Medical Direction presents:
The Fall Medical School Symposium
Date: Thursday, September 19th @ 6pm
Location: Leacock 132
• Come learn more about the MCAT,
prerequisites, reference letters, and
the application process from med
school students!
Who is Medical Direction?
www.md.sus.mcgill.ca
Presentation Overview
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Undergraduate Timeline
Prerequisites & MCAT
Research & Extracurriculars
GMT/Shadowing
Applications & Reference Letters
Guest Speakers:
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Joshua Chin
Andrew Rabinovitch
Noir Khatib
Jeffrey Weiskopf
Undergraduate Timeline
How to stay on track
U0
U1
U2
U3
-take first year science
courses (prereqs)
-pick your major; take
remaining prereqs (Org
Chem, English)
-work hard and keep
your marks up
-work hard and keep
your marks up
-explore your interests in
clubs and activities on
campus
-run for a leadership
role? (e.g. club exec)
-stay involved on
campus, preferably in a
leadership role
-stay involved on
campus, preferably in a
leadership role
-conduct summer
research; volunteer; get a
job; take summer
courses; travel
-conduct summer
research; volunteer; get a
job; take summer
courses; travel
-conduct summer
research; volunteer; get a
job; take summer
courses; travel
-travel and relax for the
summer
-consider taking an MCAT -write (or rewrite, if need
class or self-studying and be) the MCAT; contact
to the MCAT this summer your references, begin
your applications
-have fun, make friends
-get to know your
supervisors, profs, TAs
-get closer with your
supervisors; perhaps
conduct research with a
professor during the year
-interviews
-ACCEPTANCE!
Prerequisites
The courses you must take
before starting medical
school
Required (by some schools)
• Full year of Physics (with lab)
– PHYS 101, 102 OR PHYS 131,142
• Full year of Bio (with lab)
– BIOL 111, 112
• Full year of General Chem (with lab)
– Chem 110, 120
• Half to Full year of Organic Chem (with lab)
– CHEM 212, 222
Recommended
• Math Courses (stats/calculus)
• Upper level life sciences courses
(biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, etc.)
• English
• Humanities
Things to check
• Does the school accept prerequisite courses
taken over the summer? (some DO NOT)
• Does the school accept Pass/Fail
prerequisites? (most DO NOT)
• Does the school accept transfer credits as
prerequisites (e.g. CÉGEP, French Bacc, IB, AP)
MCAT
The infamous test
What the MCAT Tests
• Critical thinking rather than knowledge
• Start studying early! Some sources say
study at least 400 hours!
• STUDY VERBAL REASONING!
–Challenging for students with purely
science background
–101 Passages MCAT Verbal Reasoning
MCAT Grading Scheme
• Every section is out of 15
• Aim for double digits in
every section
The MCAT is Changing in 2015
• No more writing section
• New “Natural Sciences” and “Behavioral
Sciences” sections
• New “Critical Analysis and Reasoning” section
• Must be taken by those entering Medical
school in Fall 2016
• visit
www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat
2015/ for more information
Research
Why you should do it
How to Get Involved
– Choose a field based on your interests
– Search for labs
• Hospital websites
• McGill Office for Undergraduate Research
(http://www.mcgill.ca/science/research/ours)
• Google
– Look at:
• publications
• project descriptions
How to Get Involved (cont.)
• Email principal investigator or lab manager
– Be familiar with the research
– Be willing to volunteer
– Have enthusiasm about the topic, and show it
– Do not send generalized mass emails
• Types of work
– Own project
– Work with PhD/Masters student
– Review article
How to Get Involved (cont.)
Not so great:
Hey Dr. Smith!
My name is John and I am a McGill undergraduate student. Your
lab looks very interesting to me and I am looking to do research
because it will look good on my medical school applications.
Please let me know if you have any positions available.
Much better:
Hi Dr. Smith,
My name is John and I am a second year McGill student studying
biology. I’m interested in molecular biology, and after reading
some of your papers on cytoskeletal dynamics, I have become
enthusiastic about working in a lab like yours. Do you think we
could arrange a meeting to discuss the potential of becoming
involved with your research?
What Medical Schools Look For
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Level & type of involvement
Time commitment
Self-directed
Results
Extracurriculars
The Bare Essentials
Doing something you love
• Get involved!
• Join clubs, compete in athletics, volunteer for NGOs,
anything
• Try to lead
• Try to do something health related – not because it
“looks good”, but so you can get discover whether
the field is truly for you
Hospital Volunteering
• Gain experience in a
hospital setting
• Possible options
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Royal Victoria Hospital
Montreal General
Montreal Chest
Montreal Children’s
Montreal Neurological
Shriners
St. Mary’s
• Look around
– Don’t give up
Shadowing
Shadowing Program
• md.sus.mcgill.ca/shadowing.php
• Shadow in a clinical or operating room (OR)
setting
• Many different specialties including radiology,
surgery and psychiatry
• Several clinical and non-clinical researchers
also available to discuss their research and the
field in general
Application process
• Immunization Form
– Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Polio, Varicella,
Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis B, Tuberculin,
Influenza, Meningococcus
– Required to shadow in the OR, required by some
doctors for clinical shadowing as well
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Application Form
CV
Letter of Intent
Short 5-10 minute informal interview/meeting
Questions
• Philippe Hwang, Shadowing Director
• Md.shadowing@gmail.com
Global Medical
Training Trip
The trip gives you the opportunity
to…
• Actively participate in medical assessments
and treatment of patients
• Provide healthcare to patients with scarce
economic resources in Latin America
• Work with medical professionals in clinics
• Learn by doing
How does a trip like this help my
application?
• You gain way more from a trip like GMT than a
one-line entry on your CV…
• Shows that you explore your interests
• Shows that you have an idea of what the
medical field/environment is like
• Exposes you to patients and teaches you how
to interact with them
• Stories, inspiration
Applications
OMSAS and other Canadian schools
Timeline for applying (for application
during final year)
• May-June before final year
– speak to references
– decide what schools to apply to
– begin (and complete) AMCAS
• July-Aug before final year
– begin OMSAS
• Oct-Nov of final year
– OMSAS and AMCAS due
• Dec-Mar of final year
– Interviews! (Feb-Apr for OMSAS)
Components
• Biographical information
• Inputting grades
– Have to manually input grades
• Letters of Reference
– Only allows you to upload three letters of
reference
– The referees must fill out the Confidential
Assessment Form and send in your letter by mail
Sketch
• Enter in all academic, non academic, work and
research experience
• Need to put in verifiers
– Someone who can confirm your activities
– You will need their address and phone number
Fees
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Base fee - $210
McMaster - $105
Northern - $75
Ottawa - $75
Queen’s - $75
Toronto - $85
Western - $85
Reference Letters
For most schools, you will need…
• 2 academic references
– Professors, Lab supervisors (PIs), Academic
Advisors, Teaching Assistants
– anyone who can attest to your abilities in school
or research
• 1 non-academic reference
– Swim coach, Violin teacher, Clinical or Volunteer
Supervisor
– A “character reference”
How to ask for a reference
1. Start early. Give your references a lot of time to
write your letters.
2. Choose someone you have a personal
relationship with and who knows you well.
3. Ask them, preferably in person, if they would be
willing to write a positive reference letter for
your applications.
4. Prepare a package of information for them (next
slide).
5. Follow up before the deadline.
What to give your reference
The more information your reference has about you, the better.
Things to include:
• cover letter explaining what the letter is for (i.e. med school), what
must be included (any special information), and when it is due
– NOTE: do NOT lie about the due date
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a copy of your CV
a copy of your transcript (official or unofficial)
required forms (e.g OMSAS confidential assessment)
any other relevant documents (e.g. proof of awards, details about your
academic program, website urls, etc.)
• (a pre-addressed envelope with a stamp)
This is not the time to be modest.
Questions