Taiwo Ajumobi: What types of activities are highly looked upon? Is it better to work in a lab or volunteer in a hospital?
--what if no access to hospital
Johnathan O’Neal: Hospital shadowings, interviewing medical doctors, doing anything medically related is looked up. If there isn’t a nearby hospital or it is hard to have shadow, any extracurricular activity related towards medicine (i.e. Timmy Foundation, American Blood Drive ) is looked highly upon
TA:Is it better to continuously volunteer in one hospital or switch hospitals often?
JO: There is no preference for variability or consistency concerning hospitals volunteered and/or worked at
TA: Would you consider IUSM to be more research or clinical oriented or balanced? How?
JO:IUSM is more of a clinical based medical school. However recently they have tried to incorporate more research into the school. They recently have a nationally recognized MD/PhD program.
TA:If the GPA is lower than a 3.5 what can someone do to make it up?
JO: Score well on the MCAT as well as have a lot of extracurricular activities. Basically show them that you have a passion for what you want to do. Also, doing well in the interview and providing good knowledgeable answers to their questions is also very beneficial.
TA: Is applying early advantageous or does the time not matter as long as it is turned in before the deadline
JO: Yes and no. Yes because you are able to get your interview done early and your package complete early. Also, there is a possibility that you can find out your results out by October, which is when the first round of acceptance letters go out. However, the waiting period is longer if you don’t get any notice in October and that doesn’t mean that you didn’t get accepted.
TA: What perks do students that are applying that are from Indiana
JO: If a student has a 3.2 cGPA and sGPA as well as a 25 on the MCAT with no score lower than a 7, then they are guaranteed an interview.
TA: What types of scholarships are available for students upon acceptance into program ( let’s assume student has high GPA and/or MCAT score; any full rides?)
JO: There are full ride scholarships available for students. The med school does give scholarships based primarily on merit. Again the financial aid office would be the best assistance for this. Some organizations also give scholarships based on a student’s interest for instance, a student who knows that are interested in practicing medicine in a rural area could get a scholarship from a national organization. However, if that student later on doesn’t in the end practice in a rural area, then he/she has to pay the organization back WITH INTEREST.
TA: If a student is interested in a dual degrees (MD/jD, MD/MPH, etc.) what opportunities/ programs do you have to accommodate that student’s desire
JO: IUSM have 3 dual degree programs: MD/PhD, MD/MBA, and MD/MPH. The MD/PhD is the only dual degree that works with the medical school. The other two degrees, one would have to fill out separate applications into the programs.
TA: Which is better, to have a high GPA (3.9) but not so high MCAT (22) or to have a not so high GPA ( 3.5) but a high MCAT (42)?
JO: Stability is keep. The fluctuation of grades and/or MCAT doesn’t speak too well of a student. In general the GPA is looked at a little bit higher than the MCAT (like 1% difference), because it’s a record of your academic ability whereas the MCAT is just a standardized test that dictates how well prepared you are for medical school compared to students across the nation.
TA: What do you like to see in a personal statement? What are your turn ons and turn offs concerning “the essay”?
JO:A good personal essay has four parts to it. 1. Introduction: why do you want to be a doctor. 2. What are your strengths? 3. What are your weaknesses? 4. How did/do you plan to turn you weaknesses into strengths?
TA: Do you do deferred acceptance? What is it? Who is qualified for it? Pros/Cons?
JO: Yes. Deferred Acceptance is when an applicant that is already accepted into medical school is allowed to not matriculate with his class but defer his admission for 1 or 2 years. This is very rare to get and tends to be given to students doing big community based activities such as Teach for America
TA: Do you do Early Acceptance applications? Who is qualified for it? Pros/Cons? Would you advise in-state students to apply to IUSM under this application program?
JO: Yes. Students that have a cGPA and sGPA of 3.61 and above as well as a MCAT score of a 30 with no individual score lower than an 8, is allowed to apply whether in-state or out-of-state. The advantage of this program, is that 1) application is complete and results are given by September. 2) You are given first choice to which of the 9 campuses you desire to live on whereas other residents will have to “cross their fingers” when selecting their top choices
TA: Can you name some pet peeves and “pet hurrahs” that you tend to see med school applicants write in their applications, say, or do?
JO:Don’t
-lack of honesty on application (trouble with the law and didn’t say it)
--lack of openess (say got a little bit in trouble with the law but background check says otherwise)
--lack or remorse for wrong actions
--if you get published, sending them a thick package with your publications in them instead of a simple notice
come into an interview overly nervous/under prepared
--send more than 1 page personal statement and/or resume
--send 15 recommendation letters when you only need max 5 (min of 3)
Do
--have strong GPA and MCAT (consistency is key)
--be active, do something during your breaks (fall, spring, thanksgiving, winter, AND summer) as well as during the school year
--interview/shadow a variety of doctors
Think before you do something (especially if it’s illegal). It may come back to haunt you during the applications and make you ineligible for med school. Certain misdemeanors cannot be overlooked by med schools for X-number of years making an applicant illegible for acceptance. Felonies are never overlooked
--send updates of what is going on in your life after the interview (particularly an accomplishment, or activity) to the admissions board even after the interview this
1) keeps you in their minds and helps pull out your file for them to consider for acceptance
2) shows that you are trying to meet their expectations and requirements for the med school
3) you are genuinely interested in their medical school
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