1. Information for medical and dental school applicants April, 2019
College of the Holy Cross
Health Professions Advising
Prof. Miles Cahill, Advisor
Prof. Jumi Hayaki, Associate Advisor

2. Steps in the application process
Make decision!
Interview
Complete secondaries
Request committee letter
Apply early (early June)
Fill out application (May)
Assess readiness

3. Are you ready? Take a careful look at your credentials
Wait for MCAT
Or talk to Prof. Cahill!
Can make decision at last minute (to June)
Look at MSAR/ADEA/February data handout/slides
MSAR is updated with new MCAT data, provides 10%, 25%, median, 75% and 90% data for accepted students
Think about costs
Be ready to apply early

4. Cost of medical school Typical private medical school
Tufts: approaching $100,000/year (tuition, fees, living, etc.)
Median private med school student graduates with $200,000+ in debt
Typical public medical school
UMass: $70+K/year in-state (90+K out of state) (full cost)
Avg. public medical student graduates with $170,000 in debt
Typical dental school
80-100K… 125K+!
There are scholarships/loan payment programs that may help
Military
National Health Service Corps
Specific program for med schools usually in exchange for work in underserved communities

5. Competition Medical school is becoming more highly competitive
Less than 42% accepted to even one MD school (or attended a DO school after application)
MD: average HC accepted student had XXXX
Similar to national average
National average MD applicant had a 3.45/3.56 BCPM/GPA
MD: average accepted student had a 510 MCAT (128 on each section, 127 CARS)
Average applicant had a 126 on each section, overall.
Dental school is also becoming increasingly competitive
Tufts: 3,700 apps for 195 seats

6. Committee ratings, acceptance rates (med school)
Very highly recommend (93% accepted over 6 years)
Strongest in every category. Depending on scores, consider applying to top-ranked MD schools
Highly recommend (82% accepted over 6 years)
Very solid in every category, may be exceptional in some dimensions. Apply to mid-ranked MD schools and top-ranked DO schools
Recommend (80% accepted over 6 years)
Has minimum requirements to be successful in medical school. Spending more time taking classes, research, clinical work, etc. will help increase chances of getting in and to higher-profile schools. Focus on less competitive DO schools.
Wait (less than 50% accepted)
We don’t think applicant is ready in some dimension. Will have difficulty getting accepted at any school.

7. Selection factors Selecting schools
MSAR/DO College information book/US News etc. rankings, Feb handout
ADEA Official guide (for dental schools)
Look at BOTH GPA and MCAT/DAT
Be wary of applying to too many schools where you are the 10th/25th percentile in any category
Exceptions:
Is there something about your application that is especially attractive?
Do you have a strong grade trajectory, post-bacc courses?
Be careful about applying too high or too low
Apply to around schools for MD/DO, for dental

8. Fill out application carefully
Start working on it in early May
It is tedious, confusing… and important to get right
Make sure your application is spotless (no typos etc.)
Use your personal statement to distinguish you from other applicants
Ask: could any other applicant say the same thing?
Remember, SHOW, don’t TELL
Follow guidelines for committee statement
Think about what you want to reveal on primary vs. secondary

9. Apply early Apply when application services open in early June
There is a huge penalty to applying later
Beware applying blind without knowing scores
To get committee letter must have application processed by July 31, but this is late!
We will write/edit committee letters on first-come, first-served basis

10. Request letter from office
Go to website/link in to see instructions
Follow instructions carefully
Do not request a letter until your application has been submitted
You may add updates/letters to your file up until we write your letter
Keep in touch with your advisor about any letters coming in, your plans, other updates
Our letter is only helpful to schools after your secondaries are in and processed

11. Fill out secondaries Do as good a job on your secondaries as primaries
Use the opportunity to talk about why YOU fit into the school
Return them quickly, but only after you do a letter-perfect job
“Triage” completing secondaries based on your preference for the school, competitiveness

12. Practice interviews Interviews have many forms
Open file: read from your file and ask specific questions
Closed file: ask standard questions
MMI: a series of short questions, often scenarios
What are they looking for?
Not specific answers to questions
Excellent communications skills
A genuine, thoughtful, authentic person
Care for others
Practice
Eye contact
Answering questions, scenarios
Get honest feedback on any quirks, engagement, etc.

13. Other notes
It is your responsibility to make sure your materials are complete
The cycle is long
Interviews can start in July and go all the way through spring
Wait list activity usually starts in May 1 after “traffic rules”
Let us know how it is going
Give us regular updates of ALL interviews, acceptances, wait lists, etc.
Decline offers only if you have dominating offers but please decline schools you know you will not attend
You may free up a spot for another HC student

14. Other notes Send thank you notes after interviews
Send substantial updates if allowed
Try to figure out school’s preferences/culture
Keep communication to substantial updates
If cycle is getting long, you may want to send a note to tell them you are still interested (and why)

15. Other notes
Make sure your social media / web presence / criminal record is clean
They will check!
HC will report institutional actions only if:
… It resulted in suspension in past
… You are currently on probation
All other information is destroyed at graduation
Schools will ask you to report all violations
Use the alumni database to contact alumni at schools you are considering or were asked for interviews