Hi everyone,

This is a GREAT post from the AAMC’s Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) on picking the right medical school–a series of very thoughtful questions all medical school applicants should consider during their application research process.

Read below.

Cheers,
Ivy Eyes Editing
www.ivyeyesediting.com

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Selecting a Medical School: Thirty-Five Questions I Wish I Had Asked

Medical schools, like individuals, are very different—in their philosophies, faculties, curricula, and the type of students they attract. As a result, selecting the “best” medical school for you can be challenging.

The following list of questions—compiled by medical students from across the country—is designed to help you evaluate the schools you will visit. This list is by no means complete; it was designed to serve as a base for your own questions. Make sure to research each institution before the interview so you can ask informed questions.

The interview represents a valuable learning opportunity for you, so don’t be shy about asking anyone your questions. Congratulations on your career choice and good luck with your interviews!

Curriculum

1. Are there any special programs for which this medical school is noted?
2. Please tell me more about the integrated curriculum.
3. What modalities are used for student lectures?
4. What are the opportunities for research? What are the policies for taking time off for research opportunities?
5. How do students get assistance if an academic need arises?
6. Is there flexibility in the coursework (the number of electives) and the timing of the courses (accelerating, decelerating, and time off) during the pre-clinical and clinical years?
7. Are standardized tests used such as the NBME shelf exams?
8. Has this medical school, or any of its clinical departments, been on probation or had its accreditation revoked?
9. How do students from this medical school perform on the National Board Examinations? How does the school assist students who do not pass?

Evaluations

10. How are students evaluated academically? How are clinical evaluations performed?
11. Is there a formal mechanism in place for students to evaluate their professors and attending physicians? What changes have been made recently as a result of this feedback?

Counseling/Student Support

12. What kind of academic, personal, financial, and career counseling is available to students? Are these services also offered to their spouses and dependents/children?
13. Is there a mentor/advisor system? Who are the advisors—faculty members, other students, or both?
14. How diverse is the student body? Are there support services or organizations for ethnic/cultural minorities, LGBT students, and women?

Facilities

15. Tell me about the library and extracurricular facilities (i.e., housing and athletic/recreational facilities). Is designated study space available?
16. Are students required to have a laptop?
17. What type of clinical sites—ambulatory, private preceptors, private hospitals, rural settings, international—are available or required for clerkships? Does this school allow for students to do rotations at other institutions or internationally?
18. Is a car necessary for clinical rotations? Is parking a problem?

Financial Aid

19. What is the current tuition and fees? Is this expected to increase yearly? If so, at what rate?
20. Are there stable levels of federal financial aid and substantial amounts of university/medical school endowment aid available to students?
21. Are there students who have an “unmet need” factor in their budget? If so, how do these students come up with the extra funds?
22. Are spouses and dependents/children covered in a student’s budget?
23. Are there services/staff available to assist students with budgeting and financial planning?
24. Does this school provide guidance to its students and to its graduates/alumni, on debt management?

Student Involvement

25. What medical school committees (e.g., curriculum committee) have student representation?
26. Are students involved in (required or voluntary) community service?
27. How active is the student council/government? Are there other active student organizations?

Policies

28. What is the student medical insurance coverage and what is the cost to students?
29. Is there an established protocol for dealing with student exposure to infectious diseases?
30. Does this school provide, or does the student pay for, vaccinations against Hepatitis B or prophylactic AZT treatment in case of a needle-stick or accident?
31. Is disability insurance provided to cover exposure?
32. Is there a school honor code? Is there a grievance process/procedure? Are the students involved?

Residency

33. May I see a list of residency programs to which this school’s recent graduates were accepted?

Questions to Ask Yourself

34. Does this school have strengths in the type of medicine (primary versus specialized care, urban versus rural practice environment, academic medicine versus private practice) that I will want to practice?
35. Would I be happy at this school for at least the next four years?

Hello everyone,

If you’re human, chances are your undergraduate grades are not absolutely perfect. We confront this issue with our clients (applying to medical programs or elsewhere) on a regular basis. What are some key tactics to keep in mind when explaining low grades in admissions writing?

-Keep your justification focused. It’s important that you don’t try to boil the ocean here, even if you truly grappled with the death of a family member, an ADHD diagnosis, a broken foot and mild depression. Applicants that cite too many reasons for poor academic performance will sound like they’re just making excuses (a weakness in itself), rather than voicing a legitimate circumstance.

-Circumstantial conditions work; abstract emotional conditions do not. Your freshman year may have been an intense period of self-exploration. You have confronted new insecurities, or lost focus due to adapting to a radically different environment. Welcome to freshman year. In the application context, a concrete justification is more likely to hold water.

-Couch weakness in a strength. What’s most important is how you responded to your lapse in academic performance, not the low grades themselves. How much did your grades improve after you regained your footing? What other activities did you take on or reprioritize? What did you learn?

-Explain low grades only if you MUST. Remember that nearly every applicant has some kind of blemish on their academic record. In many cases, a dip in academic performance does not even require contextualization (such as that B+ in Orgo). So, think carefully about whether and how you discuss your academic misstep.

-Strategically position the weakness paragraph. You don’t want your closing paragraph to resonate on your academic foibles–you want to save that space for new analysis and marketing your greatest strengths.

Best of luck, and as always, feel free to email us for a free critique of your admissions materials–including personal statements, experience descriptions, CV’s, recommendation letters and more!!!

Cheers,

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

Hi everyone,

In this post, we’re going to reveal the formula for how to write a captivating introductory paragraph for your AMCAS, TMDSAS, AADSAS or ERAS personal statement. The magic recipe is as follows:

There is no recipe–and that’s the problem.

With the majority of personal statements that we read, it’s apparent that applicants are getting more admissions-savvy. At least they think they are. However, with this evolution in admissions writing comes a great number of narrative trends, which at some point, become cliches. For example, the introductory paragraphs that we read typically fall into the following categories:

-The allegory or outside-the-box event. Rife with evocative description and figurative language. Typically starts with a high stakes condition–such as the tension-filled finish of a track race–and then returns in the conclusion with a substance-less axiom like ‘life’s a race.’

-The shock-and-awe medical experience. A volunteering post in Sudan wherein multiple human atrocities were witnessed, or a shadowing experience at a pediatric hospital. This approach hinges on the deceptively winnable challenge of surprising a reader who has already seen or heard it all.

-The personal health issue. One person’s bout with ulcerative colitis or diabetes, and the resultant window into a medical career. This paragraph makes the claim that a personal health condition has provided the catalyst for a career in medicine (which is most frequently problematic and should be avoided).

Of course, none of these approaches are completely off-limits if handled with appropriate finesse. However, we push our clients to simply think BEYOND them, and to not be constrained by the other introductory paragraphs they’re reading. There is more to your story. Moreover, once your statement progresses, if you don’t sustain the impact of your introduction, your essay will fall flat. And once your reader’s attention is lost, there’s little chance of regaining it!

While writing your introduction, keep in mind that it is not your golden ticket; the rest of your personal statement requires equally sophisticated storytelling. Also remember that if your introductory paragraph is not in one of the three categories mentioned above, that is perfectly ok. Ultimately, there’s no template for a phenomenal personal statement, other than writing with an authentic, bold style that is uniquely your own.

Cheers,

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

As most of you know, this year, the AMCAS application rules have changed slightly. One of these changes has impacted the experience descriptions. Instead of 15 opportunities (1325 characters) to write about experiences, answers are now limited to 700 characters. Furthermore, of these 15 experiences, AMCAS applicants have been tasked with describing up to 3 experiences which they consider most meaningful. These answers are limited to 1325 characters each (beyond the original 700 character allotment).

What does this mean for the applicant? We believe this update puts a higher premium on both brevity and truly getting to know the applicant. Here are some helpful hints to consider in polishing your 700 character, general descriptions:

• First, start with a broad list of all your activities; then, think critically about which are important and meaningful to you. Citing 15, 700-characters-on-the-dot experiences doesn’t guarantee an A+ (your lack of enthusiasm for your 3-week stint in genetics research will be readily apparent to your reader.) Also, any experience may be medical school interview fodder—so you don’t want to be caught offguard. All 15 experiences should be ‘meaningful’ on some level!
• Find creative ways to conserve space: don’t repeat doctors’ names, lengthy titles, department names, etc. DO show unique, valuable and transferable clinical skills; DON’T repeat basic skills across experiences just to fill the space.
• Omit high school activities unless they represent substantive, increased levels of participation, leadership or responsibility in your undergraduate career. That includes piano lessons, though we know you dedicated 14,031 hours to tickling those ivories.
• Don’t include trivial hobbies (and let’s be honest–who doesn’t enjoy the occasional Poker or Flip Cup game).
• If the organization in which you participated is not nationally recognized, provide a brief description followed by the role you played there. Also, don’t use obsolete acronyms–spell out all organization names for your reader’s sake.
• If you earned a spot on the Dean’s list for more than one semester, use the description area to list the other semesters. If you received a scholarship, fellowship or other honor that is not nationally recognizable, concisely explain it.
• When listing a publication, ensure that it is properly cited. If the paper is being “prepared for submission” or “submitted,” include this fact as part of the research description in the part where you listed the research activity.

For the 1325 character ‘meaningful descriptions,’ think about the following:

• Though some experiences may be meaningful for similar reasons, each answer is an opportunity to showcase your personal values. So, stretch yourself and show variety in your answers. Why did your NASA research matter to you, and what does this say about you? How did this differ from the gratification you felt from your Alzheimer’s research?
• Use stories and specific anecdotes to color each answer. In recounting stories, you may unearth motivations that you had not previously considered.
• DON’T repeat skills and responsibilities in these long answers—1325 characters is still 1-2 paragraphs at most. Utilize this space to show how you think, and what matters to you.
• Your language should be mechanically sound—but we recommend that our clients keep the tone as conversational as possible. It’s difficult to relate what makes an experience meaningful, so why cripple that response with pedantic, stilted language?

In general, remember to keep your activities section crisp and focused. Take time fleshing out the most valuable dimensions of each experience. If written well, these activities can effectively complement your personal statement and elevate your AMCAS application.

As always, feel free to reach out to Ivy Eyes for a free critique of your activities descriptions (in addition to personal statements, resumes and recommendations).

Best of luck!!!

Cheers,

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

Living in Los Angeles means living at the epicenter of film fanaticism. Here, a film is sacrosanct–viewed as a transportive looking glass and siphon for human truth. Lars von Trier is frequently lambasted for what is seen as the cardinal sin of the directing world: work that is devoid of emotional authenticity and integrity. But why are integrity and authenticity so important to consider in films? Because they are a reflection of the auteur and the intention behind the work, both of which bind us to fictitious characters and stories capable of permeating our realities.

In Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen’s parody of Ernest Hemingway says flatly, “No subject is terrible if the story is true and if the prose is clean and honest.” Gertrude Stein, analyzing one of Picasso’s latest paintings, says, “Sure there’s universality, but there’s no objectivity.” Again, we see the premium placed on authentic, balanced and self-aware artistic output.

But why is all this so important?

In a recent interaction with a prospective client, and after re-reading his AMCAS personal statement several times, I realized what I felt: subtly emotionally manipulated. “In the doleful eyes of Joshua, a 9-year-old who would hopefully benefit from our research, I saw his future and his hope. He hugged me tenderly, and in that moment, I knew medicine was the path for me.” Cue violins! He had also painted stark, vivid portraits of the realities he had seen as a volunteer medical assistant in Sudan; however, at a certain point, his prodigious, solution-oriented leadership gave way to the harrowing details of his environment. In admissions writing, it’s important to stay authentic, but also stay focused on the primary goal: conveying your readiness to enter medical school and become a physician.

This prospective client also had an enviable list of international volunteering experiences. And while they were all artfully integrated into the personal statement, the writing still lacked the resonance necessary to compel an admissions committee. It felt like an over-developed resume. The purpose of the personal statement, of course, should be to humanize your resume and fill in the interstitial spaces. Over the course of telling great stories, consider: have I still shown that I have something left to learn, or do I sound too seasoned? Have I marketed my existing skills? Have I voiced uncertainty? What’s the real reason behind sharing a specific anecdote or experience?

Aldous Huxley said of Hemingway’s style, “He writes in the white spaces between the lines.” Does your writing resonate like this, or does it overwhelm and saturate the page? At Ivy Eyes Editing, we believe that there’s no one-size-fits-all roadmap for authentic writing: your voice is a sum of your experiences and your ability to reflect on them. However, it’s in this reflection process where we come in, and help our clients to find the balance required for true authenticity.

Cheers,

Janson

www.ivyeyesediting.com

Hi everyone,

US News recently released data on the 10 Most Popular Medical Schools–please read some key excerpts and stats below. As you begin your medical school application process, these numbers may be helpful to you in determining where to apply (and where you’ll be facing steep competition).

Cheers,

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

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10 Most Popular Medical Schools