Medical schools are notoriously hard to get into. The field is incredibly competitive. In 2021, there were more than 62,000 applicants for med school. Of those, approximately 22,000 students were accepted into programs. That left about two-thirds of applicants either on wait lists or denied entrance.
Therefore, aspiring doctors must put themselves in the best possible position to score high on the MCAT test and get accepted into a program.
Pick the Right College
Preparing for medical school will start your senior year of high school. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have no shot of becoming a physician if you decide on your major while in college; we’re just talking about the best-case scenario. Look around and find out what schools you might want to go to that have great success with the pre-med track. For example, suppose you live in Florida and plan to attend a state school. In that case, the University of Florida and the University of South Florida have very good programs for students who want to attend med school.
When you take your SAT or ACT, you’ll want to aim for a score your top schools seek. You can find that information by looking at the school profiles online.
Know Your Potential Med School’s Requirements
Once you pick the university you want to attend for your undergraduate degree, decide on some of your top choices for medical school. After you decide on your top schools, research what they are looking for when they review medical school applications.
For example, if you want to go to Stanford Medical School, the median GPA for those accepted into the program is 3.8, and the median MCAT score is 517. For Harvard Medical School, the average GPA is 3.9, while the average MCAT score is 520. Medical schools also prefer if their students have published research, participated in community service, shadowed or held internships in the medical field, and participated in other extracurricular activities.
Knowing what your preferred schools require will allow you to add to your résumé from the moment you start school.
Prepare for the MCAT Test
You will want to begin studying for the MCAT test when you enter college. If you run into a topic you’re having trouble with, contact an adviser for help. You must understand the concepts, not just have them memorized.
You should also create note cards to help you with your studying. That also makes studying easier with a partner because they can help quiz you and vice versa.
How Many Med Schools to Apply For
The average number of medical schools a student will apply to is 16. Of course, the more schools you apply to, the better your chances of acceptance. How many schools you apply to depends on several factors, including your budget.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the application fee for the first school you will apply to is $175. Every school after that is $45. However, the organization warns that not all medical schools use the AAMC American Medical College Application Service, so students must be aware that after figuring out the application budget, set aside money for travel. That’s because schools will contact you for interviews, and you must fly around the country to visit them.
Remember, if you don’t get into a medical school the first time, you can improve and reapply the following year. Or you can change career paths and use your undergraduate degree differently.
