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Brevity is the Soul of Wit -William Shakespeare

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I’ve been editing a lot of medical school, residency, and fellowship essays over the last few months, and I want to give a shout out to the importance of brevity. I focus on a word count of 750 or fewer for my advisees for a few reasons: 

First, I’ve found that that number is just the right balance of content and streamlining: Over 750 words for an admissions essay lends itself to meandering writing.

Second, your reader is likely stuck reviewing tens or even scores of applications in a short period of time. S/he is looking to spend as little time as possible on your written materials, while still getting a good flavor for your candidacy. Don’t burden your reader with verbiage.

Having trouble being brief? Here’s a helpful trick: Imagine AMCAS or ERAS is charging you $10 per word. How would you keep costs down?

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Looking for Podcasts to Spruce up Your Summer Workout?

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I’m a jump roper and stair climber, so podcasts are an excellent way for me to keep my mind occupied while I exercise. (I also swim but listening to a podcast underwater is hairy.) Check out my guest spots on the White Coat Investor Podcast, the FeminEm Podcast, and the Hippocratic Hustle Podcast. You can also download them directly from your favorite podcast app.

Other podcast favorites of mine are Serial (especially season 1), S-Town (genius), In the Dark (first season), Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, and Slow Burn (second season).

Enjoy!

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The Ins and Outs of Choosing a Specialty: The Generalist vs. The Early Committer

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For many third-year medical students, this is a tough time of year. Preparing an ERAS application can be daunting, but it’s even worse if you do not know what specialty you want to practice. Here’s a short piece I wrote with my colleague David Presser MD MPH called “Choosing a Specialty: The Generalist vs. The Early Committer.” And recently, I read a complementary, but non-medical, New York Times article called “You Don’t Want a Child Prodigy” that seems like a good follow up to our piece.

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Urgent, Urgent, Urgent, Emergency?

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The AMCAS open-for-submission date came and went, and the question I’m getting now is: Should I panic if I haven’t yet submitted my AMCAS?

The answer is no – and depending on where you are in the process – yes. Submitting on Day 1 precisely is not worth losing your mind over, so if you didn’t do so, please don’t kick yourself. On the other hand, submitting very soon is to your advantage because of rolling admissions.

So, if you are wrapping up your work and have your written materials in a superior state, just keep moving and get your application submitted promptly. If you are behind the eight ball and don’t feel that you can craft outstanding written materials speedily, consider waiting a year to apply. Every season I encounter re-applicants who, during the previous application cycle, submitted their AMCASes in August or September…thus making them re-applicants :(. 

So… on your mark. Get set. Go!

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AMCAS Tips (and Particulars): How to Best Draft Your Work/Activity Experience Description Section

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I’ve had a few clients recently who were confused about the AMCAS Work/Activity Experience Description character limits and how the Most Meaningful Experiences fit in.

Please remember that AMCAS Experience Descriptions can have up to 700 characters (not words!), while the Most Meaningful Experiences max out at 1325 characters. (Note, then, that the Most Meaningful Experiences are separate from the Experience Descriptions.)

Here’s a short blog with AMCAS Work/Activity Experience Description writing tips and another with Most Meaningful Experiences guidance. Good luck!

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

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. Read more

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Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on The Visible Voices podcast: 

 

Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the White Coat Investor podcast:

Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the FeminEm podcast: