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Start Your Engines…

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The medical school application cycle is revving up soon, so it’s time to get started on your candidacy. Here’s an article I wrote for Student Doctor Network a few years back called “Ten Ways to Improve your Medical School Application.” The piece includes statistical truths, strategies for optimizing your approach, and philosophical guidance. It covers grades, clinical experience, letters of recommendation, where to apply, the MCAT, the personal statement, and your happiness, among other critical factors. Enjoy!

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What to Know about the AAMC Fee Assistance Program 

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Now that the 2022-23 medical school application process is on the horizon, I want to remind candidates about the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Fee Assistance Program (FAP) and Insider Medical Admissions’ available discount for those with a current FAP. The FAP is designed to offer help to individuals with financial limitations who cannot pay the MCAT registration and/or AMCAS application fees without financial support. (Of note, there also exists an FAP for  dental school candidates through the American Dental Education Association.)

If you think you are eligible, it’s worth applying for an FAP grant early: When applicants submit their AMCASes prior to receiving decisions on their FAP applications, those candidates are ineligible to receive the FAP benefits for the AMCAS even if their FAP grants are approved. In other words, the FAP is not retroactive. You snooze, you lose.

For more information on the FAP, please click here. I offer a significant discount on one non-package service for any applicant who can demonstrate financial hardship through a current AAMC FAP grant. After researching the issue, I believe Insider Medical Admissions is the only medical consulting company that currently supports a discount for FAP grant recipients. (I apologize if I’m missing a company.) Once you have been granted the FAP and thus, can prove receipt, please feel free to contact me for more information.

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Choose the Right Category for your AMCAS Experiences

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Updated November 2026

AMCAS provides 19 categories in which you can classify your experiences. They are:

Artistic Endeavors
Community Health Advocacy
Community Service/Volunteer – Medical/Clinical
Community Service/Volunteer – Not Medical/Clinical
Conferences Attended
Extracurricular Activities
Hobbies
Honors/Awards/Recognition
Intercollegiate Athletics
Leadership – Not listed elsewhere
Military Service
Other
Paid Employment – Medical/Clinical
Paid Employment – Not Medical/Clinical
Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation
Presentations/Posters
Publications
Research/Lab
Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant  

A quick note on the new Community Health Advocacy category: It replaced “Social Justice/Advocacy.” AAMC’s intent is for you to showcase work in which you actively influenced, supported, or advanced conditions that improve community or population health. The AAMC’s example is organizing an effort to expand access to a clinic (not working at the clinic giving direct patient care).

Sometimes an activity matches two categories. When that happens, lean on the clinical classification, if applicable. (For example, if your activity is both Leadership and Community Service – Medical/ Clinical, choose the latter.) If clinical is not relevant, then choose the category in which you have the fewest activities.

A client who came to me as a re-applicant a few years back told me that a school from which she was rejected indicated that they had not counted a clearly clinical activity as clinical because she had classified it differently. So be sure you consider the categories deliberately in crafting your AMCAS.  

Make sure your written materials are the best they can be by being diligent about your process (and by getting professional help).

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Rolling Admissions: What’s the Big Deal?

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This year’s AMCAS application opens on May 4 at 9:30 AM EST, and candidates will be able to submit their AMCAS applications beginning on May 28 at 9:30 AM EST. Because of rolling admissions, submitting a complete application early in the cycle has distinct advantages at many schools. That doesn’t mean you should submit suboptimal written materials on the twenty-eighth; instead, you should start early enough that you’re presenting your best work.

Rolling admissions means that a school takes applications in the order in which they are received and makes decisions about interviews and then acceptances, accordingly. So, as time goes by, there are fewer interview and admissions offers remaining to be made. Think of an auditorium whose doors open to allow guests in. Those in the front of the line get the seats, and those who come later may not have a chair to sit in. 

If your application is not complete, your candidacy may not be evaluated early when there are more opportunities for interviews and admissions. So, if you have not already, get started immediately. It could make a huge difference in your available opportunities.

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The Single Most Important Thing Applicants Should Focus on in a Medical School Application

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Varsity Tutors interviewed me a decade ago regarding mistakes to avoid in a medical school application, best undergraduate majors for pre-meds, how to approach MCAT prep, and the most important factor a medical school applicant should focus on in her candidacy. My answers still hold true today and might improve your angle on the process. Take a look at this short interview. (Note that there are some typos in the piece that are not mine ;)).

AMCAS opens in three and a half weeks!

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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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As featured in:

Student Doctor Network: Choosing a Medical School? Why Your Situation Matters

KevinMD: Made Mistakes? How to Spin Them for Your Medical School Applications

Doximity Op-Med: The Medical School Admissions Process Is Falling Short

 

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: