My Goal in Life

The Goal of My Life

I was a Chemistry Major at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) that has applied to Medical School once already. I was not accepted the first time that I applied and am working on applying again. I might be able to give some advice or at least discuss what I was told to all those young people wanting to apply to Medical School and to those who plan on applying again.

The main reason I was told that I was not accepted was that my interview was a negative interview. This tells me two important things right off the bat. The first one is that, yes, Medical Schools do actually use the interview to tell a lot about the applicant. The second is that the applicant should never use negatives and/or discuss any topic that might lead to feelings of anger on your part. The interviewers can interpret this many ways but in general it is called a negative attitude. They really don't like this. A helpful tool to use in preparation for your interview is a web site that focuses specifically on interviews conducted by medical schools. The site, Interview-Feedback, offers examples of questions medical schools have asked at interviews and how students have responded to them.

I do not want you to think that just reviewing the questions and discussion of answers on this page will cover your interview. You need to work on your interviewing skills. I know that I did and likely still do. Many nuances present themselves to the interviewers that give them an insight into who and what type of individual you are. I would highly recommend having several mock interviews with either people in a Business related field or someone who is in an academic field. Both fields have experience with interviews and both should be readily available for consultation. These individuals have likely been through several interviews and know how to prepare for an interview.

The interview was a much more enjoyable experience this year. I appreciated the friendly atmosphere and closeness with which myself and the other interviewees experiences. I do not all that went on in the other interviews. I can only relay what I experienced in mine. My interviewers sat behind a small table. Unlike last time with the interviewees chair placed away from the table by a few feet, the chair was right up close to the table so I could sit close to the interviewers. Our conversations covered a wide range of topics. We first discussed my employment here at UAMS and then moved to questions like whether I knew what type of doctor I wanted to be, how I would pay for medical school, where I wanted to practice medicine, and what environment I wanted to practice in. These are the common questions upon which everyone should be prepared with their own individual answer and not something that they have memorized over the last couple of days. I would again recommend visiting the afore mentioned web site dedicated to medical school interviews to find out some common questions and to better prepare yourself for the interview.

I would also like to warn all those applying to Medical School that you need to be prepared to have trouble with the people at AMCAS. They are understaffed to handle the large amount of applications that come through their office and things happen. A common problem that has occurred to many people is trouble with the AMCAS computer application. An example would be what happened with my application. Their computer application program used an old school designation on my school designation section. This resulted in my my application being sent to a school that I knew would not accept me. AMCAS, when notified of this, said that there was nothing that they could do about this mistake and that I would have to pay another fifty ($50) dollars to have my application sent to the correct school. I can say that this could have a serious determinant in your perception to the Medical School Admissions Committee when they have to extend the deadline for you in circumstances that are not easily verifiable. In other words, get your AMCAS application completed a long time before the deadline so that you can catch these mistakes before the deadlines pass so that you will not have to go through the hassle that I have had to go through. On good thing is that if you do contact the AMCAS people, they will take the time to stay in communication with you to walk you along the path they take to checking into the problem.

As stated earlier, I have started the application process all over again in earnest this fall. I recommend that everyone who plans on applying to Medical school begin the application process as early as possible. This will help eliminate some problems that I experienced that was discussed earlier. I have applied to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and have applied for the first time to Dartmouth Medical school. I took the MCAT test in Russellville, AR this past August and it took about 61 days for me to receive my scores. Be prepared for a nervous wait. The results, for me, was good. I improved my scores over what I had scored previously. I believe this was due to some variables that I did not have control over for the last examination. I was recovering from pneumonia and had not slept in about three days. To infer this to another individual, you need to be in top shape to help improve your chances of doing well on the test. Do your best to stay healthy prior to the test and make sure to get some sleep before going in to take the test.

I discovered recently that I have been accepted to the 2001-2002 Freshman medical class at UAMS. I am currently beginning the process of finding the money and filling out all the paperwork that goes along with medical school. I would highly recommend all those students applying for professional schools to fill out the Federal Financial Aid Packet as soon as you finish you school application. It will save you a great deal of trouble later on. When looking at applicants and information for the Stafford Loan, the school looks at your information as an individual. When looking at applicants for in house scholarships, they may include financial need based upon what they feel your parents should be able to assist with.

I have recently been commissioned by the Army under their HPSP program. This is a program in which the Army or any branch of the military will pay the tuition, books, fees, and provide a stiped while you are in school. In return, you will serve an equal number of years active duty. Not a bad deal in my opinion.

School has begun. We have now finished up our second week of school with one quiz and one exam under our belt. Things are continuing to go well and I hope that I continue to say that in the upcoming months.

This Page was Last Updated 08/24/01
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