Applying to Medical School

• Overview
• Submit Your Application As Soon As Possible!
• Plan Ahead Before You Begin Your Application
• The Nuts and Bolts of the AMCAS Application
• Completing the AMCAS Application
• Secondary/ Supplementary Applications
• Miscellaneous Application Tips

• Every person who applies will have strengths and weaknesses. But it's how you present your strengths and weaknesses that counts. The key to presenting yourself in the best possible way on the AMCAS is organization – carefully planning a coherent presentation from beginning to end and paying attention to every detail in between.
• E-mail will be your primary mode of communication with AMCAS, so make sure you keep your e-mail address up to date at all times. You can change it as often as necessary on your web application.
• Admissions officers are amazed at how many applicants simply refuse to follow directions. Don't think that you're an exception to the rule. If the application asks for X, given them X, not Y.
• It really does pay to go to the trouble to apply early, particularly in the era of rolling admissions. If you delay and submit you applications late in the season, schools may have no openings left.
• Read directions and make sure you are familiar with your responsibilities as an applicant and all applicable rules/regulations. 
• Triple check you application for spelling errors. 
• Check for accidental contradictions. 
• Prioritize all lists. When you're asked to list your honors and awards, don't begin with fraternity social chairman and end with Phi Beta Kappa. Let the admissions committee know that you realize what's important – always list significant scholastic accomplishments first.
• Account for all your time. If you've been away from school for longer than a semester, didn't enter college directly from high school, have been out of college for some time, or had other breaks in your education, be sure that your application shows what you were doing during that period. Don't leave gaps.
• Don't overdo listing extracurricular activities. Don't list every activity you've ever participated in. Select the most significant and, if necessary, explain them. Admissions officers are suspicious of people who list 25 time-consuming extracurriculars and yet still manage to attend college.
• Don't mention high school activities or honors. Unless there's something very unusual or spectacular about your high school background, don't mention it. However, do list health-related work or volunteering.
• Clear up any ambiguities.
• The medical school application process ordinarily takes a full year. If you apply in June 2010, you may still be waiting for decisions in June 2011. Do not get frustrated or discouraged. The process is slow, deliberate, and out of your control. Buckle up and get ready for a long ride!
• Be honest and don't exaggerate.
• Early Decision plans are available at many schools but are appropriate only in exceptional cases.  Unlike the undergraduate admissions process, which rewards your willingness to commit early to one school, the medical schools offer no preference to ED applicants. If you apply ED to one school, you cannot apply to other schools until October—when you have a decision from the ED school—putting you at a disadvantage and very late in the process.