Please take a look at my recent, featured piece “Shhh…Interview Tips from a Medical School Insider” in PreMedLife Magazine.
Letters of Intent
Medical school letters of intent (or what some applicants jokingly call “love letters”) can be used for several types of applicants:
1) Those who have been wait listed
2) Those who have been interviewed but have not yet been accepted or rejected
3) Those who have not yet been invited to interview
When writing your letters of intent (LOIs), you should have the following principal goals:
1) Restating your interest in the institution
2) Positioning yourself as a distinctive candidate
The biggest error I see in LOIs is too much content about a specific institution’s advantages. There is no reason to spend a paragraph or more telling medical school admissions members what makes their institution special. They already know! Using your precious space this way is an opportunity cost, keeping you from fully showcasing what makes you a compelling applicant.
For those of you interested in LOI assistance, please contact me. I do offer a popular LOI editing service.
Interview Tips from an Entrepreneur
This article is currently at the top of the New York Times’ most emailed list. It’s written for those entering the work force, but it is very pertinent for applicants to medical school, residency, fellowship, and post bacc programs.
I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!
Mocking Optimally
This time of year I’m commonly asked when the best time to set up a mock interview with me is.
I would recommend arranging your practice session(s) within the month prior to your first interview. Whether you complete the mock interview(s) weeks in advance or the day before depends on how you best retain information.
More important than when you practice is that you simply do. The NRMP Program Directors’ Survey, my experience at Harvard, and my work with hundreds of Insider clients all reinforce the critical nature of the interview in assessing an applicant’s candidacy.
If you are planning to hire me, please do so as soon as you get that first interview invitation. My slots go very quickly, and although I try to accommodate everyone I can, I am currently scheduling several weeks in advance because of high demand.
Here is a quick link to my services page.
http://www.insidermedicaladmissions.com/applicants/ is
Acceptances
It’s early in the season, but some of my clients have already been accepted to
UCSD
University of Chicago
Vanderbilt
Case Western
USC (Keck)
Mayo
UCI
Rosalind Franklin and
Wake Forest!
Most medical school applicants are still early in the interview process. Consider hiring me for mock interviews to improve your chances of success.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes.
