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Medical School Wait List Advice

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Waitlisted for medical school? What can you do?

First, remember that the number of medical school applicants has been increasing yearly, so don’t feel insecure. Medical school admissions have become increasingly competitive, and being on the wait list is better than being rejected, despite the anxiety you feel.

Here are a few things you can do:

1. Send a letter of intent. Let the school know of your continued interest and any new accomplishments. Ensure the letter is well written and brief. In the letter, don’t make the mistake of dwelling on the school’s strengths when you should be highlighting yours.
2. Ask the school if you can set up a second look: Show them you are serious, and provide yourself with more data if you are later offered a spot.
3. Don’t neglect other options or opportunities, focusing all of your attention on this institution to the exclusion of others.
4. Plan for last minute notice. I’ve heard of acceptances being offered to applicants off the wait list the day before medical school was to begin!

Above all, try to keep your chin up despite the expected stress.

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Getting into Medical School – Prove You Can Handle the Heat

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Getting into medical school has gotten so competitive that it’s important to have a strong candidacy with excellent grades and robust extracurricular activities starting freshman year. There is no time to waste.medical school application and medical school admissions

One mistake I see pre-meds make is that they are so focused on leadership and research that they forget a critical component – clinical experience. No one wants to hire a cook who hasn’t worked in the kitchen. If you want to prove that you want to be a doctor, it’s essential that you obtain clinical experience for a significant period of time – not just a health fair or two. Working as an EMT, in a good clinical care extender program, or in a low-income clinic are just some ideas for obtaining excellent clinical exposure.

To create a plan for your medical school candidacy, secure a Strategy Session with me here.

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Expert (Goofy) Writing Tips

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This entertaining list of writing don’ts offers a comic break for applicants who are working feverishly on their medical school personal statements. The rules are based on the wit and wisdom of the late New York Times’ William Safire and the copywriter Frank LaPosta Visco. Enjoy!
  1. A writer must not shift your point of view.
  2. Always pick on the correct idiom.
  3. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
  4. Always be sure to finish what
  5. Avoid alliteration. Always.
  6. Avoid archaeic spellings.
  7. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
  8. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
  9. Be more or less specific.
  10. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
  11. Contractions aren’t necessary.
  12. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.
  13. Don’t indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.
  14. Don’t never use no double negatives.
  15. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
  16. Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
  17. Don’t use commas, that, are not, necessary.
  18. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
  19. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
  20. Employ the vernacular.
  21. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
  22. Eschew obfuscation.
  23. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
  24. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
  25. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
  26. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
  27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
  28. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
  29. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
  30. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
  31. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.
  32. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
  33. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
  34. No sentence fragments.
  35. One should never generalize.
  36. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
  37. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
  38. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.
  39. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of ten or more words, to their antecedents.
  40. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
  41. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
  42. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
  43. Profanity sucks.
  44. Subject and verb always has to agree.
  45. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
  46. The adverb always follows the verb.
  47. The passive voice is to be avoided.
  48. Understatement is always best.
  49. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
  50. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
  51. Who needs rhetorical questions?
  52. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
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When Your Debts Affect Your Dates

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A recent article in the NY Times highlights how individual debt taken on as a student has the power to adversely affect one’s subsequent relationships. You can link to the article here.

You are feeling less anxious and more comfortable with the whole medical school applications game. The interviews keep rolling in. Finally, you start to receive acceptance letters from multiple schools. Suddenly you find yourself in the enviable position of having a choice between a reputable state school, where tuition is relatively low, and a reputable private school, where you will go deeply into debt. You visit the private school and see stars: the buildings are made of marble, the admissions officials wear designer suits, and the alumni network, everyone assures you, will give you a leg up in residency applications. Should financial considerations play into your decision? Should you ignore finances and follow your heart, assuming that as a future physician you’ll comfortably be able to pay off any educational debt? Read more ›

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Medical School Admissions

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Medical school admissions are becoming increasingly competitive, in part, because of the failing U.S. economy. Bright applicants who used to target business school or law degrees are finding those fields unstable and are turning their interest toward medicine. Consequently, stronger candidates are now pursuing a medical career, making professional medical school admissions consulting increasingly important in optimizing medical school applications.

Medical school admissions consulting companies come in a variety of forms. Some are larger companies that focus on admissions to several types of graduate programs – not just medicine. Others are smaller companies that provide a medical focus, but have a pool of consultants of varying quality. Finally, elite companies offer both the medical focus and a highly experienced consultant who works one-on-one with clients. These professionals are ex-admissions officers from respected medical institutions. They have the inside knowledge of how medical admissions work, providing personalized guidance to optimize candidates’ written materials and interview skills. Read more ›

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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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