Many people recently have been asking me exactly what I do to help BS/MD students be successful in the admissions process. While I am involved with many different aspects of the admissions process to help my students the help can be broken down into four broad categories.
1. I help you understand what you need to do to be a successful candidate for a BS/MD program.
most of this takes place before senior year so the earlier I start working with students the more help I can provide. What classes to take, what tests to take, SAT/ACT, subject tests, what activities to be involved with, help finding research opportunities, importance of volunteering and what type of volunteering is important.
2. I work with you to help you find the most appropriate BS/MD programs and undergraduate colleges.
90 BS/MD programs. Some are more appropriate for particular students depending on their background and experiences. Find those where you will be the most competitive. Also identify the best under graduate colleges for students that have a strong history of medical school placement and if financial aid is an issue where you might get merit based aid.
3. I help you craft the best application essays possible.
Part of the problem with BS/MD programs is that everyone has good grades and good test scores or not even considered. So how do you stand out? The essays is a big way. Knowing what are appropriate topics for the various essays and what the programs are looking for is critical. My typical student is writing between 25 and 30 application essays so there is a lot of writing that goes into this process. I edit for content and grammar but make sure the the student’s voice still comes through strongly. Having reviewed 100’s of essays of successful BS/MD students I know what programs are looking for.
4. I help you prepare for the college and medical school interviews.
All medical schools except Brown require students to interview at the medical school. I help you understand what you will be asked, and the most appropriate way to answer the questions. We do mock interviews so you are comfortable once you get to the actual interview.
Many of the programs are also starting to do undergraduate interviews before the medical school interview and again provide help mentioned above.
So, does my involvement help? Acceptance rates for most BS/MD programs is less than 5% but for the last 3 years more than 76% of my BS/MD students have been admitted into at least one program and there has been at least one each year admitted to HPME at Northwestern.
I can’t guarantee that anyone will be accepted for sure but my track record of success for most students speaks for itself.
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