Your Guide to Get into Medical School

by Aly Madhavji, Sameer Masood, Manveen Puri, Jiayi Hu

Overview

It is commonly known that the application process to medical school is competitive. From our experience, about 1% of students who express an interest in becoming a physician during their first year of undergraduate studies, eventually matriculate into medical school. While pursuing a career in medicine remains a dream for many and is considered the endpoint of a journey, many different paths can lead towards that destination.
Given the significant time commitment required for a successful application, the decision to pursue medicine is one of the biggest decisions many high school and undergraduate students face. However, many applicants do not look beyond gaining the coveted admission letter and are then left with an incomplete understanding of what medical school entails, and the diverse career paths they can take after obtaining their MD. One of the primary reasons for this is that despite significant progress made in recent years, medicine remains a “closed door” career. A large proportion of students in our medical class had at least one immediate relative within the profession, which is also reflected in the literature. The barriers created by such exclusivity make it difficult for those who have not been socialized into the profession from a young age to navigate the unspoken pitfalls of the admissions process.
This book attempts to break down some of those barriers. It focuses on every component of the medical school application process. It differs from the many other books written on this subject by taking an experiential approach. We believe that the best way to learn about medical school acceptance is to garner advice from those who have recently achieved that milestone, as well, as from individuals in related professions who can provide valuable insights.

This guide is divided into ten chapters, each of them covering an important step along a premed's journey. While this book has a focus on North America, we have written this guide with a global audience in mind, as many of the concepts discussed are relevant to any medical school application process. As such, although the key components of the application process to medical school remain the same across various training systems, not every chapter will be equally relevant to every reader. Typically, an application is composed of academic performance, volunteer activities, research projects, medical college admission test performance, and extracurricular activities.
We have combined the prescriptive style of most books of this type with detailed stories of how real people navigated their personal journeys to reach successful outcomes. This guide shares a broad range of perspectives on what it takes and means to be a physician. We are more convinced than ever that amongst applicants who have the academic credentials, those who seek mentors and network early within the profession, be it through family or friend circles, and those who learn from their mistakes are accepted earlier. This book will help you in that journey towards medical school acceptance and an exciting career in medicine!

Jiayi Hu, MD
Manveen Puri, MD, CCFP
Sameer Masood, MD
Aly Madhavji, CPA, CA, CMA, CIM

Product Details

BN ID:	2940153701752
Publisher:	Aly Madhavji
Publication date:	07/30/2016
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	446,121
File size:	226 KB

About the Author

Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Aly Madhavji completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Toronto in June 2012. In his first year, Aly served on the Board of Directors of the Student Union representing the voice of all first-year students. He was instrumental in the introduction of a campus-wide pre-exam study break by involving over 1,800 students, faculty, and staff. Aly coordinated two successful referendums that annually raise $12,500 and $25,000 to support the campus food bank and to help student refugees in the pursuit of Canadian higher-education respectively. In his second year, Aly was a residence Don for upper-year students. He spearheaded a number of significant improvements by gathering suggestions from students across campus. He was named the Residence Ambassador of the Year. In his third year, Aly was the President of Residence Council, a student government, which was known as one of the most active and successful student groups on campus. Aly was a Peer Academic Leader for first generation first-year students to ease their transition into university. He was recognized with the Top Residence Student of the Year award. In his fourth year, Aly was an elected Governor of the University of Toronto representing over 42,000 undergraduate students where he was a member of the Executive Committee and Academic Board of the institution. He was a teaching assistant for two courses, Management in a Changing Environment and Operations Management. He held part-time positions as a Microsoft Campus Leader, Awards Agent for CampusPerks, and as a Bloomberg Ambassador to help secure students internships and full-time jobs. Aly was the Executive Director of Residence Council where he strategically came up with the idea to secure $10,000 of financial need based bursaries for Residence students. Aly was a Books with Wings Coordinator with the University of Toronto International Health Program where he raised 312 university textbooks, with an estimated value of $15,000, for students in rural and impoverished areas around the world. Aly was awarded the Principals Involvement award and the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership award. Throughout his four years, Aly served on the highest governing body of the University of Toronto Mississauga along with two terms on its Academic Board.

Aly served for one year in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) with the rank of Officer Cadet. He is a recipient of the Royal Canadian Legion Medal of Excellence. Aly holds the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) designation which he earned through the Canadian Securities Institute and is pursuing his Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA), and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designations with PwC. Since graduating in June 2012, Aly played an active role to bring a Co-Curricular Record to the University of Toronto, which was introduced in September 2013, to officially recognize the extra-curricular activities of students. Aly served as the VP Strategy and Chair of Access Empowerment Council, a not-for-profit organization created to inspire disengaged and marginalized youth and engage isolated elderly around the globe. He volunteers as a Civilian Instructor with the Royal Regiment of Canada Army Cadet Corps. Aly serves on the Board of Directors of the University of Toronto Mississauga Alumni Association and the College of Electors of the University of Toronto. He is also an Advisory Board Member for Advantage Mississauga, an innovative initiative aiming to bridge the gap between higher education and the business sector. He is a Senior Associate in the Assurance group at PwC with clients in private equity, real estate, natural resources, structured finance, insurance, broker dealers and pension plans. As the author of the #1 College book on Amazon, Aly continues to energize and develop thousands of current and aspiring University and College students through speaking engagements and mentorship. He continues to be a strategic volunteer in the community and serves on the Board of Directors of various not-for-profit and charitable organizations. Aly has been featured in The Medium and The Varsity newspapers, the Ismaili Magazine, Mississauga Magazine, and University of Toronto Press. Aly loves to spend his free time outdoors, playing sports, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Sameer received his HBSc with High Distinction in Human Biology in 2009 from the University of Toronto. He subsequently went on to complete his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 2013 as the only international student in his class and one of the few in the history of the Faculty of Medicine. Sameer is currently a Royal College Emergency Medicine Resident Physician at the University of Toronto and is scheduled to complete his specialty training in 2018. He is currently a graduate student at Harvard University where he is pursuing a Master’s in Public Health with an emphasis on Innovation and Quality improvement. Given his dual clinical and academic roles, Sameer splits his time between Canada and the United States.

During his many years at the University of Toronto, Sameer has also been extensively involved in student mentorship and community building. Sameer spent three years as a residence student counselor at the university and has been a recipient of numerous awards including the Jon. S. Dellandrea award for academic excellence and the New College Centennial Award for student leadership.

As an Emergency Medicine resident physician at the University of Toronto, Sameer has been extensively involved in medical education and research. He has served multiple terms as an interviewer on both the Undergraduate Medical Admissions Committee and the post-graduate Emergency Medicine Residency Training Committee. Sameer is also a founding partner at MD Consultants (www.mdconsultants.ca), a Canadian consulting company geared towards helping high school and undergraduate students pursue a career in healthcare.

Sameer’s current professional interests include clinical research within Emergency Medicine and using digital technology based innovation to solve the growing needs of the Canadian Healthcare System. He has won national research awards in Emergency Medicine and has published in several top-tier journals.

Manveen received his HBSc with High Distinction (Human Biology, Anthropology) in 2009 and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 2013 from the University of Toronto. He then went on to complete residency training in Family Medicine at the same institution (CCFP, 2015). He is now pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Manveen currently serves as a Medical Officer (Captain) with the Canadian Armed Forces and is a practicing Family Physician. He is posted to 2 Field Ambulance in Petawawa. He is also an attending Emergency Physician at Pembroke Regional Hospital and Deep River & District Hospital. In addition, he maintains a practice in Addictions Medicine in the Greater Toronto Area.

Manveen has taken on various leadership roles over the years. He has served on the University of Toronto’s Governing Council where he was a member of the Business Board and the Planning & Budget Committee. During residency, Manveen was Chief Resident (Family Medicine) at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga. He has received both the Gordon Cressy Award and the Arbor Award for his continued contribution to the University of Toronto community.

Mentorship has always been important to Manveen who has benefited from the generosity of his mentors. Since 2009, he has been an active mentor to pre-medical students at his alma mater New College. His mentees have gone on to attend prestigious medical schools from McGill to Stanford. Manveen speaks regularly about his experiences in medicine with high school and undergraduate audiences. In addition, Manveen is the co-founder of MD Consultants (www.mdconsultants.ca), a professional network of medical students, residents, and attending physicians who provide consultancy services in areas ranging from professional school admissions to second opinions.

Jiayi received his HBSc with High Distinction in Biochemistry and Pharmacology (2009) from the University of Toronto. He then went on to complete his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) at the same institution in 2013. He is currently a resident in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at McMaster University.

Since the early stages of his undergraduate studies, Jiayi has been very passionate about research in both the basic sciences and clinical medicine. He was involved in numerous projects at the University of Toronto resulting in two publications in cancer research journals of high impact. One of his projects, which focused on re-purposing existing non-oncological medications for the treatment of leukemia, led to a patent. He has also worked at McGill University and the University of Cambridge to expand his knowledge and skillset in basic science research.

Jiayi has a strong interest in career counseling, particularly aimed at undergraduate life science and medical students. During his undergraduate years, he co-founded Magna est Veritas, a pre-medical club with a 90% success rate in medical school admissions. He is frequently invited to speak at various career events at the University of Toronto’s Career Centre. Jiayi is also a founding partner at MD Consultants (www.mdconsultants.ca), a Canadian educational consulting company focused on helping students pursue a career in healthcare and establish a professional collaborative network.

Jiayi’s current academic interests are focused on clinical research in the field of Plastic Surgery. Specifically, he is interested in understanding the psychological and economic forces that shape the decision-making process of both patients and physicians. Jiayi has presented his work at international conferences and published in several top tier journals.