Insider insights on getting into, and thriving, during medical school | University of Michigan – Michigan Medicine

Its no secret that getting accepted into medical school is highly competitive, and for those who are admitted, making the choice of which school to attend can feel overwhelming.

Hearing insights and advice directly from those who have successfully navigated the process and are currently thriving in medical school ahead of you, though, can be invaluable.

Here, five University of Michigan medical students share their experiences for current and future applicants, breaking down some of the most asked about elements of the process (you can also watch their livestream Q&A video above.).

Kelsey, fourth-year medical student: I think it's important to think about your most important experiences to you. I would pick three or four things that feel really meaningful. I was an EMT prior to coming to medical school. I made sure I really had crafted my story around that and what was important for me to share. I also was a middle school teacher. I thought through those experiences and what valuable lessons I learned from those and what I want to convey to an interviewer. It's important to practice with friends and family.

In general, there's kind of standard interview questions that get asked at a lot of different interviews: what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses, what's a challenge you have overcome. Having a couple of prepared answers will help alleviate a lot of stress when youre interviewing.

Chelsie, second-year medical student: I had never in my life been interested in cardiology. Now I'm interested in doing a cardiology fellowship. It was due to me being able to reach out to faculty and talk to them about their experiences. It's not like having to beg or pull teeth. Michigan is a great institution with brilliant faculty members. People who are leading their fields. To be able to work with these people, learn from them, hear about their backgrounds and how they got to where they are, in hopes of maybe me getting there one day, it's so inspiring. It gives you more fuel to keep going when you have faculty who validate you constantly.

Matt, first-year medical student: One thing that is unique or nearly unique about Michigan Medical School is we only do one preclinical year. It is a true pass or fail. I've been blown away the first few weeks of school. We had a quiz after the first week and folks were sending their big study guides they put together in our class group chats. The preclinical year is six blocks. Those are little terms, with midterms in there. You have a final block exam at the end of each of those blocks, which range from four weeks to ten weeks.

Kelsey: Clinical year is great. We do it the second year versus the third year. You do a bunch of rotations. You have so much responsibility if you want it. You answer pages, you go see your patients, and you really get to own them. But, at the end of the day, I have residents, an intern, a senior faculty and an attending faculty who are all looking over my shoulder and making sure I'm not making mistakes when it comes to taking care of the patient. It's incredible learning without the scary pressure that youre going to mess anything up.

I can wholeheartedly say the Michigan process works, and you learn a lot. I feel really ready and excited for residency.

SEE ALSO: What does it take to get into Michigans medical school? Just ask the new dean

Quintin, fourth-year medical student: Not only are we getting the experience of being able to perform things, write notes, come up with differential diagnoses, and fully manage our patients as best we can with a lot of the guidance that was discussed, but we are also allowed to flex our teaching minds.

You realize as a medical student that its really helpful to have a resident who is interested in teaching, and I am one of those people who is very interested in it. So it was nice to work on that now, see what works and see what I can carry forward or what would I change as I move forward into residency.

Xinghao, second-year MSTP student: Our learning community, M-Home, has a lot of spirit. It's about support and community, and that's important. My house counselor, Christine, Ive cried to her on multiple occasions. I will admit that. If you end up in Fitzbutler House, you probably will cry to her too. Medical school is hard. Life is hard. Definitely having a support system that cares about your emotions and how happy you feel in school makes it all worth it.

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Insider insights on getting into, and thriving, during medical school | University of Michigan - Michigan Medicine