Monday, July 30, 2012

Get Into Wake Forest Medical School

Increase your chances of admission to Wake Forest University School of Medicine.


Wake Forest University School of Medicine is a highly selective medical school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A private institution founded in 1902, it is part of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, one of the largest employers in Forsyth County. Students looking to attend Wake Forest medical school need to make sure their previous academic work, recommendation letters, and interviewing skills are topnotch to have a good chance with an admissions offer.


Instructions


1. Make sure you score as high on the MCAT as you possibly can. Take a paid MCAT preparation course if possible, and set aside eight months to a year to dedicate to preparing for the notoriously difficult test. The average composite score for admitted Wake Forest medical students is 31, with an average scaled test score of 10.3, so aim to score in that range to increase your chances of admission.


2. Fulfill the pre-medical school course requirements before you graduate from your undergraduate institution. It is possible to complete pre-med requirements after graduating from college, but you will incur extra cost and time for post-baccalaureate classes. Wake Forest requires eight semester hours in each of the following subject areas: vertebrate zoology or general biology, general physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry. Make sure you incorporate these requirements into your undergraduate pre-med course of study in addition to the writing requirement.








3. Get your undergraduate GPA as high as possible. Wake Forest School of Medicine admitted students had an average GPA of 3.64 in 2007. If you need to study for a test that will mean the difference between an A and a B, make sure you set aside adequate time to prepare. Developing good study habits in college will prove an invaluable skill in medical school, which is infamously challenging, consisting of hard work with a narrower area of focus.


4. Ask professors for letters of recommendation. Wake Forest requires one letter from a scientific discipline and one non-scientific. The Wake Forest admissions staff also prefer to receive a letter of recommendation from a pre-med committee if your undergraduate institution has one. Ask professors with whom you have developed a personal rapport to ensure that your letter will be as personalized and unique as possible. Asking prestigious professors also helps. Make sure you give your professors ample time to write your letter -- anywhere from three months to one academic year in advance is preferable -- and thank them for their help in adding to your application.


5. Practice your interview skills. Medical school is one of the few higher-education programs of study that requires a personal interview on a massive scale to determine whether an offer of admission will be extended. Take advantage of your school's career counseling office, which likely offers mock interviews for students applying to medical school. Ask your friends, family, and guidance counselors to stage mock interviews with you, and prepare answers in advance for possible questions. Make sure you also have a set of questions to ask your interviewer, because asking good questions can make or break any interview.

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