 between transcripts, letters, essays, the AMC application, the MCAS medical school application is a doozy. Here's what you need to know and how to differentiate yourself. For the best medical school personal statement coaching, subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss a video this cycle. I post every Tuesday. As the one central application system except for Texas, the MCAS medical school app takes time to complete and I'm going to run through kind of the breakdown for you and how to maximize different sections. If you want to book a one-on-one free 15 minute strategy call with me for your personal statement, definitely book that call in the link to description below or my channel banner. Hi, I'm Guy Kujozi with Write Your Acceptance as a university faculty member and personal statement coach. I know how to perfect your story and the application is key to that. Stay tuned. Step one. So what major information is needed and then where, right? The first thing is the identifying information and so I'm going to run through it, right? It is schools attended. So high school is really just kind of the graduation date but all college that you attended, this includes dual enrollment and matriculation dates, graduation dates, biographical information. Do you have a military service, your parents income, any misdemeanors, coursework. So this section takes time and you really want to pay close attention to the minute details because any kind of deviation from your transcripts, because remember they are going to get your transcripts anyways, may delay verification and we'll talk a little bit about that as well. So then you have the activity section and I would definitely pay attention to how you brainstorm this and if you want more information on brainstorming, here's a video that I'm linking up top. You want to spend time on your activity section and I will spend some time actually in this video breaking down how you can kind of use a guide and template on writing these very short stories or very short kind of responses that reduce the content but you're still kind of flagging the most importance. So step two is to start working on those post-secondary experiences, the activity section like yesterday. Quick breakdown. You have 15 slots that you can answer. I would answer all of them. Most students kind of forget that they can use non-medical experiences, hobbies, part-time jobs, really as long as you are able to tie it back into a soft skill or attribute that will improve or that really showcases you in the best light, that you are ready for the rigors of medical school, that you are kind of really modeling the foundational aspects of being a physician and kind of that public servant intellectual ideals, then you're good to go and it really depends on how you kind of bring it back to what you learned and what the takeaways are and how they're going to add value to your next step. So you have 15, like I said, the short version, so like all 15 are 700 characters but you have three that you can pick as most memorable and that gives you more space and that's going to be about 1325 characters and there you really want to add more kind of context and a bit more descriptive, engaging language so that it's kind of cashier and stands out without compromising the content that you want to kind of deliver and so here are some brief templates that I kind of help students work through and a quick, quick note if you want any work on brainstorming because the same type of brainstorming that you're doing for the personal statement, I would be doing for the activities and if you do kind of overall brainstorming, general canvassing of your resume and all that good stuff, then you should be doing kind of one thorough or consistent work on brainstorming and that will serve for both personal statement and activities. So I'm linking that video here above. All right, so templates, here we go. So for a shadowing or a clinical experience, I would say, I would kind of aim to answer these questions. What did you do? Who did you do it with? So like title expertise, what did the experience offer you in terms of opportunities and knowledge and how has this prepped you for medical school? So those are the kind of answers for a shadowing or clinical and these serve as a guide really, it's not kind of like a prescriptive idea but it gives you the kind of touch points that you should be hitting. For a volunteering or a patient contact type experience, I would answer, what did you do always? Who did you do it with? What is the kind of overall goal or effort of the organization that you served that you were a part of? What insight did you gain from participating in this opportunity? And then if you have the space offer an example of an encounter with a patient. So it's more kind of personable and it's patient centric. If it's academically related, if the experience is academically related or research, here we go, same similar breakdown but slightly different. What did you do? Where did you do it? What was the lack that you filled? How has this made you a better student for the rigors of medical school? So here the slight difference is what was the lack that you filled? So you took on extra hours or you initiated this kind of response system or checklist for your research lab. So kind of if you can differentiate yourself, how would you do that? So quick pointer between the activity section and your personal statement, make sure that you can succinctly and thoughtfully speak on these experiences, especially the research. You never know in your interview who is interviewing you what their background is or interest is. And you want to be able to thoughtfully talk about anything and everything that you have in your application. So review all of this material before stepping into an interview. And, you know, if you did a poster presentation, if you published all of that, you can kind of give a talking point or three, that would be great. And don't get caught off guard. It looks really poorly if you kind of, you know, cite off all of these amazing accolades and accomplishments in your activity section or an amazing anecdote in your personal statement. But if you can't speak to it and add more color to it comfortably in an interview, then it kind of looks like a red flag. So no matter the experience that you highlight in the activity section, make sure that you, once you have something written out that you kind of take a step back and when you return to it, really focus on am I showing growth? Am I showing a journey of knowledge? Am I showing kind of humility in that interest in kind of intellectual curiosity, right? And growing and learning more. And I mentioned it, but I'm going to say it again. Don't forget that you can add non-medical experiences. Now, they shouldn't be, you know, 13 of them should not be hobbies, but you can add kind of different dimensions of hobbies and paid experiences that show leadership and initiative and, you know, project management and that you work well with others and can collaborate. So that really kind of adds a human and humane dimension that you're not a robot. So I would definitely fill all 15 and make sure that, you know, you add something that is kind of unique to you. So step three, final items that you don't need to kind of have in to hit that submit button on your primary application are your MCAT scores and your letters of recommendation. So I'm weary to say this because you don't want to slack on the letters of recommendation. You want to be timely, give your professors and community leaders and whoever is going to write on your behalf, give them ample time, give them thoughtful content to build a robust letter around. If you want more information, hit this link right here. I have a video just on the letters of recommendation because they're that important, but you can definitely kind of hit submit on your primary application without those being entered, without those in your application just yet. Also your MCAT score, you can just have your MCAT date and that's okay, but you want to make sure again that you're on top of it, right? Which I know you're on top of that you're on top of. Do you have any questions or concerns on how to write your activities section or personal statement? Definitely comment below. I'd love to help you out and get you started. Step four and probably, yes, definitely, the most important aspect on this channel because I am singular in focus is that personal statement, 5,300 characters to really, truly showcase who you are, your soft skills, why you want to become a doctor, how you have prepared and continue this commitment throughout your undergraduate career, so how you show adaptability, maturity, growth, that journey to a wiser self, to a wiser doctor, right? All of that good stuff. I have a few videos on all things personal statement on this channel, so you should definitely kind of link a couple here and you should definitely check those out. Now bonus and this may differ between pre-health offices, so I would definitely consult them, but I'm seeing more and more students add an interesting story or an experience that was not captured in the rest of the application in the additional information section. Check with your office to kind of make sure that that's kind of in line with their policies, but I have been seeing that for a couple of kind of schools and trends for students. Another kind of quick pointer, so these are fast facts, right? May 28th to June 1st, right? I think it's May 28th this time, is when the application opens. You know that this is rolling admission, so the earlier that you turn in the application, the better. The verification process takes about three to six weeks and then the schools receive the application. Most schools will be sending the secondaries right away and so that you can start kind of pre-writing those and work on those, that's really important to kind of stay on top of, right? Because you want to kind of spit them back out as soon as possible and scheduling interviews vary, acceptance dates vary, right? Also, you may want to consider the financial assistance program with AMC, so they will ask you for financials and if you qualify, they waive the MCAT fee, they give you MCAT test prep guides, they will waive the primary application fees for quite a few schools and I believe some of the participating universities secondaries as well, so that's something to check out. If you want more feedback on your personal statement, definitely click on the link below, get your free 15-minute strategy call booked with me. If you like this video, give us a like, share with your pre-med friends, I really appreciate it, it helps a ton and I'll see you soon.