Do's and Don'ts of a Med School and BS/MD Application

Even from an insider perspective, I’ve always thought of admissions and selection committees like Mean Girls. Towering above everyone, judgey, and never impressed. One time an interviewer literally told the panel they just got “bad vibes” from one of the applicants and that was enough to sour the whole application!

Very “mean-girls-esque” for sure.

But instead of hot pink Chanel bags, they're usually white-haired folks in tweed jackets. Still, don't let the aesthetic fool you. Their judgment of you carries more weight than any high school social hierarchy ever could. It can change the trajectory of your entire life!

So how do you make sure that by the time your application lands on their desk, it's as polished as a mean girl's manicure? No imperfections. No red flags. No gaps they can point to.

It starts right now (not six months before the application deadline). And the first step is understanding exactly what gets students moved to the “rejection” pile.

At the end of today’s article, you will find a special summer experience we have built for serious high-achieving premed students who are ready to make a difference for their application.

The most common reasons applications get rejected.

1. You have “shadowing,” but that’s it…

You already know you need clinical exposure, you don’t need me to tell you that part. And you're all out here doing your best! Getting EMT certifications, medical assistant training, phlebotomy credentials. I know you get it. Shadowing is the bare minimum for med school.

But if shadowing is still all you have right now, that's a gap worth taking seriously. Can you become a medical assistant at the practice you're already in? Can you volunteer at a local health fair, join a medical mission, take on a defined role instead of just observing? Give your clinical section more substance than a single line. Because in a pool full of people who all shadowed a doctor, you’re just another generic applicant.

2. No research project.

I'm not asking you to have 6 publications in JAMA, or even one. But you should be working on something. Whether it’s a literature review, a survey study, or a database project, have something that shows you understand how knowledge in medicine actually gets built and tested. If this feels out of reach, start here: How to Actually Get Published as a High School or Early Undergrad Student

3. A generic personal statement.

Your personal statement has to explain why (and how you know) you want to do medicine. You can be a little creative in how you explain it, but that part is not negotiable. 

(By the way, everyone writes the line of “staying up at 3am with a vulnerable patient.” Can you please think of something that makes you different or more interesting?)

So, how can you write a strong personal statement? You need experiences you can draw from and physician mentors you can speak to. It shows very clearly when a personal statement is written by someone who has had “insider” access to the medical field and one who has not. 

It may seem unfair, but those who have access generally win out in the end. This isn’t meant to count you out, it’s meant to encourage you to seek a way in. Find your own access. See this article: How to Get Doctors to Actually Respond to You

4. A poor interview.

This one is the most tragic to me. You did everything right. You got their attention. You earned the interview. And then you threw it away because you didn't know how to “talk the talk and walk the walk” in front of a room full of physicians.

I've been there. That feeling is devastating because you were so close. The only way to avoid it is to put yourself in front of real clinical audiences before the stakes are that high. Build the skill deliberately and early.

Now, I know this is all easier said than done.

I have gotten so many emails from you guys looking for more direction, more information, possible research opportunities or clinical shadowing. I would love to be the physician mentor and PI for every single one of you. That's genuinely why I started this newsletter. But this community has taken a life of its own and it’s growing so quickly, that it’s impossible for me to give each of you the time your path deserves. Not one-on-one, at this scale.

So I built an alternative option.

There are a lot of summer internships and premed programs out there that cost thousands of dollars. I wanted to make a valuable premed experience that is more accessible for students and families. So we designed something.

I built this with my physician and surgeon colleagues specifically for high-achieving premed students who are serious about building the clinical depth, research exposure, and communication skills that make a difference for their application.

A special note for Fast Track Intensive students.

If you have previously enrolled in Fast Track Intensive, your acceptance to the Clinical Scholars Grand Rounds Symposium is guaranteed. You will still need to submit an application before the deadline, but you will have a reserved seat. You'll also receive an exclusive opportunity detailed in a separate email.

This is an experience I wish had existed when I was building my own application.

Real clinical experience. Real physician feedback. A research opportunity that doesn't require a wet lab or a connection. A certificate for your CV that was earned from work in front of physicians who were actually evaluating you.

The application is free, but spots are limited.

Dr. Samarrai,

Fast Track to MD

PS: Spots are capped by cohort size. If you're serious about this, apply for free today. The first ten applicants receive Fast Track Foundations regardless of acceptance outcome. Don't wait on this one.

If this resonated, don’t let it be a one time insight.

Subscribe to our email newsletter to get important timeline alerts, early assurance and accelerated program updates, and practical guidance on when to act at each stage of the medical path. We send information when it matters, not noise.

BS/MD programs are one way to accelerate your premed journey, but they are not the only way. I got my MD at 23 and now I teach students how to leverage systems and pathways to help them accelerate.

Find my full course here where we discuss strategies to implement accelerated medical pathways including BS/MD, EAPs, 3-year undergrad curriculums, international acceleration, and 3-year medical schools.

Let’s get you on the Fast Track to MD!