Confused? Check out these AAMC Webinars

For those approaching the medical school admissions cycle, I noted (at least) two AAMC webinars that look helpful:

First, on April 14 there is a live webinar at 11 AM PST reviewing general AMCAS information, described as follows: This webinar will help applicants prepare for the 2027 AMCAS® application cycle. Participants will receive a walkthrough of the AMCAS application, an overview of updates and changes for the upcoming cycle, and information about available resources to support a successful submission.

Then, on April 21 at 10:30 AM PST there is another live webinar on submitting AMCAS coursework and transcripts. Here's the description: Submitting transcripts and completing the coursework section are important steps in the AMCAS® application process. This session will help applicants navigate common issues that arise when submitting official transcripts and entering coursework, and provide guidance to prevent processing delays.

Participants will learn about transcript submission requirements and timelines, common problems with electronic transcripts, how to accurately enter and update coursework, and common errors that result in returned applications. There will be time for live Q&A with AMCAS experts.

Both look very helpful.

Positively Influence your Letters of Recommendation by Making the Job of Letter Writing Easy

When pre-meds, residents, nurses, and physician colleagues asked me to write them LORs when I was Assistant Residency Director, the first thing I requested was that they send me background information to make my letter robust…and my job easier. Accordingly, whether you are applying to medical school, post bacc programs, dental school, residency, or fellowship, I strongly recommend you create a “LOR packet,” which can include the following:

1. A brief, well-written cover letter defining all of your important accomplishments
2. Your curriculum vitae (CV)
3. Your personal statement in its final form (if available)
4. Your transcripts.

With regard to the cover letter, keep it streamlined: Thank the writer and highlight your pre-professional achievements on one page. The point of the cover letter is to supplement a writer’s knowledge of your candidacy and offer flattering content for inclusion. A college professor may know that you made the only A in an organic chemistry class, but her LOR for medical school will be more complete, and she will demonstrate a more intimate familiarity with you if she knows enough to write that you volunteer regularly at a homeless shelter.

With regard to the CV and personal statement, these make useful supplements to the LOR packet only if they are in professional and final form. Don’t include rough drafts, as poorly organized background information leaves your writer the impression that you are disorganized. Also, only include the transcript if it bolsters your candidacy, demonstrating academic achievement. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot if you have some bad grades you’d rather not showcase.

Bottom line: An applicant who offered me a list of her accomplishments in a tidy, accessible package was more likely to get a strong, comprehensive letter that was submitted promptly. If you can make a letter writer's job easier, your forethought is likely to pay dividends in the letter you receive. The savvy applicant can take subtle advantage of her ability to "lead the witness."

People > Prestige

For those of you medical school applicants who are fortunate enough to have more than one acceptance by the end of this cycle, I would recommend looking into research by Dan Chambliss, author of How College Works. I also heard him interviewed on the Your College Bound Kid podcast. Chambliss argues that colleges work best when students form robust connections with other students and with faculty because human bonding is a major driver of learning, belonging, and motivation.

Chambliss' assertions are based on a 10-year study of Hamilton College students, who were tracked over time to identify the experiences that matter most in college. In choosing a learning institution, he recommends asking yourself:

1. Will I find my people here?

2. Will I know my professors here?

3. Will this place make connection easy?

While we can't say for sure that these findings apply to medical school, they sure do make intuitive sense. I'm still in daily contact through text with multiple medical school friends! Peers were the best part of medical school for me.

"...We'll Build Our Own Damn Medical School"

A California Assemblywoman, who is also a physician, recently introduced a bill to force the hand of the University of California in hopes of opening a medical school by next year in an underserved area of California. 

Since 1960, the University of California has been the only public education system authorized to confer medical degrees in the state. However, a new bill, introduced by Jasmeet Baines, a family physician and Democrat representing Kern County's city of Delano, allows California State University, Bakersfield, and the Kern Community College District authority to establish a medical school if the University of California doesn't do so within a year. 

In 1978, the Fed formally designated Kern County an area with a physician shortage. The County is located in the California Valley, which has fewer than 45 primary care physicians per 100,000 people compared to 156 per 100,000 across California.

Dr. Bains was quoted as saying, "If the UC won't build it, we'll build our own damn medical school."

Match Week is Here

Match week has arrived, having officially started at 10 AM EST today when applicants received notifications indicating whether they'd matched. Those who didn't obtain a position can participate in the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), which will proceed from today through Thursday. (If you're interested in the ins and outs of SOAP and its universally disliked predecessor the Scramble, take a look here.)

This Friday, March 20, applicants will learn where they've matched. 

Good luck!

Sesame Street Can Help You Write a Great Medical School Personal Statement

I learned an interesting fact years ago: When small children don't understand something, they will simply tune it out and start to engage in another activity. That's why great shows like Sesame Street use professionals to make sure their content is precisely age-appropriate. Children - and adults - don't like being confused, and you can’t blame them.

In their personal statements, some medical school candidates make the mistake of referring to an accomplishment without explaining it. This is understandable since we are all intimately familiar with what we've done. The problem is that the vast majority of application readers are way too busy to do independent research or go back and forth checking an applicant’s supporting documents if she writes something that isn’t crystal clear.

I remember a talented candidate I advised who showcased an award she had won. She listed the name, but didn’t explain what it was. When I asked her, she told me the award was an academic honor given to only the top 1% of students out of several thousand. I was impressed! And, I asked her to rewrite the section so that her admissions readers would give her the credit she deserved for that extraordinary accomplishment. Because the medical school admissions process is so competitive, what you fail to adequately explain counts against you.

On a related topic, don’t expect a reader to understand something in your essay because it’s explained in your AMCAS activities. Different faculty members will approach the application in different ways, so – to get “full credit” for your accomplishments - you need to assume that your reader is seeing your essay first, independent of your AMCAS activities. Ensure your personal statement can stand alone and doesn't rely on your AMCAS Activities section for clarification.

Contact me for help with your written materials. I have read thousands of essays, and I personally review every document sent to me.

Fellowship Match Data is Out

Take a peek at the NRMP's recently-published Results and Data: Specialty Matching Service. This information is not as granular or useful as Charting Outcomes of the Match (focused on the residency Match), but it's still helpful to see what percentage of a subspecialty goes unfilled. (Geriatrics had 77% unfilled in the most recent cycle. Gastroenterology had 1.5%.) The trends year over year are also instructive. 

The NRMP Rank Order List Due Date is Fast Approaching: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

The rank list deadline is March 4, 2026 at 9 PM EST, however waiting until the last minute and making impulsive changes to your list is not a great idea ;).

Ensure you avoid simple missteps in creating your list. Improving written materials and interview skills is important, but all of that work can go down the drain if applicants do not understand basic strategies for the Match. In November 2015, the NRMP published an article called, "Understanding the Interview and Ranking Behaviors of Unmatched International Medical Students and Graduates in the 2013 Main Residency Match" in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education. The data is still relevant today and especially important for IMGs who represented the majority of unmatched candidates.

Sadly, the authors found that some applicants made strategic errors including the below:

- Not attending all interviews, thus failing to capitalize on every opportunity to market themselves.

- Declining to rank all programs at which they interviewed or not ranking all programs they would be willing to attend.

- Misunderstanding the Match and ranking programs at which applicants did not interview.

- Failing to rank programs based on true preferences or ranking programs based on the perceived likelihood of matching.

Here is a video explanation of the Match algorithm. If you do not understand how the Match works, it is absolutely critical that you learn about it to avoid destructive errors.

How are Residency Programs Managing the $100,000 Fee for New H-1B Visa Applications?

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recently published a piece on the effect H-1B visa fees will have on the Match, hospitals, and access to medical care going forward unless there is an exception made for the healthcare field. The article also explains the distinctions between the H-1B and J-1 visas for physicians.

Andrea Price-Carter, MPA, director of health equity advocacy and government relations for the AAMC points out that J-1 and H-1B visa holders do not displace U.S. medical graduates, and instead, fill gaps where there is a shortage of needed professionals.

Here's the AAMC piece.

AW(e)SOM(e)

This week a friend texted me a PBS NewsHour segment she saw about the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) that opened for its inaugural class this cycle. The school is located in Bentonville, Arkansas, and its mission is to provide an innovative program that incorporates art and humanities. The school shares a campus with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and medical students are encouraged to learn the "art of healing." Importantly, for the first five cohorts, tuition is free, so the admission process is fierce. 

Take a look here at the PBS segment.