Don’t forget that May 1 is the first day AMCAS 2012 is available on the AAMC website and that June 1 is the earliest date for submission of the AMCAS.
Submitting a strong application early is important for your candidacy, particularly with rolling-admissions schools. Your personal statement should be closing in on its final form now. For those of you who don’t know where to start with your essay, consider my new Writer’s Block Package.
In editing letters of intent (LOI), I note that applicants often make the mistake of focusing on their desired institution’s virtues. Remember that the goal of the LOI is twofold:
1) Affirm your strong interest in the institution.
2) Distinguish yourself with your accomplishments.
These programs already know their strengths; unfortunately, you won’t further your candidacy by reiterating them. Please see my editing pages for information on my LOI services.
My advisees often have questions about the ethics of letters of recommendation (LOR).
First, some applicants tell me they feel guilty because – although they waived their right to see their LORs – their writers gave them their letters to read. If your letter writer crafts your LOR understanding that s/he has no obligation to let you read it yet chooses to offer you a copy, you have done nothing unethical. That decision is the letter writer’s.
Furthermore, I’ve had applicants tell me they feel uncomfortable because faculty have told them to write their own recommendation letters after which the letter “writers” will edit and sign. Again, totally kosher. This topic was recently addressed here by the ethicist in the New York Times.
Remember to start early in asking faculty to write your recommendations. LORs almost always take longer than you think.
Dr. Michelle Finkel, a former Harvard Medical School faculty member, draws on years of admissions experience to lay out concrete steps you can take to distinguish yourself as a candidate for competitive residency programs. Supporting her assertions with hard statistics, Dr. Finkel’s multimedia CD-ROM offers her unique expertise on topics of immediate relevance such as:
Choosing rotations and extracurricular activities to highlight your commitment to your field| Buy Your Copy Today | |
| Single Copy: Getting Into Residency: An Insider’s Tips – $29.95 (Multimedia CD-ROM includes Audio, Video, Transcript and Printable Slides) |
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When I conduct Strategy Sessions with medical and dental school applicants, I notice a recurring problem: It’s hard to get very strong academic letters of recommendation, especially at colleges with large classes.
So I’m here to offer a piece of advice to those just starting their university studies: Get to know your profs. In addition to keeping your grades up from the beginning of your college career, acquainting yourself well with your teachers is one of the most important pieces of advice I can give to the new pre-med. Go to office hours, send an email invite for a lunch meeting or approach the faculty member about working in his or her laboratory.
In addition to being strategic, these relationships can fill a mentorship role that is invaluable.
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
