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

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

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

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

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, 505.2 overall. Dental school is also becoming increasingly competitive Tufts: 3,700 apps for 195 seats

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.

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 20-25 schools for MD/DO, 10-15 for dental

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

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

Request letter from office Go to website/link in e-mail 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

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

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.

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

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)

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