One thing many students don’t realize is that the college application process in the US is different from the medical school application process. There are definitely similarities, but I think it’s important for university students to recognize that med schools aren’t looking for the same exact things that colleges are.
Grades
Undergrad
It’s no secret that high school grades matter a lot to universities. Some schools are rumored to re-calculate GPA to remove the non core classes- i.e. Physical Education, Band, etc. – but overall, that cumulative GPA number on the transcript is very important. Additionally, the rigor of the student’s course load is also very important.
Med School
Again, grades are obviously very important to med schools, but there is one key difference between med schools and undergraduate programs. It’s a well known fact that many medical schools recalculate the undergraduate GPA to include only the science courses. They’ll consider the science GPA as well as the cumulative GPA on your transcript. Each school likely weighs the science and non-science GPAs differently. But, if the science GPA is much weaker than the non-science GPA, that paints a questionable picture to med schools. An applicant with a higher science GPA but lower cumulative GPA will fare better than an applicant with the reverse, in my opinion.
Bottom Line
GPA is very important for both medical schools and undergraduate universities, but the lower limit is higher for med schools. A high school student with a 3.0 GPA is still likely to get in to SOME college, even if it is lower ranked, whereas the odds of getting in to a US medical school with a 3.0 are much slimmer (read: next to impossible).
Standardized Tests
Undergrad
There are many more standardized exams that high school students can list on their college applications than med school applicants. These involve the SAT or ACT, AP exams, IB tests, and/or SAT Subject tests. That said, the required tests carry much more weight than the tests that are optional to report (AP exams, extra SAT tests).
Med School
The MCAT is the only one exam that is required when applying to medical school, and it carries a lot of weight. Nearly as much as GPA, to my knowledge.
Bottom Line
Some universities are moving away from requiring standardized exams as part of the application, but med schools don’t seem to be following that trend. There are a couple MCAT optional schools, but this doesn’t seem like it’ll be a trend at all. Either way, doing well on standardized exams would definitely help a LOT in the admissions game for both undergrad and medical school.
Well Rounded-ness
Undergrad
It is generally considered a good thing for university applicants to be well rounded. By ‘well rounded’ I mean involved in 2 or more of the following: arts, sports, community service, competitive teams, business ventures, or other areas in addition to being academically successful. There are certainly many high school students applying to university who have focused all of their attention into a specific niche (i.e. debate team, science research, etc.) and I actually think that is becoming more desirable than a ‘well rounded’ applicant. BUT, at this point, I think it is considered a positive sign to admissions officers if applicants are well rounded.
Med School
I truly believe that as much as medical schools want students who are well versed in non science fields (in addition to the sciences), it isn’t necessarily a priority. I don’t believe that it would raise any red flags if a med school applicant only had research, science, and clinical related co-curricular activities listed on their application. That applicant might not come across as the most interesting candidate in the pool, but if their academics were strong and if they had done good work on their research involvements, I think they’d still have a strong chance of getting in to even the best medical programs. I think that many of the strongest applicants to med school have a lot of research experience and are niched into that world.
Bottom Line
I feel like having interesting co-curricular involvements is very important in order to be an interesting candidate to both undergrad and medical school, but I think it is much more helpful for college applicants. Being niched into research can make for a very promising med school applicant, even if it means the applicant wasn’t able to be involved in sports or the arts (especially if they have publications).
Essays/Overall Story
Undergrad
Based on my experiences helping high school students with their college applications, I feel that most of these applicants don’t necessarily have a cohesive ‘story’ that comes through in their application essay. Writing an interesting essay is a crucial part of the application, BUT I don’t think that an interesting essay has to equal a cohesive story that ties all the parts of their application together.
Med School
I think it is really important for the personal statement to present a clear and cohesive story that integrates all of the applicant’s experiences. That means explaining how the sum of their academic and co-curricular pursuits have led them to apply to medical school. I’m sure people write personal statements that are formatted in unconventional ways, and that might be okay in some cases. But the personal statement is really the key place to 1. explain why you want to be in medicine and what your goals are, and 2. discuss your experiences/ involvements that back up those claims.
Bottom Line
College admissions offices are happy for students to explore different academic and career interests, while med school admissions officers need to ensure that the applicants they accept are certain about their commitment to medicine. Because of that, it’s much more important for med school applicants to use the essay to prove their commitment to medicine by tying their activities and experiences together into a cohesive story that results in the desire to be in medicine.
Goals/Plans for your time at the Institution
Undergrad
College applicants often state that they will join ABC Student Organization or major in XYZ subject. All of that is subject to change, and that is okay. It is helpful to show the university that you are applying to that you’ve researched the opportunities they offer, but nothing you say in your interview or essays is really binding.
Med School
Although nothing you state in your med school application is technically binding, I do think med schools accept students based on certain quotas. They may want certain numbers of students interested in public health and policy, global health, basic science research, etc. Of course, you are able to explore different interests within medicine, but I feel like it is important to be honest with schools about what specific things you intend to spend your time focusing on while at their program.
Bottom Line
I think that med school applicants have to be much more specific about what they plan to focus on during med school- what they want to research, what service programs they plan to participate in, etc. I don’t think it is enough to say “I want to do research in global health.” You’d have to say what specific problems you want to focus on in global health, and prove that you know something about those problems based on prior experiences, and make it clear what your plans are to tackle those problems in order for schools to take you seriously.
Interviews
Undergrad
I honestly don’t think that the interview makes that much of a difference in the undergraduate admissions decision. I think it can definitely hurt you if you do extremely badly, and it can help a little bit if you are one of the best applicants the interviewer has ever met. If you are a bit above or below average, I really don’t think it makes a difference what the interviewer says.
Med School
The interview is one of the biggest factors in the admissions decision. Once an applicant is offered an interview, my understanding is that their performance during the interview day will be one of the deciding factors.
Bottom Line
Way more important for med school than for undergrad.
