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!
As I write this, I am listening in the background to an interview of Dr. Anthony Fauci by Dr. Sanjay Gupta through the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Fauci’s leadership (along with that of other physicians and epidemiologists) has apparently prompted what news outlets are calling the Fauci Effect, an 18% increase in the number of applications to medical school this year. I find this encouraging. After all, one could envision people running for the hills with the physical threat that COVID has posed for physicians (and other critical medical staff and front line workers). See the interview (oriented for a medical and public health community) with Dr. Fauci here.
At the end of the spring, with the weightiness of COVID clearer, the AAMC (much to their credit) strongly recommended that medical schools and residencies conduct virtual interviews during the upcoming admissions season. Upending years of in-person sessions, the announcement has made a huge impact on this season’s admissions process. Virtual interviews will likely diminish some of the bias that plagued the system previously and will save everyone a bundle of money.
The AAMC did not urge the use of any particular platform, but it does provide its own, called the Video Interview Tool for Admissions (VITA), for interested medical schools. The AAMC describes VITA as a one-time, one-way recorded video interview to help medical schools assess applicants’ pre-professional competencies that are important for success in medical school.
The AAMC indicates that VITA questions will target the below capabilities:
An applicant’s VITA session will include six questions presented in text form (no interviewer), and applicants record a video response after having one minute to read and reflect on each question. Candidates then have up to three minutes to record a response. If an applicant needs a break between questions, that’s not a problem: All six questions can be completed in one sitting, or candidates can choose to have breaks of any desired length between questions. (Of course, the interview must be submitted by a medical school’s deadline.)
According to the AAMC, questions can be related to personal experience (e.g. “Why did you choose medicine?”), past behavior (“Describe a time…”), or hypothetical situations (“Imagine you are… What would you do to resolve this issue?”).
These types of questions can be tricky without practice, but are bread-and-butter for someone who is prepared.
Remember the time you spent a week studying for the MCAT? No, you don’t ;). That’s because one week is not enough time to study for the MCAT! Along those lines, it’s important to start early, preparing yourself fully for VITA and other virtual interview platforms. Much of interviewing is confidence, which can be developed. Please hire me now for help.
I’ve covered the adverse effects COVID-19 has had on dental and medical school applicants, but medical students’ lives have been altered even more extensively. See the piece I wrote, “An Entirely Different, Very Frightening March Madness” for many details. The day before the piece posted on the Wolster-Kluwer After Rounds site, the New York Times followed up on New York University’s early graduating seniors.
I heard a recent piece on NPR’s “All Things Considered” called “Uncovering A Huge Mystery Of College: Office Hours.” The broadcast argues that taking advantage of the opportunity to develop a one-on-one relationship with a professor can bolster a student’s college success. Yet, many college students are too nervous to attend office hours.
Despite what some students consider a nail biting experience, office hours for pre-meds are particularly important because they provide a means for professors to get to know students so that those faculty members can write strong letters of recommendation. I have a doctor friend who told me that he went beyond traditional office hours: During his undergraduate years, he got acquainted with a few professors by inviting them to lunch at his dorm. He had to call several times before one professor got back to him, but once they did have lunch, my friend’s opportunities really expanded. That professor realized my friend’s intellectual potential and good nature and offered him a position on an honor committee and a strong medical school recommendation.
As they say in the NPR broadcast, “… when you go to office hours, you’re actually letting the professors do their job.”
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
