some schools will place equal importance on MCAT and GPA. Some med school admissions counselors use a metric to form an aggregate value of your GPA and M ... Read More About MCAT Or GPA More Important For Med School

The list of factors to determine if you will be accepted into a certain medical school can go from your MCAT scores/undergrad GPA all the way down to your hometown. But, the objective factors such as MCAT score, GPA, courses taken, etc., are fairly easy to measure and compare to other students. Other subjective factors like interview score, research/work experience, etc are much more difficult to compare but can still impact your outcome. So, here is what you need to get into the top med schools: GPA: Most med schools want to see at least a 3.5 GPA. Your GPA can be a fairly objective measurement; however, many undergrad schools are kno ... Read More About How To Improve Your Med School Application

The MCAT is the cornerstone of your entire med school application process. It’s where your acceptance conversation begins. And it may be the most important factor in your application. You can actually improve your MCAT score. It’s not easy, but it can be done. The following tips can help: Practice tests: You’ve probably heard it before, but this is THE BEST WAY to improve your MCAT score. Practicing helps your brain organize and structure its thinking around the format and rigor of the MCAT. Practice tests can also rapidly improve your speed, allowing you to answer more questions. Click here for free practice tests from th ... Read More About How To Improve Your MCAT Score

Everyone knows the top schools, but for the most part it’s about personal preference. It’s about how you want to learn and what career you’re hoping to launch. Consider these factors as you research and tour potential med schools. They can serve as a good starting point and help you form questions for campus/school tours. Curriculum: Most schools teach just about the same information; however, the way they teach it can differ. Some schools continue to use the traditional, didactic lecture classes, but others are moving toward a more “integrated” curriculum or the problem-based learning approach (PBL). Neither app ... Read More About How To Choose A Medical School

Your interview could be the deciding factor in your application process. Once you are awarded an interview, the school is prepared to admit you based on your past academic performance/accolades. At that point, it’s all about your interview. Here are some tips from Varsity Tutors to help you ace your interview. Don’t try to sell yourself too much: Once you’re in that interview seat, the school already knows your MCAT scores, where you went to undergrad, how many hours of community service you boast, etc…etc. They know you’re intelligent and motivated on paper, now you need to prove yourself off paper. Be p ... Read More About How To Interview For Medical School