Author Archives: Liza

‘ Photo courtesy of umhs-sk.org Receiving an invitation to interview is an exciting step in the medical school application process. If you’ve been selected to interview it means that the medical school has vetted your application and you have passed … Continue reading

Posted in Medical School Interviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Preparing for a Medical School Interview

July is an incredibly busy month in the medical school application process. This is the time when secondary applications are in full swing. Having read thousands of secondary application essays over my career, which has spanned almost 30 years, I have … Continue reading

Posted in Secondary Applications | Tagged , | Comments Off on Writing Secondary Applications

As described in another blog post, secondary applications are an enormously important component of the medical school application process. Secondaries are designed to suit the needs of individual medical schools. As such, medical schools pay as much attention to the secondary applications … Continue reading

Posted in Secondary Applications | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Common Secondary Application Prompts

The Casper test has been around for several years and is now required at many medical schools. It is open-ended in terms of the responses (no multiple choice questions).  Casper is changing in 2022, as follows: the number of scenarios … Continue reading

Posted in AAMC PREview, CASPer, VITA | Comments Off on AAMC PREview and Casper Exams

A study from Tulane and Thomas Jefferson shows the distinctive benefits of engaging in the arts and/or the humanities while in medical school. The results, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, showed that such activities helped to promote … Continue reading

Posted in Art in Medical Education, Humanities | Tagged | Comments Off on Humanities in Medical Education

You’ve landed the coveted medical school interview. Congratulations!  But what should you do if your interviewer asks a question that makes you uncomfortable or one that is off limits?  What are these questions?  What is considered out of bounds in … Continue reading

Posted in Medical School Interviews | Comments Off on Inappropriate Medical School Interview Questions

As a medical school admissions consultant, I often am asked by applicants how and when to communicate with medical schools. Medical school applicants should keep schools informed throughout the application process, as events unfold and preferences evolve. If new information develops, applicants … Continue reading

Posted in Letters of Interest | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Letter of Interest for Medical School

Congratulations—you’ve landed the interview!  What’s the best way to prepare for a medical school interview? You should practice. At the very least, you should review common questions and think about how you would answer them. Then you should PRACTICE answering them … Continue reading

Posted in Medical School Interviews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Most Common Medical School Interview Questions

As a premedical advisor for over 25 years and as a medical school admission consultant, I have read thousands of personal statements. I have read countless essays written by applicants and have helped them refine and focus their essay into … Continue reading

Posted in AMCAS Personal Statement, Personal Statement | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In the 2021-2022 application cycle, AMCAS opens May 3 for applicants to start entering information; submissions begin on May 27. AMCAS will not transmit any applications to the medical schools until June 25th. Before the application opens you will hopefully … Continue reading

Posted in AMCAS, AMCAS Application Checklist | Tagged , | Leave a comment