Applying to medical, veterinary dental (and other) schools.

1. Applying to medical, veterinary dental (and other) schools. David M. Gardner Ph.D. Dean of Pre-Health Programs March 2011

2. Everything you always wanted to know about…. • Timetables • What are schools looking for? • How to choose programs. • How to put together a great application. • How to submit that great application. • Some other important stuff….

3. Application calendar overview To enter school in August 2012: • Spring 11 Entrance Exams • May - June 11 Application Services open • August 11 Secondary applications • October 11 First deadlines & Interviews • January 12 Final deadlines

4. What are schools looking for?

5. Is there a correlation between MCAT score and GPA (and admission)?

6. In 2009 and 2010, MHC students went to: Dartmouth Vermont Stony Brook Kansas Thomas Jefferson Tufts Johns Hopkins UMASS Buffalo Indiana Penn Harvard Michigan State Duke U. Washington UCSF Cornell Texas A&M Mass General NYCOM B.U. U.C. Davis Penn State Case Western UNECOM South Carolina Washington University Yale UCONN Vanderbilt Mt. Sinai Midwestern St. Georges Toledo Chicago Minnesota Virginia Commonwealth Emory George Washington Auburn U. Maryland Average GPA of accepted students: 3.67 Clinical experience ranged from 75 to 1200 hours

7. Identifying schools you’ll apply to • Curriculum • Teaching methods • Specialties • Affiliations (hospitals, research, service programs) • Timing of clinical experience • Average entering GPA, test scores • Location, size, demographics, cost of living • Residencies • Tuition, financial aid • Reputation

8. Your Application

9. The MHC Pre-Application and Your Advising File • Alerts your advisor and the Committee to your intent to apply. • Helps get you organized. • File contents (accessible to advisor): • Pre-application • Resume • Transcripts • Letters

10. Things your application should reflect • Every aspect of your qualifications • Solid, consistent performance • Exceptional traits, personal experiences • That you have chosen this career through a thoughtful, fully-informed process • Enthusiasm, motivation, professionalism • Exquisite attention to detail

11. The main parts of your application • Biographical data • “Resume” section • Exam scores • Official transcripts • Essay(s) • Recommendation letters • Interview

12. How it all fits together Test Scores

13. Biographical Data – self explanatory • Resume Section – blocks to provide dates, locations and brief descriptions of work, internships, activities, etc. • Exam scores – MCAT, DAT internally reported through application service and attached to your primary application. GRE must be sent from ETS to schools. • Transcripts – Official transcripts from every institution sent directly to application service (or to school if not using application service)

14. Essays • The most personal (and personalized) part of your application package • Your best chance (other than the interview) to stand out from the pack • Catch the reader’s attention • Tell a compelling, original story • Highlight pertinent biography, but don’t be redundant • Make your essay memorable

15. Recommendations • Usually three individual, one committee • Individual: • Professors (1° science) who know you well • Research mentors • Clinical internship mentors • Committee: • Authored by your Health Professions Advisor on behalf of the Committee, draws from individual letters, scores, transcripts

16. Recommendations • All of your letters should go directly to your account at Interfoliohttp://www.interfolio.com/ $19.00 for one year $39.90 for three years $57.00 for five years • Recommenders can submit electronically or in hard copy • We pull copies back into your file for your advisor’s reference • Once your individual letters are all in, you must formally request your committee letter • You send letter packages from Interfolio to the schools (or to the centralized application service)

17. Interviews • Individual or Group…Open file or Blind, some schools are now doing “Multiple Mini Interviews” • Tours, “informal” aspects of the day, insider information and the duality of the acceptance decision • Be prepared: • Know as much as you can about their program • Know your application inside and out • Have questions for them • Practice beforehand • Dress properly • Write a thank-you note

18. Entrance Exams • What do the schools require? • Know about the contents of the exams • Complete courses first! • Preparation • Self-study • On-line practice • Commercial prep courses • Scheduling • Opportunity to re-take

19. Entrance Exams • Medical School, Osteopathic Medical School: MCAT Register at www.aamc.org • Dental School: DAT Register at http://www.adea.org/ • Veterinary, Nursing, Public Health: GRE (usually) Register at www.ets.org • Foreign students may need to submit TOEFL scores

20. On-line Application Services • American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) • American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS) • Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) • Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) • School of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS) • Pharmacy College Application Service (PHARMCAS) • Physical Therapy College Application Service (PTCAS) • Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) Links to all can be found at: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/prehealth/health_professions.html NOT ALL PROGRAMS USE THE CENTRALIZED SERVICES!

21. American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) • http://www.aamc.org/ • Available ~ May 5, 2011 • Submit in early June • $160, plus $31 per school

22. American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS) • https://aacomas.aacom.org/ • Accepting Applications ~ May 5, 2011 • $155 and up (sliding scale)

23. Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) • http://www.adea.org/ • Opens June 1, 2011 • $195, plus $60 per school (sliding scale)

24. Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) • http://aavmc.org/vmcas/vmcas.htm • Opens early June 2011 • $135 and up (sliding scale)

25. Schools of Public health Application Service (SOPHAS) • http://www.sophas.org/index.cfm • Open continuously, but with a black-out period typically in August & September • $95 and up (sliding scale)

26. These should be obvious……. • Professionalism • Financial records • Background checks