After revising grammar, spelling, and syntax, I methodically go through a personal statement (PS) sentence-by-sentence and ask if the content meets any of the following criteria: Read more  

I recently received this question from a friend deciding between med schools:

I got accepted to TCOM [a D.O. school in Texas] and Ross [an M.D. school] in the Caribbean. Which one do you think is a better option? Do you think I should reapply to MD schools again? I am very confused and don’t know what to do. Please give me some advice.

In all honesty, this isn’t a fair question. In a way, it’s questioning one’s definition of what it means to be a physician. Is it the M.D. after one’s name… or the actual calling? Is it the fact that you’re attending a mainland school… or just a prestige issue? Read more  

Besides the online application, secondaries, and recommendation letters, some med school applicants like to submit “letters of intent” (LOIs) to schools which, creatively enough, they intend to attend upon receiving an acceptance. Read more  

So you’ve rushed to take your MCAT and prepare your personal statement, now you wait till applications open. Then you rush to submit your apps, then you wait to receive secondaries. Then you rush to finish the secondaries, then you wait to receive an interview invite. Then you get anxious, and now it’s the night before your medical school interview – the last chance you’ll have to leave an impression on a school. Read more  

If you take the time to peruse the vast databases of applicant statistics, there’s one striking conclusion which can be drawn about reapplicants – in most cases, they’re fighting an up hill battle against the application, the interview, the first-time applicants, and the statistics from previous years. Unless reapplicants make substantial strides in their applications between cycles, they have a slim chance of getting into a medical school of their choosing. Read more  

July is halfway done, and interview invitations are already rolling out for some lucky applicants. At this point, there are only a handful of legitimate excuses not to have submitted your application, so if you’ve not, get on it!! Read more  

I’ve received inquiries in the general format: “What are my chances of getting into Baylor Med with a ___ GPA, ___ MCAT, and ___ hours volunteering at a hospital/doing research?” A part of me cringes when I see the last statistic. Read more  

This past application cycle for Baylor Med has been an incredible experience for me. I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of applicants, many of who are matriculating to BCM this fall. What makes me even happier is the fact that, in spite of all the negative articles regarding BCM, students are forcing the current student body and faculty to address the tough questions. Read more