This was the timeline for the 2004-2005 application cycle:
- August 2003/April 2004: MCAT
-
September 2003 – June 2004:
- Solicit Letter of Recommendations
- Work on JHU Autobiography
- Start working on AMCAS Essay
- June 2004 – August 2004: Submit AMCAS Application (Primary Application)
- July 2004 – December 2004: Receive/Submit Secondary Applications (varies depending on school)
- Late August 2004 – March 2005: Interviews at schools (varies depending on when applications are submitted)
- October 2004 – September 2005: Notified of decisions
Generally, the minimum requirements for medical school are: One year each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics with
labs and one year of Calculus and English (literature/composition). A variety of humanities are also recommended.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology are also preferred classes to take as some schools, such as University of Michigan,
will ask you if you have taken these courses specifically.
If you decided to take AP credit, you should take upper division classes to fulfill the year requirement. Some
schools, such as Columbia and the California schools do not accept AP credits, so if you do not plan to take
upper-level chemistry classes, then it is a good idea to take chemistry with the labs at JHU.
Research is not a requirement for medical school. However, over half of students at JHU will engage in some form of
research during their college career. Some schools, like Duke and the University of Chicago, will ask if you have
done research and invite you to reflect on the experience- but it is not a requirement. In order to have a meaningful
research experience, you will need to consistently invest more than a few hours a week. Thus, if you do decide to do
research, do it because you are interested in it, not because you think medical schools want it.
Clinical experience is quickly becoming an unspoken requirement for medical school. One of the most basic questions that you need to answer before applying to medical school is: why do you want to be a doctor? The only way you are going to be able to truly discover this answer is by observing/participating in what physicians do on a daily basis. Such experiences may come from: Shadowing physicians at Union Memorial Hospital or Johns Hopkins Hospital; Medical Tutorials/Master Clinician Program; Volunteering at UMN, JHH, Maryland Shock Trauma; working at clinics that serve the underprivileged. These experiences will not only give you a better perspective on medicine but they will provide a topic of conversation for a medical school secondary and interview.
Medical schools, and the pre-professional committee for that matter, will be looking for a variety of traits in applicants- but there are some that are considered more important than others. First and foremost is academic achievement in the form of GPA and, if applicable, MCAT scores. As is addressed elsewhere in this FAQ, curricular success need not come in a science major or with basic science research. Whatever you choose to do, do it interestedly and do it well.
Next, applicants are evaluated on their dedication to medicine, as evidenced by medically related experiences and service opportunities. Here, as in most parts of the process, the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. Admissions people and the pre-professional office are trying to see that you (1) truly want to be a physician and (2) know what that really means.
Finally, applicants should have valuable extracurricular activities that demonstrate leadership, creativity, a desire and skill in working with others, and/or well roundedness. Again, you need not be the president of every club on campus, but you should have a significant commitment to those activities you pursue, whether they are athletic, artistic, service oriented, or social.
The entire medical school process is at least a few thousand dollars. However, the actual amount will vary depending on the number of schools you apply to. In most cases, students apply to about 10-15 schools.
What do you need to spend money on?
- MCAT preparation course - $1500
- AMCAS Application: $130 + $35 X number of schools (may be waived depending on economic status)
- Each secondary application: $60-105 X number of schools (may also be waived)
- Interviews: $100-500 X number of schools (Flight/Hotel/Food/etc)
- JHU Pre-Professional Office: $65 (for sending out recommendations – flat fee)
Because JHU has a committee process, you will need to take advantage of it. Failure to do so will be looked unfavorably upon by the medical schools. The committee process is quite simple. You need to submit at least 2 Science/2 Non-science recommendations and optional 1-3 Extracurricular recommendations. Once these are received in addition to some other paper work (Autobiography, Questionnaire, and School List), you will be assigned a committee member, who is someone either at JHU or at the medical school. You will interview with them and they will use the interview in addition to your letters of recommendation to write a cover letter for the recommendations.
There was a time when applicants to medical school were almost expected to be science majors. Things have changed considerably however, and non-science majors are looked upon at least as favorably as science majors. The key here is to find a field of study in which you are genuinely interested- whether it is neuroscience or near eastern studies. In the course of your education, you will have ample opportunity to demonstrate science talent through the core science classes (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics) and through the MCAT. Some of JHU’s most successful applicants each year have backgrounds in economics, history, or any one of a number of other majors. Nonetheless, they have also performed well in the science courses.
A large number of students will choose to take time off between finishing college and entering medical school. Some of the things that students do during this time are:
- Pursue another degree (masters/additional bachelors)
- Do research (at JHU or NIH for example)
- Study Abroad (taking classes/teaching underprivileged populations)
- AmeriCorps/Peace Corps
- Work in another field of interest
- Post-Baccalaureate Programs (if their undergraduate degree was not in the sciences)
- Post-Bacc Enhancement programs (if their undergraduate science grades were not Adequate)
- Employment in a clinical area
- Teaching (especially science)