The Med School Pulse

So, you have been preparing for a late May or early June MCAT by studying hard and taking practice tests. Are you looking for something to give you that extra studying edge? Or perhaps you’re eyeing an MCAT test date later in the summer? Are you looking to get jump-started on material?

Either way, you’re in luck! Kaplan is running an MCAT Boot Camp event on 5/20/13 at 8pm ET!

This intensive MCAT Boot Camp event will feature questions on advanced content to give you an excellent idea of where you need to focus your MCAT studies. It will …

When preparing for the MCAT, most people can see the reason for needing to know Biology and General Chemistry because they are considered essential for practicing medicine. A case can also been made for learning Organic Chemistry and Physics since they are the basis for biological molecules and the processes which run the body. Hands down the biggest complaints that I hear are about the Verbal Reasoning section. Everyone wants to know: “How does my Verbal Reasoning score show my ability to be a good physician?” or “How does analyzing a passage about poetry make me a better doctor?”…

Navigating the waters of medical school admissions can be rough; from the personal statement, to the interview, admissions can seem daunting and confusing before one even begins to apply.  

While many people have opinions about the best way to gain admission, in the end, the only opinions that really matter are those of the admissions committees; after all, they’re the ones that decide whether you’ll be accepted or not. Unfortunately, opportunities to pick the brain of a Dean of Admissions are few and far between. In an effort to shed some light on what admissions committees think about when …

Why do you want to go to medical school? It’s a question that you’re asked countless times on your path through college and the medical school application cycle. We know how big of a responsibility it can be, trust us. Like most pre-medical students you probably have a response ready- My dad/mom was a doctor, I want to help people, I love science, or I have always wanted to be a doctor.

Well, with a unique spin on that common question, a recent blog post on kevinmd.com listed 5 reasons why you shouldn’t go to medical school. The author …

Sometimes I think dogs have it best, they can just sleep all day.  It brings to mind the age old question, how long can you burn the candle at both ends? A typical pre-med week is jam packed with activities, classes, studying, and if it is that time in your career, MCAT studying! With so many things going on in and out of the classroom, many pre-meds start waking up earlier and going to bed later.  Dangerous habits can form with constant abuse of coffee, energy drinks, and medications.  While those can have their place, nothing can replace a good night’s …

It’s no secret that the world is constantly evolving, with new resources and technology being developed each day.  The medical field is no exception to the tides of change, and as a reflection of the rapidly changing nature of medical education, the AMA recently announced a grant initiative to jump-start the medical school revolution. You can read all about the grants and the request for proposals from the AMA, but it sounds like they are off to a roaring start.

In the AMA’s post, they mention some specific areas for improvement such as including lessons on the “business” of …

During your freshman year of college orientation, everyone wanted to know what your major was and most likely you responded confidently, “Pre-med.” Now, in your Sophmore, Junior or even Senior Year, you may find yourself re-thinking your decision to apply to medical school and a recent article published in the student newspaper at Penn shows that you are not alone.

The article highlights the positive aspects of changing your career path- mainly that all of the skills and knowledge that you gained by taking your pre-med classes is greatly in demand, even if you don’t want to become …

Happy New Year!

It’s that time of year again — as we look into the future and make New Years resolutions, what are you planning to do with 2013?  We hope that taking that next step to becoming an excellent physician is part of that plan, whether it’s taking names on  the MCAT (with the new MCAT 2015 unscored trial section of Psychology, Sociology and Biochemistry questions!), nailing a 4.0 both semesters, or writing a killer personal statement for that AMCAS application opening in less than five months!

And then there are just fun resolutions:  I’m planning on playing the …

You’ve crafted a masterful personal statement, you’ve chosen your favorite 15 activities*, you’ve meticulously entered every class you’ve ever taken — verbatim**, and you’ve finally hit that blue “submit” button on your AMCAS application.

Everything’s going fantastically since you dominated the MCAT.

But now it’s time to turn your attention to that growing pile of letters:  not acceptances (just yet!), but secondaries.  These school-specific applications feature a host of essays — and they’re the next step on the  path to medical school.  As part of our continuing series on holistic review in admissions, let’s look …

Welcome back! In part 1 of our discussion on important factors to consider when choosing where you should apply to medical school, we reviewed some of the most commonly considered ones; location, career aspirations, and cost.  Today, we’re going to review two additional factors, curriculum and fit.  Curriculum and fit are two aspects of a medical school that most students do begin to consider or perhaps even fully understand before starting the interview process, but they can be just as important as the previous three we discussed.

Curriculum:

Medical school basic science curricula, across the board, are a lot more …