<p>Hello. The 2012-2013 thread has so much great information, I was hoping there were others out there for the next cycle of applicants.</p>
<p>Anyone else out there? My DS is taking the MCAT next weekend and is a rising junior. He's taking the MCAT a bit early since he plans to do a study abroad in the spring (2014). </p>
<p>He's been doing some shadowing this summer and last fall with a general surgeon and has really enjoyed it--he's gotten to watch a number of surgeries. </p>
<p>So hopefully there are others out there and we can provide support and information for the upcoming med school application craziness!</p>
<p>2013-2014 applicant, here. I feel outdated. Jokes aside, I would advise compiling a list of activities, who he’ll ask for letters, and the like. Maybe, read some medical memoirs and nonfiction books over the semester, so that he can start up with personal statement drafts over winter break.</p>
<p>Experienced parent available for hand holding and moral support. </p>
<p>(D1 applied 2009-10 and is now a MS3; D2 is applying this current cycle.)</p>
<p>Some pretty good suggestions from Mr. Penguin. In addition to compiling a list of activities, he should also have contact info for someone who can verify his participation in each activity along with the duration of his participation and approx total hours of involvement.</p>
<p>Your son also needs to get in contact with health profession advisors at his college this fall, esp. if his school uses a committee letter. He needs to ask if the committee will allow phone/Skype interviews for students not on campus, or if he will need to schedule his committee interview for when he returns from overseas.</p>
<p>Another parent of a 2014-2015 checking in. I was thinking of starting this thread, but was worried it was too early :).</p>
<p>My D took the MCAT earlier this summer as a rising junior-- she was finished with pre-req courses and had a very busy junior year planned. She’ll be a CA applicant-- oh joy!</p>
<p>Not too early. I started the 2012-2013 thread during Sept 2011. The thread may fall back a page or two sometimes, but it will get used.</p>
<p>Wowmom (I think) is the only parent here with two kids going the med school route (one currently in med school, the other one currently applying).</p>
<p>I have one son in med school (MS1) and am currently helping his GF who took a glide year and is applying this cycle. So, I can do some hand-holding, too. lol :)</p>
<p>i’ll join in… S2 is senior applying this 2014-2015 cycle…almost applied but then decided he wanted a glide year so stopped his process and rescheduled his mcat. will be applying mstp programs</p>
<p>took mcat last month…awaiting results</p>
<p>had to quickly throw in a sociology course this semester as the pre-reqs are already starting to change for 2015 admissions. (already had any new required psych or biochem) …so it might be worth it for those applying to quickly check if any new pre-req need to be addressed.</p>
<p>camomof3 and parent56–good luck to your students with their MCAT results! I know mine will be glad to be on the other side of the test date!</p>
<p>Wowmom–I’ve read a lot of your great advise and appreciate any help you can provide! Two DD-Drs in the making–that’s amazing and a lot of work–congratulations!</p>
<p>MrPenguin–Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll definitely pass them on. Organization is his weak point for such things, so I will stress the importance of contacts as well as details.</p>
<p>My DS will be getting in contact with the Health Services folks as soon as he returns (he has been in contact already, but it will become a much closer relationship this fall!) His study abroad will be for his major in biology and will involve a lot of research, so hopefully it will be productive (ie, he’s not going on a european vacation! )</p>
<p>OK, can someone explain the med school application process (or link me to the appropriate information). I’ve read and searched a bunch of stuff (including the helpful timing post that was linked above) but a lot of the posts I read seem to assume I already know some of this stuff.</p>
<p>So here’s my question(s): after sending in the initial medical school application there seems to be a secondary application sent out. Does everyone get the secondary? Is it a number of items to be completed, or just an essay? </p>
<p>I’m sure my DS knows more about this than me, but I’d like to get “smart” on the process so I can actually know what he’s talking about as he goes through the process.</p>
<p>VAMom, some schools screen their secondaries based on GPA and MCAT scores. Others can correct me, but I believe most schools do not. (If they do, the cut-offs are not that high.) But again, this varies by school. Out of the 16 schools that I am applying to, only 2 have screened.</p>
<p>As to the content of secondaries, most have essays. Usually, they are of the variety of “how will you contribute to the school,” “what was the biggest challenge you have faced,” etc. Some will ask for additional information, such as senior coursework (or upcoming plans for the glide year for those who have graduated) and alumni questions.</p>
<p>There are all different kinds of screening. Some are MCAT+GPA driven. Some are state residency driven (only in-state residents or those with a strong affiliation/ties to the state considered). Some (like Mayo) are based upon whether your CV seems to fit with the mission of the school. Some publics use all 3 issues to screen OOS applicants. </p>
<p>Secondaries are usually a 3-8 essay questions that range in content. Most are “How will you contribute to the school’s diversity?”, “What do you foresee yourself doing in 10 years?”, “What’s been your biggest failure?” and then are some doozy healthcare questions:
“Pick the biggest medical challenge you see facing [state] and propose a solution”; “Explain your vision of how social justice and medical care fit together”; “Medicine has been affected by both recent technological innovations and sociological changes. How do you think these changes will affect how medicine is practiced in the next 10 years?”</p>
<p>BTW, all of the above are actual non-optional secondary topics D2 has received this cycle.</p>
<p>(And thanks for kind words about the Ds–they’re both terrific kids, but very different from each other and I’m super proud of each of them. A shrink and a surgeon–I think I’m covered for just about any possibility…)</p>
<p>I had the impression that the secondaries for some (but not all) schools do not change much over the years. Some applicants would find the essay topic from SDN and wrote it in advance.</p>
<p>It is easy to say it than to actually do it. I don’t think DS ever tried to do it in advance.</p>
<p>Some applicants would think the “diversity type” secondary is the most difficult one to write, if they do not fit into any of the categories. Some even claimed you could skip it if you do not belong to that category but I do not know if it is true.</p>
<p>DS is currently an MS3, in his second rotation which is about 2 months long.</p>
<p>Here’s a rough list (compiled by the folks at SDN) of medical schools that screen</p>
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</p>
<p>The public med schools are screening for state-residency/state affiliation, plus anything else listed.</p>
<p>You can add all the TX public medical school to the list of schools that screen for state residency. TX has its own separate application process and forms.</p>
<p>I’m in this club too. DS took his MCAT in the spring, but wasn’t ready to apply. I figured a glide year wouldn’t be such a bad thing anyway. Let’s hope he’ll be ready by next year :)</p>
<p>Might be in this boat D is a rising junior who’s thinking about taking the MCAT next spring. She’s not sure if she wants to apply next year or take a glide year. Like VAMom, I’d like to get educated on the process - so will keep an eye on this thread.</p>
<p>Question about state residency/affiliation. D is a resident of MA, but goes to school in OH. Will her app be received favorably by OH schools?</p>
<p>Maybe. Maybe not. It depends how the specific school weights residency. At schools which are strict about in-state residency–it won’t help her at all. Neither will it help her at private med schools which don’t look at the state of residence.</p>
<p>But for OSU and Toledo–both of which take substantial numbers of OOS students–it might be a tiny nudge in her favor, assuming that her stats are a match the school’s, and her goals match the school’s mission.</p>
<p>But just looking at the OOS stats for both–it’s still going to be uphill for an OOSer. </p>
<p>As far as I know OH schools accept good number of OOS. I do not know specifically about MA, but CA is definitely in. And again, there are privates, like Case, that for sure do not give preferences to IS. However, if you are looking for a price tag break, she will have instate tuition in the state of her residency.<br>
Still, another consideration, many do not have ample of choices at all. At the end, my D. was choosing between 2 privates, but she was NOT considering price while many do.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great information! It’s good to know about some of the OOS that accept very few students. It should make choosing which schools to apply to a bit more focused. We have several instate schools, so he will definitely apply to all of them. Others I’m sure will depend on MCAT/GPA and other such things.</p>
<p>If you are a year until your kid’s application cycle, you might choose to follow this year’s cycle on SDN for your state school and any other favorites. Reading the daily angst & trials of the current applicants may give you insight for next year. For example, I learned that residency had to be settled before the app would be reviewed so made sure DD got her residency forms in early as there tended to be a bottleneck once people began receiving notice of the requirement.</p>
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D is a rising junior who’s thinking about taking the MCAT next spring. She’s not sure if she wants to apply next year or take a glide year. Like VAMom, I’d like to get educated on the process - so will keep an eye on this thread.</p>