medical school
Getting accepted into medical school isn’t easy, in fact, according to the AAMC, last year, 53,371 applicants competed for just 21,869 positions into MD programs in the United States, meaning 59% of all applicants were rejected.
Importantly, most applicants get rejected before they are invited to any interviews. Facing rejection from medical school is heartbreaking, and the time, cost, and stress of re-applying is nothing short of daunting.
If you apply late, because of the rolling admissions process, your chances of admissions decrease as more time passes. Applicants that applied earlier are reviewed earlier and begin taking up interview spots. A late applicant may be automatically rejected simply because there are no interview spots remaining.
The average student applies to 16 medical schools, however, sometimes students apply to any and every school they’ve heard of to try and increase their odds of acceptance. This strategy often backfires because students fail to do their research on whether or not they meet the school’s admission requirements, including medical school prerequisites, minimum accepted GPA, and MCAT score.
Some applicants think it’s a good idea to include every single experience they’ve ever had instead of being choosy about which experiences to disclose and which ones to leave out. As a general rule of thumb, any experience that hasn’t been significant in your journey to medicine should not be discussed.
Applications that are not in good order are those that are poorly written, contain spelling mistakes, grammar issues, and inconsistent formatting. Students must remember that their written application is a test of their communication skills, and the time and effort they put into it will act as a direct reflection of who they are as a candidate.
Finally, the last reason most students get rejected is because they don’t pay attention to the questions that are being asked. While this is also common when applicants are faced with challenging medical school interview questions, it is more prominent during the application stage.