How to apply to medical school: join us today for a conversation with Accepted’s own Cydney Foote!

Cyd has a background in healthcare education administration at the University of Washington Medical and Dental Schools, where she served on several fellowship admissions committees, as well as years of experience in writing and marketing for various businesses. And it’s that combination of persuasive writing and medical school admissions experience that she has drawn on since she joined Accepted in 2001 and became a medical school admissions consultant extraordinaire. We’re also going to draw on those parallel strengths today in this show.  

Cyd, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk!

Considerations for the average med school applicant when it comes to deciding where to apply? [1:55]

It generally comes down to time and money. Be smart and look reasonably at your chances. Most people generally apply to between 15 and 30 schools. There’s a tradeoff when you apply to more schools – it costs more, and you might not have enough time to put together strong secondaries.

Do your research to see where you’re a competitive applicant. Look at the numbers: don’t go below the “lows” on MSAR, but if you’re in the average range it’s worth applying. Also note that state schools often have a higher acceptance rate for in-state students. And that there’s a tradeoff when it comes to numbers, too: some of the schools with low average stats also have low admissions rates, because a lot of people apply to them.

You should also do your research: look at each program’s strengths and focus. Do you want somewhere research oriented? Patient oriented? Arts focused? Research up front will help you when you’re answering secondaries and preparing for interviews, too.

I definitely advise organizing and keeping your research. (A spreadsheet can be helpful.) [5:25]

It can also be helpful to talk to mentors, doctors you’ve shadowed or done research with, etc.

How can applicants determine which experiences to write about in the personal statement, and which in the activities/meaningful experiences? [6:30]

Before you start to write, think about what you want to talk about in the application overall. (Think through some of the stories you would like to tell, and do some prewriting – basically, work on generating your inventory of stories.) When you’re working on your meaningful experiences and secondaries, think about things you didn’t have the space to talk about in your personal statement.

You can imagine the application process as a ladder where each section leads to the next. Be consistent—all of the pieces come together to present a picture of you as a qualified applicant. (Another metaphor: a jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces come together, but they don’t overlap.)

Reinforce rather than repeat – be balanced. Make the parts of your application (including the pieces of the primary app, the secondaries, the interviews) work together as a cohesive whole.

Each step in the process is a rung in the ladder: the primary app, the secondaries, the interviews.

Do you recommend that people save stories? [10:25] 

Yes. I recommend that people write more than they need to for the primary personal statement, and when I review personal statements,