Selecting a Medical School
Now that you have completed your self-assessment and decided to apply to medical school, how should you choose where to apply? Programs vary significantly in their approaches to teaching medicine, the research faculty conduct, and their cost. Before looking at specific schools and programs, consider which factors are most important to you when selecting schools to which you will apply. Assessing your desires first will help you identify those programs that best match your needs and professional interest. Please also see Tip Guide – Selecting a Medical School for additional advice.
Application Strategy
To maximize your chance of acceptance to one or more medical schools, it is critical to think strategically and practically about the list of schools to which you apply.- Be sure to research, consider and apply to a broad range of schools, including your state schools! All schools are very competitive and will give you the training required to practice medicine.
- Do your homework to determine your competitiveness as an applicant. Select only a few schools at which admission may be a long shot and more schools at which acceptance is more realistic.
- Determine if any of the schools in which you are interested consider state residency as a criteria for admission. Check carefully to see if you meet their residency requirements. Applying to several schools for which you do not meet the residency requirement is not a good strategy.
- Speak with the Preprofessional Advising Staff and your prehealth advisor for more guidance.
- Apply only to schools that you would actually attend if accepted.
Evaluation Criteria
Academic Program/Curriculum
- When clinical experience begins – Some schools structure the curriculum such that students begin their clinical experience in the second year, whereas others may begin in the third year.
- Medical school courses required and when taken - Programs vary in the number of credit hours students must complete.
- Electives - Certain programs offer more flexibility in their curriculum than others.
- Joint Degree Programs - Many schools offer joint degree programs where students can obtain an M.D. in conjunction with a Ph.D., J.D., M.B.A., or other degrees.
- Methods of instruction and evaluation - Grading systems can vary from letter grades to satisfactory/unsatisfactory, or pass/fail/pass with honors scales for evaluating student performance.
Faculty/Institution
- Specialties - Programs may have reputations for strength in particular areas.
- Research - Investigate faculty research to determine what interests you and what research opportunities may be available for medical students to pursue.
Student Population
- Number of students - How large are the lectures, lab groups, etc.?
- Student-to-faculty ratio - In-coming class size ranges on average from 80-150 students.
- Attitude of students - Use Alumni ICAN to obtain names of students to contact, attend panel presentations, and speak directly to current students to develop a feel for students' attitude.
- Diversity - Ethnicity, gender, age, state of residency.
Campus Life
- Academic facilities - Classrooms, research laboratories, libraries, study halls.
- Housing - Is it provided? Guaranteed? What are student impressions?
- Non-academic facilities - Athletic, Career Services - condition of facilities and investigate if utilized by students.
- Student Involvement – Are there extra-curricular opportunities to pursue on-campus or in the neighboring area (e.g., student activities, clubs/organizations, volunteer programs)? Will you have time to pursue these opportunities?
- Student Support Services – What, if any, resources exist to assist you as a student? Are there academic support and mental health resources available for your use?
Geographic Location
- Hospital affiliations - How many hospitals is the medical school associated with and what type of communities do they serve.
- Opportunities to study temporarily elsewhere or internationally.
- In-state vs. Out-of-state considerations - What is the likelihood of acceptance at in-state institutions, cost differences?
- Neighborhood - Crime rate, size of community, rural, suburban, urban?
- Climate
Cost and Financial Aid
- Tuition and Fees (in-state vs. out-of-state tuition, private vs. public)
- Books and Supplies.
- Living Expenses (rent, health insurance, utilities, food, cost-of-living in location of medical school)
- Forms of financial assistance offered for attending medical school- Research what types of loans and grants are available.
- Fee assistance program for AMCAS and MCAT. ( http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/fap/start.htm)
Additional Considerations
- Size of the program - affects competitiveness of admission.
- Your chances of acceptance - Premedical Data for MIT Students & U.S. News and World Report Medical School Rankings
- The placement of their graduates and what they study. Focus of the program - Does the school prepare students to practice medicine, conduct research, etc.
- Early Decision Program
- Joint Degree Programs – Many schools offer joint degree programs that allow students to obtain an MD and another degree in conjunction. Joint degree programs typically require two separate applications, one to the medical program and one to the other. Applicants not accepted into a school's joint degree programs are usually still eligible for admission to the medical school.
- Consider the time commitment - joint degrees programs average 7-8 years in length.
- Deferral Policies - Only some schools offer deferral of enrollment. If you anticipate deferring, explore whether the schools that you apply to offer deferral and under what circumstances.
Resources
- Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR)
Distributed by the AAMC, this guide to all U.S. and Canadian medical schools provides detailed information on application procedures and deadlines, school selection factors such as MCAT and GPA data, class profiles, costs and financial aid options, dual degree options, graduates' specialty choices and more. A copy of this resource is available for your review in the Careers Office (12-170) or for purchase through the AAMC.
- AAMC Curriculum Directory
The AAMC's Curriculum Directory provides a comprehensive description of medical student education programs at the 125 U.S. and 16 Canadian medical schools. It includes information on curriculum characteristics and current trends and innovations of interest to applicants, faculty and deans. This updated online directory enables searches for instructional and curricular innovations, grading intervals, required courses and clerkships, and combined degree programs.
- Medical School Marketing Materials
Read through individual schools' marketing materials such as their website, printed brochures, etc. Materials for many medical schools can be found in the file cabinet that is located in the waiting area of the MIT Careers Office or you may request materials from school admissions offices. Be sure to review each school's mission and vision statements to determine if your values and interest match the school's stated values and goals.
- Medical School Visits to MIT
During the academic year, medical school representatives will occasionally visit MIT to speak with prospective medical school applicants. Attending these information sessions offers a great opportunity to learn about a school and ask questions to an admissions representative. Visit the MIT Careers Office online events calendar at http://careers.mit.edu for the most up-to-date information about these visits.
- Medical School Locator for MIT Applicants
Created using MIT student data provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), this locator is a tool to help you identify your Reach, Competitive, and "Safety" schools based on your GPA and MCAT scores only. This matrix is based on only MIT applicants (undergraduates, graduate students, and alums) and only includes schools that accepted 5 or more MIT candidates. Due to the importance of all aspects of your application (exploration, activities, grades/scores, letters, timing, etc.), you must meet with a staff member to receive the locator and discuss an application strategy best suited to your applications merits. This locator is not available online or via e-mail, and should only be used in conjunction with other school selection resources. To schedule an appointment with a preprofessional staff member, please call the Careers Office at 617-253-4733.
- Health Professions Student Surveys *New Resource*
These surveys include information from MIT alumni who are currently students in health profession programs. Their responses will assist you in gathering information about specific health profession programs, help you better prepare for the application cycle, and allow you to become informed for the school selection process. Please note that, for security and confidentiality purposes, these surveys are MIT certificate protected and can only be accessed from an MIT computer: https://web.mit.edu/career/www/preprof/protected/ . If you are interested in viewing these documents, but are not a current student, please contact a member of our staff.
- Campus Visit
Though most medical school applicants will not be able to visit every school to which they apply before their interview, visiting a few medical school campuses may help give you an idea of what you desire in a medical school program. Speak with current students and faculty while on campus. Alternatively, some school websites offer an online virtual tour of the campus to give you a sense of the campus's physical facilities.
- Institute Career Assistance Network (ICAN)
ICAN can help you identify MIT alumni who are currently enrolled in medical school programs. Contacting these individuals for in-person or telephone informational interviews will allow you to learn about a school from the perspective of the student. Ask questions about what they liked and disliked about the curriculum, extra-curricular opportunities, location, campus and more! To access ICAN, visit MIT Alumni Association website at http://alum.mit.edu .
- Minority Student Opportunities in U.S. Medical Schools (MSOUSMS):
This publication provides up-to-date information and descriptions of programs designed to provide opportunities for racial/ethnic groups underrepresented in medical education to pursue careers in medicine. The information in this book is supplied by individual medical schools in response to a questionnaire from the AAMC Division of Community and Minority Programs. For most school entries, the narrative descriptions cover the following topic areas: (1) Recruitment, (2) Admissions, (3) Academic Support Programs, (4) Enrichment Programs, (5) Student Financial Assistance, (6) Educational Partnerships, and (7) Other Pertinent Information.
Deciding Which School To Attend
Now that you have finished applying and have heard back from schools, how do you select the medical school to attend? Follow these steps to ensure that you choose the school that best fits your needs and interests:
- Visit the schools that you have not yet seen. Speak with current students and faculty about the strengths and weaknesses of the program . Also spend time exploring the areas surrounding the campus to determine whether the school is in a location in which you would be happy living for the next several years.
- Use ICAN to locate and contact alumni of MIT and the medical school to ask them about their experiences at that school .
- Discuss your thoughts with your premed advisor, Preprofessional Advising staff, faculty, friends and family, or other individuals that you feel know you well.
- Consider each school initially without regard for its cost. Determine which most appeals to you academically, professionally, and geographically.
- When does patient contact begin?
- What teaching methods are used?
- Problem-based or seminar/lecture-based?
- Does the program emphasize your professional goals, prepare students for academia or practice?
- Now examine the cost and financial aid opportunities for your top choice schools.
- Follow your gut instinct. How does the general student and faculty culture make you feel?
If the deadline to notify a school of your decision is approaching and you have not heard from all of your schools, contact the office of admissions at those schools to inquire about the status of your application. It cannot hurt to be proactive and inform them of the position that you are in.
If you feel it is necessary, you may also consider contacting the school to which you have been accepted and request an extension on the deadline for your decision.
Remember: By May 15th, you must withdraw all but one deposit from the medical schools to which you were accepted. Notify these schools of your decision professionally and kindly by phone, e-mail, or through a letter by May 15th. For more information on accepting school offers please review the AAMC guidelines.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 08 at 04:58:27 PM EDT.
