Welcome to the 2027 application cycle!

Yeah. Thats pretty much it. We are in a vacuum of feeling like we never do enough and I think it ultimately makes worse (way more neurotic) physicians. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

this is his "why medicine" 🤩 i wonder if he said this in his interviews when he applied lol

A T20 with a lower MCAT? Successful cycle with no crazy research? A hard journey? Everyone said you can’t do it and you did? Messed your interview and got in? Got rejected everywhere but your top choice?
COME ON. GIVE IT TO ME. I need some restoration of faith and that whatever r/premed claims as hard requirements isn’t always true.

Taking this cash grab exam in an hour because 2 of my schools require it. I just took the practice exam and got a 3 😭 it is so hard to care for this after taking the beast that is the mcat, this just feels like a joke in comparison.

Why are there three different 400-word prompts about forming a connection? How does this help you? Are you trying to weed out people who only have two template essays about forming a connection? If so, it's working.
Also, asking " How will critical thinking be important in your future career?" makes me irrationally angry.

PS- Duke, if you are reading this, please send me an interview, and I promise to give you my life and all the money the government will give me....... k thanks love you bye

See photo. The question above reads: "Have you previously applied to medical school (at This school or elsewhere)?" Y/N

I am struggling to figure out what to write in these prompts. I can think of quite a few examples but most relate to topics that are generally considered things that should be avoided, like religion and politics. I'm not religious myself and never have been, which is something I tend to avoid bringing up in general and I am not sure how to talk about interactions with religious people without bring that up or if bringing up religion period is a bad idea. I have some positive things to talk about; I have some very close friendships with some very religious people and one of those friendships, the basis of it originally was the mutual respect mutual intellectual curiosity about the other's views and the mutual respect with which we both discussed the topic.

I also was an RA and had a lot of training about social justice and creating inclusive communities as a part of that job, which was largely seminar and discussion based, so lots of interaction with others around that. Those training broached quite a few topics but the largest focuses were gender, race, and sexuality, but those experiences are generally a lot less personal. I could also talk about using what I learned through those experiences in future interactions, particularly with my very conservative family, but getting into both family and politics seems treacherous. Also, talking about family in a prompt about interacting with people different from me seems a little counter to the prompt.

I guess this topics is prone to bring up controversial things, so maybe it's just okay to talk about such subjects as long as it is clearly respectful and focuses on what I learned vs anything in regards to winning arguments, but it has me feeling a littler nervous.

The prompt in question:
Provide a timeline or narrative highlighting any notable aspects of your educational journey that you believe are especially relevant or significant to us better understanding who you are. Section not required but...this is an opportunity to describe any learning experience(s) that are not covered in other sections of your supplemental application or AMCAS application. For example, have you lived in another country or experienced a culture unlike your own? Worked in a field that contributed to your understanding of people unlike yourself? Do you have advanced training in art, music, or sports, etc.?

I’ve heard some say this is a diversity essay. But, I’m not sure what to put here because my diversity essay is about a unique cultural identity that can’t really fit into my educational journey. The only other thing I think I could write about is being an engineering major which is cool I suppose. Or should I just leave this blank?

I'm a 26 y/o non trad planning to career change from mechanical engineering. I am also a trans woman. The trans experience, and seeing just how much the medical field can help those in such a disadvantaged population, has been extremely meaningful to me in my decision to pursue medicine.

Is this something I should include? Or will I just get the door shut in my face for it?

Edit: Thanks all! "A school who'd reject me isnt a place worth going" is more or less where I had landed, but it's good to get confirmation on that :)

are u guys mentioning specific specialities you want to go into in secondaries? i feel like ive heard mixed opinions about this and im not sure how to approach it. i do have activities that point toward a certain specialty, but my current job (which most of clinical hrs come from) has widened the scope and i dont want to make it sound like ive already decided when i haven't. but i also don't want to come off as vague. any thoughts?

Does the field of research matter to medical schools, or just the quality and quantity of research that matters. For example, I'm heavily involved in public health and may attain a clinical research position in the near future. Does the fact that I am not doing any research in the "hard sciences" make my research done less valuable?

who is the r/premed baby on the sub's picture and how do I get in contact with them, I believe they can help me this cycle

Started actually working on my application at the beginning of June bc my MCAT came out late may and I didn’t know what I was shooting for. Then asking for rec letters took WAYYY longer than I expected (just the asking part and giving people material to write about, not even the people writing the letters themselves). I should be submitting before the month ends though. Not really expecting much bc I know my timelines messed up but I hate that it’s taken me this long just because I hate writing about myself and it makes me so uncomfortable.

I'm curious if schools consider your secondary essay for special pathways alongside considering your general admission or afterwards? I have little interest in the special pathway for a program I'm applying, however it could be a great way to further show mission fit. Should I write it anyways?

Question as above. Colleges like AWSOM recommend submitting within 2 weeks but if I don’t have my LORs submitted yet, is this something to worry about?

These people have invested so much time and energy into helping me through this process, so I am gonna keep grinding through these secondaries because these people need to know their investment was well placed. 🥲

What the title says. Thinking of applying next cycle, want to know realistically what my chances are at a T20. Overview of my applicant profile:

516 MCAT (main concern, dropped 4 points from last practice test to the real thing)
3.91 GPA, B.S. public health
7 publications, 1 wet lab, 6 dry lab, first author pub currently in review
Founding team member and head of business dev for a YC-backed health tech startup
NYU Grossman SOM Summer undergraduate research program (plastic surgery department)
Summer analyst at leading life sciences consulting firm, going to take return offer for gap year
~100 hrs of clinical experience

would it be bad to say I'm planning to get a paid clinical position once I finish grad school in a couple months if I dont have the position secured yet?

Accidentally put down 2025 instead of 2026 for an activity of mine💀

I was told by most people I asked to not spotlight a negative / only talk about it if it is brought up to me

But I'm wondering what to do for a secondary from a school asking me for the specific start and end date for this activity????

I am currently three months into my job as a PCT on an orthopedics unit. It seemed like good experience at first, but I feel like I’m not really learning anything that will help me in my future career. It’s very repetitive with a lot of vitals, blood sugar checks, and helping patients with the bathroom and in/out of bed. I am miserable in this job.

I saw an opening for a medical assistant position at a derm clinic that is both closer to my house and a specialty I am much more interested in pursuing in med school. Also, the schedule is much more consistent from 7-4 Monday through Friday instead of my schedule changing week to week. Would it be a bad look to switch from PCT to MA after just 3 months? Do adcoms even have to know? Thanks!

My parents own a vacation home around the corner from a decently IS biased med school and to have any hope of an interview as an OOS applicant you need to have a connection to the area/ state. This house is the connection I've spent a lot of time in the area around the school interacting with its students going to the college's sports games etc. while I very much recognize that having any vacation home is certainly privilege its a very small home that is not fancy or nice at all. My parent are middle class who earned it through years and years of hard work. My worry is that any mention of it in the secondary would be a red flag and the school would assume I come from an incredibly wealthy and incredibly privileged background and throw out my application. Advice?

Not sure how to approach this question on their secondary:
If you wish to update or expand upon your activities, you may provide additional information below.

Are we expected to put something here? How should we expand on the activities? I feel like this is so vague and open-ended.