Q&A with a a top tier medical school top of her class graduate

I have been fortunate enough to have grown up with some really great people who have gone on to become succesful in many different areas of expertise but one of the biggest "over achievers" is my friend Dr. Heather Webb who was accepted even though she decided to apply very late to Washington University St. Louis (currently ranked 3rd best medical school in the country by US News World Report).  She went on to graduate near the very top of her class got accepted to a very competitive residency and is now finishing up her training in Wisconsin.  

The other day I had the opportunity to take a few minutes of Dr. Webb's time to get some questions answered that I thought might not only benefit me but all who are curious about medical school.  

Here it is:

"First of all, dont worry about not having an advisor or official premed program.  I didn't decide until last minute (very last minute) to even apply to med school so I didn't do the premed program at BYU and only went to talk to an advisor once, who basically told me I had waited too long and there wasn't much he could do for me. Not very helpful.

So I may also be the blind leading the blind here since I just sort of fumbled around on my own and didn't really know what I was doing-- but hey, that should give you hope, right?  Things still turned out okay. 

Anyway, to answer some of your questions

Q:In your experience what types of things were medical schools looking at and what percentage of importance would you rate them?)Is it possible to mitigate a poor GPA or MCAT and if so How?

A:First of all, it seemed like the interviewers were interested in more than just GPA and MCAT scores.  They also want to know you're a well-rounded person and a decent human being who can get along and work well with people.  (You'd be surprised at how many really smart people are lacking in the social skills arena... or maybe that's not so surprising). 

 Extracurricular activities, especially if it involved some sort of service or leadership experience are also a good thing.  And missions and church callings are definintely in that category since not many people will have done that kind of thing.

Q:How does the whole match system work? (I understand that the students

rank the program and the program ranks the students and how the list

works I guess my question is more is about how the residency program

knows which students are interested and how they rate their potential

candidates).

A:First of all I wouldn't really worry about this yet.  It's not something you really have to think about until your third year of med school and once you've decided what area you want to go into.  Each area does things a little bit differently so it's better to talk to people who have gone through the match in your area. For example, radiology and surgery or medicine matches work pretty differently-- not the actual computer match itself, but all the behind the scenes stuff.  Different fields are going to value different things as well.  Your Boards scores will matter a lot in some fields and not so much in others, for example.  But if you are definitely interested in a particular program, its a good idea to let the program director know, via phone, email, or in person, whatever.

 As far as DO's, I've worked with plenty here and in my internship in Virginia. I don't know if they felt they had a harder time getting in than others or not, but they're here and doign well.  Being a graduate of a foreign med school can make it difficult to get into some of the more competitive residencies, but as long as you're not set on being a brain surgeon at Harvard (and I know some-- they seem miserable : ) ), then I would say it's less of a disadvantage than most people think.  I have a cousin who did the first two years of med school in the Caribbean, then was able to transfer to Cornell and is now doing a residency at George Washington.  If you want I can try to track him down and get more info about his experience.

 Most of the foreign medical grads I've seen who had trouble with liscensing, credentialing, etc. was due to citizenship issues, (visas, work permits, etc.) and language barriers.  I don't think US citizens typically have any problems there.  You do have to take the US Boards exams to be accepted into a US residency, but a lot of foreign schools take them already or you could always take them on your own.

Q: Is there any other advice you would would have for us about

preparing, getting into and being successful in medical school?

 A: Well, first I would say there's no magic formula for any of those things (which is, by the way, a direct quote from your dad about 8 years ago.  Dang, I'm getting old.)

 Since it's hard to know where you fit in the pool of people trying to get into med school, I think it's always a good idea to apply to a wide range of places; some you don't think you have a chance of getting into, some you have a decent shot, and some that would not be your first choice (or second or third) but that you could live with if you had to.

 Success in med school really comes down to how hard you work, I think.  Most of the material isn't any harder than what you're already studying.  The difference is that there is a ton of it and it comes at you really fast.  So you just have to put the time in. But that being said, if you do put the time in, there's no reason you can't do well.  I definitely had classes at BYU that were harder than anything I had in med school.

 On to your more personal questions.  Feel free to post anything I write, by the way.

 Like I said, I was a very last minute applicant.  I actually missed the April MCAT and had to take it in August, which meant that I was sending out all my applications before I even got my scores back.  Not the best way to do things.  So I basically applied to a ginormous (I have no idea how to spell that) range of schools and hoped I would get in somewhere.  By the way, although I did get into one of the "top schools in the country" whatever that means, I also got rejected by some relatively mediocre schools, so don't get discouraged.  You never know. (Basically I was so clueless at the time that I didn't know how good a school it was or I probably wouldn't have applied.)

So, you're atleast ahead of where I was.

 And if there is a place that you get an interview and are really interested with, make sure you talk with either someone you interviewed with or the Dean of Admissions and let them know you're VERY interested.  If nothing else, it will help them remember you when they're looking through a huge stack of applications.

 Just keep you options open at this point.  It's always better to have applied to more places than you needed, even though it is kind of a pain, than to not have any options that you like.  If you end up getting inundated with interview offers (which was definitely not the case for me), you can always turn them down. 

 -Heather

 P.S.  Some advice from a reluctant Wisconsinite-- enjoy Hawaii while you can!  :-)"