Summary: This course is directed at helping students gain an understanding of the most fundamental components of a successful application. From the basics of experiences and what professionals means when they think of competitiveness to specific information about the applications and how to build a thoughtful application strategy – this asynchronous online course will give you the foundational information necessary to enter your pre-health application better armed for a successful application process.
Format: Online, asynchronous webinars course with two synchronous office hours opportunities.
Eligibility: Current Hopkins students enrolled in graduate coursework across the University.
Access: This course opens in January with all content released by end of the Spring semester. Students will have continuous access to the course materials until the course closes in December (assuming continued access to student ID; graduating students may lose access after graduating). To gain access, students should apply for participation. Instructions and deadlines will be released to eligible students.
Credit: This course is not for academic credit and will not appear on transcripts.
2023-2024 Content Topics
- “Experiences – What Should I Be Doing?” – This session explores what role different experiences play in your medical school application and how this relates to the way medical schools and post-bac programs review your application, especially in the age of the pandemic.
- “What is a Competitive Applicant?” – “Am I competitive?” is one of the most common questions we get from applicants to the Hopkins Post-Bac Premedical Program and from our students in the program. In this presentation, we will be discussing the multi-faceted aspects of competitiveness and how to answer this question for yourself, whether we’re talking about post-bac programs, medical schools, etc.
- “Why Metrics Matter and What Yours Could Mean” – Although your metrics – grades and standardized test scores – are not the most important part of your application, they can mean the difference between acceptances and rejections. In this presentation, we’re going to discuss the role that the numbers play in applicant review (for post-bac admissions like our and for medical schools), how to know if you’re competitive in your metrics, and what you can do to improve your metrics. The information presented will be relevant to prospective applicants for post-bac programs (including but not exclusively ours) as well as medical schools and other health professions programs.
- “A Walk Through the Application” – This session gives an overview of the application, the role each section plays, and how to utilize each to bring your strengths across. We will also be discussing timeline and what resources are available to support you through AAMC and other application systems.
- “Application Strategy Basics” – Before working on your strategy, it is important to understand the perspective of those who will be reviewing your portfolio: the health professions schools. In this session, we will use this foundation to understand how health professions schools want to use the application and how you should use this perspective to build a successful application.
Cost: This course is free for eligible Hopkins students.
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:
- Discuss why experiences are an important part of the application process, explain why some experiences are most high value, and assess their experiences for gaps.
- Explain the perspective of the health professions school admissions committee and how it impacts application review.
- Describe the four dimensions of competitiveness as it relates to application review; summarize what mission-drive admissions is and how it impacts application review.
- Assess their own competitiveness relative to field standards; recognize that those field standards vary from field to field and school to school; recognize that their individual competitiveness (the risk of their application) is relative to where they apply.
- Distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of application information.
- Recognize the role of each aspect of the application – the biographical section, disadvantaged status essay, experiences section, personal statement, recommendation letters, secondary essays and the interview — in the health professions school application.
- Recognize the resources offered by the application systems (like AMCAS) to support students during the application preparation process and application process.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the role of each aspect of the medical school application specifically focused on how to utilize each to best support your application.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the medical school et al. admissions process, including but not limited to an awareness of the expected timeline.
- Integrate lessons learned in the class to create an application strategy that is reflective of their goals, utilizes their strengths, and minimizes their weaknesses.