Medical school application tips and what I would do differently:
- Create a folder on Google drive to store your personal statement and activities/experiences essays. I liked using Google drive because I could easily share the docs I created to get quick edits/suggestions. Also great to use if you are apply to both MD and DO programs!
- Get feedback on everything- not just your personal statement! I had friends even look over my experiences and achievements essays to make sure I was clear and concise and of course to check for grammar.
- Be ready to submit your primary app the week submission opens. Have all of your essays ready to be copy and pasted into each section. I submitted both of my MD and DO primary apps the night they opened for submission.
- Follow up on every letter of rec you are getting and make sure they are ready… now :). This was the part of the application process that fell apart for me and I wish I had been more on top of it in advance.
- Start writing your secondaries before they come in. The sooner you submit your secondaries the sooner you will get interviews!!
- Recycle your secondary essays. Even though I had very few questions overlap completely, I was able to reuse the theme of what I was trying to say in multiple essays. I kept all of my secondary essays on one doc and it ended up being almost 20 pages long. Great to get feedback on these as well!
- Have you started your personal statement? If not, DO IT. I wrote a few different personal statements before I felt confident in one. Don’t be afraid to just start 🙂