The latest updates from the MD Admissions team.
November 23 – Online Information Session
By Admissions on Nov 07, 2017 An online information session will be held on Thursday, November 23 from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. If you would like to attend an info session but can’t make it in person, we hope one of our online sessions will work with your schedule. Please see our Information Sessions page to register. Permalink | No Comments
MCAT Fee Assistance Program for Canadians
By Admissions on Nov 01, 2017
A new MCAT Fee Assistance Program for Canadians is coming soon. This pilot program will enable Canadian students who demonstrate financial need to receive reduced MCAT scheduling, rescheduling, and cancellation fees. Students will submit financial information to the Association of Faculties of Medicine in Canada (AFMC), who will determine which students are in greatest need of the funds. AFMC will identify these students to the AAMC through their AAMC ID numbers only, so no information will be passed on to the individual medical schools.
We hope this program can bring the MCAT within reach of applicants facing financial barriers. Details are still a bit sparse, but if you are interested in this program, please check out the information posted on the AAMC and AFMC websites. Unfortunately, the Admissions Office does not administer this program and we do not have any additional information beyond what is available on the AAMC and AFMC websites, but we will pass along any updates we receive.
Permalink | No CommentsOctober 20 – Online Information Session
By Admissions on Oct 04, 2017
Our first online information session went well; thank you to all of the participants! Although we could not hold an online session in September, we will be presenting one on Friday, October 20 from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Please see our Information Sessions page to register.
Permalink | No CommentsOnline Information Session
By Admissions on Aug 23, 2017
We are excited to announce that in addition to in-person information sessions, MD Admissions will now offer online information sessions and you are invited to participate! Our first online information session will be on August 30th, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. Similar to our in-person sessions, these hour-long webinars will provide you with some information about the admissions process and will give you the opportunity to interact with admissions staff members. We hope this will give those of you who live far away the chance to attend a session and gather the information you need to apply to our MD Program.
Because this is our first offering, we will host a maximum of 20 participants. More online sessions will be available later in the fall.
If you are interested in attending, please sign up on the Information Sessions page of our website. The information gathered in the registration form is for statistical purposes only; it will help us know who we are reaching and how we can better tailor our sessions to meet participant needs. Your information will not be connected to your application or used for solicitation. Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email. This email will provide you with the link to the webinar and will contain additional information on how to set up your computer for the session. These instructions can also be found on our website on the Information Sessions page.
You do not need a microphone or webcam to connect to the webinar.
We hope to see you online soon!
Permalink | No CommentsWriting Tips: Non-Academic Activities and Employment History
By Admissions on
We recently saw a post on Pre-Med 101 that asked about omitting common punctuation in order to increase word count in the Non-Academic Activities section. The sample provided by the inquirer read something like this: “students&helped” instead of “students and helped.” We respectfully ask that you do not write your Non-Academic Activities and Employment History sections that way. Omitting punctuation significantly reduces the readability of your application. To demonstrate, ifwewroteourbloglikethis, you would have a hard time understanding it. The same rule applies to the Non-Academic and Employment History sections. Also, texting language is not ubiquitous, therefore we recommend against abbreviating your words. Or, you may use AYOR. TY! While we will certainly evaluate your application as best as possible, writing in this manner exhausts evaluators, and makes comprehension more challenging. If necessary, you can use a sparingly placed symbol. However, we would encourage you to spend the time phrasing your entries so that you capture the essence of your role and your primary duties and responsibilities without resorting to such tactics. If necessary, you may use action based sentence fragments like, “Led student group of 50 members,” or “Played board games with seniors.” End each phrase in a period to indicate that the thought or action has concluded.
While we do not deduct points for poorly constructed entries, it is in your best interest to ensure that your application is readable, uses appropriate English grammar, is accurate, and effectively conveys the information and tone you want the Admissions Selection Committee to see. This aspect of the admissions process lets us catch a glimpse of who you are on paper. What do you want us to see? What judgments do you want us to make about you? If you are not sure how you come across, have someone who you respect, and can provide an unbiased opinion, read what you wrote and provide you feedback. We will not be able to do this for you. If you have already submitted your application and included entries written in the manner above, there is nothing that can be done at this point. If you used a few small symbol replacements, please do not worry about it. We will contact you if we have any questions.
Happy writing!
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