Tips on getting into med school

1. Pathways to Medicine:
Applying to Medical School
University of Washington School of Medicine - Spokane
Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Group
Presenters:
Joey Bell (MS1)
Colby Weil-Lonigan (MS1)

2. Welcome!
What is URiM?
Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) refers to an individual hailing from a racial,
ethnic, or other disadvantaged population that is disproportionately represented
within the medical community.
Who Are We?
URiM Spokane is a medical student-led service learning group that aims to recruit,
support, and maintain underrepresented individuals in medicine through
mentorship and seminars.
Our Website: http://cedi-web01.s.uw.edu/urim/

3. Topic Overview
● UWSOM Highlights and Application Details
● AMCAS Application General Overview
● Primary Application:
○ Personal Statement Review
○ Work/Activities Section Review
● Secondary Application:
○ Secondary Essays Review
● Interview Season Review

4. About UWSOM - Highlights
- WWAMI Program (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho)
- Foundations/Preclinical Phase
- Clinical Phase
- Start clinical experiences your first week of medical school
- Systems Blocks
- College Mentors
- Additional programs, such as TRUST (Targeted Rural Underserved Track)

5. Important Details for Applying to UWSOM
-CASPer Test Requirement → “online situational judgement test” → Costs $10 to take and $10 to
distribute to each school. Only good for one application cycle.
-Deadline to submit primary application is ~Oct 15th (Complete ASAP) → AMCAS Fees are $170 to send
to the first school then $40 for each additional school.
-Deadline to submit secondary application is ~ Dec 1st (Ideally complete within 2 weeks) → Fee $35***
-Will need Resident Certification for specific sites (can add one month wait time)
-Submit a minimum of three and up to six letters of recommendation.

6. AMCAS Application General Overview
The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) is the service you use to
distribute your medical school application.
***AMCAS is not used for DO or Texas medical schools
The written portion of the medical school application is done in two parts:
1. The Primary Application → Demographics, Personal Statement, Work/Activities
Sections, MCAT score(s), GPA(s), Schools attended, LORS, etc.
2. The Secondary Application → If a medical school “likes” your Primary, they will
send you additional essay questions to complete. All secondaries vary from school
to school. Complete these as soon as you can!

7. Important Dates for the 2022 Cycle
● AMCAS Application Opens - May 3rd, 2021
● AMCAS Submission Opens - May 27th, 2021 (Aim for this date!)
● Processed Applications Sent to Medical Schools - June 25th, 2021
● Secondaries! June - December (Complete ASAP - 2 weeks max)
● Wait for Interview Invitations ~ October 2021 to February 2022
● Early Decision Deadline is August 1st

8. Things to consider…
The recommended number of medical schools to apply to is ~13-15 schools.
With Primary and Secondary Application Fees, the average cost to apply is ~$2,800.
***This does not account for travel and lodging for interviews***
Tips from medical students:
● Prioritize your school preferences
● Set your budget beforehand
● Apply for Fee Assistance programs through AMCAS and/or your schools of interest
○ https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/applying-medical-school-process/fee-assista
nce-program/
● Use the MSAR

9. Am I Ready to Apply?
When preparing for your medical school
application, you want to make sure you
have a diverse/well-rounded number of
activities that show you are prepared
for, invested in, and interested in
medicine.
How do you do demonstrate this in an
application?
Highlight the 15 Core Competencies

10. What does the primary application look like and include?

11. Identifying Information Section

12. Schools Attended

13. Biographic Information

14. Course Work***
***Time Intensive → Must complete for every course taken at college-level. Thi
will delay your application if it does not match your transcripts.

15. Personal Comments (Statement) Essay
- The MOST important part of your application.
- Prompt: “Why Medicine?”
- Character Limit: 5300

16. How do I get started?
- Consider the most impactful and meaningful experiences that you have had in your
life that made you want to apply to medical school.
- Describe how that experience impacted you and REFLECT on what you learned
about yourself.
- You may have many experiences, but focus on those experiences that you can
speak to most.
- Avoid too much storytelling as you only have 5300 characters.
- Have chronology and a theme, if possible.
- Find a proofreader and editor you trust!
- Start writing now! Make as many drafts as possible until you have a polished piece

17. Work/Activities Section
- In addition to your personal statement, you may write up to 15 short entries that
highlight your other experiences when preparing for medical school
- You have a 700 limit character for each.
- You can choose your top 3 most valuable experiences to expand upon with an
additional 1325 characters.

18. What should I write about?
- These should compliment your personal
statement and should not repeat it.
- Keep the 15 core competencies in mind!
- When considering the categories listed,
do not worry if you don’t have certain
experiences. Write about what you do
have!

19. What do I need to include?

20. Make sure you have a contact and their information*
*Some activities will not have a contact and that is OK. Look on
AMCAS to see how you should denote that on your application.

21. MCAT - UW Specific Information
● MCAT has been made optional for UWSOM for Fall 2022
● The deadline to take the MCAT (if you choose to do so) is September 30, 2021
● If you have already taken the exam, it will be considered by admissions - you can’t
“opt out” of having it reviewed
● Admissions Committee will weigh your cumulative and science GPAs more heavily
if you do not have an MCAT score
Advice
● Consider what would be best for your application - low GPA?
● This may not affect you since many other schools still require the MCAT for the
2021-2022 cycle

22. Secondary Applications
● What do they consist of?
○ Generally, schools will have essay prompts for you to answer
○ The length and number of essays can vary a lot (usually 2-4 short answer)
○ Simple yes-or-no questions
○ Some may ask you to re-enter the pre-requisite classes for their program
○ Application fee
● Some schools send these out to every applicant while others will have an initial
screening process

23. Secondary Application Timeline
● Schools will send invites to complete the secondary application after receiving the
primary, even if they do not have a screening process
● They are usually first sent out in early July - varies by school
● You want to submit these as quickly as you can - general rule is no more than 2
weeks from the date that you received them
○ This can become extremely difficult if you receive many secondaries at once
○ While you try to submit these quickly, be careful not to sacrifice the quality of your
responses - it’s a balancing act

24. When should I get started?
● We recommend that you do not wait until you receive the secondary
applications to begin
● Many schools reuse the same prompts over multiple application cycles
● You can find previous essay questions online - admissions website (check here
first) or online forums such as SDN
● Decide on what approach to take when pre-writing the essays
○ You can focus on the longer secondary applications first or focus on your top choice
schools

25. Advice
● Be organized - make a spreadsheet with each school and when you received the
secondary and when you should submit it
● Research each school prior to writing the secondary essays - schools often have a
“Why this school” prompt, talk about specific programs or unique aspects of their
school
● While you may be able to repurpose some parts of essays for other schools, try
your best to make sure it’s tailored to the prompt and the school itself (check out
their mission/vision statements)
● If you do repurpose essays, make sure you proofread heavily - you do not want to
accidentally use the wrong school name

26. UWSOM Secondary Application
● UWSOM screens primary applications prior to requesting a secondary application
● Autobiographical statement (250 word limit)
○ Motivation to be a physician
○ Prior healthcare experiences
○ Exploration of a career in medicine
○ Future goals as a physician
○ Personal attributes that would make you a good physician
● Do not repeat what you have already written in your primary application

27. UWSOM Secondary Continued
● Additional essay questions
○ How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician?
○ What perspectives or experiences do you bring that would enrich the class?
○ What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them?
○ How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or patients you have worked with?
○ For re-applicants: From your most recent application until now, how have you
strengthened your application
● There are also optional TRUST and CUSP portions of the application if you are
interested in those programs
● UW also requires some applicants to provide proof of legal residence in their state
● WA Students - select your preferred foundations site (Seattle or Spokane)

28. Interviews
● This is your opportunity to showcase your passion for medicine and the medical
school you’re interviewing at
● Interviews vary in structure across medical schools
○ One-on-one faculty and/or current medical student interviews
○ Panel interview
○ MMI format
○ Interviewers may or may not have read your application
● New interview tool implemented by the AAMC - VITA
○ Video interview - you record answers to six questions
○ 1 minute to read the prompt, 3 minutes to record

29. Interview Timeline
● Interview season starts around the end of August and continues through
March/April
● The majority of interview invites are sent out between October and January, but
each school is unique
● Hearing back after interviews
○ Some schools wait to release decisions until all applicants have interviewed
○ Many other schools use “rolling” admissions in which they send out batches of
decisions to interviewees throughout the cycle

30. Advice
Do’s:
● Know your application - be prepared to talk about anything that you have written about in
your primary or secondary application
● Make sure you get across your motivation to become a physician and why you think that
school is the right fit for you
● Ask questions about the school
● Practice with friends/family, record yourself, and/or attend mock interviews (AFERM)
Don’ts:
● Come in with fully scripted answers
● Rush into answering questions - take a moment to collect your thoughts before
responding

31. UWSOM Interview
● Invitations are sent out between October and March
● Interview dates vary based on foundations site - Spokane has two weeks of
interviews (one in the fall and the other in winter) while Seattle has interviews
throughout the year
● Format: 30-minute three person panel interview
○ Traditional interview questions and questions specific to your application
○ Problem solving scenario
● Each interviewer submits their own evaluation - if one is wildly different than the
others, then you may be invited for a second interview

32. What are they looking for at UWSOM?
● Special emphasis on primary care, underserved populations and leadership in
biomedical sciences and academic medicine
● Motivation to be a physician
● Communication skills and empathy
● Knowledge of the field of medicine
○ Have you been in the “real world” of medicine?
○ Not looking for expertise on US healthcare system or politics
● Analytical thinking and problem solving ability
○ They may ask an ethical question
○ Also assessed during the role-play scenario
● Applicant on paper = applicant in person

33. Thank you for attending!
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email either of us:
● Colby Weil-Lonigan: cweiloni@uw.edu
● Joey Bell: jrb72@uw.edu
Also check out the UWSOM-Spokane URiM website to see our other events and
resources:
● http://cedi-web01.s.uw.edu/urim/