MDconsultants & MEDLIFE YorkU: Q&A with a University of Toronto Medical Student

Nov 11, 2020
Author:MDconsultants

Categories: Announcements, Med School Admissions, Med School Applications, Medical Education, Medical School, Networking, Pre-med Tips, Video Q&A's

The MDconsultants network currently comprises more than 170 medical students, residents, and attending physicians who practice in various specialties across Canada and the United States. Our company is led by 3 physician partners who graduated from the University of Toronto and is supported professionally by a full-time managerial staff. MDconsultants started out in 2009 to provide high quality consulting services to enable aspiring healthcare professionals gain admission into programs of their choice. Since then, we’ve evolved into a predominantly physician network of talented consultants who solve diverse and challenging problems. Our current range of capabilities include admission consulting, healthcare consulting, providing professional second opinions, and delivering healthcare in a variety of settings.

We teamed up with MEDLIFE York U to bring you a Q&A Zoom Presentation with one of our medical student consultants! University of Toronto medical student, Ben, spoke directly with pre-medical students on his experience applying to medical school. Ben answers viewer questions live on all things relating to medical school including research & volunteering opportunities, applications, how to prepare and so much more! See the questions answered during this taping below:

Were you selective in where you applied for since all medical schools have different criteria for admission or did you apply to as many schools as possible?
Did you have a backup plan for applying to Ontario medical schools? Did you ever consider US medical schools?
Can you talk about your research or thesis experience?
Do you have any tips on how to do well in interviews? What’s the best way to answer questions such as “Why do you want to be a doctor?” or “Why do you want to attend this specific school?”
How do you recommend students to practice for interviews?
In regards to ethical interview questions, do you have any recommendations on additional resources that students can use in preparing for these stations?
What resources do you recommend for studying and preparing for the MCAT?
In terms of the application process, does the importance of GPA, extracurriculars, and references vary between different schools?
How big of a jump/difference is medical school and undergrad?
Do you feel that applying for Residency in specific specialties is more competitive than applying to medical school or vice versa?
How do you deal with stress?
How do you approach writing the essays?
I’m planning on taking a year off to travel abroad, do you think that would negatively effect my chances of getting into medical school?
Do you have any advice for undergraduate students on how to get references and how to connect with academic professionals?
Can you specify who the academic professional would need to be for a reference?
Do you recommend any writing courses for students who are not confident in their writing skills?
What is the best way to handle rejection and how can we learn from our mistakes if the Canadian medical schools do not provide suggestions or feedback after you have been rejected?
What helped you decide that medicine was right for you?