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2 Med School Essays That Admissions Officers Loved

Here are tips on writing a medical school personal statement and examples of essays that stood out.

2 Great Med School Personal Statements

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A compelling medical school admissions essay can address nearly any topic the applicant is interested in, as long as it conveys the applicant's personality.

A personal statement is often a pivotal factor in medical school admissions decisions.

"The essay really can cause me to look more deeply at the entire application," Dr. Stephen Nicholas, former senior associate dean of admissions with the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons , told U.S. News in 2017. "So I do think it's pretty important."

A compelling medical school admissions essay can address nearly any topic the applicant is interested in, as long as it conveys the applicant's personality, according to Dr. Barbara Kazmierczak, director of the M.D.-Ph.D. Program and a professor of medicine and microbial pathogenesis with the Yale School of Medicine.

“The passion that the writer is bringing to this topic tells us about the individual rather than the topic that they’re describing, and the essay is the place for us to learn about the applicant – who they are and what experiences have brought them to this point of applying to medical school,” she told U.S. News in 2017.

Rachel Rudeen, former admissions coordinator for the University of Minnesota Medical School , says personal statements help medical schools determine whether applicants have the character necessary to excel as a doctor. "Grit is something we really look for," she says.

Evidence of humility and empathy , Rudeen adds, are also pluses.

Why Medical Schools Care About Personal Statements

The purpose of a personal statement is to report the events that inspired and prepared a premed to apply to medical school, admissions experts say. This personal essay helps admissions officers figure out whether a premed is ready for med school, and it also clarifies whether a premed has a compelling rationale for attending med school, these experts explain.

When written well, a medical school personal statement conveys a student's commitment to medicine and injects humanity into an admissions process that might otherwise feel cold and impersonal, according to admissions experts.

Glen Fogerty, associate dean of admissions and recruitment with the medical school at the University of Arizona—Phoenix , put it this way in an email: "To me, the strongest personal statements are the ones that share a personal connection. One where a candidate shares a specific moment, the spark that ignited their passion to become a physician or reaffirmed why they chose medicine as a career."

Dr. Viveta Lobo, an emergency medicine physician with the Stanford University School of Medicine in California who often mentors premeds, says the key thing to know about a personal statement is that it must indeed be personal, so it needs to reveal something meaningful. The essay should not be a dry piece of writing; it should make the reader feel for the author, says Lobo, director of academic conferences and continuing medical education with the emergency medicine department at Stanford.

A great personal statement has an emotional impact and "will 'do' something, not just 'say' something," Lobo wrote in an email. Admissions officers "read hundreds of essays – so before you begin, think of how yours will stand out, be unique and different," Lobo suggests.

How to Write a Personal Statement for Medical School

Lobo notes that an outstanding personal statement typically includes all of the following ingredients:

• An intriguing introduction that gets admissions officers' attention.
• Anecdotes that illustrate what kind of person the applicant is.
• Reflections about the meaning and impact of various life experiences .
• A convincing narrative about why medical school is the logical next step.
• A satisfying and optimistic conclusion.

"You should sound excited, and that passion should come through in your writing," Lobo explains.

A personal statement should tie together an applicant's past, present and future by explaining how previous experiences have led to this point and outlining long-term plans to contribute to the medical profession, Lobo said during a phone interview. Medical school admissions officers want to understand not only where an applicant has been but also the direction he or she is going, Lobo added.

When premeds articulate a vision of how they might assist others and improve society through the practice of medicine, it suggests that they aren't self-serving or simply interested in the field because of its prestige, Lobo says. It's ideal when premeds can eloquently describe a noble mission, she explains.

Elisabeth Fassas, author of "Making Pre-Med Count: Everything I Wish I'd Known Before Applying (Successfully) to Medical School," says premeds should think about the doctors they admire and reflect on why they admire them. Fassas, a first-year medical student at the University of Maryland , suggests pondering the following questions:

• "Why can you really only see yourself being a physician?"
• "What is it about being a doctor that has turned you on to this field?"
• "What kind of doctor do you imagine yourself being?"
• "Who do you want to be for your patients?"
• "What are you going to do specifically for your patients that only you can do?"

Fassas notes that many of the possible essay topics a med school hopeful can choose are subjects that other premeds can also discuss, such as a love of science. However, aspiring doctors can make their personal statements unique by articulating the lessons they learned from their life experiences, she suggests.

Prospective medical students need to clarify why medicine is a more suitable calling for them than other caring professions, health care fields and science careers, Fassas notes. They should demonstrate awareness of the challenges inherent in medicine and explain why they want to become doctors despite those difficulties, she says.

Tips on Crafting an Excellent Medical School Personal Statement

The first step toward creating an outstanding personal statement, Fassas says, is to create a list of significant memories. Premeds should think about which moments in their lives mattered the most and then identify the two or three stories that are definitely worth sharing.

Dr. Demicha Rankin, associate dean for admissions at the Ohio State University College of Medicine , notes that a personal statement should offer a compelling portrait of a person and should not be "a regurgitation of their CV."

The most outstanding personal statements are the ones that present a multifaceted perspective of the applicant by presenting various aspects of his or her identity, says Rankin, an associate professor of anesthesiology.

For example, a premed who was a swimmer might explain how the discipline necessary for swimming is analogous to the work ethic required to become a physician, Rankin says. Likewise, a pianist or another type of musician applying to medical school could convey how the listening skills and instrument-tuning techniques cultivated in music could be applicable in medicine, she adds.

Rankin notes that it's apparent when a premed has taken a meticulous approach to his or her personal statement to ensure that it flows nicely, and she says a fine essay is akin to a "well-woven fabric." One sign that a personal statement has been polished is when a theme that was explored at the beginning of the essay is also mentioned at the end, Rankin says, explaining that symmetry between an essay's introduction and conclusion makes the essay seem complete.

Rankin notes that the author of an essay might not see flaws in his or her writing that are obvious to others, so it's important for premeds to show their personal statement to trusted advisers and get honest feedback. That's one reason it's important to begin the writing process early enough to give yourself sufficient time to organize your thoughts, Rankin says, adding that a minimum of four weeks is typically necessary.

Mistakes to Avoid in a Medical School Personal Statement

One thing premeds should never do in an admissions essay is beg, experts say. Rankin says requests of any type – including a plea for an admissions interview – do not belong in a personal statement. Another pitfall to avoid, Rankin says, is ranting about controversial political subjects such as the death penalty or abortion.

If premeds fail to closely proofread their personal statement, the essay could end up being submitted with careless errors such as misspellings and grammar mistakes that could easily have been fixed, according to experts. Crafting a compelling personal statement typically necessitates multiple revisions, so premeds who skimp on revising might wind up with sloppy essays, some experts say.

However, when fine-tuning their personal statements, premeds should not automatically change their essays based on what others say, Fogerty warns.

"A common mistake on personal statements is having too many people review your statement, they make recommendations, you accept all of the changes and then – in the end – the statement is no longer your voice," Fogerty wrote in an email. It's essential that a personal statement sound like the applicant and represent who he or she is as a person, Fogerty says.

Dr. Nicholas Jones, a Georgia-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon, says the worst error that someone can make in the personal statement is to be inauthentic or deceptive.

"Do not lie. Do not fabricate," he warns.

Jones adds that premeds should not include a story in their personal statement that they are not comfortable discussing in-depth during a med school admissions interview . "If it's something too personal or you're very emotional and you don't want to talk about that, then don't put it in a statement."

Medical School Personal Statement Examples

Here are two medical school admissions essays that made a strong, positive impression on admissions officers. The first is from Columbia and the second is from the University of Minnesota. These personal statements are annotated with comments from admissions officers explaining what made these essays stand out.

Searching for a medical school? Get our complete rankings of Best Medical Schools.

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• Medical School Application

Medical School Personal Statement Examples That Got 6 Acceptances

Featured Admissions Expert: Dr. Monica Taneja, MD

These 30 exemplary medical school personal statement examples come from our students who enrolled in one of our application review programs. Most of these examples led to multiple acceptance for our students. For instance, the first example got our student accepted into SIX medical schools. Here's what you'll find in this article: We'll first go over 30 medical school personal statement samples, then we'll provide you a step-by-step guide for composing your own outstanding statement from scratch. If you follow this strategy, you're going to have a stellar statement whether you apply to the most competitive or the easiest medical schools to get into .

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Listen to the blog!

Article Contents 35 min read

Stellar medical school personal statement examples that got multiple acceptances, medical school personal statement example #1.

I made my way to Hillary’s house after hearing about her alcoholic father’s incarceration. Seeing her tearfulness and at a loss for words, I took her hand and held it, hoping to make things more bearable. She squeezed back gently in reply, “thank you.” My silent gesture seemed to confer a soundless message of comfort, encouragement and support.

Through mentoring, I have developed meaningful relationships with individuals of all ages, including seven-year-old Hillary. Many of my mentees come from disadvantaged backgrounds; working with them has challenged me to become more understanding and compassionate. Although Hillary was not able to control her father’s alcoholism and I had no immediate solution to her problems, I felt truly fortunate to be able to comfort her with my presence. Though not always tangible, my small victories, such as the support I offered Hillary, hold great personal meaning. Similarly, medicine encompasses more than an understanding of tangible entities such as the science of disease and treatment—to be an excellent physician requires empathy, dedication, curiosity and love of problem solving. These are skills I have developed through my experiences both teaching and shadowing inspiring physicians.

Medicine encompasses more than hard science. My experience as a teaching assistant nurtured my passion for medicine; I found that helping students required more than knowledge of organic chemistry. Rather, I was only able to address their difficulties when I sought out their underlying fears and feelings. One student, Azra, struggled despite regularly attending office hours. She approached me, asking for help. As we worked together, I noticed that her frustration stemmed from how intimidated she was by problems. I helped her by listening to her as a fellow student and normalizing her struggles. “I remember doing badly on my first organic chem test, despite studying really hard,” I said to Azra while working on a problem. “Really? You’re a TA, shouldn’t you be perfect?” I looked up and explained that I had improved my grades through hard work. I could tell she instantly felt more hopeful, she said, “If you could do it, then I can too!” When she passed, receiving a B+;I felt as if I had passed too. That B+ meant so much: it was a tangible result of Azra’s hard work, but it was also symbol of our dedication to one another and the bond we forged working together.

My passion for teaching others and sharing knowledge emanates from my curiosity and love for learning. My shadowing experiences in particular have stimulated my curiosity and desire to learn more about the world around me. How does platelet rich plasma stimulate tissue growth? How does diabetes affect the proximal convoluted tubule? My questions never stopped. I wanted to know everything and it felt very satisfying to apply my knowledge to clinical problems.

Shadowing physicians further taught me that medicine not only fuels my curiosity; it also challenges my problem solving skills. I enjoy the connections found in medicine, how things learned in one area can aid in coming up with a solution in another. For instance, while shadowing Dr. Steel I was asked, “What causes varicose veins and what are the complications?” I thought to myself, what could it be? I knew that veins have valves and thought back to my shadowing experience with Dr. Smith in the operating room. She had amputated a patient’s foot due to ulcers obstructing the venous circulation. I replied, “veins have valves and valve problems could lead to ulcers.” Dr. Steel smiled, “you’re right, but it doesn’t end there!” Medicine is not disconnected; it is not about interventional cardiology or orthopedic surgery. In fact, medicine is intertwined and collaborative. The ability to gather knowledge from many specialties and put seemingly distinct concepts together to form a coherent picture truly attracts me to medicine.

It is hard to separate science from medicine; in fact, medicine is science. However, medicine is also about people—their feelings, struggles and concerns. Humans are not pre-programmed robots that all face the same problems. Humans deserve sensitive and understanding physicians. Humans deserve doctors who are infinitely curious, constantly questioning new advents in medicine. They deserve someone who loves the challenge of problem solving and coming up with innovative individualized solutions. I want to be that physician. I want to be able to approach each case as a unique entity and incorporate my strengths into providing personalized care for my patients. Until that time, I may be found Friday mornings in the operating room, peering over shoulders, dreaming about the day I get to hold the drill.

Let's take a step back to consider what this medical school personal statement example does, not just what it says. It begins with an engaging hook in the first paragraph and ends with a compelling conclusion. The introduction draws you in, making the essay almost impossible to put down, while the conclusion paints a picture of someone who is both passionate and dedicated to the profession. In between the introduction and conclusion, this student makes excellent use of personal narrative. The anecdotes chosen demonstrate this individual's response to the common question, " Why do you want to be a doctor ?" while simultaneously making them come across as compassionate, curious, and reflective. The essay articulates a number of key qualities and competencies, which go far beyond the common trope, I want to be a doctor because I want to help people.

This person is clearly a talented writer, but this was the result of several rounds of edits with one of our medical school admissions consulting team members and a lot of hard work on the student's part. If your essay is not quite there yet, or if you're just getting started, don't sweat it. Do take note that writing a good personal essay takes advanced planning and significant effort.

I was one of those kids who always wanted to be doctor. I didn’t understand the responsibilities and heartbreaks, the difficult decisions, and the years of study and training that go with the title, but I did understand that the person in the white coat stood for knowledge, professionalism, and compassion. As a child, visits to the pediatrician were important events. I’d attend to my hair and clothes, and travel to the appointment in anticipation. I loved the interaction with my doctor. I loved that whoever I was in the larger world, I could enter the safe space of the doctor’s office, and for a moment my concerns were heard and evaluated. I listened as my mother communicated with the doctor. I’d be asked questions, respectfully examined, treatments and options would be weighed, and we would be on our way. My mother had been supported in her efforts to raise a well child, and I’d had a meaningful interaction with an adult who cared for my body and development. I understood medicine as an act of service, which aligned with my values, and became a dream.

I was hospitalized for several months as a teenager and was inspired by the experience, despite the illness. In the time of diagnosis, treatment and recovery, I met truly sick children. Children who were much more ill than me. Children who wouldn’t recover. We shared a four-bed room, and we shared our medical stories. Because of the old hospital building, there was little privacy in our room, and we couldn’t help but listen-in during rounds, learning the medical details, becoming “experts” in our four distinct cases. I had more mobility than some of the patients, and when the medical team and family members were unavailable, I’d run simple errands for my roommates, liaise informally with staff, and attend to needs. To bring physical relief, a cold compress, a warmed blanket, a message to a nurse, filled me with such an intense joy and sense of purpose that I applied for a volunteer position at the hospital even before my release.

I have since been volunteering in emergency departments, out-patient clinics, and long term care facilities. While the depth of human suffering is at times shocking and the iterations of illness astounding, it is in the long-term care facility that I had the most meaningful experiences by virtue of my responsibilities and the nature of the patients’ illnesses. Charles was 55 when he died. He had early onset Parkinson’s Disease with dementia that revealed itself with a small tremor when he was in his late twenties. Charles had a wife and three daughters who visited regularly, but whom he didn’t often remember. Over four years as a volunteer, my role with the family was to fill in the spaces left by Charles’ periodic inability to project his voice as well as his growing cognitive lapses. I would tell the family of his activities between their visits, and I would remind him of their visits and their news. This was a hard experience for me. I watched as 3 daughters, around my own age, incrementally lost their father. I became angry, and then I grew even more determined.

In the summer of third year of my Health Sciences degree, I was chosen to participate in an undergraduate research fellowship in biomedical research at my university. As part of this experience, I worked alongside graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, medical students, physicians, and faculty in Alzheimer’s research into biomarkers that might predict future disease. We collaborated in teams, and by way of the principal investigator’s careful leadership, I learned wherever one falls in terms of rank, each contribution is vital to the outcome. None of the work is in isolation. For instance, I was closely mentored by Will, a graduate student who had been in my role the previous summer. He, in turn, collaborated with post docs and medical students, turning to faculty when roadblocks were met. While one person’s knowledge and skill may be deeper than another’s, individual efforts make up the whole. Working in this team, aside from developing research skills, I realized that practicing medicine is not an individual pursuit, but a collaborative commitment to excellence in scholarship and leadership, which all begins with mentorship.

Building on this experience with teamwork in the lab, I participated in a global health initiative in Nepal for four months, where I worked alongside nurses, doctors, and translators. I worked in mobile rural health camps that offered tuberculosis care, monitored the health and development of babies and children under 5, and tended to minor injuries. We worked 11-hour days helping hundreds of people in the 3 days we spent in each location. Patients would already be in line before we woke each morning. I spent each day recording basic demographic information, blood pressure, pulse, temperature, weight, height, as well as random blood sugar levels, for each patient, before they lined up to see a doctor. Each day was exhausting and satisfying. We helped so many people. But this satisfaction was quickly displaced by a developing understanding of issues in health equity.

My desire to be doctor as a young person was not misguided, but simply naïve. I’ve since learned the role of empathy and compassion through my experiences as a patient and volunteer. I’ve broadened my contextual understanding of medicine in the lab and in Nepal. My purpose hasn’t changed, but what has developed is my understanding that to be a physician is to help people live healthy, dignified lives by practicing both medicine and social justice.

28 More Medical School Personal Statement Examples That Got Accepted

What my sister went through pushed me to strengthen my knowledge in medical education, patient care, and research. These events have influenced who I am today and helped me determine my own passions. I aspire to be a doctor because I want to make miracles, like my sister, happen. Life is something to cherish; it would not be the same if I did not have one of my four sisters to spend it with. As all stories have endings, I hope that mine ends with me fulfilling my dream of being a doctor, which has been the sole focus of my life to this point. I would love nothing more than to dedicate myself to such a rewarding career, where I achieve what those doctors did for my family. Their expertise allowed my sister to get all the care she needed for her heart, eyes, lungs, and overall growth. Those physicians gave me more than just my little sister, they gave me the determination and focus needed to succeed in the medical field, and for that, I am forever grateful. ","label":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #3","title":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #3"}]" code="tab4" template="BlogArticle">

I came to America, leaving my parents and friends behind, to grasp my chance at a better future. I believe this chance is now in front of me. Medicine is the only path I truly desire because it satisfies my curiosity about the human body and it allows me to directly interact with patients. I do not want to miss this chance to further hone my skills and knowledge, in order to provide better care for my patients. ","label":"Medical School Personal Statement #4","title":"Medical School Personal Statement #4"}]" code="tab5" template="BlogArticle">

The time I have spent in various medical settings has confirmed my love for the field. Regardless of the environment, I am drawn to patients and their stories, like that scared young boy at AMC. I am aware that medicine is a constantly changing landscape; however, one thing that has remained steadfast over the years is putting the patient first, and I plan on doing this as a physician. All of my experiences have taught me a great deal about patient interaction and global health, however, I am left wanting more. I crave more knowledge to help patients and become more useful in the healthcare sector. I am certain medical school is the path that will help me reach my goal. One day, I hope to use my experiences to become an amazing doctor like the doctors that treated my sister, so I can help other children like her. ","label":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #5","title":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #5"}]" code="tab6" template="BlogArticle">

My interest in the field of medicine has developed overtime, with a common theme surrounding the importance of personal health and wellness. Through my journey in sports, travelling, and meeting some incredible individuals such as Michael, I have shifted my focus from thinking solely about the physical well-being, to understanding the importance of mental, spiritual, and social health as well. Being part of a profession that emphasizes continuous education, and application of knowledge to help people is very rewarding, and I will bring compassion, a hard work ethic and an attitude that is always focused on bettering patient outcomes. ","label":"Medical School Personal Statement Example # 7","title":"Medical School Personal Statement Example # 7"}]" code="tab8" template="BlogArticle">

Medicine embodies a hard science, but it is ultimately a profession that treats people. I have seen firsthand that medicine is not a \u201cone-treatment-fits-all\u201d practice, as an effective physician takes a holistic approach. This is the type of physician I aspire to be: one who refuses to shy away from the humanity of patients and their social context, and one who uses research and innovation to improve the human condition. So, when I rethink \u201cwhy medicine?\u201d, I know it\u2019s for me \u2013 because it is a holistic discipline, because it demands all of me, because I am ready to absorb the fascinating knowledge and science that dictates human life, and engage with humanity in a way no other profession allows for. Until the day that I dawn the coveted white coat, you can find me in inpatient units, comforting the many John\u2019s to come, or perhaps at the back of an operating room observing a mitral valve repair \u2013 dreaming of the day the puck is in my zone. ","label":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #8","title":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #8"}]" code="tab9" template="BlogArticle">

When I signed up to be a live DJ, I didn't know that the oral skills I practiced on-air would influence all aspects of my life, let alone lead me to consider a career in the art of healing. I see now, though, the importance of these key events in my life that have allowed me to develop excellent communication skills--whether that be empathic listening, reading and giving non-verbal cues, or verbal communication. I realize I have always been on a path towards medicine. Ultimately, I aim to continue to strengthen my skills as I establish my role as a medical student and leader: trusting my choices, effectively communicating, and taking action for people in need. ","label":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #9","title":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #9"}]" code="tab10" template="BlogArticle">

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t I pursue medicine sooner?\u201d Is the question that now occupies my mind. Leila made me aware of the unprofessional treatment delivered by some doctors. My subsequent activities confirmed my desire to become a doctor who cares deeply for his patients and provides the highest quality care. My passion for research fuels my scientific curiosity. I will continue to advocate for patient equality and fairness. Combining these qualities will allow me to succeed as a physician. ","label":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #10","title":"Medical School Personal Statement Example #10"}]" code="tab11" template="BlogArticle">

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Please note that all personal statements are the property of the students who wrote them, re-printed with permission. Names and identifying characteristics have been changed. Plagiarism detection software is used when evaluating personal statements. Plagiarism is grounds for disqualification from the application. ","label":"NOTE","title":"NOTE"}]" code="tab2" template="BlogArticle">

As one of the most important  medical school requirements , the personal statement tells your story of why you decided to pursue the medical profession. Keep in mind that personal statements are one of the key factors that affect medical school acceptance rates . This is why it's important to write a stellar essay!

But this is easier said than done. In fact, medical school personal statements remain one of the most challenging parts of students' journeys to medical school. Here's our student Melissa sharing her experience of working on her personal statement:

"I struggled making my personal statement personal... I couldn't incorporate my feelings, motives and life stories that inspired me to pursue medicine into my personal statement" -Melissa, BeMo Student

Our student Rishi, who is not a student at the Carver College of Medicine , learned about the importance of the medical school personal statement the hard way:

"If you're a reapplicant like me, you know we all dread it but you have to get ready to answer what has changed about your application that we should accept you this time. I had an existing personal statement that did not get me in the first time so there was definitely work to be done." - Rishi, BeMo Student, current student at the Carver College of Medicine

The importance of the medical school personal statement can actually increase if you are applying to medical school with any red flags or setbacks, as out student Kannan did:

"I got 511 on my second MCAT try... My goal was anything over median of 510 so anything over that was honestly good with me because it's just about [creating] a good personal statement at that point... I read online about how important the personal statement [is]... making sure [it's] really polished and so that's when I decided to get some professional help." - Kannan, BeMo Student, current student at the Schulich School of Medicine  

As you can see from these testimonials, your medical school personal statement can really make a difference. So we are here to help you get started writing your own personal statement. Let's approach this step-by-step. Below you will see how we will outline the steps to creating your very best personal statement. And don't forget that if you need to see more examples, you can also check out our AMCAS personal statement examples, AACOMAS personal statement examples and TMDSAS personal statement examples to further inspire you!

Here's a quick run-down of what we'll cover in the article:

Now let's dive in deeper!

#1 Understanding the Qualities of a Strong Med School Personal Statement

Before discussing how to write a strong medical school personal statement, we first need to understand the qualities of a strong essay. Similar to crafting strong medical school secondary essays , writing a strong personal statement is a challenging, yet extremely important, part of your MD or MD-PhD programs applications. Your AMCAS Work and Activities section may show the reader what you have done, but the personal statement explains why. This is how Dr. Neel Mistry, MD and our admissions expert, prepared for his medical school personal statement writing:

"The personal statement is an opportunity for you to shine and really impress the committee to invite you for an interview. The personal statement is your chance to be reflective and go beyond what is stated on your CV and [activities]. In order to stand out, it is important to answer the main questions [of medical school personal statements] well: a bit about yourself and what led you to medicine, why you would make an ideal medical student and future physician, what attracts you to [medicine], and what sets you apart from the other candidates. The key here is answering the last two questions well. Most candidates simply highlight what they have done, but do not reflect on it or mention how what they have done has prepared them for a future medical career." - Dr. Neel Mistry, MD

A personal statement should be deeply personal, giving the admissions committee insight into your passions and your ultimate decision to pursue a career in medicine. A compelling and introspective personal statement can make the difference between getting an interview and facing medical school rejection . Review our blogs to find out how to prepare for med school interviews and learn the most common medical school interview questions .

As you contemplate the task in front of you, you may be wondering what composing an essay has to do with entering the field of medicine. Many of our students were surprised to learn that medical school personal statements are so valued by med schools. The two things are more closely related than you think. A compelling personal statement demonstrates your written communication skills and highlights your accomplishments, passions, and aspirations. The ability to communicate a complex idea in a short space is an important skill as a physician. You should demonstrate your communication skills by writing a concise and meaningful statement that illustrates your best attributes. Leaving a lasting impression on your reader is what will lead to interview invitations.

A quick note: if you are applying to schools that do not require the formal medical school personal statement, such as medical schools in Canada , you should still learn how to write such essays. Many medical schools in Ontario , for example, ask for short essays for supplementary questionnaires. These are very similar to the personal statement. Knowing how to brainstorm, write, and format your answers is key to your success!!!

You want to give yourself as much time as possible to write your statement. Do not think you can do this in an evening or even in a week. Some statements take months. My best statement took almost a year to get right. Allow yourself time and start early to avoid added stress. Think of the ideas you want to include and brainstorm possible ways to highlight these ideas. Ask your friends for ideas or even brainstorm your ideas with people you trust. Get some feedback early to make sure you are headed in the right direction.

All personal statements for medical school, often start by explaining why medicine is awesome; the admission committee already knows that. You should explain why you want a career in medicine. What is it about the practice of medicine that resonates with who you are? Naturally, this takes a lot of reflection around who you are. Here are some additional questions you can consider as you go about brainstorming for your essay:

• What motivates you to learn more about medicine?
• What is something you want them to know about you that isn't in your application?
• Where were you born, how did you grow up, and what type of childhood did you have growing up (perhaps including interesting stories about your siblings, parents, grandparents)?
• What kinds of early exposure to the medical field left an impression on you as a child?
• Did you become familiar with and interested in the field of medicine at an early stage of your life? If so, why?
• What are your key strengths, and how have you developed these?
• What steps did you take to familiarize yourself with the medical profession?
• Did you shadow a physician? Did you volunteer or work in a clinical setting? Did you get involved in medical research?
• What challenges have you faced? Have these made an impact on what you chose to study?
• What are your favorite activities?
• What kinds of extracurriculars for medical school or volunteer work have you done, and how have these shaped who you are, your priorities, and or your perspectives on a career in medicine?
• What was your "Aha!" moment?
• When did your desire to become a doctor solidify?
• How did you make the decision to apply to medical school?

You shouldn't try to answer all of these in your essay. Try only a few main points that will carry over into the final draft. Use these to brainstorm and gather ideas. Start developing your narrative by prioritizing the most impactful responses to these prompts and the ideas that are most relevant to your own experiences and goals. The perfect personal statement not only shows the admissions committee that you have refined communication skills, but also conveys maturity and professionalism. It should also display your motivation and suitability for medical practice. Here's how our student Alison, who was a non-traditional applicant with a serious red flag in her application, used her brainstorming sessions with our admissions experts to get a theme going in her medical school personal statement and her overall application package:

"I think it was during my brainstorming session that we really started talking about... what the theme [was] going to be for my application. And I think that was really helpful in and of itself. Just [reflecting] 'Hey, what's your focus going to be like? How are we going to write this? What's the style going to be?' Just to create an element of consistency throughout..." Alison, BeMo Student, current student at Dell Medical School 

After brainstorming, you should be able to clearly see a few key ideas, skills, qualities, and intersections that you want to write about. Once you've isolated the elements you want to explore in your essay (usually 2-4 key ideas), you can begin building your outline. In terms of structure, this should follow the standard academic format, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

As you begin thinking about what to include in your personal essay, remember that you are writing for a specific audience with specific expectations. Your evaluator will be familiar with the key qualities desired by medical schools, as informed by the standards of the profession. But keep in mind that they too are human, and they respond well to well-crafted, engaging essays that tell a story. Here's what our student Alison had to share about keeping your audience in mind when writing your personal statement:

"Make it easy for the reader to be able to work [their] way through [your personal statement]. Because, at the end of the day, I think one thing that helped me a lot was being able to think about who was going to be reading this application and it's going to be these people that are sitting around a desk or sitting at a table and [go] through massive numbers of applications every single day. And the easier and more digestible that you can make it for them, gives you a little bit of a win." - Alison, BeMo student, current student at Dell Medical School

The admissions committee will be examining your essay through the lens of their particular school's mission, values, and priorities. You should think about your experiences with reference to the AAMC Core Competencies and to each school's mission statement so that you're working toward your narrative with the institution and broader discipline in mind.

Review AAMC Core Competencies : The AAMC Core Competencies are the key characteristics and skills sought by U.S. medical schools. These are separated into three general categories:

You are not expected to have mastered all of these competencies at this stage of your education. Display those that are relevant to your experiences will help demonstrate your commitment to the medical profession.

Review the school's mission statement: Educational institutions put a lot of time and care into drafting their school's vision. The mission statement will articulate the overall values and priorities of each university, giving you insight into what they might seek in candidates, and thus what you should try to display in your personal statement. Echoing the values of the university helps illustrate that you are a good fit for their intellectual culture. The mission statement may help you identify other priorities of the university, for example, whether they prioritize research-based or experiential-based education. All this research into your chosen medical schools will help you tremendously not only when you write you personal statement, but also the rest of your medical school application components, including your medical school letter of intent if you ever need to write one later.

Just like the personal statement is, in essence, a prompt without a prompt. They give you free rein to write your own prompt to tell your story. This is often difficult for students as they find it hard to get started without having a true direction. Below is a list of ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Use these prompts as a starting point for your essay. Also, they are a great way of addressing why you want to be a doctor without saying something generic.

• The moment your passion for medicine crystallized
• The events that led you toward this path
• Specific instances in which you experienced opportunities
• Challenges that helped shape your worldview
• Your compassion, resilience, or enthusiastic collaboration
• Demonstrate your commitment to others
• Your dependability
• Your leadership skills
• Your ability to problem-solve or to resolve a conflict

These are personal, impactful experiences that only you have had. Focus on the personal, and connect that to the values of your future profession. Do that and you will avoid writing the same essay as everyone else. Dr. Monica Taneja, MD and our admissions expert, shares her tip that got her accepted to the University of Maryland School of Medicine :

"I focused on my journey to medicine and opportunities that I sought out along the way. Everyone’s path and validation is unique, so walking the reader through your growth to the point of application will naturally be different, but that's what I wanted to share in my personal statement." - Dr. Monica Taneja, MD

Admissions committees don't want your resumé in narrative form. The most boring essays are those of applicants listing their accomplishments. Remember, all that stuff is already in the activities section of the application. This is where you should discuss interesting or important life events that shaped you and your interest in medicine (a service trip to rural Guatemala, a death in the family, a personal experience as a patient). One suggestion is to have an overarching theme to your essay to tie everything together, starting with an anecdote. Alternatively, you can use one big metaphor or analogy through the essay. Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD and experienced admissions committee member of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, encourages you to be creative when it comes to the theme of your personal statement:

"It is very easy to make the “cookie cutter” personal statement. To a reviewer who is reading tens of these at a time it can become quite boring. What I did was [tell] a story. Like any good novel, the stories' first lines are meant to hook the reader. This can be about anything if you can bring it back and relate it to your application. It could be about the time your friend was smashed up against the boards in hockey and you, with your limited first aid experience helped to treat him. It is important that the story be REAL." - Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD

Your personal statement must be well-organized, showing a clear, logical progression, as well as connections between ideas. It is generally best to use a chronological progression since this mirrors your progression into a mature adult and gives you the opportunity to illustrate how you learned from early mistakes later on. Carry the theme throughout the statement to achieve continuity and cohesion. Use the theme to links ideas from each paragraph to the next and to unite your piece.

Medical School Personal Statement Structure

When working toward the initial draft of your essay, it is important to keep the following in mind: The essay should read like a chronological narrative and have good structure and flow. Just like any academic essay, it will need an introduction, body content, and a conclusion. If you're wondering whether a medical school advisor can help you with your medical school application, check out our blog for the answer.

Check out our video to learn how to create a killer introduction to your medical school personal statement:

Introduction

The introductory paragraph and, even more importantly, the introductory sentence of your essay, will most certainly make or break your overall statement. Ensure that you have a creative and captivating opening sentence that draws the reader in. This is your first and only chance to make a first impression and really capture the attention of the committee. Starting with an event or an Aha! moment that inspired your decision to pursue a medical profession is one way to grab their attention. The kinds of things that inspire or motivate you can say a lot about who you are as a person.

The broader introductory paragraph itself should serve several functions. First, it must draw your reader in with an eye-catching first line and an engaging hook or anecdote. It should point toward the qualities that most effectively demonstrate your desire and suitability for becoming a physician (you will discuss these qualities further in the body paragraphs). The thesis of the introduction is that you have certain skills, experiences, and characteristics and that these skills, experiences, and characteristics will lead you to thrive in the field of medicine. Finally, it must also serve as a roadmap to the reader, allowing them to understand where the remainder of the story is headed.

That is a lot of work for a single paragraph to do. To better help you envision what this looks like in practice, here is a sample introduction that hits these main points.

I was convinced I was going to grow up to be a professional chef. This was not just another far-fetched idealistic childhood dream that many of us had growing up. There was a sense of certainty about this dream that motivated me to devote countless hours to its practice. It was mostly the wonder that it brought to others and the way they were left in awe after they tried a dish that I recall enjoying the most creating as a young chef. But, when I was 13, my grandfather was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, and I realized that sometimes cooking is not enough, as I quickly learned about the vital role physicians play in the life of everyday people like my family and myself. Although my grandfather ended up passing away from his illness, the impact that the healthcare team had on him, my family, and I will always serve as the initial starting point of my fascination with the medical profession. Since that time, I have spent years learning more about the human sciences through my undergraduate studies and research, have developed a deeper understanding of the demands and challenges of the medical profession through my various volunteer and extra-curricular experiences, and although it has been difficult along the way, I have continued to forge a more intimate fascination with the medical field that has motivated me to apply to medical school at this juncture of my life. ","label":"Sample Introduction","title":"Sample Introduction"}]" code="tab3" template="BlogArticle">

In the body of your essay, you essentially want to elaborate on the ideas that you have introduced in your opening paragraph by drawing on your personal experiences to provide evidence. Major points from the above sample introduction could be: dedication and resilience (practicing cooking for hours, and devoting years to undergraduate studies in human sciences), passion and emotional connection (being able to create something that inspired awe in others, and personally connecting with the work of the grandfather's healthcare team), motivation and drive (being inspired by the role physicians play in their patients' lives, participating in volunteer work and extracurriculars, and an enduring fascination with the field of medicine). Depending on the details, a selection of volunteer and extra-curricular experiences might also be discussed in more detail, in order to emphasize other traits like collaboration, teamwork, perseverance, or a sense of social responsibility – all key characteristics sought by medical schools. Just like an academic essay, you will devote one paragraph to each major point, explaining this in detail, supporting your claims with experiences from your life, and reflecting on the meaning of each plot point in your personal narrative, with reference to why you want to pursue a medical career.

Your final statement should not be a simple summary of the things you have discussed. It should be insightful, captivating, and leave the reader with a lasting impression. Although you want to re-emphasize the major ideas of your essay, you should try to be creative and captivating, much like your opening paragraph. Sometimes if you can link your opening idea to your last paragraph it will really tie the whole essay together. The conclusion is just as important as the introduction. It is your last chance to express your medical aspirations. You want to impress the reader while also leaving them wanting more. In this case, more would mean getting an interview so they can learn more about who you are! Leave them thinking I have got to meet this person.

The narrative you construct should display some of your most tightly held values, principles, or ethical positions, along with key accomplishments and activities. If you see yourself as someone who is committed to community service, and you have a track record of such service, your story should feature this and provide insight into why you care about your community and what you learned from your experiences. Saying that you value community service when you've never volunteered a day in your life is pointless. Stating that your family is one where we support each other through challenge and loss (if this is indeed true), is excellent because it lays the groundwork for telling a story while showing that you are orientated towards close relationships. You would then go on to offer a brief anecdote that supports this. You are showing how you live such principles, rather than just telling your reader that you have such principles:

"Remember to use specific personal examples throughout your statement to make it more impactful and memorable for the readers. Often, painting a picture in the reader’s mind in the form of a story helps with this." - Dr. Neel Mistry, MD

A lot of students make the mistake of verbalizing their personal attributes with a bunch of adjectives, such as, "This experience taught me to be a self-reliant leader, with excellent communication skills, and empathy for others..." In reality, this does nothing to convey these qualities. It's a mistake to simply list your skills or characteristics without showing the reader an example of a time you used them to solve a problem. If you simply list your skills or characteristics (telling), without demonstrating the ways you have applied them (showing), you risk coming across as arrogant. The person reading the essay may not believe you, as you've not really given them a way to see such values in your actions. It is better to construct a narrative to show the reader that you possess the traits that medical schools are looking for, rather than explicitly stating that you are an empathetic individual or capable of deep self-reflection. Instead of listing adjectives, tell your personal story and allow the admissions committee to paint the picture for themselves. This step is very challenging for many students, but it's one of the most important strategies used in successful essays. Writing this way will absolutely make your statement stand out from the rest.

While it may be tempting to write in a high academic tone, using terminology or jargon that is often complex or discipline-specific, requiring a specialized vocabulary for comprehension. You should actually aim to write for a non-specialist audience. Remember, in the world of medicine, describing a complex, clinical condition to a patient requires using specific but clear words. This is why your personal statement should show that you can do the same thing. Using large words in unwieldy ways makes you sound like you are compensating for poor communication skills. Use words that you believe most people understand. Read your personal statement back to a 14-year-old, and then again to someone for whom English is not their first language, to see if you're on the right path.

Ultimately, fancy words do not make you a good communicator; listening and ensuring reader comprehension makes you a good communicator. Instead of using complex terminology to tell the admissions committee that you have strong communication skills, show them your communication skills through clear, accessible prose, written with non-specialists in mind. A common refrain among writing instructors is, never use a $10 word where a $2 word will suffice. If you can say it in plain, accessible language, then this is what you should do.

Display Professionalism

Professionalism may seem like a difficult quality to display when only composing a personal statement. After all, the reader can't see your mannerisms, your personal style, or any of those little qualities that allow someone to appear professional. Professionalism is about respect for the experience of others on your team or in your workplace. It is displayed when you are able to step back from your own individual position and think about what is best for your colleagues and peers, considering their needs alongside your own. If a story is relevant to why you want to be a physician and demonstrates an example of how you were professional in a workplace setting, then it is appropriate to include in your essay.

One easy way to destroy a sense of professionalism is to act in a judgmental way towards others, particularly if you perceived and ultimately resolved an error on someone else's part. Sometimes students blame another medical professional for something that went wrong with a patient.

They might say something to the effect of, "The nurse kept brushing off the patient's concerns, refusing to ask the attending to increase her pain medications. Luckily, being the empathetic individual that I am, I took the time to listen to sit with the patient, eventually bringing her concerns to the attending physician, who thanked me for letting him know."

There are a couple of things wrong with this example. It seems like this person is putting down someone else in an attempt to make themselves look better. They come across as un-empathetic and judgmental of the nurse. Maybe she was having a busy day, or maybe the attending had just seen the patient for this issue and the patient didn't really need re-assessment. Reading this kind of account in a personal statement makes the reader question the maturity of the applicant and their ability to move past blaming others and resolve problems in a meaningful way. Instead of allocating blame, identify what the problem was for the patient and then focus on what you did to resolve it and reflect on what you learned from the whole experience.

One last note on professionalism: Being professional does not mean being overly stoic, hiding your emotions, or cultivating a bland personality. A lot of students are afraid to talk about how a situation made them feel in their personal statement. They worry that discussing feelings is inappropriate and will appear unprofessional. Unfortunately for these students, emotional intelligence is hugely important to the practice of medicine. In order to be a good doctor, one must be aware of their own emotions as well as those of their patients. Good doctors are able to quickly identify their own emotions and understand how their emotional reactions may inform their actions, and the ability to deliver appropriate care, in a given situation. Someone who is incapable of identifying their emotions is also incapable of managing them effectively and will likely struggle to identify the emotions of others. So, when writing your personal statement, think about how each experience made you feel, and what you learned from those feelings and that experience.

How to Write About Discrepancies and Common Mistakes to Avoid

Part of your essay's body can include a discussion of any discrepancies or gaps in your education, or disruptions in your academic performance. If you had to take time off, or if you had a term or course with low grades, or if you had any other extenuating circumstances that impacted your education, you can take time to address these here. It is very important to address these strategically. Do not approach this section as space to plead your case. Offer a brief summary of the situation, and then emphasize what you learned from such hardships. Always focus on the positive, illustrating how such difficulties made you stronger, more resilient, or more compassionate. Connect your experiences to the qualities desired by medical schools. Here's how I student Alison address an academic discrepancy in her application:

I had an academic dishonesty during undergrad, which, at the time, ended up being this big misunderstanding. But I was going to appeal this and get it off my record. I was supposed to start nursing school two weeks after this whole ordeal had gone down and, at our university, if you try to appeal your academic dishonesty then you'd have to take an incomplete in that class and I needed this class in order to start nursing school. So I wasn't able to [appeal]. So when I talked with the people at the nursing school they were like ‘it's no big deal, it's fine’. [But] it came back and it haunted me very much. When I was applying [to medical school] I started looking online [to see] how big of a deal is it to have this ‘red flag’ on my application. I started reading all of these horror stories on Student Doctor Network and all of these other forums about how if you have an academic dishonesty you shouldn't even bother applying, that you'll never get in. Schools will blacklist you and I was [wondering] what am I going do. [My advisor suggested I use the essay to talk about my discrepancy]. 

First off, if anyone out there has an academic violation don't read student doctor network. don't listen to anybody. you absolutely are still a potential medical student and schools are not going to blacklist you just because of one mistake that you made. that's all lies. don't listen to them. i don't even think it came up a single time during any of my interviews. i think a lot of that came back to how i wrote that essay and the biggest advice that i can give that i got from the [bemo] team is explain what happened… just give the facts. be very objective about it. in the last two thirds [of the essay] you want to focus on what you learned from it and how it made you a better person and how it's going to make you a better physician.” – alison, bemo student, current student at dell medical school.

We hope many of you find a peace of mind when you read Alison's story. Because it shows that with the right approach to your medical school personal statement, you can overcome even red flags or setbacks that made you dread the application process. Use your personal statement to emphasize your ability to persevere through it all but do so in a positive way. Most of all, if you feel like you have to explain yourself, take accountability for the situation. State that it is unfortunate and then redirect it to what you learned and how it will make you a better doctor. Always focus on being positive and do not lament on the negative situation too much.

Additional Mistakes to Avoid in Personal Statements:

Check out this video on the top 5 errors to avoid in your personal statement!

Step 3: Writing Your First Draft

As you can see, there is a LOT of planning and consideration to be done before actually starting your first draft. Properly brainstorming, outlining, and considering the content and style of your essay prior to beginning the essay will make the writing process much smoother than it would be you to try to jump right to the draft-writing stage. Now, you're not just staring at a blank page wondering what you could possibly write to impress the admissions committee. Instead, you've researched what the school desires from its students and what the medical profession prioritizes in terms of personal characteristics, you've sketched out some key moments from your life that exemplify those traits, and you have a detailed outline that just needs filling in.

As you're getting started, focus on getting content on the page, filling in your outline and getting your ideas arranged on the page. Your essay will go through multiple drafts and re-writes, so the first step is to free write and start articulating connections between your experiences and the characteristics you're highlighting. You can worry about flow, transitions, and perfect grammar in later drafts. The first draft is always a working draft, written with the understanding that its purpose is to act as a starting point, not an ending point. Once you've completed a draft, you can begin the revising process. The next section will break down what to do once you have your first draft completed.

You can also begin looking at things like style, voice, transitions, and overall theme. The best way to do this is to read your essay aloud. This may sound strange, but it is one of the single most impactful bits of writing advice a student can receive. When we're reading in our heads (and particularly when we're reading our own words), it is easy to skip over parts that may be awkwardly worded, or where the grammar is off. As our brains process information differently, depending on whether we're taking in visual or auditory information, this can also help you understand where the connections between ideas aren't as evident as you would like. Reading the essay aloud will help you begin internalizing the narrative you've crafted, so that you can come to more easily express this both formally in writing and informally in conversation (for example, in an interview).

#1 Did You Distinguish Yourself From Others?

Does your narrative sound unique? Is it different than your peers or did you write in a generic manner? Our admissions expert Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, shares how she got the attention of the admissions committee with her personal statement:

"I also found it helpful to give schools a “punch-line”. As in I wanted them to remember 1-2 things about me that are my differentiators and I reiterated those throughout [the personal statement]." - Dr. Monica Taneja, MD

Use your narrative to provide a compelling picture of who you are as a person, as a learner, as an advocate, and as a future medical professional. What can you offer? Remember, you will be getting a lot out of your med school experience, but the school will be getting a lot out of you, as well. You will be contributing your research efforts to your department, you will be participating in the academic community, and as you go on to become a successful medical professional you will impact the perception of your school's prestige. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, so use this opportunity to highlight what you bring to the table, and what you will contribute as a student at their institution. Let them know what it is about you that is an attribute to their program. Make them see you as a stand out from the crowd.

#2 Does My Essay Flow and is it Comprehensible?

Personal statements are a blessing and a curse for admission committees. They give them a better glimpse of who the applicant is than simple scores. Also, they are long and time-consuming to read. And often, they sound exactly alike. On occasion, a personal statement really makes an applicant shine. After reading page after page of redundant, cookie-cutter essays, an essay comes along with fluid prose and a compelling narrative, the reader snaps out of that feeling of monotony and gladly extends their enthusiastic attention.

Frankly, if the statement is pleasant to read, it will get read with more attention and appreciation. Flow is easier to craft through narrative, which is why you should root the statement in a story that demonstrates characteristics desirable to medical schools. Fluidity takes time to build, though, so your statement should be etched out through many drafts and should also be based on an outline. You need to brainstorm, then outline, then draft and re-draft, and then bring in editors and listeners for feedback (Note: You need someone to proofread your work. Bestselling authors have editors. Top scholars have editors. I need an editor. You need an editor. Everyone needs an editor). Then, check and double-check and fix anything that needs fixing. Then check again. Then submit. You want this to be a statement that captures the reader's interest by creating a fluid, comprehensible piece that leads the reader to not only read each paragraph but want to continue to the next sentence.

#3 Did You Check Your Grammar?

If you give yourself more than one night to write your statement, the chances of grammatical errors will decrease considerably. If you are pressed for time, upload your file into an online grammar website. Use the grammar checker on your word processor, but know that this, in itself, isn't enough. Use the eyes and ears of other people to check and double-check your grammar, punctuation, and syntax. Read your statement out loud to yourself and you will almost certainly find an error (and likely several errors). Use fresh eyes to review the statement several times before you actually submit it, by walking away from it for a day or so and then re-reading it. Start your essay early, so that you actually have time to do this. This step can make or break your essay. Do not waste all the effort you have put into writing, to only be discarded by the committee for using incorrect grammar and syntax.

#4 Did You Gather Feedback From Other People?

The most important tip in writing a strong application essay is this getting someone else to read your work. While the tips above are all very useful for writing a strong draft, nothing will benefit you more than getting an outside appraisal of your work. For example, it's very easy to overlook your own spelling or grammatical errors. You know your own story and you may think that your narrative and it's meaning make sense to your reader. You won't know that for sure without having someone else actually read it. This may sound obvious, but it's still an absolute necessity. Have someone you trust to read the essay and ask them what they thought of it. What was their impression of you after reading it? Did it make sense? Was it confusing? Do they have any questions? What was the tone of the essay? Do they see the connections you're trying to make? What were their takeaways from your essay, and do these align with your intended takeaways for your reader? Ideally, this person should have some knowledge of the application process or the medical profession, so that they can say whether you were successful in demonstrating that you are a suitable candidate for medical school. However, any external reader is better than no external reader at all.

Avoid having people too close to you read your work. They may refrain from being too critical in an effort to spare your feelings. This is the time to get brutal, honest feedback. If you know someone who is an editor but do not feel that they can be objective, try and find someone else.

Want more examples? Check out our video below:

FAQs and Final Notes

Your personal statement should tell your story and highlight specific experiences or aspects of your journey that have led you to medicine. If your first exposure or interest in the medical field was sparked from your own medical struggles, then you can certainly include this in your statement. What is most important is that you write about what factors or experiences attributed to you deciding that medicine is the right career path for you.

Sometimes students shy away from including their own personal struggles and describing how they felt during difficult times but this is a great way for admissions committees to gain perspective into who you are as a person and where your motivations lie. Remember, this is your story, not someone else's, so your statement should revolve around you. If you choose to discuss a personal hardship, what's most important is that you don't cast yourself as the victim and that you discuss what the experience taught you. Also, medical schools are not allowed to discriminate against students for discussing medical issues, so it is not looked at as a red flag unless you are talking about an issue inappropriately. For example, making yourself appear as the victim or not taking responsibility.

All US medical schools require the completion of a personal statement with your AMCAS, TMDSAS or AACOMAS applications.

Medical schools in Canada on the other hand, do not require or accept personal statements. In lieu of the personal statement, a few of these schools may require you to address a prompt in the form of an essay, or allow you to submit an explanation essay to describe any extenuating circumstances, but this is not the same as the US personal statement. For example, when applying through  OMSAS , the  University of Toronto medical school  requires applicants to complete four short, 250 words or less, personal essays.

Many students struggle with whether or not they should address an unfavorable grade in their personal statement. What one student does isn't necessarily the right decision for you.

To help you decide, think about whether or not that bad grade might reflect on your poorly. If you think it will, then it's best to address the academic misstep head-on instead of having admissions committees dwell on possible areas of concern. If you're addressing a poor evaluation, ensure that you take responsibility for your grade, discuss what you learned and how your performance will be improved in the future - then move on. It's important that you don't play the victim and you must always reflect on what lessons you've learned moving forward.

Of course not, just because you didn't wake up one morning and notice a lightbulb flashing the words medicine, doesn't mean that your experiences and journey to medicine are inferior to those who did. Students arrive to medicine in all sorts of ways, some change career paths later in life, some always knew they wanted to pursue medicine, and others slowly became interested in medicine through their life interactions and experiences. Your personal statement should address your own unique story to how you first became interested in medicine and when and how that interest turned to a concrete desire.

While your entire statement is important, the opening sentence can often make or break your statement. This is because admission committee members are reviewing hundreds, if not thousands of personal statements. If your opening sentence is not eye-catching, interesting, and memorable, you risk your statement blending in with the large pile of other statements. Have a look at our video above for tips and strategies for creating a fantastic opening sentence.

Having your statement reviewed by family and friends can be a good place to start, but unfortunately, it's near-impossible for them to provide you with unbiased feedback. Often, friends and family members are going to support us and rave about our achievements. Even if they may truly think your statement needs work, they may feel uncomfortable giving you their honest feedback at the risk of hurting your feelings.

In addition, family and friends don't know exactly what admission committee members are looking for in a personal statement, nor do they have years of experience reviewing personal statements and helping students put the best version of themselves forward. For these reasons, many students choose to seek the help of a professional medical school advisor to make sure they have the absolute best chances of acceptance to medical school the first time around.

If you have enough time set aside to write your statement without juggling multiple other commitments, it normally takes at least four weeks to write your statement. If you are working, in school, or volunteering and have other commitments, be prepared to spend 6-8 weeks.

Your conclusion should have a summary of the main points you have made in your essay, but it should not just be a summary. You should also end with something that makes the reader want to learn more about you (i.e. call you for an interview). A good way to do this is to include a call-back to your opening anecdote: how have you grown or matured since then? How are you more prepared now to begin medical school?

The goal is to show as many of them as you can in the WHOLE application: this includes your personal statement, sketch, reference letters, secondary essays, and even your GPA and MCAT (which show critical thinking and reasoning already). So, it’s not an issue to focus on only a few select experiences and competencies in the personal statement.

Yes, you can. However, if you used an experience as a most meaningful entry, pick something else to talk about in your essay. Remember, you want to highlight as many core competencies across your whole application). Or, if you do pick the same experience: pick a different specific encounter or project with a different lesson learned.

Once your essay is in good shape, it's best to submit to ensure your application is reviewed as soon as possible. Remember, with rolling admissions, as more time passes before you submit your application, your chances of acceptance decreases. Nerves are normal and wanting to tinker is also normal, but over-analyzing and constant adjustments can actually weaken your essay.

So, if you're thinking about making more changes, it's important to really reflect and think about WHY you want to change something and if it will actually make the essay stronger. If not your changes won't actually make the essay stronger or if it's a very minor change you're thinking of making, then you should likely leave it as is.

The reality is, medical school admission is an extremely competitive process. In order to have the best chance of success, every part of your application must be stellar. Also, every year some students get in whose GPAs or  MCAT scores  are below the median. How? Simply because they must have stood out in other parts of the application, such as the personal statement.

The ones that honestly made the most impact on you. You'll need to reflect on your whole life and think about which experiences helped you grow and pushed you to pursue medicine. Ideally, experiences that show commitment and progression are better than one-off or short-term activities, as they usually contribute more to growth.

Final Notes

This Ultimate Guide has demonstrated all the work that needs to be done to compose a successful, engaging personal statement for your medical school application. While it would be wonderful if there was an easy way to write your personal statement in a day, the reality is that this kind of composition takes a lot of work. As daunting as this may seem, this guide lays out a clear path. In summary, the following 5 steps are the basis of what you should take away from this guide. These 5 steps are your guide and sort of cheat sheet to writing your best personal statement.

5 Main Takeaways For Personal Statement Writing:

• Brainstorming
• Content and Theme
• Multiple Drafts
• Revision With Attention to Grammar

While a strong personal statement alone will not guarantee admission to medical school, it could absolutely squeeze you onto a  medical school waitlist , off the waitlist, and onto the offer list, or give someone on the admissions committee a reason to go to battle for your candidacy. Use this as an opportunity to highlight the incredible skills you've worked and studied to refine, the remarkable life experiences you've had, and the key qualities you possess in your own unique way. Show the admissions committee that you are someone they want to meet. Remember, in this context, wanting to meet you means wanting to bring you in for an interview!

Dr. Lauren Prufer is an admissions expert at BeMo. Dr. Prufer is also a medical resident at McMaster University. Her medical degree is from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. During her time in medical school, she developed a passion for sharing her knowledge with others through medical writing, research, and peer mentoring.

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

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Personal Statement and Essay Prompts 2020: AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS

Looking for a comprehensive index of all required essay prompts for the AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS applications?

Look no further. Personal statements, short essays, experience descriptions - it’s all covered here.

All the prompts and character limits were gathered online from primary sources ( AAMC , AACOM , etc.) or from our past 2019 students. We’ve tried to ensure that this information is accurate and up-to-date, but please note that it’s subject to change.

We want to be a one-stop shop for all the medical school primary essay prompts, so please let us know if you notice any discrepancies. Don’t forget to brush up on the AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS Deadlines .

Oh, and if you’re looking for tips and examples, you’ll find those here, too.

Just follow the links:

Table of Contents

2020 AMCAS Essay Prompts

Personal Statement Prompt

Institutional Action Prompt

Disadvantaged Information Prompt

Experience Descriptions Prompt

Most Meaningful Remarks Prompt

2020 AACOMAS Essay Prompts

2020 tmdsas essay prompts.

Personal Characteristics Prompt

Optional Essay Prompt

Most Meaningful Essays Prompt

BONUS: All Medical School Secondary Essays 2019-2020 (by state)

2020 AMCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT PROMPT

(5300 characters max)

Use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school. The available space for your response is 5300 characters, or approximately one full page. You will receive an error message if you exceed the available space. For additional assistance, click "help" on the tool bar at the top of the screen.

There are a few follow up questions to help you:

• Why have you selected the field of medicine?
• What motivates you to learn more about medicine?
• What do you want medical schools to know about you that hasn't been disclosed in other sections of the application?
• Unique hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits.
• Commentary on significant fluctuations in your academic record that are not explained elsewhere in your application.

SAVVY PRE-MED TIPS:

Whew, where to start? Hmm… probably here:

Savvy Pre-med's Ultimate Guide to Writing Your Personal Statement

But seriously, the personal statement is a complex, multifaceted process, so you might want to target certain areas. Here are some elements we’ve covered:

Getting Started on Your Draft

Writing Attention-Grabbing Hooks

Average vs. Compelling Personal Statements

Crafting Your “Why Medicine” Answer

Cliches to Avoid

How to Know Your Personal Statement is Finished

Our full archive of articles on the personal statement

Jump back to the Table of Contents .

2020 AMCAS INSTITUTIONAL ACTION PROMPT

(1325 characters max)

MILITARY DISCHARGE

The question asks if you’ve ever been discharged by the Armed Forces. If you answer Yes, you’ll be asked if you received an honorable discharge or discharge under honorable circumstances. If you answer No, you must explain in 1,325 characters the circumstances of your discharge, including the circumstances leading to your discharge, your period of service, and your rank at the time of discharge.

FELONIES AND MISDEMEANORS

You must indicate if you have ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a felony crime or misdemeanor, excluding

(1) Any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile

(2) Convictions that have been expunged or sealed by a court (in states where applicable).

You need not disclose any instance in which you:

• Were arrested but not charged

• Were arrested and charged, with the charges dropped

• Were arrested and charged, but found not guilty by a judge or jury

• Were arrested and found guilty by a judge or jury, with the conviction overturned on appeal

• Were arrested and found guilty but received an executive pardon

If you answer Yes, you’ll have 1,325 characters to explain the circumstances of your conviction, including the number of conviction(s), the nature of the offense(s) leading to conviction(s), the date(s) and location(s) of conviction(s), the sentence(s) imposed, and the type(s) of rehabilitation.

Academic Probation

You must answer "Yes" if you were ever the recipient of any institutional action resulting from unacceptable academic performance or a conduct violation, even if such action did not interrupt your enrollment or require you to withdraw. You must answer "Yes" even if the action does not appear on or has been deleted from your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition. If you answer Yes, you’ll have 1,325 characters to explain the circumstances.

If you are not certain whether or not you have been the subject of an institutional action, contact the registrar, student affairs officer, or other appropriate party at the institution for confirmation of your record. Applicants who become the subject of an institutional action after certifying and submitting the AMCAS application must inform their designated medical schools that an action has occurred.

Don't feel obligated to fill all 1325 characters for this essay:

PARAGRAPH 1

1-2 sentences to explain the factors that led to the institutional action

It's wise to let the facts speak for themselves. If there were extenuating circumstances that led to this anomalous blip in your record, make sure to include those as evidence, BUT DON'T editorialize or try to make direct excuses for what happened. The goal in the beginning is to just acknowledge and own up to the IA.

PARAGRAPH 2

3-4 sentences to explain how you've rectified the situation

This will depend a lot on your situation, but typically, it will involve some kind of probation, mandatory classes, written letters, court appearances, etc. Beyond explaining the requirements you fulfilled and your current good standing, discuss the ways you've sought to improve overall as a person.

PARAGRAPH 3

1-2 sentences to explain the growth, personal qualities, and lessons you’ve gained

Again, this will depend a lot on your situation. Perhaps there's some activity or endeavor that you can use as "proof" of your growth as a person (i.e. tutoring other struggling students or serving on the student judiciary board). If not, just explain what you learned from the experience and how it's turned you into a better person moving forward.

2020 AMCAS DISADVANTAGED INFORMATION PROMPT

When you click the box on the AMCAS application to see if the status applies to you, here is what AMCAS provides:

Underserved: Do you believe, based on your own experiences or the experiences of family and friends, that the area in which you grew up was adequately served by the available health care professionals? Were there enough physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care service providers?

Immediate Family: The Federal Government broadly defines “immediate family” as “spouse, parent, child, sibling, mother or father-in-law, son or daughter-in-law, or sister or brother-in-law, including step and adoptive relationships.”

State and Federal Assistance Programs: These programs are specifically defined as “Means-Tested Programs” under which the individual, family, or household income and assets must be below specified thresholds. The sponsoring agencies then provide cash and non-cash assistance to eligible individuals, families, or households. Such programs include welfare benefit programs (federal, state, and local) Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC or ADC); unemployment compensation; General Assistance (GA); food stamps; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Medicaid; housing assistance; or other federal, state, or local financial assistance programs.

If you think there are other circumstances that have contributed to your disadvantaged status that are not listed, don't feel constrained by the above.

In addition to requesting family financial data, AMCAS provides the opportunity for a 1,325 character statement explaining why you should be considered disadvantaged.

EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH 1

2-3 sentences to explain the factors that contribute to your disadvantaged status

I am blessed to have been adopted by my grandparents, who provided a stable life by removing me from a destructive environment with an absent father and drug-addicted mother. However, due to my grandparents’ age and physical limits, I missed out on many things people take for granted, like playing catch with one’s father or enjoying student-parent activities.

EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH 2

5-6 sentences to illustrate the day-to-day struggles as a result of your status

I am a first-generation college student who has been financially independent since age 18. My discipline stems from my teenage years when I worked manual labor on construction sites. This translated into dedication and focus, as I later sought a scholarship to subsidize my schooling and worked full-time alongside a rigorous course load. To fund my college experience, I attended a local university and gained merit-based aid, balancing school (20+ unit semesters) and three jobs (totaling 40+ hours/week). My lack of expendable income prevented me from accessing certain opportunities off-campus. Luckily, the Wilkinson Honors Scholarship provided a dorm stipend that covered most of my living expenses. However, to further cut costs, I went without a car and obtained an on-campus job and research opportunity.

EXAMPLE CONCLUSION

1-2 sentences to explain the growth, personal qualities, and lessons you’ve gained as a result of your status

Overall, my obstacles have given me more resolve to plan ahead, meet my goals, and help others do the same.

2020 AMCAS EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTIONS PROMPT

(15 activities or less, 700 characters max for each)

The Work/Activities section of the application is designed to give you the opportunity to highlight your work experience, extracurricular activities, awards, honors, or publications that you would like to bring to the attention of the medical schools to which you are applying.

You may enter a maximum of 15 experiences, and you may enter four separate date ranges for recurring experiences. This section cannot be edited or updated after the original submission of your application. Work and activities will appear on your application in chronological order and may not be rearranged. However, please be aware that medical schools sort your entries and view them in a variety of different orders to suit their specific review processes.

Medical schools receive your Work/Activities descriptions as plain text. Therefore, formatting options such as bulleted lists, indented paragraphs, and bold/italic fonts do not appear for reviewers and are not available.

You have the opportunity to describe or summarize each experience. The space allotted for each description is 700 characters.

We often get questions about whether it’s better to use bullet points or paragraphs for these descriptions. Either is fine! The key is being consistent in the way you choose to format your descriptions. Here’s an example of both methods:

BULLET POINT EXAMPLE

Outreach Coordinator                St. Augustine Orphanage, Tijuana, Mexico

- Planned, fundraised, and led a volunteer service trip to impoverished communities in Mexico

- Coordinated and managed a team of 20 volunteers and faculty

- Executed simple, precise interventions to spread change across a population

- Improved communication and bedside manner while engaging locals about their health problems and barriers to care

- Lived alongside children in multiple orphanages in Tijuana and poorer rural areas

- Brought clothes and supplies and provided hygiene demos for the children

- Gained insight into disparities and social determinants of health in underserved populations

- Wrote detailed protocol and reflection exercises for future leaders to use on their trips  

PARAGRAPH EXAMPLE

As outreach coordinator, I fundraised and led a service trip to impoverished communities in Mexico. In this role, I managed a team of 20 volunteers and faculty to execute interventions and spread change across a population. As part of this experience, we lived alongside children in multiple orphanages in Tijuana while donating supplies and providing hygiene demos. I improved my communication and bedside manner while engaging locals about their health problems and barriers. During this time, I gained insight into disparities and social determinants of health for the underserved. After the trip, I wrote a detailed protocol and reflection exercises for future leaders to use on their trips.

In your experience descriptions, try to show your “Trackable Progress”:

“Trackable progress” can be any number of things:

- Earned promotion within first three months of working for Lab XYZ

- Assigned new responsibilities of training recent hires and creating orientation manuals

- Ran promotional campaign that tripled our club’s active membership

- Garnered over half of the company’s referrals during the last two years

- Updated and improved the lab’s protocols to cut costs by more than half

If possible, support these bullets with quantitative evidence and stats (EX: raised membership by 50%, trained 50+ employees, etc). This data will show a lot about your contributions without taking up too much space.

020 AMCAS MOST MEANINGFUL REMARKS PROMPT

(choose 3 of your activities, 1325 characters max for each)

You may identify up to three experiences that you consider to be the most meaningful. This designation will allow you an additional 1,325 characters to explain why the experience(s) was particularly meaningful to you.

When writing your summary, you may want to consider the transformative nature of the experience, the impact you made while engaging in the activity, and the personal growth you experienced as a result of your participation. If you have two or more experience entries, you will be required to identify at least one as the more or most meaningful.

You may change which experience(s) you designate as Most Meaningful until the initial submission of your application. The text you entered in the Experience Summary section will be lost if you remove an experience from those you have designated as Most Meaningful. Your Most Meaningful selection(s) will be designated as such by a check-mark in the Work/Activities main screen.

If you’re in doubt about what to choose, many students will include one medically oriented activity, one leadership activity, and one extracurricular (research, service, etc). As long as you’ve invested significant time and energy into the activity (compared to your others), then it’s fair game for a most meaningful essay.  

Once you’ve narrowed down your possible choices based on time and commitment, you’ll want to ask yourself some brainstorming questions to determine the best activities and angles to explore in your most meaningful essays.

Remember that it’s okay to overlap the experiences of the personal statement and most meaningful essays, as long as you don’t repeat stories or lessons verbatim.

BRAINSTORMING QUESTIONS:

Which of the activities had the most setbacks or failures? Can you recall one or two specific moments that required your resilience?

Which of the activities presented the steepest learning curves? Why were they so challenging? Did you have to change something about yourself to succeed?

Did any of the activities expose you to people much different than yourself? Were their difficulties in communicating and collaborating with them?

Which of the activities most surprised you? Can you recall any moments within them when your perspective on medicine or life shifted?

Did you get more than expected out of a particular activity? Why? Vice versa, were there activities that disappointed you for some reason? How did you respond?

Which of the activities made you the most apprehensive? Why? Can you recall one or two moments that pushed you outside your comfort zone?

Which of the activities taught you a new skill that you otherwise wouldn’t have learned? Did you learn or realize how you could apply this skill moving forward?

How-to Guide and Most Meaningful Essay Example

5 Reasons You Should Apply to DO Schools - MUST READ!

2020 AACOMAS PERSONAL STATEMENT PROMPT

This section is where you can write a statement, which is shared with all your osteopathic medicine schools. Once you submit your application, you cannot edit this section.

• Keep your topic general : Keep the statement general as this essay is sent to all the programs you apply to. If you plan to only apply to one program, we still strongly recommend keeping your statement general in case you later apply to additional programs. Once you submit your application, the essay cannot be edited or changed.
• Do not exceed the maximum length : Refer to the number below the field in the application. This is the number of characters (not words) that you can use in your essay. As you type, you can see how many characters are still available. Characters include spaces, carriage returns, and punctuation. You cannot save your essay if it exceeds the character limit.
• Use your own words : Plagiarizing any part of your essay is a violation of the code of conduct and may subject you to sanctions.
• Use simple formatting : Formatting such as tabs, italics, multiple spaces, etc. will not be saved. To delineate paragraphs, type a double return between each paragraph.

Thankfully, the AACOMAS recently decided to give candidates more space, as compared to past years when you only had 4500 characters.

Still, most candidates face the challenge of converting an MD personal statement into a DO one. What to cut? What to add? What are the essentials to include?

We’ve distilled our years of wisdom from helping candidates down into:

5 Simple Steps to Turn Your AMCAS Essay into Your AACOMAS Essay

2020 AACOMAS DISADVANTAGED INFORMATION PROMPT

There is no essay on the AACOMAS to explain your disadvantaged status, but the application has a series of questions to categorize you:

(Yes/No) Your parent's family income falls within the table's guidelines and you are considered to have met the criteria for economically disadvantaged.

(Yes/No) I am from a family that lives in an area that is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area or a Medically Underserved Area.

(Yes/No) I graduated from a high school at which many of the enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches.

(Yes/No) I am from a school district where 50% or less of graduates go to college or where college education is not encouraged.

(Yes/No) I am the first generation in my family to attend college (neither my mother nor my father attended college).

(Yes/No) English is not my primary language.

Savvy Pre-med Tips:

Use some space in the personal statement to elaborate on your disadvantaged background, especially if the circumstances require contextual explanation.

Also keep in mind that the DO secondary essays tend to be rather generous in the amount of space they provide (sometimes up to 500 words per essay). These essays will give you additional opportunities to discuss disadvantages.

Refer to our tips for the AMCAS Disadvantaged Information Prompt .

2020 AACOMAS INSTITUTIONAL ACTION PROMPT

(500 characters max)

Applicants will be asked to disclose information regarding prior criminal offenses. Failure to accurately and truthfully disclose such offenses on the AACOMAS application may result in an offer of admission being rescinded or, if the omission is discovered after enrollment in medical school, in dismissal.

Have you ever been disciplined for student conduct violations (e.g. academic probation, dismissal, suspension, disqualification, etc.) by any college or school?

Have you ever been disciplined for academic performance (e.g. academic probation, dismissal, suspension, disqualification, etc.) by any college or school?

Have you ever been convicted of a Felony?

Have you ever had any certification, registration, license or clinical privileges revoked, suspended or in any way restricted by an institution, state or locality?

Have you ever been convicted of a Misdemeanor?

If you answer Yes to any of these questions, you’ll have 500 characters to explain.

Refer to our tips for the AMCAS Institutional Action Prompt .

2020 AACOMAS EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTIONS PROMPT

(600 characters max for each entry)

Key differences between AACOMAS and AMCAS experience descriptions:

• AACOMAS does not have Most Meaningful Remarks
• AACOMAS gives you 100 fewer characters for your descriptions
• AACOMAS breaks its “Supporting Information” into Experiences and Achievements - no limit on the total number of entries for either
• AACOMAS has fewer category distinctions for Experiences (only volunteering, healthcare experience, or paid/non-healthcare experience)
• Achievements include honors/awards, presentations, or publications
• Distinguish your AACOMAS hobbies as “non-healthcare experience”

Refer to our tips for the AMCAS Experience Descriptions Prompt .

2020 TMDSAS PERSONAL STATEMENT PROMPT

(5000 characters max)

The personal statement essay is limited to 5000 characters, including spaces. Explain your motivation to seek a career in medicine. Be sure to include the value of your experiences that prepare you to be a physician.

Refer to our tips for the AMCAS Personal Statement Prompt .

2020 TMDSAS PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS PROMPT

(2500 characters max)

The personal characteristics essay is limited to 2500 characters, including spaces. Learning from others is enhanced in educational settings that include individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Please describe your personal characteristics (background, talents, skills, etc.) or experiences that would add to the educational experience of others.

It’s wise to choose one of your Most Meaningful AMCAS essays and expand upon it (from 1325 to 2500 characters).

Is one of your three Most Meaningfuls more distinct than the other two? Does one focus on a more atypical pre-med activity? If so, that’s probably the one to choose, since this prompt is looking for “diverse backgrounds and experiences.”

If all three of your Meaningfuls feel equally distinct (or equally average), pick the one that would give you the most useful insights to share with your future classmates (i.e. “add to the educational experience of others”).

When adding content (~1000 characters) to your Most Meaningful, here’s where to focus your attention:

Add 1-2 sentences to the “hook” of the essay (paragraph 1) to make the experience even more vivid and concrete for the reader

Add 3-4 sentences to the “plot” of the essay (paragraph 1 or 2) to expound on your biggest responsibilities, contributions, and accomplishments

Add 3-4 sentences to the “reflection” of the essay (paragraph 2 or 3) to explain how this activity and its lessons make you a diverse and valuable candidate

Refer to our tips for the AMCAS Most Meaningful Essays Prompt .

2020 TMDSAS OPTIONAL ESSAY PROMPT

The optional essay is limited to 2500 characters, including spaces. The optional essay is an opportunity to provide the admissions committee(s) with a broader picture of who you are as an applicant. This essay is optional; however, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. Briefly state any unique circumstances or life experiences that are relevant to your application. This is not an area to continue your essay or reiterate what you have previously stated - this area is provided to address any issues which have not previously been addressed.

If you’ve written or will be writing a Disadvantaged Essay for the MD application (discussed in the following module), then it makes sense to use that same essay here and expand upon it (from 1325 to 2500 characters).

When adding content (~1000 characters) to your Disadvantaged Essay, here’s where to focus your attention:

Add 1-2 sentences to the “hook” of the essay (paragraph 1) to make your backstory even more vivid and concrete for the reader

Add 3-4 sentences to the “plot” of the essay (paragraph 1 or 2) to expound on your biggest challenges, obstacles, limitations, etc.

Add 3-4 sentences to the “reflection” of the essay (paragraph 2 or 3) to explain how your hardships and their lessons make you a valuable candidate

Even if you’re not disadvantaged, you should still answer this TMDSAS Optional Essay by using another one of your Most Meaningfuls. With the two choices remaining, choose the one that has more autobiographical or personal relevance, or perhaps the one that better illustrates your exemplary qualities (leadership, creativity, problem solving, innovation, initiative, etc.).

Add 3-4 sentences to the “reflection” of the essay (paragraph 2 or 3) to explain how this activity and its lessons make you a valuable candidate

2020 TMDSAS DISADVANTAGED INFORMATION PROMPT

There is no essay on the TMDSAS to explain your disadvantaged status, but the application has a series of Yes/No questions to categorize your socioeconomic standing:

1st generation undergraduate:

1st generation graduate:

Parent/guardian of dependent children:

Primary language:

Bilingual or multilingual:

Fluent in languages other than English:

Household size:

Household income:

Residential property value:

Ever live in subsidized housing:

Ever receive benefits from the Federal Free and Reduced Meal program:

Responsibilities raising other children in household while attending elementary and/or high school:

Were you required to contribute to the overall family income (as opposed to working primarily for your own discretionary spending money) while attending high school:

Zip Code to age 18:

Lived outside US to age 18:

Percentage of college expenses provided by:

Academic scholarships:

Financial need-based scholarships:

Jobs/Employment:

Other Sources:

Received a Pell Grant during undergraduate education:

Still full-time student:

Use the TMDSAS Optional Essay to elaborate on your disadvantages.

Refer to our tips for the TMDSAS Optional Essay Prompt .

2020 TMDSAS INSTITUTIONAL ACTION PROMPT

(600 characters max)

If you answer Yes to any of the following questions, you’ll be given 600 characters to explain.

(Yes/No) Has your education ever been interrupted for any reason?

(Yes/No) Were you ever the recipient of any action by any college or professional school for unacceptable academic performance?

(Yes/No) Were you ever the recipient of any action by any college or professional school for conduct violations?

(Yes/No) Have you ever been sanctioned or received disciplinary action by a State Licensure Board of any kind (i.e., nursing, pharmacy, legal, etc.)?

(Yes/No) Are you currently under charge or have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, or have you ever received a felony or misdemeanor deferred adjudication?

2020 TMDSAS EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTIONS PROMPT

(300 characters max for each entry, no limit on number of entries)

Healthcare and Employment Activities may be listed in each category if the experience was a paid position; otherwise, do not list experiences in more than one section. For example, a scribing job would be listed in both Healthcare Activities and Employment. The Employment and Activities categories are as follows:

• Academic Recognition
• Non-Academic Recognition
• Research Activities
• Healthcare Activities
• Community Service
• Extracurricular & Leisure Activities
• Planned Activities
• Identifying Top Meaningful Activities

REFER TO OUR TIPS FOR THE AMCAS EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTIONS PROMPT .

2020 tmdsas most meaningful essays prompt.

(choose 3 of your activities, 500 characters max for each)

This section was recently added last cycle. The TMDSAS now asks you to identify three top meaningful activities.

With only 500 characters, try to capture the activity through an emotionally-gripping or inspirational scene:

As our team approached the scene, we were greeted by the scorched remnants of Dave’s trailer - four deflated tires and a melted frame - the result of an arsonist attack. This was my first ride-along with the American Red Cross. The Disaster Action Team provided clothes, water, blankets, and a few hundred dollars, but it was clear Dave needed more than temporary supplies. A humble realization set in - I will not be able to save everyone, but I will always strive to be a buoy to keep them afloat.

499 characters

END OF CONTENTS

We hope you find this resource useful. Make sure to bookmark it as a reference throughout your application cycle!

If these essays feel overwhelming, you can BOOK A FREE MEETING with our expert medical school advisors for more guidance. We’ve helped hundreds of students write their personal statements and essays, and we’d love to help you on your writing journey!

Good luck!  

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AMCAS Applicant Guide 2021

• Cracking Med School Admissions Team

The AMCAS is medical schools’ first chance to get a glimpse of who you are, and it’s a standardized application that is used by many schools at once, so getting it right is a critical first step to get into medical school.  Writing the AMCAS application can be a DAUNTING experience. But don’t worry! The Cracking Med School Admissions team will help you out with every step of the medical school admissions process. This blog post will be your AMCAS applicant guide.

Our goal is to provide you with basic information about the AMCAS and provide you with additional resources, including our AMCAS work and activities examples workbook . 

AMCAS Applicant Guide:

1) What is the AMCAS Application?

2) Questions from Current Applicants

3) Download AMCAS Activities Examples & Brainstorm Tool

4) Medical School Application Resources

We want to answer all the questions that arise while you fill out your AMCAS! Have questions about your AMCAS application? Feel free to get in touch with us if by filling out the contact form down below or emailing us at [email protected] . We’ve had several students ask us questions over the years, and we put the most common questions and responses in the “ Questions from Current Applicants ” section down below. 

What is the AMCAS application?

The AMCAS Application = primary medical school application for most schools

The AMCAS Application (short for American Medical College Application Service®) is a centralized application processing service that is available to applicants to the first-year entering class of participating U.S. medical schools. Make no mistake, nearly every medical school uses the AMCAS Application as the primary application.

No matter how many schools you end up applying to, you submit one primary application through AMCAS, effectively killing many birds with one stone. This is actually great news, because it saves you a whole lot of work. Imagine applying to 50 medical schools (which one student we advised did in fact do), and having to submit 50 different primary applications! The flip side of this, however, is that you need to work extra hard to make sure your AMCAS application is done well.

What are the different components of the AMCAS application?

1) GPA and Grades

The classes you choose can accentuate your intellectual passions. For example, perhaps you are interested in social determinants of health. You can highlight this AMCAS application theme through the classes you choose (e.g. Public Health & Society) and the letters of recommendations you ask for.

2) MCAT Scores

There’s no way around it, but the schools will look at your grades + MCAT scores to see if you have what it takes to thrive from an academic standpoint. 

3) Personal Statement

Most of the successful AMCAS personal statements our Cracking Med School Admissions team has read are stories about the applicant. As the old adage goes, “show, don’t tell.” One common mistake we see is that applicants try to cram too much information about themselves into their application. The AMCAS application, and especially the AMCAS personal statement is not a resume or a bibiliography about your life. Stick to 1-2 main points (themes) you want the med school admissions committee to remember you by, and write about it.

Buy our book for med school personal statement examples from successfully admitted applicants accepted to schools like Harvard, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins.

4) Work and Activities Section

Your activities will show the admissions officers what excites you about medicine. Highlight the impact of your activities, and reflect on how your activities have shaped you.

Aside from your AMCAS activities descriptions, you are also allowed to write short essays for your 3 most important activities. Like the AMCAS personal statement, paint a picture of yourself through stories and relate the experiences back to your themes.

For more specific advice about the work / activities section and examples of how to write your AMCAS work / activities section, follow our link here:  AMCAS Work and Activities Examples

5) Letters of Recommendation

Make sure your AMCAS letters of recommendation also give specific details about who you are and what you have contributed. Make it easy for your letter writers by giving them a document that explains the themes of your application and examples they can highlight.

For example, instead of: “Sally was a great member of my research lab. She was an active contributor during lab meetings.”

Your Professor could elaborate, “Sally worked on her own oncology experiment. I worked with her closely to design the experiments. Additionally, during our lab meetings, she frequently asked insightful questions that led other lab members to consider modifications to their experiments. Sally would bring in additional, relevant research papers to followup on discussions we had in our lab.”

For advice about how to ask for medical school letters of recommendation, read our  Cracking Med School Admissions book .

FREE AMCAS Work & Activities Workbook

Use this workbook to write STELLAR AMCAS descriptions. This section is as important as your personal statement.

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Common Questions We're Asked About the AMCAS

Responses by Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta

Q: Do you have premed advising and editing services? 

Yes! We advise and will help you edit your AMCAS activities section, personal statement, and medical school secondaries.

Check out our medical school application packages here:  Cracking Med School Admissions Application Packages

Believe it or not, this is the most common question we receive from applicants! We have a superb success rate!  Contact us  or email us at [email protected] if you are interested in our medical school advising.

Q: How many activities should I have? I currently have 6. Is that enough? 

We recommend students to have 13 or more AMCAS work and activities. If you have fewer than 10 activities, that is not enough. We will help you brainstorm how to increase the number of activities. Don’t forget to use a space for awards, hobbies, and work experiences.

Q: I do not have enough activities for my AMCAS work and activities section. Do you have any recommendations? 

Most commonly, people forget that they did a volunteer activity and won an award from freshmen or sophomore year. Don’t forget to use a space for awards, hobbies, and work experiences.

Q:  I was a Varsity athlete in college. My first two years, I was a member and my second two years, I was a captain. Is it reasonable for me to split my activities into two?

Yes, especially if you do not have 15 activities yet. In your leadership role, differentiate it from the first activity (in which you are a member) by highlighting any impact you had on your teammates as well as what you learned about leadership. Reflection is important!

Q: I presented the same poster in two different events at my University. Should I put them under one entry or separate them?

If they are the same exact poster, you should probably keep it as one activity.

Q: I have experience in working as a scribe and doing clinical research in the emergency room. In both of these experience descriptions, I mention that I did shadowing. Do I also need to add “Shadowing” as a separate category?

You can either separate it out as another activity or include it in your Scribe + Clinical research activities. We would need to read the descriptions and know more about each activity before we give a final recommendation, but most likely, you should incorporate the shadowing component of both activities into both activities (as opposed to a separate activity).

Q: I worked as a waitress for a restaurant. Can I list that as an activity?

Definitely! Be sure to link it to what you learned about customer service or skills you learned on the job and how you can apply them to medicine.

Q: Can I put hobbies, such as playing the piano, as an activity?

Especially if you spend a significant amount of time on an activity, you can include them in the AMCAS work and activities section. If you can, try to relate it to medicine and what type of physician you want to become. Remember, reflections and connections to medicine are key!

Q: Do you think I can put traveling the world as a hobby?

Typically, we don’t recommend students to write traveling as an activity. If your travel includes a medical mission or volunteer work, you should list that as an extra-curricular activity or community service global health project.

Q: I have four different shadowing experiences. Should I put them all in one activity or separate them in different activities?

The answer of this question is extremely person-dependent, so please contact us and tell you your AMCAS situation if you have questions about your specific application. Most students should and will put all their shadowing experience into ONE activity. However, if you spent a significant amount of time with a specific physician or you gained a lot of experience in one shadowing activity, this can warrant having completely ONE activity space for one of your shadowing experiences. 

Q: I have multiple presentations and publications for the same research and lab. Should I put it under one activity or multiple AMCAS work and activities spaces?

If it’s the same research, we typically recommend students to write it all as one activity. If research is your medical school application’s forte, you can write the publication as a separate activity in order to make the research impact stand out more.

Q: I shadowed multiple doctors and put it all under one activity. Who should I put as the contact information?

The best thing to do is to put the contact information of the doctor you worked the most with or the clinician you worked with the most. However, feel free to use any of the doctors as the contact information.

Q: I had multiple positions in one organization. Should I fill it under multiple AMCAS activities or one AMCAS activity?

For the answer to this question, it really depends on the context, your background, your themes, and how many activities you already have. Either multiple activities and one activity is okay. There is no ONE correct way to fill out the AMCAS activities portion. However, if you put your involvement in one organization under multiple spaces, make sure the responsibilities, roles, reflections, and descriptions are different among the activities description. Contact us to tell us more about your specific situation and we can help guide you!

Q: Can I include an activity on the AMCAS work and Activities section that I did the summer before entering college?

Q:the professor / physician / adviser i worked with for one of my activities retired. should i put their contact information still.

Yes! You can put a retired individual’s contact information for your AMCAS work and activities. Try to give the most up-to-date contact information, like his or her email address and phone number.

Other medical school application resources

This AMCAS applicant guide 2020 is one of several  blog posts filled with tips for medical school applicants.

Check out our other informative blog posts here:

• AMCAS work and activities workbook
• How to ask for strong letters of recommendation
• How to brainstorm and write your medical school personal statement

We hope this AMCAS application guide answered some of your questions, but of course, you’ll encounter tons of questions as you fill out your medical school application! Don’t hesitate to contact us. If you need help with your medical school application, check out our application packages here . We’re excited to help!

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4 Medical School Personal Statement Examples

The personal statement can be one of the most challenging parts of your medical school application process. You want to show admissions committees the qualities that make you stand out while avoiding cliches. After all, a lot is riding on this essay. Don’t panic. We’ve done our homework, talked to insiders, and gathered firsthand personal statements to help you get started.

Getting Started

Before diving into the personal statement examples, here are some tips on framing your experiences to wow admissions officers.

1. Stick to your real-life experiences. While it’s great to express what you want to do in healthcare in the future, that doesn’t really set you apart. All premed students have goals for what they’ll do in the medical profession, but this often changes after time in medical school. Telling a personal story instead gives admission committee members a look at who you already are and if you have the qualities they deem desirable for med school .

Feel free to mention specialties you’re passionate about and touch on your clinical experience, but make sure the experiences you discuss are unique.

2. Build an in-depth narrative. Nobody wants to read a blanket summary of your research experience. This is your chance to get passionate and demonstrate some communication skills. Explain the driving force behind your desire to work in the medical field.

The old writing rule comes into play here: “show, don’t tell.” You will always capture your reader’s attention more by telling a story than by explaining a circumstance. Medical school admissions committees are no different. Showing them your strong work ethic — or dedication, or whatever personal quality you want — without just saying, “I have a strong work ethic” will have a greater impact.

3. Don’t include metrics. Admissions officers already have access to your GPA and MCAT scores. If they want to know how you did in biochemistry, they can find out. Don’t waste space here. If you’re concerned about those numbers, it’s much more important to nail the personal statement and secure a secondary application and eventual medical school interview.

4. Know the character limits — and try to meet them. Both AACOMAS and AMCAS applications have a character limit of 5,300. You do not necessarily need to use all 5,300 characters, but you also don’t want it to be under 3,000. You want to use as many as possible while staying on topic and being relevant. A too-short essay can look careless.

5. Get comfortable with revising . You’ll do it a lot. Expect your first draft to be just that – a first draft. This writing process will take several weeks, if not months. Once you’re confident in your essay, ask for feedback. Avoid asking family members (unless they’re experts in the field of medicine). Instead, have professors, mentors, and peers read it and offer notes.

|| Read more about capturing readers from the first paragraph with our Medical School Personal Statement Storytelling Guide . ||

6. Use coaching to craft the perfect essay. Personal statements like the ones below only come after countless hours of brainstorming and writing drafts. However, with MedSchoolCoach , you’ll work with professional writing advisors step-by-step to develop an impactful medical school personal statement.

|| Check out more Tips for Writing a Personal Statement ||

Personal Statement Example #1

Our second essay contest winner was a medical student who made their submission an AMCAS personal statement . It serves as a great and effective medical school personal statement example . We also thought it was a good read overall!

A four-letter word for “dignitary.” The combinations surge through my mind: emir? agha? tsar? or perhaps the lesser-used variant, czar? I know it’s also too early to rule out specific names – there were plenty of rulers named Omar – although the clue is suspiciously unspecific. Quickly my eyes jump two columns to the intersecting clue, 53-Across, completely ignoring the blur outside the window that indicates my train has left the Times Square station. “Nooks’ counterparts.” I am certain the answer is “crannies.” This means 49-Down must end in r, so I eliminate “agha” in my mind. Slowly, the pieces come together, the wordplay sending my brain into mental gymnastics. At the end of two hours, I find myself staring at a completed crossword puzzle, and as trivial as it is, it is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

As an avid cruciverbalist, I have a knack for problem-solving. I fell in love with another kind of puzzle in college: organic chemistry. While some of my peers struggled with its complexity, the notion of analyzing mass spectroscopy, IR spectrums, and H-NMR to identify a specific molecule invigorated me. The human body was a fantastic mystery to me in my biology classes. Intricacies such as hormonal up- and down-regulation pulled at the riddler in me; I was not satisfied until I understood the enigma of how the body worked. Graduate school at Columbia was an extension of this craving, and I chose a thesis topic to attempt to elucidate the sophisticated workings of neuro-hormonal balance peri-bariatric surgery.

In non-academic settings, I also pursued activities that would sharpen my intellect. The act of teaching is a form of problem-solving; a good teacher finds the most effective way to convey information to students. So I accepted the challenge and taught in both international and domestic settings. I assumed leadership positions in church because it forced me to think critically to resolve conflicts. In the lab, I volunteered to help write a review on the biological mechanisms of weight regain. It was precisely what I loved: isolating a specific human phenomenon and investigating how it worked.

I believe medicine and puzzles are in the same vein. After participating in health fairs, working at a clinic, and observing physicians, I understand that pinpointing a patient’s exact needs is difficult at times. In a way, disease itself can be a puzzle, and doctors sometimes detect it only one piece at a time – a cough here, lanugo there. Signs and symptoms act as clues that whittle down the possibilities until only a few remain. Then all that is left is to fill in the word and complete the puzzle. Voila!

Actually, it is more complicated than that, and inevitably the imperfect comparison falls through.

I distinctly remember a conversation I had with a psychiatric patient at Aftercare. He had just revealed his identity as Batman — but it turns out he was also Jesus. During downtime between tests, he decided to confide in me some of his dreams and aspirations. He swiftly pulled out a sketchpad and said confidently, “When I get better, I’m going back to art school.” Any doubts stemming from his earlier ramblings vanished at the sight of his charcoal-laden sheets filled with lifelike characters. “They’re… really good,” I stammered. I was looking for the right words to say, but there are times when emotions are so overwhelming that words fail. I nodded in approval and motioned that we should get back to testing.

Those next few hours of testing flew by as I ruminated on what I had experienced. After working 3 years at the clinic, I got so caught up in the routine of “figuring out” brain function that I missed the most important aspect of the job: the people. And so, just as the crossword puzzle is a 15×15 symbol of the cold New York streets, a person is the polar opposite. Our patients are breathing, fluid, and multi-dimensional. I’ve come to love both, but there is nothing I want more in the world than to see a broken person restored, a dream reignited, to see Mr. Batman regain sanity and take up art school again. The prospect of healing others brings me joy, surpassing even the most challenging crosswords in the Sunday paper.

This is why I feel called to a life in medicine. It is the one profession that allows me to restore others while thinking critically and appreciating human biology. I am passionate about people, and medicine allows me to participate in their lives in a tangible way, aligned with my interest in biology and problem-solving skill.

The New York Times prints a new puzzle daily, and so does the Washington Post, USA Today, and the list continues. The unlimited supply of puzzles mirrors the abundance of human disease and the physician’s ongoing duty to unravel the mystery, to resolve the pain. A great cruciverbalist begins with the basics of learning “crosswordese,” a nuanced language; I am prepared to do the same with health, starting with my education in medical school. Even so, I am always humbled by what little I know and am prepared to make mistakes and learn along the way. After all, I would never do a crossword puzzle in pen.

||Read Our First Essay Contest Winner: Considerations Before Applying to Medical School ||

||Read The Formula For A Good Personal Statement | |

Personal Statement Example #2

Student Accepted to Case Western SOM, Washington University SOM, University of Utah SOM, Northwestern University Feinberg SOM

With a flick and a flourish, the tongue depressor vanished, and a coin suddenly appeared behind my ear. Growing up, my pediatrician often performed magic tricks, making going to the doctor feel like literal magic. I believed all healthcare facilities were equally mystifying, especially after experiencing a different type of magic in the organized chaos of the Emergency Department. Although it was no place for a six-year-old, childcare was often a challenge, and while my dad worked extra shifts in nursing school to provide for our family, I would find myself awed by the diligence and warmth of the healthcare providers.

Though I associated the hospital with feelings of comfort and care, it sometimes became a place of fear and uncertainty. One night, my two-year-old brother, Sean, began vomiting and coughing non-stop. My dad was deployed overseas, so my mother and I had no choice but to spend the night at the hospital, watching my brother slowly recover with the help of the healthcare providers. Little did I know, it would not be long before I was in the same place. Months later, I became hospitalized with pneumonia with pleural effusions, and as I struggled to breathe, I was terrified of having fluid sucked out of my chest. But each day, physicians comforted me, asking how I was, reassuring me that I was being taken care of, and explaining any questions related to my illness and treatment. Soon, I became excited to speak with the infectious disease doctor and residents, absorbing as much as possible about different conditions.

I also came to view the magic of healing through other lenses. Growing up, Native American traditions were an important aspect of my life as my father was actively involved with native spirituality, connecting back to his Algonquin heritage. We often attended Wi-wanyang-wa-c’i-pi ceremonies or Sun Dances for healing through prayer and individuals making personal sacrifices for their community. Although I never sun danced, I spent hours in inipis chewing on osha root, finding my healing through songs.

In addition to my father’s heritage, healing came from the curanderismo traditions of Peru, my mother’s home. She came from a long line of healers using herbal remedies and ceremonies for healing the mind, body, energy, and soul. I can still see my mother preparing oils, herbs, and incense mixtures while performing healing rituals. Her compassion and care in healing paralleled the Emergency Department healthcare providers. 

Through the influence of these early life experiences, I decided to pursue a career in the health sciences. Shortly after starting college, I entered a difficult time in my life as I struggled with health and personal challenges. I suddenly felt weak and tired most days, with aches all over my body. Soon, depression set in. I eventually visited a doctor, and through a series of tests, we discovered I had hypothyroidism. During this time, I also began dealing with unprocessed childhood trauma. I decided to take time off school, and with thyroid replacement hormones and therapy, I slowly began to recover. But I still had ways to go, and due to financial challenges, I decided to continue delaying my education and found work managing a donut shop. Unbeknownst to me, this experience would lead to significant personal growth by working with people from all walks of life and allowing me time for self-reflection. I continuously reflected on the hospital experiences that defined my childhood and the unmatched admiration I had for healthcare workers. With my renewed interest in medicine, I enrolled in classes to get my AEMT license and gain more medical experience. 

As my health improved, I excelled in my classes, and after craving the connections of working with others, I became a medical assistant. In this position, I met “Marco,” a patient traveling from Mexico for treatment. Though I spoke Spanish while growing up, I had little experience as a medical interpreter. However, I took the opportunity to talk with him to learn his story. Afterward, he became more comfortable, and I walked him through the consultation process, interpreting the physician’s words and Marco’s questions. This moment showed me the power of connecting with others in their native language. As a result, I began volunteering at a homeless clinic to continue bridging the language barrier for patients and to help advocate for the Latinx community and those who struggle to find their voice. 

My journey to becoming a doctor has been less direct than planned; however, my personal trials and tribulations have allowed me to meet and work with incredible people who have been invaluable to my recovery and personal development. Most importantly, I have seen the value of compassionate and empathetic care. Though I have not recently witnessed any sleight of hand or vanishing acts, what healthcare providers do for patients can only be described as magic.

I look forward to bringing my diverse background as a physician and expanding my abilities to help patients in their path to healing.

||Read: But I Don’t Have 15 Activities ! | Apply to Med School After 3rd or 4th Year? ||

Personal Statement Example #3

Student accepted to Weill Cornell

My path to medicine was first influenced by early adolescent experiences trying to understand my place in society. Though I was not conscious of it then, I held a delicate balance between my identity as an Indian-American and an “American-American.” 

In a single day, I could be shooting hoops and eating hotdogs at school while spending the evening playing Carrom and enjoying tandoori chicken at a family get-together. When our family moved from New York to California, I had the opportunity to attend a middle school with greater diversity, so I learned Spanish to salve the loss of moving away and assimilate into my new surroundings.

As I partook in related events and cuisine, I built a mixed friend group and began understanding how culture influences our perception of those around us. While volunteering at senior centers in high school, I noticed a similar pattern to what I sometimes saw: seniors socializing in groups of shared ethnicity and culture. Moving from table to table and language to language, I also observed how each group shared different life experiences and perspectives on what constitutes health and wellness. Many seniors talked about barriers to receiving care or how their care differed from what they had envisioned. Listening to their stories on cultural experiences, healthcare disparities, and care expectations sparked my interest in becoming a physician and providing care for the whole community.

Intrigued by the science behind perception and health, I took electives during my undergraduate years to build a foundation in these domains. In particular, I was amazed by how computational approaches could help model the complexity of the human mind, so I pursued research at Cornell’s Laboratory of Rational Decision-Making. Our team used fMRI analysis to show how the framing of information affects cognitive processing and perception. Thinking back to my discussions with seniors, I often wondered if more personalized health-related messaging could positively influence their opinions. Through shadowing, I witnessed physicians engaging in honest and empathetic conversations to deliver medical information and manage patients’ expectations, but how did they navigate delicate conflicts where the patients’ perspectives diverged from their own?

My question was answered when I became a community representative for the Ethics Committee for On Lok PACE, an elderly care program. One memorable case was that of Mr. A.G, a blind 86-year-old man with radiation-induced frontal lobe injury who wanted to return home and cook despite his doctor’s expressed safety concerns. Estranged from his family, Mr. A.G. relied on cooking to find fulfillment. Recognizing the conflict between autonomy and beneficence, I joined the physicians in brainstorming and recommending ways he could cook while being supervised.

I realized that the role of a physician was to mediate between the medical care plan and the patient’s wishes to make a decision that preserves their dignity. As we considered possibilities, the physicians’ genuine concern for the patient’s emotional well-being exemplified the compassion I want to emulate as a future doctor. Our discussions emphasized the rigor of medicine — the challenge of ambiguity and the importance of working with the individual to serve their needs.

With COVID-19 ravaging our underserved communities, my desire to help others drove me towards community-based health as a contact tracer for my county’s Department of Public Health. My conversations uncovered dozens of heartbreaking stories that revealed how socioeconomic status and job security inequities left poorer families facing significantly harsher quarantines than their wealthier counterparts.

Moreover, many residents expressed fear or mistrust, such as a 7-person family who could not safely isolate in their one-bedroom and one-bath apartment. I offered to arrange free hotel accommodations but was met with a guarded response from the father: “We’ll be fine. We can maintain the 6 feet.” While initially surprised, I recognized how my government affiliation could lead to a power dynamic that made the family feel uneasy. Thinking about how to make myself more approachable, I employed motivational interviewing skills and small talk to build rapport. 

When we returned to discussing the hotel, he trusted my intentions and accepted the offer. Our bond of mutual trust grew over two weeks of follow-ups, leaving me humbled yet gratified to see his family transition to a safer living situation. As a future physician, I realize I may encounter many first-time or wary patients; and I feel prepared to create a responsive environment that helps them feel comfortable about integrating into our health system.

Through my clinical and non-clinical experiences, I have witnessed the far-reaching impact of physicians, from building lasting connections with patients to being a rock of support during uncertain times. I cannot imagine a career without these dynamics—of improving the health and wellness of patients, families, and society and reducing healthcare disparities. While I know the path ahead is challenging, I am confident I want to dedicate my life to this profession.

Personal Statement Example #4

Student Accepted to UCSF SOM, Harvard Medical School

Countless visits to specialists in hope of relief left me with a slew of inconclusive test results and uncertain diagnoses. “We cannot do anything else for you.” After twelve months of waging a war against my burning back, aching neck and tingling limbs, hearing these words at first felt like a death sentence, but I continued to advocate for myself with medical professionals. 

A year of combatting pain and dismissal led me to a group of compassionate and innovative physicians at the Stanford Pain Management Center (SPMC). Working alongside a diverse team including pain management specialists and my PCP, I began the long, non-linear process of uncovering the girl that had been buried in the devastating rubble of her body’s pain. 

From struggling with day-to-day activities like washing my hair and sitting in class to thriving as an avid weightlifter and zealous student over the span of a year, I realized I am passionate about preventing, managing and eliminating chronic illnesses through patient-centered incremental care and medical innovation.

A few days after my pain started, I was relieved to hear that I had most likely just strained some muscles, but after an empty bottle of muscle relaxers, the stings and aches had only intensified. I went on to see 15 specialists throughout California, including neurologists, physiatrists, and rheumatologists. Neurological exams. MRIs. Blood tests. All inconclusive.

Time and time again, specialists dismissed my experience due to ambiguous test results and limited time. I spent months trying to convince doctors that I was losing my body; they thought I was losing my mind. Despite these letdowns, I did not stop fighting to regain control of my life. Armed with my medical records and a detailed journal of my symptoms, I continued scheduling appointments with the intention of finding a doctor who would dig deeper in the face of the unknown.

Between visits, I researched my symptoms and searched for others with similar experiences. One story on Stanford Medicine’s blog, “Young Woman Overcomes Multiple Misdiagnoses and Gets Her Life Back”, particularly stood out to me and was the catalyst that led me to the SPMC. After bouncing from doctor to doctor, I had finally found a team of physicians who would take the profound toll of my pain on my physical and mental well-being seriously.

Throughout my year-long journey with my care team at the SPMC, I showed up for myself even when it felt like I would lose the war against my body. I confronted daily challenges with fortitude. When lifting my arms to tie my hair into a ponytail felt agonizing, YouTube tutorials trained me to become a braiding expert. Instead of lying in bed all day when my medication to relieve nerve pain left me struggling to stay awake, I explored innovative alternative therapies with my physicians; after I was fed up with the frustration of not knowing the source of my symptoms, I became a research subject in a clinical trial aimed at identifying and characterizing pain generators in patients suffering from “mysterious” chronic pain.

At times, it felt like my efforts were only resulting in lost time. However, seeing how patient my care team was with me, offering long-term coordinated support and continually steering me towards a pain-free future, motivated me to grow stronger with every step of the process. Success was not an immediate victory, but rather a long journey of incremental steps that produced steady, life-saving progress over time.

My journey brought me relief as well as clarity with regard to how I will care for my future patients. I will advocate for them even when complex conditions, inconclusive results and stereotypes discourage them from seeking continued care; work with them to continually adapt and improve an individualized plan tailored to their needs and goals, and engage in pioneering research and medical innovations that can directly benefit them.

Reflecting on the support system that enabled me to overcome the challenges of rehabilitation, I was inspired to help others navigate life with chronic pain in a more equitable and accessible way. Not everyone has the means to work indefinitely with a comprehensive care team, but most do have a smartphone. As a result, I partnered with a team of physicians and physical therapists at the University of California San Francisco to develop a free mobile application that guides individuals dealing with chronic pain through recovery. Based on my own journey, I was able to design the app with an understanding of the mental and physical toll that pain, fear, and loss of motivation take on patients struggling with chronic pain. Having features like an exercise bank with a real-time form checker and an AI-based chatbot to motivate users, address their concerns and connect them to specific health care resources, our application helped 65 of the 100 pilot users experience a significant reduction in pain and improvement in mental health in three months.

My journey has fostered my passion for patient-centered incremental medicine and medical innovation. From barely living to thriving, I have become a trailblazing warrior with the perseverance and resilience needed to pursue these passions and help both the patients I engage with and those around the world.

Related posts:

• Why I Picked UC Denver
• Finding the Perfect Research Project
• How to Succeed on Medical School Interview Day
• How to Answer “What is the Biggest Healthcare Problem” During an Interview

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Personal statement tips, get accepted speak with an admissions expert today.

Your med school, residency, or fellowship personal statement needs to show you as a passionate, focused, and motivated future physician. At the same time, it needs to be exceptionally well-written – clear, succinct, and highly organized. Think about the big picture first, brainstorming essay topics while you contemplate your most impressive experiences/stories, and then focus on transforming your ideas into words and fine-tune them so that your personal statement shines.

The resources below provide practical tips on the brainstorming, writing, and editing phasing of this process:

Do you need individualized assistance on your med school, residency, or fellowship application essays?   Choose from Accepted's Postbac, Med School & Residency Services   to discover your competitive advantage today!

I Submitted My Medical School Primary Application—What’s Next?

• By Amit Pandey, M.D.
• June 2, 2022
• AMCAS , Interview , Medical School Application , Secondary Application

So, you submitted your primary application to medical school—now what?

Completing your primary application is no easy feat, and it definitely deserves congratulations. But the key to success in any process, particularly one as arduous as medical school acceptance, is staying proactive and ahead of the game. So that begs the question: What comes next? What can I do to remain prepared for the next steps of the application process?

What Happens After You Submit Your Primary Application?

The first thing to be aware of, which will help with big picture planning, is the timeline of events throughout the application cycle. For those who submitted the primary application at the beginning of June or soon after, you can expect the following.

1| Verify Important Components of the Primary Application

There are key elements of the primary application to verify; namely, the data and documents sent by other parties that you do not have direct control over submitting.

• College transcripts
• Letters of recommendation

Check to be sure that AMCAS, TMDSAS, or AACOMAS received your transcripts from the registrar at your institution, letters of recommendation from your letter writers, and your MCAT score from AAMC. Contact the necessary parties if submission is delayed.

2 | Secondary Applications

Secondary applications should start arriving about two weeks after submitting your primary. If you submitted your application early (on time), you should expect them to arrive mid-to-late June.

They will continue to roll in throughout the summer. Aim to respond to secondaries as soon as possible while allowing for quality essay responses. We recommend responding within 7-14 days.

Secondaries require a lot of writing, and time is of the essence, which means getting ahead of the game is a good idea. Identify which programs you are particularly interested in as well as programs that are a good fit based on your GPA, MCAT, and qualifications. You can look up prior secondary prompts for these schools online to help you prepare in advance.

Med School Insiders offers a database of current and previous secondary prompts for US medical schools for reference.

Prompts are not guaranteed to be the same, but they rarely change significantly from year to year. Therefore, you can prepare basic answers to essay questions for schools you anticipate receiving a secondary from. This will allow you to compile answers to your secondary questions in a timely manner.

You will also find common themes across many of your secondaries. For example, you will likely see some form of the “Why Us” question, which asks you to elaborate on why you have chosen that particular school and what specifically makes you an ideal candidate for that school.

Other common questions include:

• Why have you chosen to apply to our program?
• Please state why you are a great fit for our community.
• Please describe a moral or ethical dilemma and what you learned from this experience.
• Indicate any special experiences, unusual factors, or other information you feel would be helpful in evaluating you?
• If you took time off after undergrad, what have you achieved in this time?

Take time to craft answers to the most common questions in advance. You can then customize your responses to each school using your original answers.

Read our Secondary Application Guide for a full breakdown of the secondary application process, including key strategies that will help you stand out.

Need help? Our expert team of physicians can help you hone your secondaries to catapult your application to the next level.

3 | Interview Invites

If you continue to submit your secondary materials within one to two weeks of receiving them, interview invites may arrive as early as August, but most early interviews will start in September.

Interviews will continue throughout the winter and conclude during the following spring, sometimes as late as April. Invites can come from any school at any time, so remain ready. You will be sent an invitation and asked to schedule a time to interview, so be prepared to be flexible with your schedule so that you can attend these interviews at the earliest possible date.

It’s a good idea to begin thinking about the interview process early. Practicing and fine-tuning your answers will take time, and this preparation definitely should not be left until you begin to receive interview invites.

The best way to start preparing is to answer some of the most common interview questions that are asked regardless of the institution. The sooner you begin crafting your answers, the more you will be able to refine them.

21 Medical School Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

As you practice, begin answering out loud in front of a mirror or while recording yourself. How do you feel? How do you look? Are you able to answer interview questions clearly, effectively, and with confidence?

You won’t know how much time you need to prepare until you start answering questions in front of a mirror and recording yourself. You may find you’re a natural when it comes to interviews, or you may find you need many hours of preparation. Find out the answer to this sooner than later so that you have adequate time to prepare.

It should be noted that even if you feel like you are a naturally confident communicator, this doesn’t mean you will excel in the medical school interview process. There’s a lot more to it than having confidence; you also need to have expertly crafted answers that are tailored to each school and interviewer.

In the months preceding interviews, practice consistently and perform mock interviews to see how you perform under pressure. Mock interviews provide real-time feedback, which will strengthen your skills and comfort with the entire interview process.

For a complete overview of the interview process, read our Medical School Interview Guide .

3| Acceptance Decisions

Acceptance decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout interview season, generally within a few weeks of the interview (unless the applicant has been placed on the waiting list , in which case the decision can be made much later).

If you’re on a waitlist, you will very likely have to wait until the beginning of May before you hear anything definitive, as most schools give their accepted applicants until then to make a final decision.

Struggling to make an acceptance decision? Decision making strategies will help you make informed decisions you can feel good about for years to come. Read our 7 Strategies for Better Decision Making .

Stay on Top of the Application Process

Submitting your primary application is only the beginning of the application process. Preparation and staying on top of ideal deadlines is the key to success.

Med School Insiders offers one-on-one advising that pairs you with a physician advisor who best fits your specific needs. It’s our goal to help you create a future that aligns with your vision .

Amit Pandey, M.D.

2024 TMDSAS Application Guide for Texas Medical Schools

Use our TMDSAS medical school application guide for key insight into the primary application process. We’ll outline an ideal application timeline, what you need to include, mistakes to avoid, and FAQs.

2024 AAMC PREview Prep Guide—Everything You Need to Know

Here’s everything you need to know about the new AAMC PREview Exam, including test logistics, who needs to take it, how it’s scored, and how to prepare.

10 Medical School Admissions Committee Red Flags

We break down 10 medical school admissions committee red flags and how you can avoid them to create an application that stands out for all the right reasons.

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Medical schools share a general application process, but individual schools can vary significantly in how they evaluate candidates. Here’s what you need to know about your primary and secondary med school applications to stay on track.

Applying to Medical School

Most U.S. medical schools participate in the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), a centralized, third-party organization that administers and processes medical school applications. The majority of medical schools admit students on a rolling basis, which means that spaces in the program are offered to qualified students until all the spots are filled.

Primary Application

• AMCAS (for MD admissions)
• TMDSAS (for Texas Medical Schools)
• AACOMAS (for DO admissions)
• your transcripts (undergraduate transcripts plus any for grad or post-bacc work)
• MCAT scores
• information about your most meaningful experiences (academic, research, clinical, and extracurricular activities
• a short personal statement
• letters of recommendation (though some schools ask for LORs as part of the secondary application only)

Each medical school sets its own final deadline for applicants submitting information through the application service. Regardless of these deadlines, our med school admission experts recommend you submit your application as early as possible. Applications that are submitted early in the cycle are reviewed first and therefore have a better chance of acceptance at almost all schools.

Procrastinators take note: these application services are serious about their deadlines. If an application is late, you'll get it back without a refund.

If any of your chosen schools have interest, they will invite you to submit a secondary application.

Read More: How To Make Your Med School Application Stand Out

Secondary Applications

After reviewing your AMCAS file, the admissions committees at your med schools will either reject you or send you a secondary application . Some schools send all of their applicants a secondary. Others go through an initial cut that is usually based entirely on GPA and MCAT scores.

Unless you've decided not to apply to that school, you should complete and return each secondary application as you receive it. Most med schools will reject any application that arrives after the deadline.

Secondaries typically include a variety of essays on assigned topics. You could be asked to discuss your favorite novel, describe a leadership role you've taken, or detail your greatest academic achievement. You will also be asked to submit letters of recommendation if you did not do so through AMCAS.

If the cost of sending back secondaries is prohibitive, you can call the school and request a fee waiver. If you were eligible for a waiver from AMCAS, for example, you will probably be eligible for a waiver from individual schools.

Once the committee reviews your secondary med school application, they will do one of three things: reject you, invite you to the campus for an interview, or hold your application until after the first round of interviews. Final decisions are usually made after the interview.

• The standard U.S. interview season is between September and February (occasionally March).

Med school interview policies and formats vary. At some schools you'll interview one-on-one, and at others you'll interview by panel.

The interview is another opportunity to stand out to med schools ! Practice with our list of classic medical school interview questions .

• A school might decide that they want to see what the rest of the applicant pool looks like before they admit you. If a med school puts you on a "hold list," you can can send in supplementary material (a short one-page description of recent academic or extracurricular achievements) to bolster your application.

Alternate List

Once all the med school class places have been filled, additional qualified candidates are placed on the alternate list and are granted a space only as accepted students decline their acceptance. While it’s rare, some students do drop out of the program in the initial days which can open up additional places.

Med School Application Services

Most U.S. medical schools participate in AMCAS. But there are other application services you may need to be aware of depending on the types of med schools you are applying to and their locations.

Want to get an edge over the crowd?

Our admissions experts know what it takes it get into med school. Get the customized strategy and guidance you need to help achieve your goals.

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Amcas medical school application: the complete guide.

Reviewed by:

Jonathan Preminger

Former Admissions Committee Member, Hofstra-Northwell School of Medicine

Reviewed: 12/06/22

This AMCAS application guide will walk you through applying to med school. Read for expert AMCAS application guidance! 

Applying to medical school can be an arduous process. So many different parts and pieces go into formulating a complete application. That’s where our complete guide to the AMCAS med school application comes into play. 

There are three major steps in applying to medical school: the AMCAS primary application, secondary application, and interview – let’s dive in! 

Get The Ultimate Guide on Writing an Unforgettable Personal Statement

What Is the AMCAS Application?

The American Medical College Application Service , or AMCAS, is the centralized application service for U.S. MD med school admissions. AMCAS collects and stores information, verifies it, and then delivers your application to the schools you apply to. So, how do you fill out the medical school application ?

For those unfamiliar with the application process, the first thing you fill out is the primary application. The application includes everything you need to apply to a medical school: 

• Transcripts
• Test scores
• Letters of recommendation
• Personal Statement
• Identifying information

Once submitted, the application is sent to all schools you applied to (except Texas schools, which use the TMDSAS application ). It can take AMCAS up to 8 weeks to process and verify the information. 

AMCAS Application Deadlines & Dates 

AMCAS opens up in May – usually during the first week. From late May to early June, students can begin submitting their applications. AMCAS application deadlines depend on the schools you apply to – they all set their own deadlines (usually between October and February ). 

You can find a list of AMCAS-participating medical schools and their deadlines here on the AAMC’s website. While you can apply through AMCAS at any time during the application cycle, applying earlier is typically best – seats can fill up fast. 

You’re more likely to stand out the closer you submit your application to the end of May or the start of June since seats are limited and most med schools have rolling admissions. This means schools review applications as they receive them. Therefore, if you submit your application later, you may be less likely to gain acceptance. 

Your application must be submitted (not processed) by 11:59 p.m. ET on the school’s final AMCAS application date. 

How to Start Your AMCAS Med School Application

To start your application, load up the AMCAS website and follow the “Sign-in” prompt. You’ll be asked to sign in or create an account. If you have previously registered for the AMCAS application or the MCAT, you’ll already have an AAMC username and password. 

If this is your first time logging in, create an account using your name and email. Once you’re signed in, you’re ready to tackle AMCAS’ nine sections. Remember to select the correct application cycle; if you want to start in the summer of this year, click the “Start the [this year] application” option.  

AMCAS Primary Application – Section by Section

The primary AMCAS application has nine sections to fill out:

• Identifying Information
• Schools Attended 
• Biographic Information 
• Course Work and Official Transcripts
• Work/ Activities 
• Letters of Evaluation 
• Medical Schools
• Personal Essay
• Standardized Test

Section 1: Identifying Information

In this first section, AMCAS asks for five things:

Your legal and preferred names, alternate names on your identification, college I.D. numbers, and birth date and sex.

Section 2: Schools Attended 

This section includes:

• Where you went to high school, and when you graduated
• Any college you’ve been enrolled in (even if you didn’t finish)
• College transcripts
• If you’ve ever enrolled in college previously
• Institutional action – if you’ve ever run into any problems requiring disciplinary action

Section 3: Biographic Information 

This section includes: 

• Preferred Address
• Permanent Address
• Alternate Contact 
• Citizenship
• Legal Residence 
• Self Identification 
• Childhood Information 
• Military Service 
• Military Discharge 
• Felony/Misdemeanour 
• Other Impactful Experiences
• Parents and Guardians 

Section 4: Course Work and Official Transcripts

The AMCAS med school application asks for a transcript for every post-secondary institution you have attended, regardless of if you earned the credit. You’ll enter your courses, when you completed them, and the grades you received. AMCAS accepts electronic and paper transcripts. 

Ensure you fill this section out carefully, as it’s a significant cause of processing delays and missed application deadlines. If your application information doesn’t match your transcript, AMCAS flags your application, causing delays in the process.

One of the most complex aspects of completing this section is classifying your courses based on the primary content of the course. AMCAS recommends you consult with your pre-health advisor and read course descriptions on your school website if you’re struggling to classify a course. 

AMCAS has provided a handy Course Classification Guide with examples of typically categorized courses. For example, some examples of how AMCAS usually categorizes Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math (BCPM) courses include:

• Cell Biology
• Microbiology
• Neuroscience
• Chemistry  
• Biochemistry
• Thermodynamics
• Mathematics  
• Applied Mathematics
• Biostatistics

Again, take your time with this section, as any inconsistencies can delay your application. 

Section 5: Work and Activities 

In the AMCAS Work and Activities section, you’ll list 15 different extracurricular activities that define your persona outside the classroom during college. You must list the total number of hours you spent on the experience, when the experience started and ended, and contact information. 

AMCAS allows you to select three experiences that are the most meaningful to you. The different experience categories are: 

• Artistic Endeavors
• Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
• Community Service/Volunteer - Non-Medical/Clinical
• Conferences Attended
• Extracurricular Activities
• Honors/Award/Recognition
• Intercollegiate Athletics
• Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere
• Military Service
• Social Justice/Advocacy
• Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical
• Paid Employment - Non-Medical/Clinical
• Physician Shadowing / Clinical Observation
• Presentations/Posters
• Publications
• Research /Lab
• Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant

When you pick an activity as most meaningful, you have 700 characters to describe it and an additional 1325 characters to elaborate on what makes the experience meaningful to you. Focus on the life-changing aspect of the activity, the significance of your work, and how it contributed to your personal growth. 

Section 6: Letters of Evaluation 

The critical thing to note about this section is AMCAS doesn’t need your letters of recommendation to verify your application, so you can submit it even if your letters aren’t ready. 

After your application is confirmed, your letters will be made available to medical schools. If your letters arrive after your application has been processed, AMCAS will forward them to schools on a rolling basis. 

There are three types of letters of recommendation: 

• Committee Letter : A letter written to represent your institution’s evaluation of you by a pre-health committee or pre-health advisor.
• Letter Packet : A package or collection of letters circulated by your institution (usually the career center) that may include a cover sheet from your pre-health committee or advisor. A Letter Packet doesn’t have an evaluative letter from your pre-health committee or advisor, unlike a committee letter.
• Individual Letter : A letter written by one author. 

Check school requirements to understand who you should ask for recommendations!

Section 7: Medical Schools 

You’ll enter all the medical schools you want to apply to. There are six types of programs : 

• Combined MD/PhD
• Combined Bachelor’s/M.D.
• Combined MD – Graduate 
• Deferred/ Delayed Matriculation 
• Other Special Program (OSP): A special program offered by medical schools and vary from one school to another 

Other programs may require additional application materials. 

Section 8: Personal Essay

This is arguably the most critical application material: the personal statement . In 5300 characters or less, you must explain why you want to attend medical school. The AAMC recommends typing your letter directly into the AMCAS application rather than copying and pasting it from another word processor to avoid formatting issues. 

You can use a text-only program to copy and paste your text into the application if you prefer. Formatted text can cause problems in the application, and you’ll be unable to edit it once submitted. 

Section 9 – Standardized Test 

In the final section of the application, the AAMC will automatically input your MCAT score if you have received it. If you haven’t received it yet, you can list any future dates you have booked so that they are aware. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoiding these common mistakes when completing your AMCAS medical school application boosts your chances of success! 

1. Filler Activity

If there are activities you cannot discuss in-depth, it’s better to leave them out. Your interviewer can ask you about anything on your application, and if they ask you about an activity you have limited experience with, you won’t be able to give a satisfactory answer. It’s better to leave it out than use it to fill space. 

2. Grammar/Spelling Mistakes 

Always be sure to proofread your application. Small errors and typos can distract med school admissions committees. Have others proofread your application to ensure everything is polished.

3. Listing Accomplishments From High School In The Experience Section 

You may have achievements from high school which you want to talk about. While they may be important to you, it’s better to go with more recent accomplishments and experiences. 

4. Not Grouping Related Activities Together 

It’s good to group similar and less important activities instead of using up space on the application. For example, if you shadowed three different doctors, there’s no need to list it as three separate activities. This will save you space in case you need it. 

5. Overlapping Information In The Experience Section And Your Personal Statement

It can be easy to repeat yourself in these two sections. When you’re writing about your most meaningful activities, share how they played a role in your journey to want to become a doctor. 

Your personal statement is a chance to tell detailed stories. The goal is to have these two sections complement each other without being repetitive. 

What Is the Secondary Application?

Once your AMCAS primary application has been submitted, processed, and verified, the AAMC sends it to your selected med schools. Secondary applications are specific to each school, meaning you must tailor them to the schools that sent them. 

While creating several school-specific secondary applications sounds like a lot of work, replying to programs with the same generic answers can harm your chances of admission. 

As Alex Tan , the Director of the Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program at Johns Hopkins University, notes, these essays “afford you the opportunity to send a tailored, unique ambassador to each and every school.” 

While your essay responses will likely share similarities, Tan urges you to “emphasize different details about the experience or give different examples entirely.”

Tips for Making Your Application Stand Out

Getting into medical school takes more than a high GPA and MCAT score (although they certainly help). Here are our tips for ensuring you come across as a well-rounded candidate!

Tip #1: Highlight your Clinical Experience 

Schools want to see that you have more than just knowledge of medicine. They want to know you know its practice, which is where your volunteer experience in hospitals , clinics, hospices, or other healthcare settings comes in. 

Some students find part-time paid positions as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), medical scribes, or certified nursing assistants (CNAs). 

If you haven’t, consider doing a preceptorship. A preceptorship is when you shadow a doctor as they go about their day in different healthcare environments: office, hospital, and trips to conventions. 

It’s not just about the number of hours but a diversity of experiences. One hundred hours shadowing doctors from varying specialties is better than 500 hours following a single-specialty doctor.

Tip #2: Valuable Extracurriculars 

Although it isn’t required, academic research is a valuable experience to have. Research involvement shows you’re intellectually curious and take the initiative in your learning. 

Studying or volunteering abroad are also great experiences. These trips studying or volunteering abroad develop empathy, perspective, and an understanding of different cultures. 

Tutoring or teaching are other excellent experiences to have. You reinforce what you already know and build your communication skills by explaining concepts to others when you teach.

If you’re applying to medical school or considering a career in medicine, it’s safe to assume you have a keen interest in the sciences. But to stand out in your application, include significant, varied extracurricular activities or hobbies in which you’ve participated. 

It could be an instrument you’ve dedicated yourself to, a sport you play, or art you created. If you’ve pursued anything of that sort over a considerable period, then it’s worth mentioning. 

Extracurriculars demonstrate various skills, like leadership and persistence. The more versatile you are in your activities, the stronger your activities section is.

Tip #3: Reflect on Your Experiences 

Use the space on your experience list to reflect on what you did instead of just listing it. Many students make the mistake of simply saying, “I did this” and “I did that.” Try and write about what you learned, what you took away from it, how it made you a better person, and how it applies to your future career as a physician. 

AMCAS Application FAQs

To help you ace your med school application and understand the process, we’ve included several questions and answers about AMCAS.  

1. What Is the AMCAS Application Deadline? 

The Early Decision Program (EDP) has a deadline of early August. If the start of August falls on a weekend, it will be the next business day. All other deadlines are set by schools and usually fall between August and December. 

You must submit your application no later than 11:59 pm E.T. on the deadline. 

2. What if I Don’t Have a Contact to List for My Activity/Experience? 

You may use the email or phone number of someone else who can verify your experience if the original point of contact cannot be reached. If you have no one you can think of as a contact, you can list yourself as the contact person and explain in the description why there’s no valid contact person that can be reached for that experience.  

3. How Many Letters of Recommendation Can Be Sent to AMCAS? 

You can send up to 10 letters to AMCAS. This doesn’t mean that one school wants to receive ten letters. AMCAS gives you that many letters to write specific letters to specific schools. 

4. How Much Does It Cost to Use AMCAS?

The processing fee is $170 and includes one medical school designation. It is $43 for each additional school.

5. How Does the AMCAS Verification Process Work?

Once you submit your application to AMCAS, you’ll receive a confirmation email. Once your transcripts arrive and your application is submitted, the AMCAS verification process begins. 

Your application is entered into the verification queue, which can take up to eight weeks to process. AMCAS verifies the coursework you entered with your transcript to see if everything aligns. If there are discrepancies, AMCAS returns your application, causing a delay that may result in missed deadlines. 

6. What if I Miss the AMCAS Deadline?

Under no circumstances does AMCAS offer deadline extensions – schools may. If you need an extension, it’s best to contact the school and request one. If approved, the school will notify AMCAS to proceed accordingly. 

Once the application has been submitted, the schools you entered in the application can’t be changed or removed, even if you miss a deadline. 

7. Can You Add Schools to AMCAS After You Submit Your Application? 

You can add schools to your submitted AMCAS application as long as the school’s deadline hasn’t passed. 

8. When Is Too Late to Submit the AMCAS Application? 

While you may have a better chance of acceptance by applying earlier, you can submit your application by a school’s deadline. However, it’s often too late to submit your application past the deadline (unless you get an extension from the school). 

9. When Will the AMCAS Application Open for Medical School in 2024? 

AMCAS is opening on May 2nd 2024. Check the AMCAS website for the latest updates.

AMCAS Application: You Can Do This 

It can be easy to be overwhelmed by the multi-step AMCAS med school application process. Remember to proofread your application, have all documents ready, and put considerable time and thought into your personal statement to improve your chances of admission. 

Most of the work is already done: the hours of volunteering, the years of pursuing your interests and activities, the sleepless nights spent studying for your classes, and everything that has led you to this path. All that’s left is communicating your competence and persistence through your application!

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Primary vs. Secondary Applications for Medical School

All that you need to know to prepare you for the 2024-25 application cycle.

• February 22, 2022

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: primary vs. secondary applications, part 3: the primary application, part 4: the secondary application, part 5: prewriting and preparation, part 6: getting ready for what's next.

The medical school application process can sometimes feel shrouded in mystery to premeds. The application cycle seems to have its own language: AMCAS , AACOMAS , TMDSAS , primary , secondary application …there are new words and acronyms to learn and seemingly little time to learn them. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Understanding exactly what lays in store for your application can be simple, once you’ve got a good grasp of the differences between two of the most important parts of the application cycle: the primary vs. secondary applications. 

We’ll help demystify these two components of the process so that you can feel confident and ready to tackle whatever the application cycle throws at you.

Part 2: Comparing the Primary and Secondary Applications

You’ll need to complete both the primary application and likely more than one secondary application if you hope to apply to medical school. While both primaries and secondaries are written elements of your application, opportunities for schools to assess your motivations, credentials and ability to express yourself on paper, they come at different times and serve different purposes.

The primary application is the first step of your medical school application (after your volunteer work, college courses, MCAT, and shadowing, of course!) Depending on the student, you may fill out between one and three primary applications. These are “generic” applications, if you will. You’ll fill out one primary application if you’re applying to M.D. (allopathic) programs and a separate one if you’re also applying to D.O. (osteopathic) programs. Students who apply to schools in Texas will fill out the Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service (TMDSAS). 

If you’re applying to MD, DO, AND schools in Texas, you’ll fill out all three…but that’s not usually the case for most applicants. 

Your primary application will ask you to:

• Fill out important biographical information
• List coursework and letter writers
• You may consider submitting a letter of disadvantage with your primary application, if you experienced significant hardships on your way to a medical education. 

The two big components of a primary application, however, are the:

• Personal Statement 
• Activities Section.

This is a lot of writing, but it’s a lot of important writing. In primary applications, you’re demonstrating to your readers that you have thought a lot about medicine and you’re ready to commit to the hardwork and dedication that it takes to become a doctor. You’re showing your activities have prepared you, and through your personal statement, you’re telling stories that shine a light for the readers (the admissions committees) into your passion, motivation, and resilience for the road ahead. 

Think of the primary application as your chance to answer the following questions for medical schools:

• Why do you want to become a physician?
• Why will you be a great physician?

Check out the following resources for more info on the medical school primary application:

• Help with your primary application  
• Essay Brainstorming Sessions 
• Free 30 minute Personal Statement Workshop
• Blog posts 
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After you hit submit on your primary application, you might fairly be asking: “what next?”

What happens next depends on several factors: where you applied (and what their secondary application policy is) and the strength of your primary application.

Some schools send secondary applications to everyone who submits a primary. That means that, no matter what your GPA, MCAT score, or the quality of your volunteer work, you get a secondary application. It could mean that your chances of getting an interview are really low, or really high: you still get a secondary.

Other schools filter candidates by GPA or MCAT. If your scores meet a certain threshold, then you’ll get a secondary application. This means a little bit more, because you’ve passed their first “test,” when it comes to considering your application for admissions.

Finally, there are some programs that do a holistic review when considering whom to send a secondary. In these cases, getting a secondary means the most…they’ve already decided that they like you.

Of course, schools don’t always advertise what their policy is…the reality of all this “difference” is that it ends up being hard to tell when/where secondaries mean a LOT to your application (schools that have already decided they like you) versus schools where secondaries don’t mean a whole lot (schools that might chuck your secondary without reading it, because it turns out…your test scores were too low for them). 

What exactly is a secondary?

It’s another collection of essay prompts that are specific to the school to which you applied. Primary applications go to everyone, but secondaries are special questions schools get to ask to learn more about you and how you might fit at their program.

If primaries are your chance to explain “Why YOU” and “Why MEDICINE,” then secondaries are your chance to explain “Why this SPECIFIC school”…and for purposes of secondaries, as cheesy as it sounds, write like that specific school is the only one you have ever imagined attending. (Medical schools, are kind of like prom dates, they want to feel loved and appreciated by you.)

For this reason, you MUST be clear , focused and articulate about the school to which you’re applying in your secondary application. Don’t write that you love the “unique curriculum,” at your dream school. Every school thinks they have a unique curriculum and every premed applicant writes that they are excited to learn that “unique curriculum.” Get in the weeds.

• Do you love that the program tests every week because you’ll stay on top of the curriculum that way?
• Are you enamored with the digital anatomy lab because you think it’s the future of medicine?
• What about their condensed preclinical curriculum? 

Do. Not. Be. General. Cite the mission. Cite the vision. Be specific:

• Write about future mentors you hope to work with
• research projects the school is highlighting on their website
• Find the student activities list and choose the clubs that speak to you
• Ask admissions if you can talk to a current student and write about that in your secondary.
• Draw parallels between YOUR goals, dreams, and accomplishments to opportunities that are available at the school to which you’re applying 

This is not the time to play hard to get. A well done secondary application shows schools that you’ve done your research , you know why they’re special, and if they invested in you, you would pick them as your medical school. 

Check out the following resources for more info on medical school secondary applications:

• Help with your secondary applications
• Secondary Essay Examples 

Is there any way to get a head-start on all this writing? It’s never too early to think about your primary application; it can be helpful to keep a journal or a log during your shadowing and volunteer experiences so that you can remember what was impactful to you. This will make it much easier to find inspiration once it comes time to sit down and write your personal statement.

When it comes to secondaries, some premed students also like to get a head-start. Google searches can often turn up student accounts of last year’s questions and sometimes, schools don’t change them. While you can prepare and write essays for schools to which you send a primary, this is a bit of a gamble. If they don’t send you a secondary, that’s an awful waste of time; similarly if they end up changing the prompts. 

What can often be a better idea, is reviewing the TYPES of prompts that medical schools frequently ask in secondary applications;

• View examples and the 6 steps to writing the adversity essay
• View Examples and learn how to write the diversity essay
• View examples and tips

Make a list of scenarios that demonstrate how you’ve overcome a challenge. Reflect on what makes you different, or unique, that would be appropriate to a diversity prompt. Prepare to hit the ground running, but don’t make extra work for yourself. When your secondaries start to roll in, you want to be prepared, NOT exhausted.

Writing both primary and secondary applications should take up a lot of time and energy. That might not be what a tired premed wants to hear, but it’s true. You can make the process easier for yourself by thinking a couple steps ahead while you’re slogging through the application cycle. Make a folder for each school to which you apply. Go old-school and write it out or print it. Take notes on what you love about each school. 

While you’re researching for your secondary application, make note of what you talk about in each part of your application, and also make sure that you’re brainstorming new ideas to talk about during your interview.

Keep a copy of your secondary application in the folder along with a running list of questions, reasons why that school is a good choice for you, and things you’re curious about. This will help ensure that you’re being thorough in your approach to writing your secondary, but it will also give you a head-start if you’re offered an interview.

And with prep like that? Of course you’re going to be offered an interview!

Importantly, for both applications, remember that you need to think not just about listing your motivations and achievements, but also how you’re structuring your argument, telling your story, and the quality of your writing . Medical schools want to see that you can make an argument (i.e. an argument for why you should go to medical school–their medical school!) because making an argument is the foundation of diagnostic medical practice.

When you are developing a differential diagnosis, you’re making a case. You’re thinking critically and your application materials, both primary and secondary, are your first chance to demonstrate that you’re capable of doing so. 

To a worn-out premed, it might seem as though the application questions are frivolous and tediously long for no reason. That’s not true. The application is the first time schools can see if you’re committed.

• Do you finish the whole application, and return your secondaries within a week?
• Is the last question you answer as strong as the first?
• Are you making a coherent argument?

These skills: timeliness, thoroughness, critical thinking are all ones you will use as a physician. Primary and secondary applications are not just hoops to jump through. They are important milestones in demonstrating your readiness to care for patients. 

So invest in this process. MotivateMD is here to help you do just that; our advising and editing services make every part of the application cycle, primaries and secondaries, a breeze. It is a long road, but you can do this! We’re here to help every step of the way.

If you’re ever interested in working with us, feel free to text, call, or email Becca. She’s great about getting back to everyone within a day. Her email is: [email protected] and her number is: 917-994-0765 . 

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The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline (2024-2025)

What to do each month of the 2024-2025 application cycle to ensure timely and high-quality materials to help maximize your odds of getting accepted. plus, the complete list of medical school application deadlines..

Part 1: Introduction to the medical school application timeline

Part 2: medical school application timeline (2024-2025), part 3: frequently asked questions, part 4: medical school application deadlines (2024-2025).

One of the rare pieces of medical school admissions advice that all of us can agree on is that the sooner you submit your applications, the better. That way, you can take full advantage of the rolling admissions process and maximize your odds of getting into medical school .

However, “apply early” doesn’t address the all-important questions of when you should aim to complete each component of your application—personal statement, Work and Activities section, secondary essays—or when you should collect required materials like recommendation letters.

Therefore, we developed a recommended medical school application timeline to help ensure that you submit your materials early and do so with the highest quality and least anxiety. Our timeline does not include general advice like “save money for your applications,” “keep working hard in classes and extracurricular activities,” or “attend medical school admissions fairs.” Instead, it exclusively focuses on when you should complete various pieces of your applications.

Of course, everyone’s situation is different, so it’s essential to be flexible with your medical school application timeline . If you begin your application process sooner (for example, some of our students begin working on their personal statement as early as the September before their application year), you’ll have more time to tackle each component and can, therefore, spread your work out. You may even be able to pre-write a significant number of secondary applications. Conversely, if you start working on your applications later than we recommend, you’ll have to move things along more quickly.

The latter point is very important to keep in mind. Just because you may start your application process later than we recommend doesn’t mean all is lost; far from it! Just make sure to work diligently, and never submit less than your best work just to get things in “early” (more on what “early” and “late” mean in the FAQ section at the end of this article). Quality always trumps speed.

For specific application deadline dates, we encourage you to visit the AMCAS (MD schools), AACOMAS (DO schools), and TMDSAS (Texas public schools) websites.

Without further ado, here’s our recommended timeline:

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January–April 2024

Register with your school’s pre-health advising committee (if one exists)

(Suggested reading: Pre-Health Committee Letter for Medical School: Do You Need One? )

Request and obtain recommendation letters

(Suggested reading: Medical School Letters of Recommendation: The Definitive Guide )

(Suggested reading: How to Write Your Own Letter of Recommendation for Medical School )

Take your final MCAT

(Suggested reading: When Should You Take the MCAT? )

(Suggested reading: MCAT Test Dates )

(Suggested reading: The Ideal MCAT Study Schedule )

(Suggested reading: What MCAT Score Do You Need to Get Into Medical School? )

(Suggested reading: The Best MCAT Prep Books and Other Resources )

(Suggested resource: MCAT premium content hub )

Determine if you need to take the AAMC PREview exam , and register for the test

(Suggested reading: How to Ace the AAMC PREview Exam )

Consult MSAR to confirm each medical school’s specific requirements

(Suggested reading: Medical School Requirements: The Definitive Guide )

(Suggested reading: Average GPA and MCAT Score for Every Medical School )

Brainstorm, outline, and write your personal statement(s) (you’ll need separate, though mostly similar, versions for MD and DO schools)

(Suggested reading: Medical School Personal Statement: The Ultimate Guide )

(Suggested resource: Medical school personal statement example library, including paragraph-by-paragraph analyses for each )

Brainstorm, outline, and write your Work and Activities section

(Suggested reading: AMCAS Work and Activities: The Definitive Guide )

Brainstorm, outline, and write your TMDSAS essays (if you plan to apply to Texas public schools)

(Suggested reading: TMDSAS: The Ultimate Guide )

Brainstorm, outline, and write your MD-PhD essay (if you plan to apply to MD-PhD programs)

(Suggested reading: MD-PhD Programs: The Ultimate Guide )

Submit AACOMAS and TMDSAS

Complete AMCAS demographic and academics sections

(Suggested reading: AMCAS Application: The Ultimate Guide )

Release MCAT scores to various application systems

Remind recommendation letter writers to send in their work if they haven’t already

Finalize your personal statement and Work and Activities section by May 15

Order official transcripts from every college and university you have attended

(Suggested reading: AMCAS’s transcript FAQ page )

Register for the Casper Test

(Suggested reading: How to Prepare for the Casper Test to Get Into Medical School )

(Suggested reading: Casper, Snapshot, and Duet: Everything You Need to Know )

(Suggested resource: Casper Mastery prep course )

Begin to pre-write secondary application essays immediately after you finalize your primary applications

(Suggested reading: Medical School Secondary Essays: The Complete Guide )

(Suggested reading: Medical School Secondary Essay Prompts )

(Suggested resource: Medical school secondary essay example library )

Finalize your school list

(Suggested reading: How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply To? Which Ones? )

(Suggested reading: MD vs. DO Admissions: What are the Differences? )

(Suggested reading: Do Medical School Rankings Matter? )

(Suggested reading: Our guides on medical schools in Arizona , California , Colorado , Connecticut , Florida , Georgia , Illinois , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , Washington , and Washington, D.C. )

(Suggested reading: Canadian-Friendly American Medical Schools: How to Get In )

(Suggested reading: Medical Schools in Canada: How to Get In )

(Suggested reading: The Best Caribbean Medical Schools for Students with Low Stats )

Submit AMCAS (as early as possible in the month, and without sacrificing quality)

Ensure that recommendation letters and transcripts have been received by AMCAS and other application systems (do not assume your application is complete unless you receive an email or other notice informing you that it is)

Continue pre-writing secondary application essays

Submit secondary applications (as soon as possible after receiving them, and without sacrificing quality)

Begin to prepare for medical school admissions interviews

(Suggested reading: How to Ace Your Medical School Interviews )

(Suggested reading: MMI Interview: The Ultimate Guide )

September 2024–March or April 2025

Continue preparing for interviews

Complete interviews

Send letters of interest, with updates, prior to receiving interviews, if accepted and appropriate (i.e., if you have significant updates to share and at least a month has passed since submitting your secondary)

Send letters of interest/intent after completing interviews/getting placed on the wait list, if accepted and appropriate (a letter of interest communicates fit and interest to attend the school if admitted, whereas a letter of intent communicates fit and intention to attend if admitted)

(Suggested reading: How to Write a Great Medical School Letter of Intent or Letter of Interest )

October 2024–May 2025

Review admission and financial aid offers

Negotiate financial aid offers

(Suggested reading: Top Medical School Scholarships )

(Suggested reading: Medical School Scholarships: How to Increase Your Odds )

(Suggested reading: Medical Student Loans: A Comprehensive Guide )

Attend second look and admit weekend activities

Select a program to attend

(Note: While most admissions decisions are sent out by the end of May, schools may admit students off the wait list or otherwise up until classes begin, but usually by the end of June.)

Over 90% of our students get into med school—the first time.

When does amcas open for the 2024-2025 application cycle.

AMCAS will open on May 1, 2024, and you can submit your application as early as May 28, 2024.

When is the absolute last month I can take my MCAT and still be competitive for the current/upcoming admissions cycle?

As mentioned above, we typically recommend taking your final MCAT no later than April. That way, you can devote some of April, all of May, and all of June to essay writing. Of course, if you complete your MCAT earlier, you can begin writing earlier.

Nevertheless, you won’t be “late” if you take the MCAT in May because you’ll receive your score in June. However, taking the MCAT in May will translate to less time for pre-writing essays, meaning you’ll have to work under more pressure to ensure that applications get in at the correct times. One way to mitigate this time pressure is to begin writing your essays earlier in the year and devote March, April, and some of May to MCAT studying. Then, once you complete the MCAT, you can return to writing.

If you take the MCAT in June, you can still be competitive for medical school during that year’s admissions cycle. However, the time pressure to submit your applications promptly will increase dramatically.

I’m struggling to decide whether to apply this year or next. What advice do you have?

Students can often strengthen their admissions profile by waiting to apply during a future cycle, assuming they use the time to boost their grades, MCAT scores, or extracurricular activities. However, you must weigh this potential incremental gain against time. By waiting another year, you also delay the start of your career.

Of course, many situations justify taking an additional year or two to apply, such as lower grades, MCAT scores, or a significant gap in your extracurricular profile. Make sure to seek professional guidance if you’re unsure about your competitiveness.

(Further reading: How to Spend Your Gap Year Before Medical School )

When is my medical school application considered late?

Before we answer the lateness question, we should mention the following two key points:

AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS send your primary application to the schools on your list once your essays and official transcript(s) are in and your transcript(s) have been verified. On the other hand, neither your MCAT nor letters of recommendation are required for verification. (Verification is completed in the order of applications and transcripts received, and the time it takes—usually between one and four weeks—depends on how many applications are ahead of yours.) You will not receive secondary applications from schools until they receive your primary application.

Medical schools will not comprehensively review your application until you submit your secondary. (A small minority of schools review your primaries to decide whether to send you a secondary.) For example, if you submit AMCAS on June 1 yet do not submit your secondary to Harvard Medical School until September 1, Harvard will begin reviewing your application sometime after September 1.

Many medical school applicants focus on submitting their primaries as early as possible after the application system allows, yet do not work on their secondaries with the same diligence. We strongly recommend that you begin working on your secondary essays immediately after you finish writing your primaries and aim to submit all your secondaries as soon as possible, ideally no later than the end of August.

We receive many variations of the “late” question, such as, “Will it be OK if I submit my applications by [date]?” or “Do I still have a chance if I apply at this point?” There is no precise date before which your application is considered early or after which your application is considered late.

Your goal should be submit your applications as soon as possible, without sacrificing quality . If you anxiously submit essays before they’re strong, the low quality of your work will follow you throughout your application process. In addition to negating any benefit of submitting earlier, low quality work will harm your admissions odds.

Part 4: Medical school application deadlines (2024-2025)

Amcas application deadlines & dates 2024-2025.

AMCAS application opens: May 1, 2024

Last day to take the MCAT without delaying your application: May 24, 2024

First day to submit AMCAS: May 28, 2024

First date that processed applications will be released to medical schools: June 28, 2024

AMCAS Early Decision Program (EDP) deadline: August 1, 2024

AACOMAS application deadlines & dates 2024–2025

AACOMAS application opens: May 4, 2024

First AACOMAS applications released to medical schools: May 4, 2024

AACOMAS application closes: April 12, 2025

TMDSAS application deadlines & dates 2024-2025

TMDSAS application opens: May 1, 2024

First day to submit TMDSAS: May 15, 2024

TMDSAS Early Decision deadline: August 1, 2024

TMDSAS application deadline: November 1, 2024

About the Author

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.

Learn everything you need to know to get into medical school.

Get our free 102-page guide: Get Into Medical School: 6 Practical Lessons to Stand Out and Earn Your White Coat

Thank you! Your guide is on its way. In the meantime, please let us know how we can help you crack the medical school admissions code . You can also learn more about our 1-on-1 medical school admissions support here .

Medical School Personal Statement Ultimate Guide (Examples Included)

Medical School Secondary Essays: The Complete Guide (Examples Included)

AMCAS Work and Activities Ultimate Guide (Examples Included)

Primary vs. Secondary Applications: Understanding the Differences

by internationalmedicalaid

If you’re considering applying to medical school, you’re probably acquainting yourself with all the terms. We get it! There’s a  lot  to understand about the medical school application process. In today’s article, we’re going to explain the difference between primary and secondary applications. We’ll cover the differences vs similarities and how they’re connected. Read on to learn everything there is to know about primary vs secondary applications.

What Primary and Secondary Applications Have in Common

• They both involve writing essays.
• They both involve filling out information about yourself.
• They both involve submitting applications.

How Primary and Secondary Applications Are Different

• You only fill out one primary application. 
• You fill out a secondary application for many of the schools you apply to.
• Your primary application involves your personal statement. It’s more generalized.
• While all secondary applications share common themes, the essays are specific to each school.
• The applications often have different deadlines.

About Your Primary Application

Your primary application is your first step to applying for medical school. Where you apply to medical school determines which application you’ll fill out.

• Applicants applying to medical school  in Texas  will fill out their primary application via the  Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service  (TMDSAS).
• Applicants applying to medical school in  any state other than Texas  will fill out their primary application through the  American Medical College Application Service  (AMCAS).
• Applicants applying to osteopathic medical programs will fill out their primary application by using the  American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service  (AACOMAS).

These applications all vary to an extent, but they have multiple things in common. Among those things are your personal statement, your work and activities section and your personal information.

The differences are mainly how each section is filled out, deadlines, and application specifications. We’ve written comprehensive articles on each application service, so click the links to learn more.

About Your Secondary Applications

Your secondary applications work differently from your AMCAS/AACOMAS/TMDSAS. While they all share common themes, they have elements that are unique to each school. You’ll select all the schools you want to apply to in your primary application. Then, some schools will send you a secondary application. You’ll fill out the secondary application for each school that sends you one. For schools that don’t, it’s their polite way of turning you down.

Your secondary application will include essay prompts that the admissions committee writes for applicants. They ask specific questions to gauge how prepared/ready you are to attend their school. The secondary essays, paired with your  personal statement  from your  AMCAS , help admissions committees to decide whether they want to interview you. Because of this, they’re very important! Each school varies in what questions they ask, how many they ask, and how many words/characters they give you to answer the essay prompt.

So, how do I apply?

Begin your primary application..

You’ll begin the entire process by starting your primary application.  AMCAS  just opened their application cycle for the 2021-2022 school year.  AACOMAS  is open and so is  TMDSAS . If you’re applying to medical schools in Texas and in other states, then you’ll most likely need to fill out both AMCAS and TMDSAS. Visit the official university website for the Texas medical school to which you’re applying to make sure they use TMDSAS.

Complete and then submit your primary application.

Primary applications take a long time to fill out. Besides your personal statement, they ask for your personal information, family demographics, criminal history, high school transcripts, coursework taken in college, and more. It’s very important to accurately and completely fill out your application. Take your time doing so. A thoroughly and carefully completed application should take you about a month.

The Waiting Period

After you’ve submitted your primary application, the medical schools to which you’ve applied will receive your application. Medical schools work one of two ways. They either automatically send out secondary applications to all applicants, or they review primary applications and decide to whom they will send secondary applications. This information should be listed on the medical school’s website.

It generally takes about two weeks to start receiving secondary application invitations. You’ll receive an email with a link to a portal. You’ll create an account in that portal to access the secondary application. If you don’t receive an email after several weeks, and if the medical school is selective about who they send applications to, it’s a safe bet that you won’t have an opportunity to attend medical school there. At least not for the current application year.

Filling Out Secondary Applications

Every secondary application is different. We’ve created a series on our blog full of definitive guides on getting into medical school. Out of all the medical schools we’ve examined so far, no two medical schools are the same. That’s why it’s important to review the university’s website for information specific to their application. If you need help along the way, consider International Medical Aid’s  med school admissions consulting . We can help with wherever you’re stuck. We also recommend reaching out to the school with your questions. They have an entire admissions department dedicated to helping you. Chances are, they’ve answered your question before, and they’ll be happy to answer it again for you.

We also recommend checking out our blog! We’re working on creative a definitive guide to every single medical school in the United States to help guide you through your journey. Here are the schools we’ve covered so far.

• Baylor College of Medicine
• George Washington University School of Medicine
• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (in Pennsylvania)
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Western University of Health Sciences (in California)
• Drexel University College of Medicine
• Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago
• Georgetown University School of Medicine
• Yale School of Medicine
• Perelman School of Medicine
• UCLA Medical School
• NYU Medical School
• Washington University School of Medicine
• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Brown Medical School

After Your Submit Your Secondary Application Medical School

Once you’ve submitted your secondary applications (one to each school to which you’re applying), it’s time to wait again. This time, you’re waiting for interviews. Good luck!

Here at International Medical Aid, we want to see you succeed. We understand how complicated and confusing the whole application process can be. We hope this article has clarified the difference between primary vs secondary applications. This information, paired with med school admissions consulting, should have you well on your way to filling out your primary and secondary application medical school.

As complicated as the process might seem, primary vs secondary applications are designed to make the admissions process easier. The primary application prevents you from having to submit the same application over and over to every single medical school. Your secondary application medical school is designed to help each school get to know you better. The process is unique to medical school, as well as some dental and veterinary schools.

We hope you feel better prepared to begin your application process, now that you understand primary vs secondary applications. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to  reach out to us . We’re here for you, whether you have a question about primary vs secondary applications, or if you have a question about something else altogether. Our founders are Johns Hopkins graduates, and our staff are made up of experts who can help you through whatever stage of your application process you might be in. We wish you the best as you work toward attending medical school!

International Medical Aid provides  global internship opportunities  for students and clinicians who are looking to broaden their horizons and experience healthcare on an international level. These program participants have the unique opportunity to shadow healthcare providers as they treat individuals who live in remote and underserved areas and who don’t have easy access to medical attention. International Medical Aid also provides  medical school admissions consulting  to individuals applying to medical school and PA school programs. We review primary and secondary applications, offer guidance for personal statements and essays, and conduct mock interviews to prepare you for the admissions committees that will interview you before accepting you into their programs. IMA is here to provide the tools you need to help further your career and expand your opportunities in healthcare.

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