There are so many moving parts in the medical school application process that it’s hard to keep track of them all. You’re busy, stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted, which means students can lose track of something else that’s very important—etiquette.
How you behave and treat other people during the medical school application process matters. It reveals your character and, in serious cases, can affect whether or not you gain an acceptance.
In this post, we cover 8 important etiquette rules to abide by while applying to medical school.
1 | Don’t Ask Students Personal Questions
Don’t ask applicants any questions about their application results, scores, hours, etc. How someone did on the MCAT or how many interviews they received is none of your business. Asking other students personal questions about their success or lack thereof is inappropriate.
Regardless of whether or not you’re trying to intimidate the other person or actually mean no harm, it’s poor student etiquette. Applying to medical school is stressful enough as it is. Don’t add to that stress. That other student doesn’t need to know you did better or worse than them on any part of the application process.
Some people will ask brash, invasive questions anyway. Be courteous, deflect, change the subject, or say you don’t feel it’s appropriate to speak about if they persist.
Don’t be that person yourself—Don’t add to the imposter syndrome many students already suffer from.
Topics to avoid include:
- MCAT scores
- GPA
- Number of secondaries
- Number of interviews
- Number of acceptances
(The same etiquette applies to the residency application process.)
Instead, ask questions you would ask anyone you are trying to get to know. For example, where they’re from, what they know about the city, what their hobbies are, or what the last book they enjoyed was.
Focus on the person, not the applicant.
2 | Don’t Treat Other Premeds as Your Competition
Choose not to see other students applying to medical school as your direct competition. While they are also headed toward the same goal as you, your only true competition is yourself. It’s your performance that will ultimately determine whether or not you get accepted to medical school, not someone else’s.
You have nothing to gain by putting other premeds down or trying to game the system. Don’t talk about your scores to try and make other candidates lose their confidence. Don’t try to shake people up before their interview. Don’t spread negativity in online message boards.
Your fellow applicants are not your enemies. If you earn acceptance to medical school, the students will become your colleagues. You’ll need to support each other and work together to make it through the intense years that lay ahead.
3 | Don’t Criticize, Complain, or Gossip
No matter how right you believe you are, never complain about other students, faculty, professors, or programs.
Even if you’re correct, gossiping is a bad look, especially during interviews. You won’t impress a school by complaining about another one. They’ll only wonder what you’re saying about their program behind their back.
The same goes for any communication you have during the application process and beyond. Medical schools are always watching. They see how you speak outside of interviews, and they can see what you say on social media.
- : public
