When a reviewer is going to go through your medical school resume, your GPA and MCAT scores are the most obvious things they will check. These are the two basic criteria you need to have in a resume to make someone consider your application. But is that enough to help you crack the best colleges in the US? The answer is “No!” Here, we will help you write the best resume to get yourself admitted in your desired medical school.
How to make a medical school resume credible?
Your scores are significant, but your passion and experience leave a huge impact on the results. You need to tell the reviewer how interested and dedicated you are to be a part of the medical community, and how your work so far determines that.
You might want to do an internship at a local clinic or travel abroad for research purposes. There are plenty of ways to exhibit to the entire admission committee on how deserving you are.
A good medical school resume can help you cut short competitive application processes. If you don’t have a good resume or profile, you might have to give tests. Irrespective of how confident you are about your subjects, this process delays your admission and keeps you anxious.
Building a good medical school resume doesn’t mean that you need to run about and pursue plenty of extracurriculars across the medical field. You can just focus on your area and exhibit your love for work. For example, work with kids, develop volunteering experiences, do research, and intern. All these will boost your resume and might give you a direct entry into your desired school.
How to build a good medical school resume?
As per the Association of American Medical Colleges, the type of enrolments has improved since 2014. This means there is a lot of competition when it comes to presenting a great CV. Keeping this in mind, you need to understand how thousands of students apply to each school. You need to understand how to make your CV look out of the box and get you a quick interview. Here are the best tips to build a good medical school resume:
1. Include academic achievements
When you are going into a medical school, it is not like you’re getting a job. Don’t go looking out for CVs written for job applications. You need to first highlight how well you’ve done academically.
Add details about your scores, grades, and medical classes. Add information about any award or accolades you got in this field and your overall GPA. Tell them if you have tutored other students on medicine or if you have done med school intensive study. Make sure you have data to prove all these.
2. Add extracurriculars
Since science in a detailed and heavy subject, many medical students tend to be overworked. Your resume needs to show the balance you bring in your life with extracurricular activities. These not only keep you calm but build your decision-making skills. Be it playing sports or playing a medical instrument, you must add all the credible aspects to show your interests and skills.
3. Participate in research
You need to do a lot of research in medical school. So, if you start doing that beforehand, your resume will be more credible. You might want to tie up with research groups during summer vacations or check with your current school for such opportunities.
When you are a part of a research, you get to participate until you complete the project. You get an advantage over competitions, admission, and other aspects. Make sure you mention the lab name and the professor you worked under. Write a summary of the scope and key points of your research.
4. Volunteer
Find ways to volunteer whenever you are free. It makes your resume more interesting and expands your experience. If you are abroad, this can be more compelling and challenging. No matter how well you are at volunteering, your efforts will quantify. For example, if you participate in a hygiene campaign in a remote village of Africa, you might help them cut down certain diseases by a significant percent. When you get admitted to a medical school, the result of such percentage will count.
5. Identify possible red flags and know what to say
If you took five years to complete a bachelor’s degree instead of four, you need to explain why that happened. You might have been sick or had to take care of a family member. You might have been at work or took a gap for childcare. Make sure you have a valid answer that doesn’t go against your resume.
Your marks might be lower than expected compared to what is needed in a medical school. You need to see how other aspects cover-up for this or be ready to sit for a test.
6. Include transferable skills
You must mention the skills you have learned all through your educational background. It can be becoming more tech-savvy and using computers or taking up a foreign language. Corresponding things have a lot to do and it can help you get admission overseas. Even if you are great in public speaking, it is a transferable skill that can go well with your med school application.
7. Mention scholarship or grants
Only students who are exceptionally well at what they do get grants or scholarships. If you have won anything as such, you must mention that in your medical school resume.
8. Complete work history
You must add everything to your work history and keep it chronologically. Mention name of the organizations, where they are located, dates you worked or projects you helped with. All of these are considered while choosing a candidate for med school.
Final thoughts
Note that your grammar, writing skills, presentation, and everything count. You should not give a negative vibe to someone who has the power to allow you to study in their school. Make sure every bit of information is correct and you can prove it to them. If you try to add anything that’s false or sugarcoat things, they might catch you and reject straight away. Make sure you are in your best form and be truthful about your work and dedication.
