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How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Into Your Desired Medical College

Written by CB Community

Many people aspire to go to medical school and become a doctor, and it’s not hard to see why.

Practicing medicine not only allows you to combine your passion for science with your desire to assist others but is also highly regarded and financially rewarding.

A doctor’s desire to assist others may sound like a cliché, but it’s true and vital to be satisfied in the field of medicine.

In other words, if you only cared about your future financial success or social status, you wouldn’t put in the time and effort it takes to get to this point.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely in one of three groups:

  • You want to be a doctor premed or recent graduate.
  • For the first time in a long time, you are contemplating a job shift after graduating from college some years ago.
  • A parent is interested in finding out how their child might pursue a career in medicine.

You’re at the correct spot, no matter what. Whether you’re a high school senior, a college junior, a non-traditional candidate, or anywhere in between, reading this guide will help you approach medical school admissions the proper way.

As a result, it will help you avoid taking poor advice from premed forums or the opinions of uninformed individuals so that you may optimize your chances of getting into medical school in the shortest period feasible.

The most typical route entails earning a four-year undergraduate degree before applying for medical school in the summer among your junior and senior college years.

A few months after graduating, if you’re successful, you’ll be able to apply to medical school. “Going right through” is another name for this route.

Ways to Get Into Medical School

There are a lot of ways to get into a medical college.

Most medical students take at least one year off before matriculating into medical school, which is why the average age of matriculation into medical school is 24.

These years serve various functions for college applicants, including filling up any gaps in their transcripts, improving their GPA, or engaging in extracurricular activities like research.

Having a gap year might benefit those who aren’t ready to walk directly into college.

As a result, some students enroll in medical school for more than two years. Non-traditional candidates are often individuals who are above the age of 24. However, there is no set standard for this. If you’re returning to school after taking time out to take care of personal obligations (such as raising children), you’re not alone.

High-achieving high school students who are confident that they want to be doctors can apply to direct medical programs, also known as BA/MD or BS/MD programs, on the other end of the spectrum.

BS/DO programs have recently been attracting students interested in osteopathic medicine. The subject of osteopathic medical colleges will be covered in a minute.

Direct medical programs allow students to earn their undergraduate and medical degrees in six to eight years, depending on the school.

The “conditional admission” to medical school offered by these integrated programs means that you must maintain a minimum GPA and an MCAT score to secure your position.

Students who have shown exceptional promise and success in their first or second year of undergraduate study may be eligible for early assurance programs at several medical schools.

There are no MCATs (the standardized test for medical school) for accepted candidates so that they may concentrate on academics and research.

Medical School’s Types

Allopathic and osteopathic schools of medicine are the most common divisions within the medical education system.

The former awards the generally known MD degree, while the latter gives the less commonly recognized DO degree. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Holistic care, frequently referred to as “treating the complete person,” has long focused on osteopathic medicine.

Some of the criticism of osteopathy has concentrated on using non-evidence treatment practices (i.e., research-supported).

MD and DO programs have become increasingly comparable over time. There is a growing divide between allopathic and osteopathic physicians in delivering evidence-based care. A lot of them work on cutting-edge projects in the field of science.

Residency programs for medical doctors (MD and DO) have traditionally been segregated. As of 2020, all residency programs will combine.

A few candidates are anxious about competing with MD students for the same places.

MD programs are sought after for two significant reasons:

  • The MD degree is more widely accepted
  • MD programs prefer to accept students with higher grades.

In some other words, the DO program is often simpler than getting into an MD program. Therefore, most undergraduates chose an MD program over a DO program as a backup option.

If they do well in medical school and pass their board examinations, DO students can achieve professional success and affect the world on par with their MD peers.

The DO versus MD argument continues to flare because many med school candidates cannot shrug off the prestige problem.

Many consultancy online firms offer medical school application services to many students.

Choose the Correct Initial Education

Because of the stringent standards for medical school admission, you must pick a major and minor that will give you the best chance of being accepted.

Learn about prerequisites using our course selector. In most, if not all, courses, there is a need for at least two scientific disciplines.

Chemistry, physics, and mathematics are required. Applicants should only apply if they match the admissions criteria.

There are choices if you’re too far down the path to fulfill the admittance requirements. Medicine with a foundation year, for example, is a six-year study that aims to prepare students for a standard degree in medicine.

Do A Lot of Research Work

Demonstrate your practical scientific expertise. Regarding medical school applications, prior research experience as a college student stands out.

It’s preferable to indicate your interest in medical research if you already have some knowledge in the field when you apply to medical schools.

She assisted Dr. Pushpa Murthy in her laboratory at Michigan Technological University by doing pipetting and conducting experiments.

Despite its modest size, she was able to express its significance. We needed to emphasize in our interviews that the greater scope of our work focused on inositol phosphate metabolism.”

Carly Joseph, a medical student, has been studying synthetic biomaterials for quite some time. She explains that it provided her time to develop her critical thinking skills and pique her interest in science.

“I began by learning about biomaterials from older students in the lab, then progressively progressed to doing my own experiments and finally presenting my findings at scientific meetings.”

She developed close ties with faculty mentors and accomplished more throughout her undergraduate career than she could have ever dreamed by making research a top priority each semester.

The National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates program and the AAMC database both have summer research programs available, in addition to those offered at colleges.

Conclusion

So this is the guide that can help you get into the medical school of your own choice. No matter for what purpose you are reading this blog, will you get into your desired medical school?

If this blog was informative for you in any way, do not forget to let us know in the comment section below.

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CB Community

Passionate members of the College Basics community that include students, essay writers, consultants and beyond. Please note, while community content has passed our editorial guidelines, we do not endorse any product or service contained in these articles which may also include links for which College Basics is compensated.