When it comes to giving marks for extracurricular activities , quality wins over quantity. A fruitful summer of research with a publication is better than three summers being a lab assistant/tech. A long term commitment to a volunteer organization with significant responsibilities is better than volunteering at three different hospitals.
Category Archives: Admissions
Adcom Advice #4 – Grades Come First
There are so many factors to consider when reviewing medical school applicants. You may have heard that volunteering overseas will get you big points, that you must do research, or that a good MCAT score will go a long way. All of these things do play a significant role in
Adcom Advice #3 – Don't Make Excuses
When you fill out your application, you want to put your best foot forward. You want your file to be flawless, free of typos and grammatical mistakes. That is why you must avoid making excuses! You should never make excuses of try to explain your shortcomings. A lot of people
Adcom Advice #2 – Be Relevant, Specific and Concise
When going through applications, nothing ruins a good application faster than ambiguous writing. Unclear statements make it hard for adcoms to review your application objectively and when in doubt, adcoms will tend to give lower scores as a precaution. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that your application provides the most
Adcom Advice #1 – Don't Lie
If there is one cardinal sin of applications, it is lying (false information, overexaggerate, half-truths) Nothing gets your application thrown out faster than lying: about your qualifications, extracurricular activities, personal achievements. There are no benefits from lying on your medical school application. It is dishonest and unforgiveable in the eyes
Adcom Advice – Series
I am starting a new series titled: “Adcom Advice.” This year, I have the opportunity to be involved with my school’s admission committee and an integral part of selecting future medical students. Looking back on my own application process, I now see so many things I could have done to
The Sorting Hat of Medical School
It’s always strange to see things from a different perspective. Especially if sitting in front of you is 1 Dean of Medicine 4 Administrative Staff 5 Medical Students 3 Faculty Members 8 Practicing Physicians 1 Dean of Science Dear Readers, I successfully infiltrated medical school’s mystery black box. I have
What Extracurricular Activities Should I Do?
The typical pre-med day involves studying, getting good grades, making connections with professors, and doing amazing extracurricular activities that will somehow separate you from all the other medical school applicants. This naturally leads to the question, which extracurricular activities will increase my chances to get into medical school? You might
The Value and Importance of Writing
Most science and engineering students I know went into their respective fields to avoid writing. I was also like them. I disliked writing essays in high school and left assignments until the night before to do. I despised it. I avoided it. Every time I sat in front of a
Should I Retake the MCAT? (A Guide to your MCAT Score)
After every year’s MCAT score release date, the question of whether one should rewrite the MCAT comes up or what can I do with this (insert number+letter here). This question is so common that several forums are dedicated to answering this question including one for Canadian Students and one for
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