"Carpooling"

Between your AMCAS fee, Secondaries, and perhaps a new suit purchase, you are already feeling the financial pressure of applying to medical school.  And, for most applicants, interviews have not even started!

Even the most savvy applicants will likely find interviews to be an expensive endeavor.  That said, there are definitely a few ways to cut back. 

When Traveling

Transportation expenses add up quickly.  Frequently, you will find no way to avoid an expensive flight, and you simply have to eat those costs. Of course, shop around for your tickets, and buy early when you can.

The expense that is often more difficult to predict and surprisingly expensive is transportation to and from the airport, train station, etc. and medical school.  When I was interviewing, I often arrived at my destination on the night before interview day.  Usually, this meant I wasn’t too pressured for time which enabled me to avoid cabs and take advantage of public transportation, which is a slower option in most US cities.  Use websites like hopstop.com to plan your route.   

Following the interview, you may be more pressured for time because of flight, train, or bus departure times.  Don’t hesitate to coordinate over lunch with your fellow interviewees.  Many of the applicants will be headed where you’re headed, and the Admissions office is often happy to call or hail a cab for you.  Be sure to bring cash so everyone can split fairly.  I did this at almost every interview and loved the combination of efficiency and savings!

The Walls Can Talk

Many Admissions Committees are reviewing applications and starting to send out interview invitations.  You may be wondering what to expect on an interview day. 

Although every school’s interview day will proceed a little differently, the general ingredients are

• 1-2 interviews,
• an information session regarding the school, facilities, curriculum, and “special highlights” such as dual degree programs, study abroad opportunities, and research highlights,
• a tour of the educational facilities, hospital, and housing, if applicable,
• and a lunch (varies tremendously in quality and variety!) with current students.

Applicants frequently make the mistake of being on their best behavior during the interview(s) and then relaxing somewhat for the rest of the day.  This is a mistake.  You are being evaluated throughout the entire day.  Although particularly pleasant interactions with administrative assistants, students, etc., are unlikely to significantly enhance you chance at acceptance, missteps will almost certainly ruin your opportunity.  In fact, my medical school sends an email to current students each year reminding them that offensive remarks, disrespectful behavior, or anything else that detracts from an interviewee's application should be noted and reported to the Admissions Committee.  Do not say or do anything you would not do in the presence of your interviewer.  That said, relax and try to have fun.  Medical schools want to accept fun individuals who will deal with the pressures of medicine in stride. 

Sunday Funny

I was on call yesterday, and during my review of systems with a patient, he explained his recent struggles with incontinence:

"I had been having some trouble with my urination. Incontinence, I think. I kept finding yellow stains in my white underwear, and I was pretty concerned. But I switched to black underwear a couple of weeks ago, and it doesn't seem to be a problem anymore."

Love Letter

Conquering the “Why This School” essay may feel like writing a love letter to the Admissions Committee. It's tough, particularly because it is easy to become bogged down as you craft and adjust the essay for each school.

Be Brief. Most schools ask that you limit this response to about 200 words, and they’re serious. Keep yourself to two paragraphs. The first should focus on ONE (and only one) aspect of the school that makes it a good fit for you. You can tastefully tie in other points, but be judicious. The second paragraph is for special circumstances, discussed below.

Focus on You. Do not be fooled into thinking this is an essay about how fabulous the school is or how much you want to go there. Admissions Committees already know their school is terrific; do not waste words telling them (see “Be Brief”). At heart, this is an essay about you!

Don’t be a Broken Record. Secondaries are a place to tell Admissions Committee things they do not already know about you after having read your AMCAS. Try not to reiterate too many things you have already driven home elsewhere.

Demonstrate Commitment. Often, applications make applicants appear a little lost – a bit of community service here, some laboratory research there, a brief tutoring experience, etc. This essay is a place to demonstrate commitment, an attribute schools seek in applicants. For example, if you wrote for the school paper, you might explain, “During undergrad, I demonstrated my interest in journalism by taking relevant coursework, serving as a writer on the university paper, and ultimately being selected as Chief Editor. I look forward to attending ___ because of the unique opportunity to write for and help publish the medical student literary journal.” You get the point. 

Special Circumstances. The second paragraph is where you can mention that every person in your family has attended this medical school since before DaVinci, and you cannot imagine the shame of coming home for Thanksgiving if you do not get it. Not all special circumstances need to be “special.” You might mention your interest in practicing rural or urban medicine and thus wanting to train in that type of environment. My caution is to be careful about geography. Schools do not want to hear that you are interested in their program because you want to be in New York City, for example. Admissions Committees prefer to think that their curriculum and facilities are so wonderful that you would apply even if they were in Antarctica.

Say my Name. Everyone likes to hear his or her own name. Include each school's name in the essay. But, be sure to proofread and change the name before sending the "Harvard" essay to "Yale." I hear that's bad for business.

Put a Stamp on It

For applicants to the current cycle, letters of recommendation are a thing of the past, and Secondaries are the current focus, right? 

Maybe.

Have you sent Thank You notes to your letter writers?  If not, you should consider.

1.  Thanking your recommenders is the right thing to do.  Period.  Etiquette experts agree that writing a handwritten thank you note (yes, handwritten) is never inappropriate.

2.  It’s not just about the letter.  Even if you no longer anticipate frequent interactions with a writer of one of your letters (because you completed his or her course, are no longer working in his or her lab, or ended your commitment to the his or her volunteer organization, etc.), letter writers' names and contact information remain a very active part of your application.  Not infrequently, Admissions Committees call recommenders of applicants.  Whether it is because the Admissions Committee has further questions about you, is unsure whether to interview you, or is considering adding you to the waitlist, you want your writer to go to bat for you!  For this reason, you want them to know how much you appreciate the incredible effort they put into your letters.

3.  Did I mention it’s the right thing to do?  If you absolutely dread the thought of a handwritten note, then sending an email is better than nothing at all.  That said, imagine how much you will stand out when all your peers send emails and you send a old-fashioned note. 

Here’s a template to get you started.

Dear Dr./Professor Miller,

Thank you for taking the time to write a letter in support of my application to medical school.  I know that recommendation letters require significant time and finesse, and I truly appreciate your willingness to write on my behalf.  I anticipate that interviews will begin soon, and I will continue to update you on my progress and final plans.  Thank you again for your support.

Warmest regards,

Corey Medical Student

Wasn't that easy?

Extra, extra! Read all about me.

As time passes since you submitted your AMCAS, you may begin a new job, shadowing experience, or community endeavor; publish your research; change your planned coursework; win an award; or master a new hobby. You may find yourself wondering how to go about updating Admissions Committees.

At nearly every interview, you will be asked whether you have any updates for your file. If you email or send an update letter now rather than waiting for an interview, you risk having nothing to update at the interview. Updates are a key way to actively demonstrate to interviewers that you are remaining engaged despite the craziness of applying and interviewing for medical school. Moreover, you may find in a few weeks or months that you have an additional update, and you do not want to send multiple letters.

Here is my recommended time line. Wait until November or December. At that point, you will (hopefully) have been able to update some interviewers in person. Then, send an email to schools you have not heard from, express your interest in interviewing, and include any updates to your application. If updates occur after you have already interviewed, send an email to your interviewers as well as to the general email address for Admissions, include your updates, and also reiterate your interest. Finally, it's nice to have a printed copy of any updates to physically give to your interviewers so that the updates can be physically added to your file. If you only tell your interviewer, he or she may forget.

I realize some applicants feel that they need to send updates now in order to increase odds of getting an interview. Rest assured that most updates are not so amazing that they would be reason enough to grant an interview to an applicant who would not otherwise have received one. Patience, patience.

Hidden Secrets

You have spent weeks, if not months, choosing exactly what you want Admissions Committees to know about you by selecting precise language and specific attributes to highlight in your AMCAS and Secondaries. You may have spent less time, however, contemplating what you don’t want Admissions Committees to know about you.

Now go ahead…Google yourself. According to careerbuilder.com, 35 percent of employment recruiters have come across compromising info that caused them not to hire a candidate. Like employment recruiters, Admissions Committees members are also likely to use Google and Facebook to dig up skeletons in your closet. Given that Admissions Committees frequently have medical student members, you are very likely to be searched for at some point during this process.

When you Google, look for text as well as images. Ask friends whose tagged images of you appear on Google to kindly detag you or remove the image; it will take weeks for a Google search to reflect this change. If you cannot bear the thought of deactivating your Facebook account completely (my recommendation for the duration of interview season), at least change your name or buff up your privacy settings.

Additional tips: Sign up for Google alerts, which informs you when your name comes up on a search. Socialmention.com and samepoint.com also allow you to search social networks, which Google may have missed.