medical school admissions Archives

Med School Students and Staff Rank Weird Situations

This week M3s Srishti Mathur and Zach Grissom are joined by CCOM admissions expert Rachel Shulista and the PA Program clinicals coordinator Andrew Dao. You might think they’re here to offer their expertise in some informative way so that Short Coat Listeners can benefit. You’d be wrong, because Dave is making everyone rank things nobody should have to rank: how believable your excuse for missing sleep is, how harsh your last piece of attending feedback was, how likely you are to botch a procedure you’ve never done before. It’s another round of our special version of That Escalated Quickly, the card game where the only rule committing to the rank.

Can a very quiet goose gets past MCAT exam security? It’s a question worth knowing the answer to. After all, test day involves tattoo checks and confiscated glasses. We explore how to tell grandma you’re dropping out of med school to make clown shoes. Srishti verifies that Rachel’s forehead isn’t covered in fishing bait before giving it a lil kiss. Rachel, who reads every single admissions application that crosses her desk (but does not make decisions on them, she swears, don’t @her) does not appreciate Dave’s BS and tells him he’s the problem.

Also, we settle the eternal question on how to answer “why do you want to be a doctor” at a party, and Dave does an Obama impression that everybody agrees needs work.

Episode credits:

Producer: Dave Etler

Co-hosts: Srishti Mathur, Zach Grissom, Rachel Shulista, Andrew Dao

Production: SCP Media Lab–Anna Royer, Cyrus Barati, Isa Perez-Sandi, Zach Grissom, Sarah Upton, Srishti Mathur, David Lee, and Jacob Thompson

The views and opinions expressed on this podcast belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa, the Carver College of Medicine, or the State of Iowa. All discussions are intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Nothing said on this podcast should be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. Always seek qualified professional guidance for personal decisions.

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Three med students who didn’t get in at first talk about why.

Thousands of med school applicants are going to feel the sting of rejection at the end of this cycle. We hope YOU aren’t one of them, but if you are, take heart–this is but one year among the many years you’ll be working toward your goal.

In the meantime, co-hosts M2 Daniel Haws, M3 Fallon Jung, and M2 Cara Arrasmith talk about why they had to try an extra time or two–what they did wrong and how they fixed it–with CCOM admissions expert Rachel Shulista. Stop wasting thousands of dollars on medical school applications that go nowhere. This episode breaks down the reasons admissions committees reject candidates and shows you how to build the clinical experience and academic profile that gets you accepted!

The real reasons applications crash and burn: applying late because you thought October deadlines were suggestions, having little clinical experience beyond watching Grey’s Anatomy, and writing personal statements that sound like generic healthcare brochures. We break down why you need to get feedback from admissions–it might be the most valuable conversation you never wanted to have, and how Daniel actually turned down an acceptance to reapply to his dream school (note well: the all-knowing geniuses on Reddit were not happy about this).

Listener Chunkster is freaking out that they haven’t heard already, so Rachel explains what happens during those months of radio silence as you wait for word on your app, and why most decisions come in the final pool anyway. And we talk about what Chunkster should do to keep the inner demons at bay while they wait. Plus, we explore the delicate art of the “humblebrag” in medical school applications and why your personal statement shouldn’t read like a Wikipedia page about the medical profession.

Whether you’re waiting to hear back, nursing a rejection, or wondering if you’re cut out for this med school thing, we’ve got the real talk you need to survive the application gauntlet.