Medical schools are extremely competitive no matter which part of the world you’re in. Yet, it is still a dream for many people to get into a medical school. While it may seem easy to talk about getting into medical school, it’s actually a lot more complicated when executing. If you’re unsure of how to get into medical school, here are some things you can do to ease getting into one.
Have Some Medical Experience for your Résumé
Gaining medical experience can be done in several ways and it doesn’t usually involve treating patients because you’re not certified to do so yet. Your medical experiences can come from shadowing doctors or other medical professionals. Additionally, you can also gain medical experience by becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) or as an administrator for a hospital.
Having the medical experience is a plus point for the admissions committees because it shows that you’ve spent some time familiarizing yourself with your future job. You might just be a volunteer at your local hospital filing x-rays, but it shows initiative, which will increase your chance of getting into medical school.
Prepare Ahead for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
Your MCAT score is one of the most important things that determines if you’re accepted into medical school or not. The MCAT test is extremely difficult and most medical students that were accepted had an average score of 508 from a range of 472 to 528. We would suggest you allocate approximately 300 to 350 hours of study time if you want to do well for the MCAT exam.
Additionally, you can sign up for an MCAT prep course to make the studying journey easier. In most prep courses, practice tests are provided and you should make use of those by doing as many as you possibly can. As long as you commit to preparing for the MCAT and put in effort, you will score well and get into medical school much easier.
Be Active in Extracurricular Activities
It might seem as though your non-academic interests and activities aren’t important, but it is the opposite. By being active in extracurricular activities, it shows that you are interested in other things besides academics. It will be useful in the eyes of the interviewers because it gives them something to relate to you with.
Besides that, it also shows your commitment to the things you like and that is what the interviewers are looking for as well. It’s certainly easier to just relax, stay at home and do your homework, but finding time to participate in extracurricular activities will be of great help when you want to ease getting into medical school.
Apply to Multiple Medical Schools
The chances of you getting into medical school are greatly increased if you apply to multiple med schools instead of just a single one. Just because you’re rejected by one of the medical schools doesn’t mean you can’t get into any because each medical school has their own application requirements and it also changes from year-to-year. So don’t be demotivated and keep trying.
To improve your odds of getting into medical school, you can also contact the admission committees to find out more about their requirements. After that, think about which school will most likely accept you and apply for those medical schools.
Be Prepared for the Interviews
If you’re asked to attend an interview with the medical school you applied to, you should do some preparation beforehand to ease getting into the school. The first thing that you can do is look up the mission statements of the schools, study them and share them during the interview if given the chance.
Preparing yourself to answer the interview questions instead of providing impromptu answers will also be helpful. One of the most important questions you should be prepared to answer is why you want to be a doctor. There is no right or wrong answer for this question but just be sure your reason to be a doctor is good enough. Also, remember to be polite to everyone you meet during the interview because it leaves a good impression.
Conclusion
While it may seem like getting into medical school is an extremely difficult task, it actually isn’t. Yes, it’s hard but definitely possible if you do enough preparation. You cannot expect to achieve a difficult milestone without putting in the hard work, so be sure to do your best and you’ll most likely get into medical school.
