Are you worried about your candidacy for medical school? When you think about your GPA, MCAT score, and experiences, do you fear that they're just not cutting it compared to those of other applicants? Perhaps you look around your organic chemistry class, at students who are ten years younger than you, and wonder if you'll ever catch up. Your last MCAT practice score left much to be desired, your study skills are rusty, you aren't heavily involved in an undergraduate pre-med club. Questions and doubts fill your mind. Since the medical school admissions process is so grueling, do you sometimes ask yourself, "What am I doing?"

These are the most common self doubts that nontraditional pre-meds harbor. It's tough to do battle with your self doubts, but the good news is there are several ways to enhance your candidacy: stop beating yourself up, retake courses to improve your GPA, take practice tests to raise your MCAT score, gain more experience, do your paperwork early, pick appropriate schools, and be a better applicant next year. To explore these methods more thoroughly, read on.

Relax-you are probably stronger than you think

Believe it or not, these thoughts and fears are common among med school applicants of all ages. Often applicants are blind to their own strengths and don't realize the uniqueness they can bring to a medical school or medical profession. Almost every applicant feels this way, and you are probably more competitive than you think. Statistics from the Princeton Review's website show that for many med schools' accepted applicants, the average GPAs are 3.4 or 3.5. University of California at Davis, Mercer, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Southern California, Temple University, and Virginia Commonwealth all have average accepted GPAs within this range. And keep in mind: these GPAs are the average scores. From our experience, there have been many students with GPAs well below 3.4 who got accepted into medical school.

Don Osborne, president of INQUARTA, points out that while GPA and MCAT scores are important, there are many other factors that play into the ad com decision:

"The admissions selection process is highly subjective. How do you distinguish between ten students who all have the same GPA and MCAT scores? It's all about presenting yourself as persuasively as possible. That's why applying to medical school is a lot like dating," he said.

GPA Repair

A good method for GPA repair is to retake courses that you did not excel in. If it's been a while since you've been in school, you might want to sharpen your study skills. Refresh yourself on effective ways of taking notes and studying a textbook. There are many useful books and articles on this very topic. (See www.inquarta.com/content/view/181/10 ). Taking classes again will also give you a fresh review if you are preparing for the MCAT.

MCAT Strategies

If you are not satisfied with your MCAT score, take action. Several resources at your fingertips are prep courses, MCAT study guides, and practice tests. MCAT practice tests are good barometers that give an indication of how you will do on the actual test date. Remember, you can always sign up for the MCAT again. The AAMC will allow you to take it up to three times per year. Follow this guide to see if you should retake the MCAT:

If you received a 6 or lower on any of the sections, you will need to retake the test. If you received a 7 or 8 on a section, while the other two scores are higher, you are on the borderline. To find out if you need to take the test again, study and do practice tests. If you receive a score higher than 8 while the other scores are as high or higher, retake the MCAT. But don't register for the test until you're very confident that you will do better!

Ex. You got a 7 on verbal and a 10 on the other two sections.

1. Study for the verbal and take practice tests. See if you can repeatedly get a 9 on the verbal section.
2. Register for the MCAT and take it again!

The danger is most applicants will raise the lower score, only to find that their other two scores have dropped. This makes your situation worse!

Finally, if you receive a 9 or higher on the sections, you are ready to go.

Gain More Experience

Maybe you're afraid that you don't have enough experiences to fill the maximum 15 work/activities section on the AMCAS application. Don't worry-describing 8-10 of your most significant post-secondary experiences is much better than filling out all 15 and including the 1st place award for the junior high spelling bee championship. Still don't have enough experiences? Patient contact can be achieved through volunteer work at hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, or emergency medicine. One hundred hours is a good target for patient contact. But working one hundred hours only in the month of May is a red flag that you scrambled to fulfill the requirements. And remember: shadowing a doctor for a week would not be considered patient contact.

International trips are also great opportunities for patient contact with underserved populations. There are many programs that will allow you to get involved in international trips, such as International Service Learning and Global Medical Brigades.

Global Medical Brigades

The Global Medical Brigades program not only works with traditional college students, but anyone else who wants to serve the underprivileged in Honduras, the second poorest country in Latin America. The teams consist of 30 volunteers and 3-5 medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists. Each brigade lasts about eight days and costs $550-650 per volunteer as well as $500-800 for the plane flight. Groups stay in hostels with security guards, clean water, in-house chefs, and housekeepers.
During the trip, teams travel to remote villages and set up temporary clinics. The volunteers then provide free medical assistance to the local population. The clinics have stations for triage, stations where people can speak one-on-one with a health-professional, and a pharmacy that gives out prescribed medications. There is even a great deal of free time to get to know people on your team, relax, and sight-see. For more info, check out their website at www.medicalbrigades.com or contact Steve Atamian at (213) 434-0410.

Leadership

Along with patient contact experiences, medical schools love to see leaders-and leadership takes many forms. You don't have to be the president of a school's pre-med club to be looked upon as a leader. Teaching and tutoring experiences, where you are the head of a classroom or group of students, is a form of leadership. If the women's ministry at your church is looking for help with event planning, sign up. Being part of a religious or social committee in your community is a great avenue to leadership positions. There are many community service opportunities around you that can boost your application-you just have to look.

For more information about becoming a qualified applicant, contact INQUARTA via the link below, at +01 949-417-1295 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . INQUARTA is the leading medical and allied health school admissions advising service in North America.

And to read Part II of this article, visit: http://www.inquarta.com/content/view/194/9/

For more information about becoming a qualified applicant, contact INQUARTA via the link below, at +01 800-987-3279 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . INQUARTA is the leading medical and allied health school admissions advising service in North America.