I haven't seen any threads specifically on this issue,

my question is, since im a junior now, what can i do exactly to better my chances of getting into med school, aside from grades?

i have a psych/neuro major with a 3.76, i volunteer at a cancer center but don't do anything major, just talk to patients etc. im in a few honors frats and honors psych frats but those are just mail in checks and get a pin deals.

what are my chances as is (if i keep doing what im doing, and end with a 3.75 or whatever) and what should i do to improve my chances? undergraduate research? internships? (are their any medical internships? ive always assumed internships were kind of a business major thing and premeds were stuck with volunteering) thanks alot

mcat obv

well ya mcats a given. i mean extra-curricular stuff

lol, take all the time you would have spent on bull**** extra-curricular's and invest in studying for the mcats. Best advice anybody can give you.

Terrible advice, unless you're happy needing a 40 to go to a 2nd tier school. I know people who got 35's who go to top 10 schools because of extra curriculars, and people who got 40+ who only got in to one top 20 school because they didn't.

You've got some pretty good extra-curriculars right now but doing a semester or two of research and shadowing a doctor (incredibly easy to set up and very helpful) would be bonuses.

Not trying to show you up, but I worked in the admission's department for our medical school this year, I kind of know what I'm talking about. Unless he's going to do something amazing like going to start a clinic in Uganda or something, most extracurriculars will give him a minuscule edge, whereas any increase in MCAT scores will be huge. Sure you may have anecdotal evidence that shows otherwise, which is just a sign of how big a crapshoot med school admission's are and just how competitive it is, but I've seen thousands of applicants and know intimately what our school is looking for, and assumingly what other high-ranking med schools are about. GPA, MCAT, Race.

What school

Yale

ECs are important but they obviously don't substitute for GPA and MCAT scores. They want to see that you're well rounded and know what you're getting into. As far as well-roundedness is there some sport you like to play? Music? Art? Whatever it is, do it and try to assume a leadership position. I play rugby at my university and am running for captain (a traditionally senior role) and president my senior year (probably taking a year before applying because I am a dual major writing an Honors thesis in philosophy at one of the top philosophy departments in the world).

As far as knowing what you're getting into, clinical experience is one of those unspoken requirements. Shadowing a doctor is great (and HIGHLY recommended) but I wouldn't say its incredibly easy to set up. I know people who are having a bitch of a time setting it up. I'm fortunate in that my mom is an RN so setting up shadowing has been a walk in the park, but I've heard it can be a real pain in the ass. Your volunteering at the cancer center is great, and don't act like your experience is any less than anyone elses because everyone volunteering at a hospital is doing some menial job that involves minor patient contact, so you're not at some huge disadvantage here.

Try to set up some shadowing though so that in interviews you have an idea of what the day to day life of a physician is like and you can better answer the question "Why medicine?"

First off, that school is somewhat of an enigma to me as I interviewed at all the other top 10s and 20s I applied to except this one. Given the "Yale System" they may be looking for something unique in people's apps besides the usual high stats, research, clinical experience, leadership.


To the OP: #1 thing you should do extracurricular wise is to do some research. Even if you don't publish anything, try to atleast get a poster presentation out of it. Lack of research will keep you out of the big name schools.

Fair enough

Uh-huh. And most of the people admitted into Yale had no ECs? They decided to study 80 hours a week, party the rest, and leave that portion of their application blank?

Huh? I don't think I ever stated that EC's don't count for anything, they just count for much much much less than GPA and MCAT's. It was more that doing nothing would count against you, doing something absolutely amazing like starting/organizing a clinic would help, and anything in between wouldn't really be considered. I was surprised how similar it was to my experiences applying to law school, but I guess med schools have to play the numbers game as well.


Edit to congratulate OP for working so hard so far, keep it up and it'll definitely be worth it!

Being a doctor = not worth it

Do some research, they def helps. Another good thing about doing a research is that you get a nice letter of rec from the professor. And if you have free time, join some premed clubs like flying sams. Also, keep your grades up.

Ehhh, me=YLS=big law and 180k
Yale Med School Grads= residency for a couple years which will obviously suck, then either doing awesome stuff like fixing brains for mad bank or traveling the world giving speeches while checking in once an awhile.

Choose your own adventure here.

The thing about ECs is that they give you something to talk about in interviews once you get your foot in the door with your GPA/MCAT. Obviously if you are sporting a sub-3 GPA and a 24 MCAT you're not likely to get your foot in the door in the first place but if they give you the opportunity you can sell yourself with your ECs

If i play 2 sports in college and go pre med, how much of an edge over other applicants will i have with being a 2 sport athlete?

Playing 2 sports and getting good grades will probably take up most of your time so you won't be able to do research, volunteer etc...

I'm no med school expert so I could be wrong but it is a pretty unique situation, if you can pull it off I guess I could see it being to your advantage.

My guess is at top medical schools it really won't make that much of a difference although it will help explain why you're not doing other extracurriculars. Remember, top med schools are looking for students who will be come world renowned in their field. I think as you go down the med-school ladder it will become more of a factor.

Well my dad is an ER doctor so i can get shadowing/volunteering hours any time I want basically, which is extremely nice.

They will like this. The key to the extracurricular aspect of med school admissions is to be unique (in a positive way, obviously) from the other applicants. If you're playing them at a high level and have some accomplishments to show for it, all the better.