that every year, more and more premeds apply to medical school and yet the number of first-year

positions stays relatively the same. If your dream is to become a doctor, you will have

to avoid the pitfalls that so many premeds fall into – and the first step is understanding

what those pitfalls are.

Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com

According to the AAMC, over 62,000 applicants applied during the 2021-2022 application cycle

and only 23,000 matriculated. That’s an acceptance rate of only 37% and a decrease

of about 5% compared to last year. If you’re a premed just starting your future doctor

journey, these can be worrisome statistics.

There is a silver lining though. Getting into medical school isn’t like winning the lottery.

There are steps you can take and mistakes you can avoid that will help ensure acceptance,

even when the odds seem stacked against you.

Here are 5 reasons why premeds fail to get into medical school and what you can do to

avoid them.

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room.

The number one reason why most premeds fail to get into medical school is suboptimal hard

components. This means a low GPA and/or a low MCAT score.

Now I already know what some of you are going to say in the comments. If you browse Reddit

or Student Doctor Network long enough, you are bound to come across a post that says,

“I got into medical school with a 2.0 GPA and a 495 MCAT.” Or maybe one that says,

“I have a 4.0 GPA and a 528 MCAT and didn’t get into any medical schools.”

After reading a few of these you might start to think that having a good GPA and MCAT are

not that important for your medical school admissions. Not quite.

It’s true, some premeds get into medical school with low GPAs and low MCAT scores.

The converse is true too. A killer GPA and MCAT is no guarantee of acceptance either.

These individuals are the exception though, not the rule, and there are other factors

at play that determine one’s competitiveness as an applicant.

The reality is that if you have a high GPA and a high MCAT, objectively, you are more

likely to get into medical school than if you have a low GPA and a low MCAT.

This isn’t just my opinion either. If you look at the data from the AAMC, higher GPA

and MCAT scores are correlated with higher medical school acceptance rates. To convince

yourself otherwise is foolish and will only hurt your chances of getting into medical

school.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have a low GPA or MCAT, the good news

is that there is still hope. You don’t have to give up on your dreams of becoming a doctor.

There are students who have been in your exact situation who have still gotten into excellent

medical schools and gone on to become wonderful doctors.

You do have to be realistic with your chances though. Realize that if you have low numbers,

you are going to have to work hard to compensate. You’ll either have to improve these metrics

or shine in other aspects of your application to have a realistic chance of a medical school

acceptance.

The next reason that premeds fail to get into medical school is that they adopt a checkbox

mentality.

They google “medical school application requirements” and use the search results

as a sort of checklist.

Okay, I need a 3.7 GPA - check. I need a 511 MCAT score - check. I need 200 hours of volunteer

work - check. And I need 200 hours of research experience - check.

They believe that if they can just complete every item on the checklist then they’ll

be guaranteed acceptance. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.

Although there are certainly worse ways to approach getting into medical school, the

problem with the checkbox approach is that you don’t end up pushing yourself beyond

the typical medical school applicant. As a result, you become the typical, cookie-cutter

applicant - indistinguishable from the tens of thousands of other premeds whose applications

look nearly identical.

If you set your sights on completing the bare minimum, then that’s all you’ll ever achieve.

To truly maximize your chances, you need to push yourself beyond the typical medical

school applicant.

Instead of checking boxes, you need to craft a compelling narrative. You do this by pursuing

opportunities that you are passionate about, which can sometimes mean diving deep into

your interests outside of medicine.

If you’re passionate about cycling or swimming, for instance, lean into that. If you’re

interested in making a meaningful change toward a social cause you care deeply about, lean

into that. Medical schools don’t just want applicants that excel academically and clinically,

they want well-rounded applicants who can bring a new and interesting perspective to

their medical school.

Deeper experiences also show commitment and perseverance - two qualities that are necessary

for any successful medical student. Becoming a doctor is a long, arduous road, and admissions

committees need to see that you have the capacity to follow through on longer-term goals.

Reason three that premeds fail to get into medical school is that they either don’t

apply to the right schools, or they don’t apply to enough schools.

When choosing where to apply, there are a variety of factors that you need to consider.

There are the obvious ones, like average GPA and MCAT of matriculants, but also things

like location, class size, and mission statement that you need to consider as well.

Take location for instance. Many medical schools receive funding from the state government

and tend to heavily favor in-state applicants. If you apply mainly to out-of-state schools

with low out-of-state acceptance rates, you are setting yourself up for failure. By prioritizing

and applying to your in-state schools, you can sometimes improve your odds by orders

of magnitude.

Next is class size. A school that has fifty spots available is often going to be a lot

more selective than a school that has two hundred and fifty spots available.

Also, consider the mission statement of the schools that you’re applying to. If a particular

program heavily prioritizes research and you have little to no research experience, it

may not be worthwhile to apply to that school. Conversely, if they’re heavily focused on

primary care and you’re leaning towards neurosurgery, it might not be the best possible

fit.

In addition to applying to the right schools, you also need to make sure that you’re applying

to the right number of schools.

There is an asymmetric risk associated with the number of schools you apply to. The main

risk of applying to too many schools is losing money, whereas the main risk of not applying

to enough schools is not getting into medical school that year.

Even if you look at things strictly from a financial perspective, you’re still likely

to come out ahead by applying to more schools. Each application cycle to medical school is

an expensive ordeal, and you want to ideally only apply once.

Additionally, every year that you don’t get into medical school is not just another

year spent in training, but it’s also another year that you miss out on receiving an attending’s

salary. So, spending an extra thousand dollars now can end up saving you hundreds of thousands

of dollars in missed salary down the road.

Even if you’re a strong applicant, it’s still in your best interest to apply to a

large number of schools because it puts you in a position of optionality and power. I

sent out applications to close to 40 medical schools, had over 20 interview invites, and

was able to gain multiple acceptances. This gave me the power to choose between schools,

pick the one that was the best fit, and leverage my multiple acceptances to get almost all

the cost of medical school covered for free.

The fourth reason that premeds fail to get into medical school is that they don’t prepare

enough for their interviews.

It doesn’t matter if you have a 4.0 GPA, a perfect 528 MCAT, and glowing letters of

recommendation. A bad interview can make or break your entire application.

Remember, interviews are one of the last obstacles standing between you and medical school acceptance,

so it’s vital that you take the time to prepare adequately.

Start by familiarizing yourself with the most common interview questions. Plan out what

you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it.

But keep in mind, you want your response to be well thought out while still sounding conversational.

You don’t want to come off like you’re just reciting a canned response.

Next, know your application inside and out. Everything you put on your application is

fair game for an interviewer to ask about. This is especially important if you’re applying

to a highly ranked research institution. Trust me, they will ask you about your research

extensively, and not being an expert on it will get your application in the rejection

pile.

Next, learn about the schools that you are interviewing at. Read about their curriculum,

their research interests, their student groups, and what other opportunities they offer.

If possible, try to pick out one or two unique aspects about each program, then sell these

aspects as reasons why that program is a great fit for you. You want to be able to show that

you’ve done your homework and are interested in the unique things that their program has

to offer.

Now, all there is left to do is practice. It’s one thing to plan out what you’re

going to say and do during your interviews, but it’s an entirely different thing to

do it. Start by reciting answers to common questions to yourself. Then move on to practicing

with others and participating in mock interviews.

The best mock interviews are done with doctors or instructors who have served on medical

school admissions committees. They will know firsthand what interviewers are looking for

and what you can do to present the best version of yourself. While your friends or family

or premed advisor can help you sound good, they won’t have the nuanced understanding

of what medical school admissions committees want to hear.

For your medical school mock interview needs, visit MedSchoolInsiders.com. In a Med School

Insiders mock interview, you’ll work with a former admissions committee physician. Together,

our team has conducted thousands of interviews and we know the process inside and out. If

you want to shine on your interviews, visit the link in the description.

The last reason that premeds fail to get into medical school is that they listen to bad

advice.

When trying to figure out how to get into medical school, many premeds will use online

forums like Reddit or Student Doctor Network as their primary source of information. Although

these forums may contain some solid advice from time to time, it’s often buried under

a ton of questionable and even harmful advice. As someone lacking expertise in medical school

admissions, it’s near impossible to sift through and separate the signal from the noise.

Posts on these forums also tend to focus on individual cases instead of overall trends.

What worked for one student may not work for another, so you need to find someone who understands

the overall trends but can also make adjustments on an individual level.

For a more tailored approach, many students will turn to premed advisors at their university

for assistance. Although this may seem to be a step up from online forums, these advisors

usually still lack the knowledge and expertise to maximize your chances of getting into medical

school.

Remember, premed advisors never went to medical school. If you want to hear more about what

I learned firsthand about the world of premed advisors, I have an entire video covering

the juicy details.

When applying to medical school, you want help from trusted experts who can elevate

your application, help you get into your dream school, and even make you so compelling as

an applicant that schools fight over you and try to win you over by covering your tuition

and living expenses.

As you look at resources and companies to work with, seek out those who are actual M.D.

physicians</