Medical School Competition

United States medical school enrollment is up for the eleventh consecutive year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Check out this short article on the topic.

The Early Bird

For all of those pre-med students who are reading my blog in preparation for their future applications to medical school, here's a reminder: Start early. One of my clients from this application season has already been admitted to two top medical schools. As I've mentioned before, medical school admissions are rolling. You can increase your odds by getting your AMCAS in during June and July.

Dress for Success

A few simple rules regarding clothes and interviews:

1. Do not be noticed for your clothing. You do not want to be the "guy with the Bugs Bunny tie." This is not the time to be creative, unfortunately.
2. Be professional but comfortable. You may have to walk a mile between interviews. I still remember a miserable ten minutes in a Manhattan winter, getting from one building to another.
3. Pack carry-on. I won't forget the embarrassed applicant who came to our institution in jeans when his suitcase was lost by the airline.


Contact me for mock interview assistance soon.

Don't Beg

There are a lot of good points in my colleague Ann Levine's book The Law School Admission Game: Play Like An Expert. In particular, I want to point out her advice regarding avoiding pleas for acceptance. I notice many applicants make this error at the end of personal statements for medical school, residency and fellowship. Here's Ann's take, which I think is very useful:

"Your personal statement should convince the reader to admit you based on the strength of your experiences and perspective. No begging at the end. None of this, "I truly hope for the opportunity to prove myself" nonsense..." (p.91).

Remember: If you make yourself a distinctive candidate through your accomplishments, you won't feel the need to address your reader in this manner.

Distress in Medical Training

Here's more on the difficulties associated with training to be a physician. This isn't new news; it's just getting more attention as of late.

Match Violations

This WSJ article refers to a PGY-1's experience last year with Match violations.

I was asked multiple inappropriate (and illegal) questions when I was interviewing. (I was later told that one of my interviewers was taken off the roster because of his routine practice of asking unprofessional questions.) One thing I review with my clients in residency mock interviews is how to best answers these questions. I am currently scheduling mock interviews into the end of October, so please contact me soon if you are interested in my assistance.