Interested in Applying to Medical, Dental, or Another Type of Health Professions School?
What’s Your G.E.E.S.T.???
G=Grades.
Admissions committees want to be assured that accepted students can handle the academic rigor of health professions school and pass licensing exams. Undergraduate academic performance (semester-by-semester analysis) plays a major role in helping to determine this. Overall and BCPM (science and math) grades earned in graduate and post-baccalaureate programs (if applicable) must also be entered on applications for most types of health professions schools, although the amount of weight placed on performance post-undergrad may vary from school to school. Either way, you want the academic records that are required on applications for admission into medical, dental, etc. school to be as competitive as possible. Refer to national and school-specific data regarding grades and entrance exam performance for perspective; review “Academic Performance and Acceptance into Medical, Dental, and other Health Professions Schools” in the Premedical Office XULA portal (or by request) for more information.
E=Entrance exam performance.
Admissions committees look to entrance exam performance as a predictor of success in professional school and on licensing exams. Admissions committees do NOT want to accept students if they don’t believe prospective students will be able to pass standardized tests, including those exams that are required to actually practice medicine, dentistry, etc. (i.e. licensing examinations).
E=Experiences.
Most health professions schools are concerned with your post-secondary experiences (i.e. extra-curricular engagement since graduating from high school). You must engage in experiences that demonstrate your interest in medicine, dentistry, etc. and that allow you to acquire/utilize qualities that would make you a GOOD health professional. This includes both clinical and non-clinical experiences. Do NOT approach your extracurricular activities with the idea of “checking off” a wide range and number of pursuits in order to impress the admissions committee. Three or four in-depth experiences from which you gained valuable lessons are far more significant—and telling—to admissions officers than dozens of short-term involvements. Make it a point to focus on the quality of your experience (i.e. time commitment, value of the experience, etc.) rather than the quantity (i.e. number of experiences on your PSE Form). Engage in experiences that are really meaningful to you and that you can devote a substantial amount of time to. Admissions committees evaluate your experiences using at least three different criteria, and a greater value is assigned to certain types of pursuits than others. Specifically, admissions committees look at the length of time you’ve invested, the depth of the experience, and lessons learned—in relation to any particular activity—so that a day-long blood drive or one-time-only shadowing experience is less enlightening than semester or year-long commitments. By the same token, active participation in an activity is viewed as more instructive than a passive one (such as observation). It is certainly okay to engage in shadowing/career observation experience, but you should also engage in more participatory experiences. Most important, admissions committees want to know what students learned from their experiences, and you should therefore be prepared to address these kinds of questions about your community, clinical, or research experiences in your application materials.
S=Selecting schools.
This includes professional schools, graduate programs, and summer programs. It is IMPERATIVE that you are calculated when determining which schools and programs you will apply to. Be mindful of your cognitive and non-cognitive credentials and familiarize yourself with the credentials that the schools you are considering seek in applicants. First and foremost, you should apply to schools that you have the BEST chance of gaining entry into based on grades, entrance exam scores, state of residency, etc. You should also be open to applying to schools that may be “off the beaten path” due to geographic location, for example. Pay attention to any entrance exam and GPA minimums (if stated), required coursework, and other school-specific requirements. It is okay to apply to schools that are more competitive than your current credentials, but be calculated. Cast your net wide (apply to multiple schools or programs) so that you have best chance of being accepted into one (or more).
T=Timing of application submission, entrance exam, etc.
Deadline=dead in the water!!! Just because a school establishes a deadline does NOT mean there will be interviews and acceptances left to offer when you decide to submit your application. For summer programs and professional/graduate programs, critiqued and revised applications submitted EARLY (months in advance of deadlines) are a best bet! Further, you must be careful with timing your preparation for MCAT, DAT, etc.; this includes taking fewer classes the semester you’re studying for the required entrance exam and registering for MCAT, DAT, etc. EARLY to ensure you get your preferred test date and location. When registering the MCAT, DAT, etc., be mindful of where you will be when you are ready to take the test (e.g. summer program, working, traveling). We recommend that you take the MCAT by May (definitely no later than June) and take the DAT, OAT, or GRE no later than June so you have the chance to retake, if necessary, before the testing deadline passes for the schools you are interested in applying to. Finally, please understand the message you may be sending to admissions committees when you submit an application or supporting materials on (or close to) the submission deadline. Admissions committees might question your professionalism, reliability, and interest in their schools or programs. Don’t give them a reason to NOT give your application the utmost consideration—follow our REPEATED advice to submit critiqued/revised application components well in advance of deadlines!!!
A special message for those applying AFTER graduating from XU:
A “gap year” (or years) typically describes the time between completing your undergraduate degree and starting your professional or graduate school education. This YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY may, in fact, be more than a year, depending on your unique circumstances and what you hope to gain during that time. To understand why the “gap” may warrant more than one year, consider this: For most students entering XU as first-time freshmen, it typically takes at least three (3) full academic years to prepare for application to medical, dental, etc. school, with the 4th year being devoted to completing the application process (i.e. submitting secondary applications and going on interviews). In light of this, students who need to enhance their credentials for application to health professions schools AFTER graduating from XU should be prepared, if necessary, to devote at least one (1) academic year to enhancing their credentials (e.g. graduate school, post-bacc, entrance exam performance, experiences, etc.) and one (1) academic year to completing the application process. If you want admissions committees to see drastic improvements on your application, then you need to be honest about your situation and give yourself the appropriate amount of time to work on deficient areas BEFORE presenting yourself to admissions committees. DO NOT APPLY PREMATURELY!!! Doing so may prove to be a waste of your time and money.
FYI, if you already have competitive grades and only need to study to retake the MCAT, DAT, etc. and/or gain experience, it is certainly possible to proceed with applying to health professions school the year you graduate from XU for entry in the following year. If this is the case, enrolling in a post-bacc or graduate program for the purpose of addressing entrance exam performance and/or experience is likely NOT necessary (although, guaranteed admission post-bacc programs may be worth exploring). If you find that you do not need a post-bacc program to enhance your application, you can devise your own action plan and timeline to adequately prepare for the MCAT, DAT, etc. and/or gain paid (e.g. medical scribe) or volunteer experience in a patient-care setting while you're preparing for application to medical, dental, etc. school. Further, if there is a graduate program you are sincerely interested in pursuing, even if it has no bearing on your competitiveness for health professions school, you could use the time before enrolling in medical, dental, etc. school to explore that interest.
For more insight on the “gap year,” review the AAMC’s Making the Most of Your Gap Year at https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/making-most-your-gap-year/.