Less Is More

There's more to medical school admission than organic chemistry.

Paul Jung, M.D.
In the last column, we discussed the issue of selecting a college major, discussing
how humanities majors have a statistically higher chance of getting in to medical
school. We also addressed choosing extracurricular hobbies in order to cement your
uni!ue individuality.
Let's continue this theme and focus on the idea that less is more. "or exam#le,
many a##licants not only $mista%enly& try to stac% the cards in their favor by
choosing a science major, but they also believe that by #ac%ing their transcri#ts
with extra science courses, they may stri%e a chord with sym#athetic admissions
committees. 'ut they fail to reali(e the bene)cial, if less tangible, advantages of the
well*rounded curriculum.
More Is Not Better. +ead set on bee)ng u# his transcri#t, one #remed once
abandoned a summer to ta%e more science courses. ,is heroic reason- I need a
higher ./0 1grade*#oint average2 to get into medical school. I sat him down with a
calculator and showed him that he would need 0's in three four*credit lab courses to
im#rove his ./0 by a mere 3.4 #oint. 5onsidering the wor% re!uired in such a
bulging course load, it was not sur#rising that he didn't get the three 0's.
If a higher ./0 is the ,oly .rail of #remedical students, the !uestion must be as%ed,
0t what #rice6 5ollege is four years long, and medical school re!uirements are a
modest selection of science courses. If more science courses result in more !uali)ed
medical students $and ultimately better doctors&, medical schools would obviously
re!uire them. 'ut they don't, so we must assume that ta%ing science courses over
and above the minimal re!uirements should be only for one's #ersonal #reference,
not to im#ress admissions committees.
7uality is always far more im#ortant than !uantity in this case. 8ou should shoot for
the best grade #ossible in the re!uired courses. 9uccess in them relieves you of the
extra science crutch that #ro#s u# many failed a##lications.
If an a##licant is seriously considering hea#ing science courses on his transcri#t
$and thereby eliminating all other #ossible educational o##ortunities&, he must
answer these two !uestions )rst- What science ./0 am I shooting for6 0nd ,ow
many 0's in how many science credits will I need to achieve this ./06 8ou'd be
sur#rised at the answers.
There may be only one instance when more science courses can bene)t a student*
when #erformance in the basic re!uired courses is miserably substandard. In this
case, the only solution is to #rove your academic mettle by ta%ing u##er*level
science courses and earning 0's in them. 'ut be careful. "ew students are
successful at this strategy $doing well in more di:cult courses isn't easy after a
lousy #erformance in a basic course&. 0nd reta%ing the same course serves no
#ur#ose, because you're ris%ing obtaining the same #oor grade, if not worse. 0lso,
regardless of how your college may com#ute your ./0, the 0merican Medical
5ollege 0##lication 9ervice $0M509&*the re!uired method of medical school
a##lication*does not re#lace one grade for another but averages both grades into
the )nal ./0.
;emember, there's #lenty of room within the basic re!uired courses to show
im#rovement< better grades in organic chemistry will surely ameliorate concerns
arising from mediocre general chemistry scores. =o need to crowd out the
o##ortunity to learn some history or #hiloso#hy $which you will never have the
o##ortunity to learn formally again& in a misguided attem#t to bum# u# your ./0 by
a mere fraction.
'ut let's say you do well in your basic #rere!uisite courses, even score 0's in all of
them. >xtra science courses are not hel#ful in this situation, either. 9ome eager
#remeds mista%enly assume that mastering advanced science coursewor% in
college will hel# them get ahead in medical school. If this were so, medical schools
would encourage it or give advanced standing to the exce#tional student who has
succeeded in this regard. This is not the case, and for good reason, too.
;emember that the #oint of an undergraduate education is not sim#ly to #re#are
you for medical school by ex#anding your re#ository of memori(ed science factoids
but rather to #re#are you for life as a #hysician by broadening your mind and
honing your sense of humanity. There will be no other time in your life when you can
ta%e courses and interact with students and faculty on such a wide variety of
subjects. +on't waste your time secluded in a science lab for some narrow*minded
and ultimately self*destructive attem#t to sim#ly get into medical school.
0n admissions director at a #restigious medical school once told me that he could
)ll his entire entering class with ?.3s in biomedical engineering or entirely with
/h.+.s. This is exactly what ma%es admissions decisions so di:cult*medical schools
are trying to )nd a diverse body of students with various bac%grounds and
ex#eriences< excellent grades are by no means your sole tic%et to admission.
0dmission to medical school must not be considered merely a reward for
#erseverance and cutthroat intelligence. ;ather, it must be considered admission to
a school, where you will be taught what you need to %now to become a #hysician.
;eserve your time in medical school for these medical sciences, and use your time
in college to broaden your mind. With a #ro#er undergraduate education and a
variety of ex#eriences under your belt, you'll be better #re#ared to cruise through
the next ste# of the a##lication, your admissions interview.
The Interview. ,ow im#ortant is it6 They say that the )nal decision is actually
made in the )rst minute of the interview, and the other @A are used to validate that
decision. This is true in a cor#orate job hunt as well, and it gives us several clues on
how to succeed in the interview.
If the )rst minute is most im#ortant, then )rst im#ressions are #aramount. 0nd the
)rst im#ression you will ma%e is with your a##earance. Many of you may thin% that
a##earance should not matter, but it remains a signi)cant factor in how you are
judged, if only subconsciously, whether you li%e it or not. 9o dress conservatively< a
well*#ressed navy blue or gray business suit with a standard tie for men and a suit
or dress for women. 0nything stylish to you and your friends may only be
considered Bamboyant to others, es#ecially stodgy, older medical school admissions
faculty. If you truly believe that loo%s should not matter, then #rove it by dressing
a##ro#riately. This should #revent the admissions committee from discussing your
dress and allow them to focus on your !uali)cations.
The interview is an integral #art of the a##lication #rocess. Medical schools use this
meeting to gauge your nonacademic #eo#le s%ills. 0nd studies have #roven that
higher interview scores correlate with better medical school #erformance. There are
occasional stories of #remeds with below*average a##lications who somehow made
it to the interview, #erformed extremely well and subse!uently got in.
What ty#es of !uestions should you ex#ect6 9ome may as% standard bread*and*
butter !ueries li%e, Why do you want to be a doctor6 These are more ty#ical in
blinded interviews, where the interviewer hasn't seen your a##lication. Cthers may
as% s#eci)c !uestions about your a##lication that focus on your hobbies or
academic #ursuits. 5onsider this a golden o##ortunity to #resent yourself as a
uni!ue individual. 9ome interviewers #refer the #sychological game and try to
intimidate you or as% unanswerable !uestions. +on't be Bustered*just answer as
best you can, be honest and move on. 'ut mostly, your interviewer will just want to
shoot the bull and tal% about last night's game or what the #resident did last wee%.
0gain, engage yourself and join in. /rove that you are aware of the outside world
and how it aDects #eo#le.
'ut don't go too far. There are #lenty of stellar transcri#ts that got ditched after a
bombed interview. Cne coc%y a##licant listed wine tasting as a fabricated hobby
on his a##lication. ,is interviewer, himself a wine a)cionado, as%ed what the
candidate thought of 4AAE 5hilean wines. The a##licant began discussing the merits
of 5hilean wines from 4AAE until the stern interviewer interru#ted him and said,
9on, there were no wines from 5hile in 4AAE. This interview is over.
Instead of lying, having a few !uestions at hand may hel# you through the dead
s#ace in the interview. >asy !uestions to as% include ,ow well do your students do
on the boards6< ,ow well do your students do in the Match6< ,ow Bexible is your
curriculum6< What are the school's curricular innovations and s#ecial #rograms6
and ,ow good is the )nancial aid at this school6 It will behoove you to as% these
!uestions of the school's medical students as well, to ma%e sure that their
ex#erience matches with what the faculty and administration tell you.
The medical school interview is a way to not only gather information about the
school but also an occasion to sell yourself and your uni!ue individuality. Ta%e
advantage of this o##ortunity. It may be your best and only chance.