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Session 121

Messing up the medical school interview is only one of the many reasons why premed students fail to get into medical school. In this episode, I tackle seven of the most common mistakes premeds make on their path to medical school, and how you can avoid them.

Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

7 Reasons Why Premed Students Fail to Get Into Medical School:

Poor MCAT score

Reasons:

Lack of respect for the MCAT

Failing to see how the MCAT is so much different from a normal exam

All the prep it takes

What you need to do:

There are no other tests like the MCAT. Click To Tweet

Poor GPA

Recognize the importance of delayed gratification.

You cannot put off the hard stuff.

Study, study, study!

If you have a poor GPA, take the next step to strengthen your application. Establishing an upward trend in your GPA can be enough, even if your overall GPA is still low. If you can’t get your GPA above a 3.0, listen to this episode.



Late application

The #1 unexcusable reason to not get into medical school!

If you apply late to medical school, you already failed the first medical school test.

The application is available a month before you can submit. Submit early.

The game of musical chairs: acceptances are given on a “rolling admissions” basis.

Failure to course-correct

Take a moment to figure out where you are.

Reflect on your performance: What went well? What didn’t?

Figure out what to do to course-correct to get yourself back on track.

Your path to medical school doesn’t have to be anywhere near perfect.

It's not about how many times you fall down. It's about getting back up after each fall. Click To Tweet

Taking on too much, too soon

Premeds have a tendency to take on everything (classes, shadowing, volunteering, research, etc.).

Undergrad classes are different from high-school classes.

Your #1 job: Learn how to be a student. Figure out your extracurriculars and everything else after that.

Don’t worry about shadowing, volunteering, and research for now.

Your #1 job when starting college as a premed: Learn how to be a student. Figure out extracurriculars and everything else after that. Click To Tweet

Not doing the right extracurricular activities

There is no checklist to get into medical school.

The importance of shadowing a physician for a quality amount of time.

You need to see what it’s like to be a physician.

You need to interact with patients and make sure you like being around sick people.

Go out there and smell the patient.

Is research required to be accepted into med school?

There is no checklist of extracurricular activities you need to get into medical school. You need to pursue your own interests. Click To Tweet

Poor letters of recommendation

Just because you get a good grade from a teacher doesn’t mean they have the ability to write you a good letter of recommendation.

It’s important to build relationships with your professors, research PI’s, advisors, and other people along your premed path.

Find strong mentors along your path. A good mentor will often be able to write you a great letter of recommendation.

Links and Other Resources