As the BS/MD interviews season progresses, many students have faced the harsh realities of rejection letters. What may feel unfair is that students work tirelessly towards perfect GPAs, high SAT or ACT scores, and impressive resumes. However, with a less than 1% acceptance rate, it’s not a surprise that qualified candidates may get no BS/MD interviews at all.
If you’ve spoken with me, at some point, you must have heard me say that nothing is a guarantee. I tell this to my students all the time. Even so, many of them have collected several BS/MD interviews to top programs: UPitt BS/MD, REMS, AMC, NJMS, Drexel, George Washington, etc. What made the difference for our candidates versus other candidates?
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BS/MD Strategy and Fit
Before we get into the details, I want to acknowledge that the BS/MD and medical school application process can sometimes feel random. You can put together a perfect application, but ultimately, the person reviewing it needs to find it interesting enough to advocate for it to the admissions committee.
This is where strategy comes in. While I can’t ever guarantee success (and you should be wary of consultants who do), a strong application strategy should be your biggest priority before you start writing your apps. This entails evaluating the strengths of your application and understanding how to highlight those appropriately through your essays. The first thing I decide with my students is what the overarching theme of your application is. Last year, I reviewed several applications of students who did not get in despite working with other consultants. While each essay was perfectly polished, I didn’t understand their purpose or goals. One essay was about crafting; another was about volunteering. With only two essays requested by that school, these eloquently written essays did not demonstrate why the student needed to go into medicine. While a theme alone won’t secure your acceptance, it at least allows the admissions office to understand what you’re passionate about.
Next is fit for schools. Each BS/MD program has its niche— some favor community service, while others like innovation. By understanding your strengths and the different preferences of each school, you can curate a list of programs that match your profile more closely. Of course, factors like GPA, SAT and ACT scores, and location may also play a factor in that decision.
Standout Activities for BS/MD
Since BS/MDs are so competitive, interesting activities are typically expected. However, I think what many people get wrong is that you need an extensive list of extracurriculars to even be favorably considered for a BS/MD interview. Of course, I have incredible students who’ve developed devices and worked with their community to get them implemented. Others have advocated for underrepresented populations in different capacities. The common theme among all of these apps is that they are self-starters and leaders.
For BS/MDs, students do need to complete the baseline checklist: shadowing, volunteering, and (maybe) research. However, like everything else I’ve mentioned so far, that alone will not get you into a program. The other day, a parent presented a checklist-type resume to me and asked about their child’s candidacy. Naturally, I said that it was missing a unique aspect to it. They then questioned my experience of ever seeing a unique application. Obviously, as someone who’s seen multiple BS/MD acceptances almost everywhere, I’ve seen hundreds of unique applications over the years.
Let’s dive into what makes an application unique. While “consulting gurus” and college counselors preach about well-rounded applications, I preach about well-unbalanced applications. This doesn’t mean you don’t need a well-rounded application— you still do. For BS/MD applications, I always recommend doing the checklist activities. After all, how would you know you want to be a doctor without shadowing? And how would you know you like to help the community without volunteering?
Think of well-rounded as your baseline. It creates a foundation for what you need to know about medicine. On the other hand, well-unbalanced students can truly explore their interests and passions deeply. All of my students with invites have done the required number of hours of shadowing and volunteering. However, they’ve also taken the time to start podcasts and newsletters, develop apps, or collect kits for refugees. For most of my student with invites, before you read any of their essays, their resumes already tell a story of what they’re interested in.
Longevity also matters. This demonstrates the quality of their work. For example, one of my students has one research internship at a prestigious research institution that she’s been at for 2 years. While summer programs do offer students great experience, it’s undeniable that they’re often too short (sometimes as short as 2 weeks). This makes it difficult to garner meaningful experiences.
Lastly, many of my students have explored experiences outside of medicine. Yes, doctors need a passion for medicine. However, medical school schools want to see that you’re a real human being with genuine hobbies and interests. These need to be thoroughly developed to be effective for essay topics. Some students have developed businesses and startups, while others choose more unique physical activities.
Crafting Strong BS/MD Essays
The last and final important piece of any application is essays. Essays are a student’s chance to tell their story to admissions— as I call it “the interview before the actual interview”. From the personal statement to the myriad supplements (as high as 100+ essays), the stories you choose to tell, and the way they are conveyed are incredibly important.
While it’s more interesting to read a creative essay, I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily the important part of a good essay. A good essay clearly conveys the student’s point and reflection, as well as teaches admissions something about their life, personality, or goals.
By now, my students all know that I love a good story. Storytelling is an art that needs to be mastered. While many people think they are good at storytelling, I often find that people have difficulties finding the balance between too much and too little details. Too many details would convolute your point. But, too many details can weaken your argument or confuse your reader.
Reflection is also a crucial component that I don’t quite see enough. Even if a story is told well, without a solid reflection, it often makes me question “So what?”. Oftentimes, I find myself trying to find the purpose of why a story is told. From the perspective of medical school admissions, introspection is often sought in candidates as they want students who will continuously look within and evolve. A strong reflection should detail something that you’ve learned, how you’ve grown, or how you plan to utilize your skills or perspective in the future.
Last, but certainly not least, your essays need to convey your goals (in and beyond medicine). This is something that I think differentiates average and stellar candidates. Without clear goals, it can make students appear unfocused. While students can obviously say “And therefore I want to do medicine”, specifying that you want to do underserved medicine by targeting policies on affordability through advocacy demonstrates that you’ve thought about your purpose in this field.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned in the beginning, there’s no way of knowing whether a student will get BS/MD interviews or not. My students certainly have not received BS/MD interviews to every program they applied to. However, many of them have earned between 3-7 invites (and hopefully more to come!). Because these programs are so competitive, planning well and creating a well-thought-out application will be of the utmost importance. Despite already being a physician, I’m always in awe of all of my student’s accomplishments throughout high school and I cannot wait to see how they continue to grow in the field of medicine.
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