Working and attending college…

Potential lethal combination?

Many students find themselves in the unenviable position of HAVING to work and attend college at the same time. This a a potentially lethal combination in many ways. First of all, when something starts to suffer, it generally isn’t the job and second, burnout is a strong possibility. Both of these problems can be potentially avoided if you cut back on your coursework if you find that you must work full-time. If you are a full-time employee at most jobs, you have minimal time to study in between and thus, you can’t take on a full-time course load that includes pre-med lab courses. Decide that you are going to take your time and do well in your courses while leaving yourself plenty of time to rest from both coursework and employment. No medical school admissions committee is going to give you “brownie points” for trying to do a full-time course load along with full-time employment especially if your uGPA (or postbacc) work has suffered.

Recharging your batteries

You need time to digest and assimilate the material that you are learning in your pre-med coursework. Rushing through these classes with last minute “cramming” is not going to leave you with enough time to get the material in your long-term memory so that you can apply it on the Medical College Admissions Test. You need to be able to see the subtleties of what you are studying in addition to having some time to let your brain just rest. Again, rushing through your coursework makes MCAT review on the other end a total chore instead of a progressive process that will lead to success. Take your time, recharge your brain (even take a semester off if necessary) and then come back refreshed and ready to work at very high level.

Damage control

If you are retaking courses or attempting to take additional postbacc work to enhance your application, you need to do well without exception. You can’t keep posting mediocre grades and retaking courses with the expectation that eventually you will get that A and get into medical school. If you have significant prior poor coursework to overcome, take your time and remediate one course at at time. Pair a more demanding course like Physics with something less demanding like English/Psychology. Again, if you have prior poor coursework, you can’t afford to either do poorly in your recent coursework or drop courses because you have overloaded yourself. Slow, steady excellence will bring the success that you seek.

Keeping some perspective

If you have a family to support and take care of, be sure that you allow plenty of time for them. Working, attending class and then diving for a nap on the sofa or heading for bed is not going to do much for your relationship with your loved ones. They need your undivided attention and you need to interact with them for your sanity too. Let your loved ones be your much-needed and much-desired break from your schedule. They generally don’t expect your to be on your best behavior but only want you in your basic form. Allow them to see you, hang out with you and take you away from the grind of work/study on a regular basis. You grades will be better, you will be happier and you can keep yourself reminded of why you seek your goals in the first place.

Setting goals and achieving them

The whole key to finding success in the medical school application process is keeping your eye firmly on your long-term goals. I have stated in other posts that the process is like having 100 pounds of weight to lose. It isn’t going to happen overnight and you must take small steps on a daily basis to stay on track. It’s easy to get off track by the demands of work but you can’t achieve your goals by letting this happen. This means total organization and total commitment to the task at hand, be it work your studies. If you are at work, you give your work your full attention. When you attend class, you give your classwork the attention that it demands. It’s neat to be able to multi-task but most people are not able to work at a high level and achieve those A grades that you need for medical school admission at the same time. Again, if you work full-time, don’t expect to attend school full-time. If you attend school full-time, don’t expect to work full-time. The end result is that you wind up doing both things at a mediocre level which won’t allow you to achieve your goals.

 Finally…

There are no “points” for getting this process “almost” right. The level of academic achievement that is demanded of a potential medical student is getting higher every year. The MCAT is getting more competitive as many students are taking prep courses and spending more time preparing for this exam. You can’t expect to be competitive next year with this year’s work because the bar will move higher. If you are attempting to upgrade your credentials, then you need to do a complete overhaul and put up some good academics (even one course is better than nothing). Don’t expect to be the exception to any of the rules in this process. You are not generally in a position to be objective about yourself and your abilities. Make sure that you get some honest and objective advice. Trying to self-evaluate is like asking your Mum if you are a great kid. Of course, she’s going to answer in the affirmative but it’s far better to get someone who doesn’t know you, to look over your things (like a good academic adviser who knows the pre-med climate). Allow plenty of time for getting your work done at a high level and you will see movement toward your goals without sacrificing your employment records, your sanity or your soul.

Playing the Waiting Game and Keeping Your Sanity

Timing

You scrambled around and made sure that every one of your writers of your letters of recommendation did their respective jobs. You started your Personal Statement early and left plenty of time for editing and corrections. You started to fill out your AMCAS application as soon as it was available and you made sure that there were no mistakes. Finally, on the first day that you could, you pushed the submit button and the “waiting game” started. You had heard that in every circumstance, early application is the best strategy for success in getting into medical school. So now, you find that it’s early summer, school is out, and you are in for the wait.

Starting the Wait

Your next hurdle is to receive word that your AMCAS is verified. This can take six weeks or more if there were no mistakes or lost transcripts and can often take much longer if things are not moving efficiently. This step has to happen and it can cause worry if things are delayed. I can tell you that, in terms of medical schools, early summer is a non-time in terms of admissions. Most of our time is spent on getting the current class underway and gearing up for the start of receipt of new applications. For us, that early lag of time between when you can submit your application and verification is vacation time, organization time and just plain much-needed down time for us in terms of application review. It is also the time when we try to put the finishing touches on the class that is set for the new year.

The best strategy for you at this period is to make a folder for each school that you have applied to. In this folder, you will place copies of your personal statement, copies of any completed secondary applications one they have been received and completed and copies of any correspondence that you receive from that school. You can also put an envelop on the front of the folder with a copy of your itinerary once you have made travel plans for your interview. In any event, start making the folders and securing a safe place for them.

The next thing to do is make and Excel spreadsheet. On that sheet, you should make a book for each school that you have applied to. You will eventually log every date and every receipt of correspondence that you will receive. You columns should go something like date received, date sent, and date of school’s receipt. (Needless to say, anything that you send to a school should be sent by certified mail with receipt notification). Repository services such as Interfolio will also post dates of when they send your materials and when they were received. You definitely want to make sure that you keep your application materials and correspondence with each school very organized and safe.

Plan B

Plan B is what you will do if you are not accepted. In the business of medical school acceptance, nothing is a certainly except you won’t get accepted to a school if you don’t apply there. Acceptance, even if you have submitted an application with a 4.0 uGPA and 45 MCAT is not assured for anyone. It is wise to have a carefully though out and planned Plan B. From experience -mine and others- the more elaborate and complete your Plan B, the less chance you will have to use it. Start planning and working on you Plan B.

Financial Aid Forms

Right after you have submitted your AMCAS, you should begin and complete your FAFSA forms. You will need to obtain a financial aid transcript from every school that you have attended whether or not you received financial aid.  If you are not applying for scholarship or financial aid for medical school, you can skip this step.

When you complete your FAFSA, have the results sent to every school that you have applied to. This will save you time in the long run. If you are not accepted, having your financial aid information sent is not going to make a difference one way or the other. If you are accepted late, having your financial aid information already in place can save plenty of headache when school starts.

Senior Year

If you are an undergraduate, you want to plan a strong senior year. I know that “senioritis” sets in and you are tempted to want to coast because you are done with MCAT and done with the majority of your courses but don’t do this. Take some seminar courses and expand your knowledge base or take some research courses and pick up some valuable skills. My senior year of university was spent writing and presenting my honors thesis work. This was actually great experience for me and propelled me into the world of research scholarship. Use that senior year to shore up any possible deficiencies that you might have and to finish strong.

This is also a prime time to begin a solid exercise program. My biggest regret in medical school was that I didn’t stay in good physical condition. If I had kept up with my conditioning, I would have been an even more efficient student and a student with far less stress. Take this time to start and hone a solid aerobic exercise system that you can complete in 30 minutes to 1 hour each day. It can be as simple as taking three 10-minute brisk walks or climbing a couple of floors of stairs until you work up to 14 floors daily (only up direction counts). Even today, I make sure that I do at least 14 floors up every day. I can find steps pretty easily and do a couple of floors between cases or when I need a break from my desk.

Early Fall

By this time, you should be keeping your senior coursework strong and completing all secondary applications within one week of receiving them. Another thing that you need to do is go to a professional photographer and have some professional head shots taken of you in your interview attire. You will need these for many secondary applications and you will need them later for things like USMLE application. Don’t use a cheap “Passport photo” service. These cheap services will take photos that make you look like you have been in prison. Use a professional photographer and groom yourself as if you were going for interview. That secondary application should look polished and professional. Once you have chosen a good photo from the proofs, have several passport-sized sheets made and keep these in a safe place.

Again, as soon as you complete and post a secondary, make a copy and place this in the folder for that school. It’s a good idea to make a copy of everything that pertains to each school including things from their website (names of deans of admissions, names of admission coordinators) along with dates of any phone conversations. Also place copies of any e-mails that you have received for each school.

Interview Time

Most schools spend July and August reviewing applications and interviewing Early Decision applicants. You can expect to receive notification that you are complete but not much more information from your schools. Early Decision applicants have to be notified by September 1 so their applications are processed first. After the first couple of weeks of September, some of the earliest regular applicants may be notified of acceptance by some schools. If you receive a notification of invitation to interview at this time, this is great but don’t read anything into not receiving an invitation to interview. At this point, it is way early and you should be either working on Plan B or working diligently on your coursework. In short, don’t start obsessing about timing.

Many schools will not even begin interview session until late October and early November. Again, if you applied in early June, it will have been a long time. Don’t get crazy and don’t begin to call schools. If you have received a “complete” notice, then you wait. Find something else to do. If you have an interview notification, then work on your travel plans and logistics. Elsewhere on this blog, you will find posts about traveling to interview.

If you haven’t heard from any school by the end of October, consider applying to more schools. If you were in the very early applicants, you may need to broaden the number of schools that you have applied to. A major mistake that many applicants make is overestimating their competitiveness for medical school. If you are not securely above the averages for matriculants (uGPA 3.65 and MCAT 31) then you likely need to add more schools. If you are above those averages, you can hold but you probably should have head from schools by now. If not, make sure that your application materials have arrived.

Holiday Time

You applied early and haven’t received any interview notifications. Yes, it’s easy to fall into the trap of being depressed  but this is the time to plunge into the holidays and not get insane. Yes, I know that it’s only your future here but you cannot do anything more at this point. I will repeat in all caps for emphasis, YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING MORE AT THIS POINT. If your application is complete then you have to wait. It’s a good time to plan your trip home for the holidays and take a breather from coursework.

January and February

These are very heavy interview months. You may find that the interview invitations will roll in at this time. Again, there is still plenty of time to receive an interview and receive an acceptance. This is also a time when many of the early interviewers will begin to receive acceptances. If you have done a couple of interviews but received no acceptance, don’t panic here either. Again, work on and finalize your Plan B.

If you are a dedicated reader of The Student Doctor Network, don’t obsess over the fact that others have been accepted but you are still waiting. Timing is out of your control and dependent on things like the number of applications received by the schools that you have applied to and the competitiveness of those applications. The only thing that you can do at this point is WAIT (dread).

March and April

By the beginning of April, some folks will find themselves on wait lists and without an acceptance. This is not entirely a bad situation though you may want to make a decision as to whether you will begin to collect the things you need for reapplication. If you need to do things like re-take the MCAT, you need to have gotten started on your study and planning for the test. You can’t wait too late and you can’t do a re-take without some significant review and preparation. The worst thing that you can do is post an MCAT retake with a mediocre score.

If you are on a wait list, remember that there is a huge wait list movement on and after May 15th. May 15th is the date when people cannot hold multiple acceptances. I always advise folks to release acceptances as soon as they have either been accepted by their first choice or when they have made the decision as to where they want to attend. I released my acceptances by the third week of February because I had made my decision. I am sure that five people were grateful that I did that because they were able to get in that year.

May and later

In general, after May 15th, you are not likely going to gain acceptance. There are exceptions, especially the schools with rolling admissions but by this time, you should either have an acceptance or gathered your materials for reapplication. You can look at my previous post on when to give up on application to medical school but if you don’t have an acceptance by now, you likely need to take an objective look at your competitiveness and do some application upgrading.

If you need more coursework, this is a good time to get registered for post bacc work. If you are planning to enter a SMP (Special Masters Program), then you need to get busy fast. These SMP programs have deadlines too. In short, these may become your new Plan B and you need to get to work. If you are on a waitlist at this point, it will not hurt you to go ahead and plan on reapplying. Sure, you will lose the money of submitting your application but if you are not accepted off of a wait list, you will be happy that you reapplied early.

If you reapply, change everything that you can change about your application. Do not apply to the same schools with the same application materials. We do compare old and new applications. If you were unsuccessful and submit the same unsuccessful application materials, you are most likely not going to be successful next year either. The average matriculant uGPA and MCAT scores have always gone up. Also, unless a school tells you that you need more extracurricular activity, you likely don’t need to add more here either.

Finally

You may want to look into the following:

• Getting the services of a professional pre-med counselor. For nontraditional applicants who have been unsuccessful, this is money that will be well spent.
• Taking more undergraduate coursework to raise your uGPA. If you are significantly below 3.5, you likely need a year or two of more coursework.
• If you have an MCAT score below 28, you need a re-take period if you are applying to allopathic medical schools.
• Making sure that you have applied to a wide range of schools. If you only applied to schools in the Northeast, you may want to go out of that region. You need a minimum of 10 schools if your are a strong applicant and 15 to 20 if you are less than competitive.
• Don’t thumb your nose at osteopathic medical schools. If you are under the averages for allopathic but your uGPA is above 3.2 and MCAT above 27 but less than 30, you stand a good shot at osteopathic medicine. If you get into osteopathic medical school, you can have the same career as attending allopathic medical school. If you want to be a physician, they are definitely the way to go.

Personal Statement 101

Writing a personal statement can be a daunting task for many people who are not familiar with the process. By definition, a personal statement is something over which, you have total control. This is your area in the application process to make sure that any evaluator has a complete understanding of your ideas. Unfortunately, many people have great difficulty with expressing their ideas in a clear and concise manner. The key here is that your ideas give a complete and clear picture of you as an individual person.

Characteristics of Well-written Documents

Any well-written document contains an introduction or presentation of a hypothesis, evidence to support that hypothesis and a conclusion. If you have clearly stated or presented your case and evidence, the conclusion should be very easy to write and should stay in the mind of the reader. Unfortunately, conceiving and writing an introduction is the most difficult portion of personal statement writing for most people.

A well-written document is easy to outline or present in outline form. This is why starting with an outline is not a bad strategy for writing any document from personal statement to term paper. Outlines should be logical and should help your ideas from from one to the next as you present your evidence or data to support your original thesis or hypothesis. Most people mistakenly place too much information in their outline which makes their document difficult to understand after it is written. Your outline should be brief and should leave plenty of room for you to “flesh out” your evidence.

A well-written document contains good grammar and word usage. If your reading and writing skills have been “dumbed down” to the state of text messaging and sound bites, you are going to have a very difficult time getting your skills back up to a standard that is acceptable for a university-educated person. Being able to understand and utilize text messaging is quite useful in today’s world of electronic communication but make no mistake, trying to use the same methods of communication to a professional school admissions committee that you would use to your “chums” is not a good strategy. A better strategy is to become literate in every level of writing and communication.

Getting Started

To get around the difficulty of getting started on your personal statement, write down a list of words or phrases that describe you as an individual. You can certainly start anywhere with anything such as your “likes” and “dislikes”, your favorite activities, activities that you enjoy daily or do not enjoy, or persons that have strongly influenced you. This “idea” list need not be detailed but should be as descriptive or related to you as possible.

For example, if you listed your Uncle Andy as the person who had a strong influence on you, then under a subheading, list the characteristics and you and Uncle Andy share in common. If you can’t list any, then Uncle Andy did not have much of an influence on you. If Uncle Andy was the person who helped you through a difficult struggle, then list some of the specific things that Uncle Andy helped you to gain insight that helped you through your difficulties.

Do not list autobiographical data such as I was born in Los Angeles California on December 1,1983 and grew up in San Jose. I am certain that a couple of hundred folks were born in LA on that date and several million have grown up in San Jose. Those are not unique factors though growing up in San Jose may have had a profound influence on you as a person but you have to list the things about growing up in San Jose that have molded you into the person you are today.

Were there any sentinel events that shaped you interest and drive to pursue medicine as a career? Many people have gone through a life altering illness or experienced the emotions of the illness of a loved one. If you use this type of experience to weave your personal statement, you have to be sure that you carefully weave this event into your character and experience. It is your experience that you need and want to elucidate.

Take Your Time with this Document

Writing your personal statement is something that needs to take many drafts and many revisions. It’s a good idea to allow a minimum of five people (who know you well) to assist you in the editing of this document. If one or two of your personal statement readers are excellent writers, then you will be fortunate indeed. Allow them to objectively critique your document and allow them to change things. It is definitely certain, than you cannot be objective when you are attempting to write about a personal issue. This is where a good editor can help you clearly express your ideas and thoughts especially if they know you well.

The last thing that you should do is send your personal statement for edit to someone who does not know you or copy a personal statement from a website or service. By sending your personal statement to a stranger, you run the risk of them plagiarizing your material. You also give up some measure of your privacy which may come back to cause problems in the future. If you copy a personal statement from another person or allow a “service” to write your personal statement, they may be writing the same statement in the same style for several people. This can leave you open to plagiarism which will “tank” your chances of getting into medical school.

Admissions committees have plenty of resources for detecting plagiarism at our disposal. Don’t take the risk or leaving yourself open to this type of error. It is far better to write your own statement, in your own style than to copy anything or allow anything to be written for you that you present as your own work. While ghost writers are common in today’s world of celebrity authors, if you are not a celebrity, then you should not use a ghost writer.