Med School Scholarships: They Do Exist
It’s no secret that med school costs are off-the-charts. The total for 4 years is an estimated $200,000 for public schools and up to $300,000 for private universities, according to a New York Times...
View ArticleFinancial Aid for Costs of MCAT, Application Fees
There aren’t many ways to reduce the high costs of applying to medical school, but the Fee Assistance Program (FAP) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is one of them. Under the...
View ArticleTackling the “Diversity” Essay on Med School Apps
Remember that diversity question from your college applications? It’s baaack. Yes, just like undergraduate universities, med schools want to know what makes you stand out from everyone else, so that...
View ArticlePre-Med Advisory Committees and Why It’s Good to Have Them
There are different levels of university assistance for pre-med students. Many schools offer college pre-med advisers to provide guidance through the maze of requirements and application enhancements...
View ArticleIf You Get Into More Than One Med School (!!!), Tips for Choosing Which to...
OK, this is the best possible position to be in: having acceptances from more than one med school, and getting to choose which to attend. After getting off your knees in thanks to the universe, you...
View ArticleMCAT in the Summer: How to Make It Work
Conventional wisdom is that pre-meds take the MCAT during the spring or early summer of their junior year. But for my son, AC, that schedule just didn’t work. He had research to finish, a paper to...
View ArticleDO and MD: Why Em Applied to Both
There are two paths to a license to practice medicine: with a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Most pre-meds apply to one program or the other, but last year a...
View ArticleWhy Em Chose Osteopathic Medicine over MD
Em, who was a biomedical engineering major, applied to MD and DO schools. (See my last post, ” DO and MD: Why Em Applied to Both.”) She was accepted into both types of programs, and chose DO over MD....
View ArticlePre-Med Recommendation Letters for Med School: Build Relationships Early
You need strong recommendation letters for med school applications, at least some of them from college professors. And, since you’re probably one student out of hundreds that your professors see each...
View ArticleThe Personal Statement Essay for Medical School Apps: How to Approach It
“So, tell us why you want to become a doctor.” That’s the essence of the personal statement, as well as the focus of many medical school interviews. And although you know the answer, it can be hard to...
View ArticleLove/Hate Those Student Doctor Forums
Student Doc and The Student Doctor Network are where pre-meds and medical students go online to feed each other’s neuroses – and share some essential information while doing it. They are must-read for...
View ArticleMed School Applications: The AMCAS Application for MD Schools
With only a few exceptions (click here for school listings), virtually every U.S. allopathic — MD — medical school requires two applications. The first and primary one is the l-o-n-g, detailed online...
View ArticleMed School Applications: AACOMAS Application for DO Schools
Most Doctor of Osteopathy — DO — medical schools require two types of applications. The first is the detailed primary application that is filed with the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic...
View ArticleMed School Rankings: How to Use Them
We all have a love-hate relationship with those “best of” lists, and medical school rankings are no exception. Is it just the allure of laying claim to what someone else considers “Top Ten”? Maybe....
View ArticleChoosing Which Med Schools To Apply
Numerous hours are spent on deciding — and daydreaming about — where to apply to med school. Should you go for a DO or an MD degree? Focus on primary care or research schools? How will residency...
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