How to apply to medical school workshop - Part II

Transcription

1 How to apply to medical school workshop - Part II For Bryn Mawr College undergraduates and alumnae applying during summer 2016 for matriculation in fall 2017 Health Professions Advising Office Bryn Mawr College Resources available at

2 Workshop Topics Application components, application services, and timeline Application sections and procedures including letters of recommendation, committee packets, and personal statements Choosing where to apply to medical school Medical school interviews Assessing your candidacy AMCAS Resources

3 Components of the medical school application Your goal: Ensure that all components are submitted to medical schools as early in the summer as possible. Centralized web-based application MCAT scores Secondary applications from individual medical schools and secondary application fees The premedical committee letter with appended letters of recommendation from faculty and supervisors of work and volunteer experiences Medical schools will not review your application until they have received all of the above materials.

4 Premedical Committee Letter and Packet The premedical committee process is designed to present medical schools with a comprehensive summary of your academic, extracurricular, and professional accomplishments, your service experiences, and your motivation and commitment to a career in medicine. Your Bryn Mawr premed committee packet will include: Your premed committee letter Two Bryn Mawr science faculty letters A recommendation letter from a professor who has taught you in your major (undergraduates) Letters from other faculty, employers, volunteer supervisors, athletic coaches, etc. as you think are helpful. If you are applying to osteopathic medical schools, be aware that some osteopathic medical schools require a letter from an osteopathic physician. Please speak to Gail if you are interested in osteopathic medicine. On your secondary applications, answer yes to the question asking if you have a premed committee letter. You should not list any of the individual letters of recommendation that are included in your committee packet.

5 Recommendation Letters and the Premedical Committee Packet Requesting letters of recommendation Give each recommender a recommendation request form from Healthpro web site. Waiving your right to see the letter(s)? All of your recommendation letters and your recommenders list are due at the Health Professions Advising Office by June 1, Factors affecting when your premedical committee letter will be written: Date that all recommendation letters are received. Note the deadline for receiving letters. Whether or not you have submitted your AMCAS application Date that you will receive your MCAT scores It is your responsibility to make sure that your recommenders can complete the letters by the deadline and to track your letters of recommendation. In May, information about how to track your recommendation letters will be sent over the medical school applicant list serv. If you are applying to osteopathic medical schools you should have a letter from an osteopathic physician. In the secondary applications you should always indicate that you are sending a committee letter.

6 The Medical School Application Process: Spring 2016 Autobiography: Written and submitted to health professions advisor. One-hour meeting to review autobiography. MCAT: Taken OR have started to study for it. If you haven t taken MCAT, schedule an MCAT test. Meet with health professions advisor to discuss timing of summer MCAT dates with application for fall 2017 matriculation.

7 Medical school application services Centralized application services Collects one set of transcripts from EVERY college where you have taken courses There are some transcript exemptions for consortial (i.e. courses taken at Haverford, Swarthmore, and Penn during the academic year) Generates standardized grading information (semester hour equivalents and GPA calculations) If you studied abroad you will need to carefully review the application instructions to determine whether or not a transcript is required from the study abroad program. Transcripts are required from programs sponsored by US universities that produce a US equivalency transcript. It is important to consult with health professions advisor about your study abroad program and other transcript questions in May. With the exception of Texas state schools, all US allopathic medical schools use AMCAS. Texas state schools use TMDSAS Osteopathic schools use AACOMAS International schools have their own application processes and forms.

8 Primary AMCAS Application (May 3) Complete online application Send college transcripts from all colleges attended to AMCAS Pay application fee Texas residents must ALSO submit TMDSAS applications. Overview of the application process Take the MCATs in the spring (May June if possible) Can submit AMCAS starting June 7 AMCAS processes the primary application. Starting in early July, AMCAS will send processed AMCAS applications to the medical schools selected by the applicant. Processing times increase as the summer progresses. At this point, medical schools take over processing applications. Secondary Application (Summer) Medical School Upon invitation from the medical school: Submit secondary applications and fees Send updated transcripts if necessary Medical schools will not review applications until they are complete! Interviews (Sept-March) Upon invitation from the medical school, schedule an interview date. The premedical committee letter with appended rec. letters, are submitted to medical schools by our office starting in early July. MCAT scores are automatically loaded into AMCAS applications as scores are released; however, you will need to release your scores to AACOMAS and TMDSAS.

9 Overview of the application process continued Medical Schools DECISIONS Some schools accept applicants on a rolling basis starting on October 15 whereas other schools only send out acceptances in March. Late Spring Financial aid packages released to accepted applicants. By March 30, medical schools will have issued a number of offers of acceptance at least equal to the expected number of students in its first-year entering class. Organize financial records, submit taxes, FASFA as soon as possible in January- February. By April 30 applicants can only be holding one acceptance. Medical schools will accept applicants from wait lists from May until school starts, although most offers are made by the end of June. August 2017 matriculate in medical school

10 Multiple Accept Data Medical schools cannot view the number or names of other schools that an applicant has applied to Medical schools have access to: Multiple Accept Data (February) Allows medical schools to see other schools to which an applicant they have accepted is also currently holding an acceptance decision The National Acceptance Report (April) Lists all applicants with a current Acceptance or Matriculated action See the Application and Acceptance Protocols for Applicants

11 To Do List for Spring 2016 If you have not already done so, read through the 2017 Bryn Mawr College Medical School Application Handbook. You must request recommendation letters, which are due in the Health Professions Advising Office (HPAO) by June 1. You must give each recommender an HPAO Recommendation Request Form (on the forms page of the healthpro web site). You could read drafts of AMCAS essays by former undergraduates and postbacs that are in a binder in the Canwyll House Resources Room. These essays are not posted online or sent out by . If you took college courses at schools outside of Trico or at Penn during the summer, you should order an official transcript for yourself now. You must check for accuracy since you will need this to fill out applications. You should also check your official Bryn Mawr College transcript for accuracy.

12 To do in May and June 2016 Start filling out the AMCAS application when it becomes available May 3. Check in with the health professions advisor. If there is interest, we will schedule a webinar in May to help you get moving with your applications. Set up a separate professional account for the medical school application process. Use a professional user name, enter basic contact information in the signature file, and turn off junk mail and spam filters. Turn in the Recommenders List (found on the forms page of the Healthpro web site) to Canwyll House by June 1. Finish your research about individual medical schools and start narrowing down the list of schools where you might apply. For each of these schools check their prerequisites to make sure that you have fulfilled or have a plan to fulfill all of the requirements. Note that some medical schools may have additional course requirements such as biochemistry, statistics, or behavioral science courses. Courses required in addition to the core premedical requirements can be completed during the application year. It is essential that you review the admissions office web pages of each school where you are applying to review the 2017 admissions requirements. Schedule an appointment with the health professions advisor to review your tentative list of schools and to address any questions.

13 When to submit the AMCAS application? Applicants should request transcripts for the application in May. You should consider submitting the application during the first week in June to one school. This will facilitate faster processing of the application; note that AMCAS processing slows down later in the summer. You can go back into the online application and apply to additional medical schools as needed. Note: It is risky to do this if you have not taken the MCAT and if you have not taken practice tests to get a sense of you possible score. Please talk with the health professions advisor if you are in this situation. AMCAS will start sending processed applications to medical schools starting early July. Secondary applications will start to be released after that date. You may submit your AMCAS application before you take the MCAT but that is risky. Factors to consider in deciding when to submit the application Date taking the MCAT and date MCAT scores available. If you are taking a summer session I class and want to include the grade

14 AMCAS Application Sections Identifying Information Schools Attended Biographic Information Course Work Work/Activities Letters of Evaluation Medical Schools Essay(s) Standardized Tests Release of information to your advisor: If you wish to authorize AMCAS to release information about your application to the designated advisor(s) at the school(s) you attended, indicate "Yes." We have met AMCAS requirements and are bound by confidentiality. Checking this option enables us to help you more effectively with your applications. Over time, it also allows us to gain insight into patterns of outcomes, which also helps you. Certifications: All applicants must certify various things, including: All info you submitted is current, accurate, and complete and narratives are your own work. Read AMCAS instructions for details. You must report if convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a misdemeanor or felony crimes and college institutional action. This must be reported on application. If these situations happen after application, you must inform AMCAS. For Accepted Applicants: AMCAS-facilitated Criminal Background Checks:

15 Sections of AMCAS 2017 to think about now Biographical Information a. Determine your official legal state of residency b. Childhood section requires information about family income and about how you paid for college. Work/Activities Section a. Limited to 15 experiences - which will you choose and how will you classify them? b. Most meaningful experiences you must choose from experiences listed in here. Coursework and Transcripts You must enter all of your college courses as listed on the OFFICIAL college transcripts. AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS differ in how they want the Haverford, Swarthmore, and Penn courses listed on their respective applications. Read the individual application instructions for details. You may need a transcript from your study abroad experience. If you studied abroad make sure to discuss this topic with the health professions advisor in May. AACOMAS requires study abroad transcripts from programs not sponsored by US colleges. The foreign transcripts must be evaluated for US equivalency by a credentialing service.

16 Consider this for all applications: Comments about the work/activities section Medical School Admissions Requirements: Getting Started 2014 (Epub version) Specifically, admissions committees look at the length of time you ve invested, the depth of the experience, and lessons learned in relation to any particular activity so that a daylong blood drive or one-time-only shadowing experience is less enlightening than semester or year-long commitments. By the same token, active participation in an activity is viewed as more instructive than a passive one (such as observation). Most important, though, admissions committees want to know what students learned from their experiences, and you should therefore be prepared to address these kinds of questions about your community, clinical, or research experiences in your application materials... page 38 Epub.

17 Personal Statement for AMCAS Maximum 5,300 characters, including spaces and punctuation Your opportunity to convey to the admissions committees a personal and mature perspective on your experiences, motivation, achievements, and passion for medicine. Reflect upon what you have learned from your experiences. The essay is not a restatement of your resume or information contained in the experiences and activities section of the applications. Read over the section on personal statements in the Bryn Mawr College 2017 Medical School Application Handbook. drafts of past essays in the Resources Room I would be happy to read drafts of your AMCAS essays. You can them to me as Word attachments with the file name format: Lastname AMCAS essay.doc.

18 Comments on personal statements from a medical school admissions dean The personal statement is very important in determining whether an applicant will be offered an interview. Most applicants have activities listed that show experience and insight into the medical profession. The essay needs to give depth and context to these experiences. To select applicants for the limited number of interview slots, admissions committees rely on the letters of recommendation and the personal statement in addition to work/activities. The applicant s own words must generate interest for the committee to want to meet him or her. There must be consistency between the goals and values in the personal statement and the remainder of the application. The first paragraph is extremely important. It is also important to put time and effort into the secondary application essays.

19 Choosing where to apply to medical school State residency requirements School curriculum/educational approaches Curriculum format (PBL or traditional; schedule type; grading system) Special programs at the school Patient interaction experiences, international rotations, research projects, etc. Range/median GPA and MCAT scores for accepted applicants at each medical school. Assess carefully where your numerical profile falls within individual medical school s reported ranges of accepted GPA and MCAT scores. Consult the 2016 MSAR when it becomes available as well as medical school admissions web sites. Financial considerations On average, applicants apply to medical schools (from AAMC national data). AAMC sells one-year subscriptions to access the AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) for $27. This can be very helpful.

20 Medical School Interviews Review the statistics in the MSAR for how many applicants each medical school interviews. For example, for the 2013 entering class George Washington University interviewed 8% of its applicants (1,100 interviewed out of 13,683 applicants) whereas the University of Massachusetts, which is primarily restricted to state residents, interviewed 51% of its applicants (596 interviewed out of 1,167 applicants). Possible Interview Formats Single interview with a faculty member, administrator or medical student; interview may be open or closed file Panel interview with questions about the applicant s background and experiences Multiple Mini-Interview format (MMI) Difficult to prepare for in advance. Scenarios may include ethical dilemmas to discuss, collaborative problem-solving or discussions with other applicants. Some programs using MMI may not provide any opportunity for applicants to talk about themselves or their experiences. StudentDoctor site for the interview feedback forum (Be careful about online commentary!)

21 Evaluating your candidacy as a medical school applicant - Putting yourself in the place of the medical school admissions committee Academic record GPAs calculated Science GPA (BCPM) = bio, chem, physics, & math grades Non-science GPA (AO) = grades from all other courses Overall GPA = grades from all courses MCAT scores What competencies are needed by physicians and how does your application demonstrate that you are developing them? Do your credentials show a passion for a career as a scientist? Do your credentials indicate that you have the potential to handle an intensive full load of medical school classes? Do your experiences show that you are committed to a service profession and that you desire to work with sick patients and with disadvantaged and underserved populations? How have you explored the medical profession and what demonstrates that you understand the nature of the challenges and the commitment to a medical career?

22 Acceptance rates for Bryn Mawr Undergraduate/Alumnae applicants to medical school: Of all Bryn Mawr applicants from , 56% were accepted to a U.S. allopathic or osteopathic medical school. Students and alumnae whose numerical profiles are close to those of the national averages of accepted medical school applicants are very successful in the medical school application process: From , 96% of Bryn Mawr applicants with a science and math GPA of 3.4 or higher and a score of 10 on each section the MCAT were accepted to a U.S. allopathic or osteopathic medical school.

23 Numerical Profiles of the Bryn Mawr Applicant Pool Combined Allopathic and Osteopathic School Admissions Data* *Not entirely representative because not all BMC applicants release their information to us. These figures are to be used as a guide. Average GPAs BMC Accepted Applicants BMC Rejected Applicants 2014 National allopathic accepted applicant data Overall GPA BCPM (science and math) AO (all other) GPA Average MCATs VR PS BS In 2014 there were 49,480 applicants to allopathic medical school for the 20,343 places available for matriculation in the fall of

24 Numerical Profiles of the Bryn Mawr Applicant Pool Time of application to medical school in relation to graduation Years off after graduation Applicant pool ( combined) 0 19 % 1 25 % 2 22 % > 3 34 % If a year or more has passed since you graduated from college, you re not alone. Almost half of matriculating medical students percent-indicated in a recent AAMC survey that there was a gap between college and medical school of at least twelve months. (Source MSAR 2013) According to the AAMC, the average age of first year medical students is 24. For the application cycles, 81% of Bryn Mawr applicants waited until after graduation to apply to medical school.

25 Information for International Students In 2015, 1,031 international students applied to enter medical school in fall That year, 164 international students matriculated into allopathic US medical schools, representing 0.008% of the 20,631 entering medical students. It is very difficult for international students without permanent residency to gain admission to U.S. medical schools. Medical school financing is generally supported through U.S. government loans that are not available to international students; therefore many medical schools will not accept applications from international students. There are exceedingly few scholarships for medical school education for either US citizens or international students. Furthermore, the medical schools that consider applications from international students will often require accepted international students to provide "evidence of ability to pay" in the form of an escrow bank account with the funds to pay for four years of tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. The cost for four years of medical school ranges widely from $150,000 to more than $250,000.

26 AMCAS Tools Instruction Manual and Guides Application and Acceptance Protocols Video Tutorials youtube.com/amcasinfo

27 AAMC Pre-Med Join the social conversation ask questions and get info

28 Fee Assistance Program - Eligibility You are eligible if you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national Lawful permanent resident of the U.S. Refugee/asylum or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status Award approval is tied directly to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' poverty level guidelines.