University of Utah Medical Student's Experience Getting Into Medical School

Guest Post from my Friend Tanner, a Medical Student at University of Utah.  As you read, look for the example of persistence, thoroughness, and  patience throughout the process. Also recognize his determination to make it a matter of prayer and to follow his God's will.

Background

“Everyone has a different experience applying to medical school.  Of course, every applicant's dream is to send in the primary application, be invited to interview, and receive the acceptance letter all within a short period of time.  This definitely was not my experience and after speaking to many classmates, I learned that it was not their experience either.  Although many applicants are accepted by phenomenal medical schools without much struggle, my guess is that there are many many many many many more applicants who battle every single day throughout an application cycle just to get an interview at just one medical school.  This is an extreme comparison, but my point is that the difficulty of getting into medical school is something that the majority of applicants are familiar with. 

For example, GW School of Medicine received more than 13,000 primary applications for matriculation in 2011, but this school only interviews approximately 1,000 applicants each year and of those interviewed, approximately 170 are accepted into the MD program.  This means that about 1.3% of applicants at this school are accepted.  Again, this is an extreme example that doesn’t reflect the range of application/matriculation statistics at every medical school, but regardless, this example does reveal that there are many good applicants that are rejected for one reason or another.

Pre-Med advice

I would encourage anyone who is interested in medicine to explore the profession and apply for medical school acceptance if that person meets minimum requirements for medical school.  I would also straightforwardly point out that applying to medical school is generally not like applying to most of the other graduate/professional programs.  My opinion (discovered by my own experience) is that

the brave phone call to speak with someone of influence,

the personal visit with the dean, and

the extra letter to the admissions committee

don’t give medical school applicants an “in” at any reputable medical school.

There are many applicants who employ these strategies, but I don’t believe many of these things make it past the admission office receptionist.  Showing such initiative may be striking to some graduate programs, but

medical programs are more interested in things that reflect consistency

and long-term accomplishment,

which is why a medical school applicant should begin preparing for application years before applying to medical school.

 Although taking such initiative doesn’t translate into an edge on other applicants, it does lead to a clearer understanding of what is required to make a medical school applicant stronger and more competitive at particular schools.  There is always going to be something more an applicant can do to build his/her resume and in many instances, direct contact with admissions personnel may be prerequisite for tapping into advice or guidance that is not posted online.

University of Utah

I am so fortunate to be part of a medical school class and program that is exactly my right fit!  I attend the University of Utah SOM and here I am surrounded by such good people (classmates, faculty, and patients) that cause me to regularly ask myself, “How did I get so lucky to be here?” or, “Why did I make it here instead of many others who were not offered acceptance, but who had much to offer?”  This questioning motivates me to work as hard as I can to reach my potential not only in the classroom, but also in clinical and community settings.  I am inspired by experiences I have on a regular basis, which are facilitated by the U of U SOM.  There is no other program I would rather be in and there are no other classmates and faculty that I would rather be surrounded by than those here.  This is a feeling that I believe every premedical student can eventually achieve, but maybe not through medical school.

Applying to Medical School

Year One

I applied to medical school two years ago.  I limited myself to MD programs, but I applied to about fifteen schools.  I applied for my “reach” schools, schools that I felt I matched well with, and schools that I thought would quickly accept me.  To make a long story short, I wasn’t invited to interview at any of those schools.  This was hard for me to accept because I had diligently prepared to apply to medical school since 2006.  I believed I was ready!  My credentials seemed to be stronger than those of some premedical students who had been accepted into various programs.  I was confused because I had prepared so diligently, but my expectations for the future were not lining up with reality.  I didn’t let myself get too discouraged and I began searching for ways to not only further build my resume, but to decide if medical school was really worth all of this effort and money.  I job-shadowed physicians like a machine for an entire summer.  I shadowed physicians in about ten different fields of medicine.  I also took several additional classes as a post-baccalaureate student at BYU, which would better prepare me for medical school curriculum.  Job-shadowing and the post-baccalaureate classes were suggestions for improvement made by schools I was most interested in attending, including the U of U.  I simply followed these recommendations, and then applied again the following year. 

Year Two

(July-August)

The second time around, I submitted my primary applications sometime in July 2010, and then completed my secondaries in August, but this time, I only applied to about seven programs, including some DO programs.  I was very realistic about how my resume measured up to the expectations of medical programs and I only applied to the schools that accepted people like me (in terms of research, service, leadership, grades, MCAT score, etc.).  I spent months learning about programs all around the country in order to pick out the few that seem to accept premedical students like me, including the schools that made suggestions for my improvement the previous year. 

(October)

In October, I interviewed at the U of U.  I was excited about and very impressed by the U of U SOM and quickly decided that this was my school of choice.  Then, I entered a drought of not hearing from any medical school for about four and a half months, but during this time, my heart changed.  I had been so bent on medical school.  I wanted it so badly and never seriously considered anything else.  Educational decisions have always been prayerful decisions for me and I began to accept that I had not received any answer through prayer that exclusively led me toward medical school.  I did have experiences, however, that helped me understand that medicine is a profession in line with Heavenly Father’s will for me, but not medicine exclusively.  In other words, I never felt that alternative career options would not allow me to fulfill my purpose in life, support my family, and be happy.

(January)

 In January 2011, I began reading about combined MBA/MHA programs, which have curriculum that sparks many of my interests.  I began studying for the GMAT and preparing my application for these dual degree programs.  I found excitement by looking through a completely different scope.  I took the GMAT after a few weeks of studying and did well enough to be considered by multiple MBA/MHA programs.  I applied and was accepted by the U of U’s MBA/MHA program in February and I was offered a scholarship along with my acceptance.  This was exciting!  I had come to a point where I knew Heavenly Father wanted me to continue on with my education whether that was in medicine or business and I was content with whichever opportunity was in line with Heavenly Father’s will.  I felt in my heart that pursuing an MBA/MHA was right and it was a very good option.  My parents were supportive and my beautiful wife made me feel like a winner regardless of which path I chose.  I was happy and I realized that I hadn’t reached this level of peace until I completely submitted myself to Heavenly Father’s will.  More reliance on Heavenly Father filled my heart with peace.  What a great feeling! 

(March) 

Despite having a good opportunity to pursue an MBA/MHA degree, I still held onto the possibility of being accepted by a medical school.  March 2011 came with quite a bit of news.  At the beginning of March, I was invited to interview at Rocky Vista COM, a quality medical school in a beautiful, family friendly location.  I scheduled the interview during the first week of April.  Then toward the end of March,

I received a letter of acceptance at the U of U SOM—my initial dream-come-true!

I was [also] invited to interview at Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ in April.  All of this happened quickly and it was an exciting time!  The acceptance at the U of U SOM had flipped a switch inside of me that ruled out any other educational option.  I turned down the interview invitations that came from other medical schools, made my deposit at the U of U, and began making plans with my wife to move to Salt Lake City.

Lesson Learned: Patience and Timing

The definition of patience from Preach My Gospel is “the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious.  It is the ability to do God’s will and accept His timing.”  The timing of events in life is interesting and very often divinely orchestrated.  Through my experience applying to medical school, I developed more trust in Heavenly Father.  Trust in Him along with faith in His Son fills my life with peace.  Heavenly Father’s timing is one way He tutors His children to become more like Him and to see things the way He does (Isaiah 55:8-9).  Had the timing of events related to applying to medical school been any different for me, I would have foregone very valuable instruction [that I] will forever be grateful for.  Many of my classmates had very different experiences getting into medical school and a good number of them have applied multiple times.  All my classmates, however, have one thing in common: we know that we are where we are supposed to be.  There is never any reason for a premedical student to believe that rejection by a medical school is a sign of failure.  I think rejection from any professional or graduate program is means of direction—direction by rejection—and a source of motivation to help an individual reach just the right destination.

Anyone who knows Michael also knows that he exemplifies characteristics that every school on the planet wants and expects from its students.  Because of the way someone like Michael is living his life and spreading good, he is entitled to divine direction and he can take comfort in the truth that he will end up exactly where God meant him to be.”