Medical School: Application Process

US medical schools admit students once a year in the Fall.

Applications are submitted 12-15 months before the desired medical school enrollment date.  However, the timing depends on when you will complete your degree and the necessary premedical coursework (and successfully take the MCAT). All degrees must be posted to your transcript prior to starting medical school, and the timing is sensitive.

While applying early in the cycle has advantages, the best time for you to apply is when your application is the best it can be.

Medical schools requirements vary from school to school. Research schools early for specific information on their requirements.

Before any submitting application, have people with an unbiased eye go over each entire application to catch any errors. Your PreProfessional advisor is happy to do this for you.

Medical School Application process includes 5 main components

1. The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
2. Primary Application
3. Letters of Recommendation
4. Secondary Applications
5. Interviews

Follow social media of programs of your interest, visit their website, attend webinars, and visit their campus if possible.

Choose schools that are of serious interest to you, but give your list enough variety to maximize your chances for admission.

Types of Schools to Consider

Always apply to schools that you would actually want to attend! DO YOUR RESEARCH.

• one or two “reach” schools where your GPA and MCAT might be on the low end
• at least one to two solid "back-up" schools at which your chances are very good
• several school where you are likely competitive, but in the middle of the pack

On average, students apply to 12- 15 schools. You can find a list of medical schools and their requirement on the AAMC website. 

Assess your credentials realistically and give your school selection careful thought. You can also refer to our statistics for MD and DO schools. 

• Size of School and size of individual classes.
• Location and environment: Do you prefer a large metropolitan area or a smaller city atmosphere? What about surrounding area, quality of life, etc.?
• Simulation labs and other facilities--quality of simulation labs, tutoring and other academic support services, adequate staff, study/meeting space, open hours, etc.
• General “personality” of school--what are your impressions from their faculty representatives you meet?  Are you looking for an intense, more competitive environment or more of a community feeling?
• Special interest areas: combined degree programs; specialized courses, clinical programs, publications or student organizations in your area of interest; early decision program availability, early residency match, etc.
• Student/faculty ratio.
• Student body: How do you fit in with GPA and standardized test score averages of students previously admitted? How balanced and diverse is the student body? How is the student morale? Do students have input in operation of school?
• Faculty diversity: Are they largely all from the same background or relatively diverse with respect to race, creed, gender? Are they well-balanced in educational experiences or only from the same School or schools? What is the extent of their research and professional activities? 
• Faculty-student relationships: Are faculty accessible and committed to teaching? Is there an “open door” policy?
• Opportunities for clinical programs, research, international clinical rotations, student-run free clinics etc.
• What student support programs are available? If applicable, what minority or disabled student services are available?
• What placement services are offered for summer research opportunities?
• What assistance is offered to help you decide your residency options?
• What are the board certification exam passage rates?
• Tuition costs: You cannot ignore the cost, but neither can you use it as your only criterion. Consider the cost and potential indebtedness along with the other factors, and make sure you are choosing the right schools for the right reasons.

The MCAT is administered in January, and March through September. Taking the exam by spring will enable you to apply earlier. September is the last MCAT accepted by many schools for the following Fall’s entering class.

The MCAT is divided into four multiple choice sections:

• Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
• Chemical and Physical Foundations of Living Systems
• Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior
• Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills

You can obtain the most updated information on the AAMC website.

CASPer

Medical schools incorporate a variety of tools in their assessment in order to gather a holistic view of their applicants, to make sure they are not only academically capable but also possess the characteristics of someone who will likely succeed on the job. One such tool that is used by a few medical schools is CASPer®, which is a situational judgement test designed to assess how an individual will behave in certain situations.

CASPer® assesses for 10 characteristics: Collaboration, Communication, Empathy, Equity, Ethics, Motivation, Problem Solving, Professionalism, Resilience, and Self Awareness.

It is a 60-90 minute virtually proctored assessment, made up of 12 sections. Each section contains a video-based or word-based scenario and three open-ended questions. Test takers have five minutes to type their responses to all three questions. 

Further information is on the CASPer Website.

AAMC PREview Exam

Association of American Medical Colleges developed the PREview Exam (formerly SJT) for US medical schools to measure medical school applicants' competencies based on AAMC PreProfessional Competencies. 

AAMC PREview is 75 minutes and is scored from 1 (low) – 9 (high). 

For more information and preparation resources, visit AAMC PREview.

Primary Applications are processed through a central processing services and are sent to every school affiliated with that service. There are three centralized application services processing primary applications for US medical schools.

1. AMCAS:for applying to MD Medical Schools
2. AACOMAS: for applying to DO Medical Schools
3. TMDSAS:for applying to schools in the University of Texas system

These services are very similar, but not identical. They open online in early May each year to allow applicants to start building applications, and begin accepting submissions on or around June 1st.  Deadlines vary between services and also by school and range from October-March.

The information you will be asked to provide is very similar, although the way it is organized in different ways. READ ALL INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY!

All three application services will require:

• Your MCAT score
• A list of all college classes taken, as well as official transcripts from each college where you have earned credit.
• A list and descriptions of your activities since graduating from high school
• A personal statement outlining your motivation for pursuing a career as a physician
• Letters of recommendations

NOTE: To help us advise other students, we would appreciate it if you would release your statistical information from your applications to the Health Professions Advisor when prompted. This information will always be kept confidential.

PreMed Application Workshops:

Recorded presentation

Presentation slides

The personal essay is about you and your motivation for pursuing a career as a physician. Remember, why you want to be a physician is different from how you were inspired to become one. Describe your current passion for the field with specific examples from recent experiences. Try to choose a theme rather than random thoughts. The primary application activities section provides a list of accomplishments. Your personal essay is an opportunity to provide additional, more in-depth information.

Remember:  your audience is smarter, has more medical knowledge, and knows what is like to be a physician. Don’t try to impress them with your knowledge of the field.

Get feedback! Have 3 or 4 people you can trust to be honest with you (professor, doctor, medical student, parent, advisor, Writing Center, tutor, etc.) read your essay and offer feedback.  Do not ask too many people to read it. Having too many opinions can become confusing.

Use our Personal Statement Guide for more information.

Letters of Recommendation (LOR)

Letters  of recommendation are extremely important for your medical school application!  This is one of the few pieces of your application that is out of your control, as you are not the writer.  It is critical that you get LORs from people who know you well enough to write not a good letter, but an excellent letter of recommendation.  It is not ever about how well you know them... it's about how well they know you! 

Build relationships with your faculty, supervisors, mentors, etc... EARLY.  Beyond building these relationships, it's also important that you maintain these relationships, because you need to request letters the year that you apply; not the year that you take the class, volunteer, etc.  

Requirements for letters vary between schools, so research schools early and know what you need. Most schools require 3 or 4 letters. 

Typical letter types that will be requested: science professor (BCPM), non-science professor or 2nd science professor, mentor letter (usually from a supervisor from research, patient exposure, service to the community, or employment).  PLAN AHEAD.

Requesting LORs

Committee Letter Packet

The PreProfessional Advising Office  does not provide committee letters for students.  There are several reasons for this, the primary being that we don’t know students well enough!  Applicants should be able to get much stronger letters from those who actually know them well enough to write an excellent letter of recommendation.  If a school requires a committee letter, contact them directly to determine an acceptable alternate letter.

Requesting LORs

• Ask if potential writers if they feel capable of writing a supportive letter. If anyone is hesitant, you should probably try someone else.
• Get business cards with your recommenders’ contact information.
• Ask if recommenders would welcome any written background material. You could include a brief biographical sketch or resume, your interests and activities, career goals, and motivation toward your intended profession. You could also include a snapshot, a copy of a paper or assignment from their class, or transcript.
• For recommenders who are unsure of how to write a good letter, the PPA office provides a Guidelines for Letter Writers.
• Always give recommenders ample time. Two to three weeks at a minimum. Follow up to make sure that your letters have been sent.
• Send thank you notes.
• For more detailed information, check out our “How To” Guide. 

Submitting Letters of Recommendation (LOR)

We recommend students begin talking to letter writers in the early spring semester of they year the student wishes to apply.  Plant the seed early; communicate with your letter writers  about your and expectations.  Although LORs are due at the time of secondary applications, do not delay.  We recommend you consider getting your LORs submitted in early summer. 

All three application services have a letter of recommendation  service that allow you to submit your letters through them and have them distributed to all schools to which you have applied. However, application services do not share letters: Be sure to plan ahead regarding where to have your letters sent.

• Applicants who plan to apply only to AMCAS, AACOMAS, or TDMSAS affiliated medical schools most should take advantage of the Letter Service provided by those systems.
• If applying to multiple application services (both MD and DO schools,  MD and TMDSAS, etc.), unaffiliated schools, or an international program, it is easiest to subscribe to a service like Interfolio.com which allows you to collect all your letters in one place and have them sent to each application service.

Once medical schools receive your Primary Application, they will send out Secondary Applications and request your Letters of Recommendation from the Application Service they use. You will generally have a month to complete them. These are specific to each school, and vary in length and structure, but often require one or more additional essay, or ask you to list certain experiences in a specific format. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY.

Some Schools send Secondary Applications to every student who submitted a Primary Application. Other schools will screen Primary Applications first and only send Secondary Applications to students who make the cut.

Secondary Applications usually have a fee attached, so it is a good idea to reevaluate your list of schools at this point. If you have changed your mind about applying to a school, you do not have to complete their Secondary Application.

The final state of the application process is the interview. If you receive an invitation for an interview, that is an indication that a schools has decided that you are a qualified applicant and they want to get to know you better.  Since the COVID pandemic, the vast majority (if not all) medical schools will host their interviews virutally.  Your interview day may consist of some or all of the following: interviews, written essays, opportunities to meet students and faculty, and more.

Interviews can take many forms, so it is important to research your schools and be prepared for each kind. The PreProfessional Advising office can help you with preparation tips and practicing your interviewing skills.

The most common types of interviews are:

• 1:1 interview—Usually one or two 30-45 minutes interviews
• Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)— 5-10 rooms with a different ethical/situational prompt or scenario. You are typically given 2 minutes to think about the prompt before entering the interview space, and 5-8 minutes to respond to the prompt and any follow up questions.
• Group interview—Either one applicant interviewed by several interviewers, or in a group of applicants interviewed by one or more interviewer.

 

Mock Interviews Offered Through PPA

The PreProfessional Advising Office offers mock interviews for current and former University of Utah students in two ways: traditional one-on-one or mock MMI.  We will only offer these services in the fall semester for students who have already been invited to interview (for the mock MMIs, those who have at least submitted their secondary applications will be considered, but preference will be for those with an interview invitation). 

Students must choose between participating in a traditional interview or MMI.

We will not allow students to participate in both a traditional and MMI. 

 

Traditional Interviews

• Our tranditional mock interviews are one hour long.  The first half will consisit of the actual interview and the second half consists of the advisor providing verbal feedback.
• To schedule a traditional mock interview, please call our office at 801.581.5744 to have our reception team schedule this appointment.  Students cannot schedule these mock interviews online; they must call.  If a student schedules a regular 45-minute appointment online, the advisor will not conduct the mock interview. 

 

Mock MMIs (premed only)

PPA offers multiple mock MMIs in the fall semester.  Current medical school applicants are highly encouraged to participate in these interviews

Only those who are current or former University of Utah students will be allowed to participate.

• Six spots will be available per interview, and is first come, first served.  Preference is given to  students with upcoming interviews.
• We will contact you if you have been selected to participate.  All virtual interviews will be held via zoom.
• Due to high demand, we will have a wait list.  If you are selected for the wait list, we will contact you if an interview slot opens.
• Please sign-up for the PPA Mock MMIs on our events page.