Are thinking about applying for medical school? Medical school preparation is tough and elaborate. Students spend years preparing for the entrance exams, all the while balancing an intensive undergraduate course load. Here are a few misconceptions that might be doing more harm than good during your med school preparation.

Mechanical Applications

Thousands of students apply to get into medical school each year. So how are you different from any of them? While preparing your application, you are required to submit a host of other documents apart from your mark sheets. A personal essay or statement of purpose is one of those documents. Give yourself enough time to create an essay or SOP that reflects you as a person and helps you stand out from the crowd. Narrate a real life incident that inspired you to apply to med school.

Overambitious Students

Admissions staffs in medical schools go through piles and piles of applications each year. They can easily identify the real from the fake. While extolling your virtues, keep the exaggeration to a minimum. Be realistic while writing about yourself and your activities. The reader will definitely your honesty and abilities.

A Science Major is Compulsory

Students do not necessarily have to major in science to be eligible to apply for medical school. Med prep programs schools usually advise students to major in Biology. However, as long as students have the required courses completed, they can major in English Literature or Geography, it will not matter. In fact, it is quite possible that majoring in a non-science field along with all the medical school requisite courses can help students stand out in the applicant pool.

Intensive Studying is Necessary

Preparing for the MCAT while applying to medical schools is often touted as a social life killer. In reality, that is not the case. Students are scared with the prospect of failing on the MCAT into giving up their social lives and hobbies. However, the type and amount of preparation vary from student to student. Having sports or extracurricular achievements on your resume is likely to send a signal to the schools indicating that you can handle academics and social life together without sacrificing your grades.

Reference Letters Are Not Important

Reference letters are an important part of your medical school application. No matter the size of school you went to for your undergraduate degree, these letters will be required. Use this as motivation to participate in class during your first couple of years in college. Go to the office and ask questions or simply talk to your professor about your plans for med school. Enquire whether they can guide you in the right direction. If you are able to build a genuine relationship with your professors, they will be more than happy to write a letter of recommendation for you in the final years.