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Step 1
The very first step in applying for medical school is figuring out if you really want to go to medical school! If you are hesitant or lukewarm about the idea of going to medical school, talk to a pre-med counselor. You need to be 100% sure you want to do this because medical school will be extremely draining and requires a lot of sacrifice.
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Step 2
The next step is to do well in your classes, especially science classes. They are important because the initial screening of applicants looks primarily at your academic stats. While you are doing this, make sure you develop good relationships with your professors. You will need some of them to write you recommendation letters.
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Step 3
Take the MCATs. Make sure you study hard for this exam as this is another way schools will screen applicants. If you have the money, it is recommended to take a class at Princeton Review, Kaplan, Exam Krackers, etc. If you feel you are NOT ready to take the MCATs when it is near your testing date, do NOT take the exam. Ideally, you want to take this step at least a half year before the application process starts so that if you did poorly, you can retake the exam.
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Step 4
Once the application process is opened, fill out and complete the primary medical school application. This is called the AMCAS. It will ask you for things such as your coursework, grades, and extracurricular activities. There will also be some essay questions.
You will then send out the AMCAS application to all the schools you wish to apply to. This is a fairly expensive application so make sure you have some money to apply. There are also fee waivers if one meets certain criteria.
You want to finish this section as soon as possible in order to get the secondary applications in sooner (most medical schools admit students on a rolling basis). -
Step 5
You will soon get notifications on whether or not a school wishes to offer you a secondary application. Once you get the secondary application, fill it out as soon as possible as well. The secondary application usually has more essay questions. You will submit this section (and pay some more fees) to the school.
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Step 6
Eventually, you will hear back from the schools saying whether or not they wish to interview you. If you get an interview, congrats. Unlike your college interviews where it is possible to get admission into the school without an interview, you MUST attend the interview in order to get accepted into medical school. Set up a time and date and take the interview.
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Step 7
After some more time, you will hear if the school decides to offer you an acceptance or not. If you get accepted, congrats! It's a long process but you made it! If you did not get accepted, do not fret. There is always next year. Talking to the admissions committee of schools may point out your weak points. You can also talk to your pre-med advisor for your next steps as well.
