Premed advising resources
There’s college, and then there’s college as a premed student.
The premed path is one of the most difficulty, not only because you navigate “weeder courses” like ochem and calc but also because you have to select the right extracurricular that will help you stand out to adcoms rather than seem like you have a bunch of well-rounded yet disjointed experiences.
As if that’s not enough, you have to develop relationships with professors, supervisors, and other mentors to obtain strong rec letters, ace the MCAT and Casper exams, and produce incredibly essays.
It’s not like you can access sound advice easily, either. Many premed students turn to questionable sources like Reddit and SDN for advice, taking them down a spiral of anxiety exacerbated by “What are my chances?” threads.
It can all be very confusing and overwhelming. Perhaps if you had a clear game plan, you would know exactly what courses to take and what extracurriculars to pursue to maximize your odds of admission.
For in-depth resources on how to navigate your “pre-application years,” click on your desired thumbnail below.
School-specific premed guides
No matter how many guides you come across online about topics like med school requirements, extracurricular activities, or pre-health committee letters, it’s likely that you’ll have specific questions about how to develop a strong premed profile at your home institution.
Students routinely tell us that they’re dissatisfied by the lack of support they receive through their school’s pre-health advising office and don’t want to rely on hearsay from their premed peers.
We decided to publish a series guides on how to navigate the premed journey at specific colleges and universities in order to help you identify the opportunities available to you.
MCAT prep resources
There’s no getting around it: The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is one of, if not the most, difficult standardized exams ever created.
While performing well on the exam can drastically improve your odds of getting into medical school, a so-so score could leave you facing a major uphill battle.
Whether or not it’s fair for your odds of becoming a physician to hinge so heavily on the results of a single exam, the MCAT isn’t going anywhere.
Unfortunately, your prerequisite courses and prep books will over teach MCAT content but spend little time on MCAT strategy. You’ll want to develop a rock-solid study schedule, understand key concepts, and learn how to apply them to test questions to maximize your score.
Whether you’re just starting to think about the MCAT or need to make a breakthrough on the infamous CARS section, we’ve got a resource for you.
Application process resources
No matter how high your GPA and MCAT or the amount of extracurricular hours you accumulated in key categories, you have to clearly articulate the qualities you possess that would make you a great physician and how you would fit at individual medical schools.
The challenge is that, as a premed student, you’re given little, if any, training about how to write compelling, creative non-fiction essays. Narrative writing is likely not your strong suit, and it’s awkward to talk about yourself. Plus, you certainly want to avoid coming across as arrogant.
But it’s not just about writing a great personal statement or secondary essays. You have to request standout recommendation letters, take another exam in Casper, develop a thoughtful school list, and ace interviews.
Click below to learn more about whichever aspect of the application process has you most concerned.
Specific med school guides
One of the most common refrains we hear from premed students is, “I just want to get in somewhere.” Other students have specific goal schools, whether a T20 program, a public med school in their home state, or something different.
You have to gear your application materials towards the individual schools on your list. What might work well for School A might not be so effective for School B.
Want to learn about different med schools’ requirements, profiles, and secondary prompts, including examples? Click on your desired program below.
Medical schools by state
Are you a Californian who wants to stay or return home? Want to attend med school on one of the two coasts? Will any big city do?
Regardless of your goals for the admission process, it’s wise to understand your options of where to apply and attend.
Click your desired thumbnail below to learn which schools you might want to pursue in your desired locales.
