Planning your timeline

Photo by Joe Lanman

Planning a timeline is not necessary but will make your life much easier if done properly. Rest assured, planning ahead of time for as much as three years requires a lot of insight into the intricacies of the process (which I have briefly outlined in the previous post) and is thus very hard and time consuming.

Like most things tagged high importance in your life, timeline planning requires making mutliple attempts,with subsequent revisions improving. You will see the progress as time goes on . That said, if you do not start, there will be no progress at all.

As a sample, below is a modified timeline Kaplan recommend using:


36-18 months before the start of school (md):

• Take free practice MCATs (Kaplan, Princeton Review, others that came with your study books)
• Gather school info
• Develop a target school list

24-16 months before the start of school (md):

• Register for the MCAT
• Dedicate at least 2 months of studying
• Do the MCAT

20-12 months before the start of school (md):

• Go to your student service, see what resources your university offers with premed applications.
• Set deadlines with referees
• Write your personal statement
• Complete and submit applications
• Investigate financial aid options

12-3 months before the start fo school (md):

• Prepare for interviews
• Visit campuses

Inasmuch as this example could be applied to a real plan, it is obviously limited by lack of details and some important points. Remember, the quality of your planning will be directly proportional to the investment you make in it.

You need to have a plan

Unlike true geniuses, most of us, mortals, have to plan things out when we attempt something as complex as medical school application. That is, of course, if we want to be successful. I cannot overemphasize that you will not get anywhere near a medical faculty unless you have a plan, your dad owns Switzerland or you discovered the cure for AIDS and cancer.

Assuming you are in the same category as me, let me tell you a couple of things about planning for md applications.

First of all, you have to do it early. What do I mean by early? Answer this question: Did you already start planning? A 'no' means you are already late. Seriously, start as soon as you can. I am only stressing this because more time means more opportunities. As you will see yourself, taking advantage of every opportunity you get is a must and will make the difference between you and ... well, most other people who will get rejected. Also, some extracurriculars require time to accomplish, the MCAT requires at least 3 months worth of studying (off academic year) etc. I personally think that the ideal time is the beginning of your first year in university.

Now that you are getting doubts about whether you should have strated earlier, let me talk about a couple of things you need to consider including and elaborating on in your plan (I will go into excruciating detail about each one of them in later posts).

1. Your story. The best example I can give for the visual people is a secret agent's secret identity for a mission. No, I am not living in one of Bourne's movies, but this is probably the best analogy I could come up with. By a story I mean a coherent narrative with logical sequence of your accomplishments. Basically, whatever you do in life (jobs, recreation, volunteering, etc) needs to fit in this story.
2. Choosing schoools. Most of the following points will concentrate on things specific to each school. It will make your life much easier to make a list of schools you want to apply to, and then do the following items of your plan for each school.
   
3. Your CV. This is the nitty-gritty details, the hardcore of your story. You will most likely need to submit some form of CV to most schools.
4. Autobiographical essay. This one is the condensed, written form of your story. Many schools will ask you a question through which you will have to develop your story. Some will simply ask the 'Why' questions.
5. Your references. You will need to provide academic and non-academic references, whether you want it or not, you will have to find a way to distinguish yourself from the 300-800-1200 students in your class to make sure the professor will remember you.
6. Interviews. Med faculties are starting to experiment with the mini-interviews. Are you prepared for them? Can you tell me your weaknessess without looking awkward or making me think you will fail everything you'll start?
7. MCAT. Believe me, you will need preparation for this beast. There is a lot I have to say about this one, since I am taking it this fall (2008). As I mentionned already, you will need a good 2-3 months dedicated specifically to studying for the MCAT.

A good thing would be to make a timeline. Outlining when you are doing what is important for your motivation, execution and, of course, gratification. In the next post, I will give the example Kaplan uses for the timeline planification.