So You Want To Be A Doctor?
What we will be covering:
- Pre-requisite courses
- GPA
- Volunteering
- Clinical experience
- Extracurricular activities
- Research
- Letters of Recommendation
- MCAT prep
- MCAT
- Committee Review
- Application
- Interviews
- Pre-match/ Match/ Waitlists
Why Should You Listen To Us?
- We both received multiple interviews at top medical schools in Texas including:
- UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas
- UT Houston School of Medicine
- University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
- University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- Texas A&M Health Science Center
- Texas Tech School of Medicine- Lubbock
- Texas Tech University Paul L. Foster School of Medicine – El Paso
-Received multiple early acceptance offers
-MCAT scores 30 & 34.
- Both GPAs 3.6+
- Clinical experience:
- Homeless clinic coordinator
- Emergency Room Technician ~ 2500 hours
- Scribe
- Multiple shadowing experiences
- Combined ~ 2000 hours volunteering
What Classes Do I Need To Take To
Apply To Medical School?
-These classes are universal to almost any medical school in the country. Basically,
no matter which medical school you intend to apply to the requirements will be very
similar to the following.
- One course such as Biosciences I or General Chemistry I counts as 3 semester
hours. Most labs are 1 semester hour, some are 2.
- 6 semester hours of English
- 14 semester hours of Biology + Biology labs
- 8 semester hours of General Chemistry+ General Chemistry labs
- 8 semester hours of Physics + Physics labs
- 8 semester hours of Organic Chemistry + Organic Chemistry lab
- 3 semester hours of Statistics or Calculus*
- 3 semester hours of Biochemistry**
* Some schools require statistics, and wont take calculus as a substitute, these
schools are UT- San Antonio, Texas A&M HSC, Texas Tech- Lubbock and TCOM
** UT- San Antonio and Texas Tech- Lubbock require biochemistry, the other Texas
medical schools strongly recommend it.
What GPA/MCAT Do I Need To Be
Competitive For Medical Schools In
Texas?
Data for matriculated applicants
GPA
% Matriculated
MCAT
% Matriculated
4.00 – 3.51
79%
36+
7%
3.50 – 3.01
19%
30-35
46%
< 3.01
1%
24-29
43%
< 24
3%
Letters of Recommendation
Who do I get letters from?
-Science professors
-Other professors
- work supervisors
- Research principal investigators (PIs)
- Doctors you shadowed or worked with
-Volunteer coordinators
-How do I go about getting them?
- earn an A in your professor of interest class
- regularly visit them during office hours
- ask doctors that you’ve shadowed for a significant amount of time
- ask work supervisors/volunteer coordinators/PIs who you have a positive
relationship with, and have known for some time
Volunteering
Consistency is the key
-do more hours with fewer organizations to show commitment
- for example: 3 hours a week x 50 weeks a year x 3 years = 450 hours!!!
-Some common volunteering locations include:
- hospitals (Emergency room, ICU, floors, etc)
- Habitat for humanity
- Salvation Army
- University organizations (VOICES)
Clinical Experience
Clinical experience is important to show medical schools that you
understand the role of a physician and their daily duties. It is also important
to demonstrate that you can handle the intense environment of healthcare.
Some common ways to gain clinical experience include:
-Shadowing physicians
- working as a Physician Scribe
- EMT-B
- ER Technician
- CNA
- Volunteering in a hospital/ ER
Extracurricular Activities
Some common extracurriculars of successful applicants include (and is not
limited to)
-Pre-Med Societies
- Leadership positions in student organizations (Pre-Med Society officer or
other student organization officer position)
- Interesting hobbies
- non-healthcare related work experience
- Tutoring
- Anything meaningful that you spend a significant amount of time doing
Research
-Research is not essential but it is looked favorably upon by most medical
schools, especially top tier medical schools.
-Research is important to medical schools because medicine is founded on
scientific principles which involve critical thinking and investigation. Its
important to be familiar with the scientific process and to develop deductive
reasoning skills.
- Some common ways to get research include:
- Approach professors whose subject interest you
- apply for university sponsored research programs
- talk to and apply to local medical schools who may be looking for people
to fill research positions
MCAT Preparation
• Ideally, begin studying for the MCAT during your
junior year, either during the summer or if you can
expertly manage your time, during your junior spring
semester
• 2-3 months or until you are consistently getting the
score you want on AAMC practice exams
• You do NOT need a prep course, however, it is
recommended for those who can afford it and need
structure.
MCAT
Buy official AAMC practice MCAT exams, they are the
only reliable and official practice exams that will let
you know what you are most likely to get on the real
exam.
Do not take the exam until you are consistently getting
the scores you want on the practice tests.
MCAT scores are permanently recorded and cannot get
expunged therefore several poor attempts will not
look favorable on your application.
Committee Review
Most medical schools require a health professions committee
review packet, if your college offers it. If you do not get this
packet it may be a red flag on your application.
Make appointments with the health professions advisors to get
familiar with the advisors and help them write a stronger
letter for you
Plan a health committee review appointment one month prior to
taking the MCAT. It can be a lengthy process.
Application
APPLY AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE!
TMDSAS opens may 1st, spring transcripts come out
around may 15, this is the earliest you can submit.
Anything after July is considered late
Oct. 1 is the official deadline
Applying late decreases your chances of landing
interviews due to increasing number of competitive
applicants during the later months of the application
season
Application is lengthy, give yourself a few weeks to
complete
Interviews
Interviews are typically offered August through
December.
Most Texas interviews are relaxed and conversational,
HOWEVER, be prepared for healthcare policy, ethical
issues, and stress interviews
Dress professionally, i.e., suit and tie, no sports coats or
khakis, Sperry’s, etc
Do mock interviews, rehearse in front of a mirror, relax,
and if you want research current health policy events
The Match Process
Texas participates in a match system
You must rank the schools you’ve interviewed at by Jan 21.
If a school pre-matches you then it is a guaranteed acceptance if
you so choose to attend that school. You can hold as many
pre-matches as you’d like coming into the match.
Feb. 1 is match days and TMDSAS releases which school you
matched to based on your rankings and how the schools
ranked you. You automatically withdraw from any school you
ranked lower than the school you matched to
If you match to a lower ranked school you can still get off the
waitlist at a higher ranked school but it is not likely.
Questions…?
Please ask now!