Absolutely!

The art and science of medicine is influenced not only by scientific discovery, but also by understanding cultural differences, socioeconomic factors, political and governmental restrictions, and ethical considerations.

Therefore, a person who comes to the practice of medicine with a breadth of experience across liberal arts disciplines will be very well prepared to understand and explore all of the issues-both scientific and non-scientific-that influence the delivery of health care.

Our understanding of the human body and all of its complexities is rooted in science. The majority of the classes you will take in medical school relate to the physical and biological sciences. Therefore, majoring in a science discipline may help a student to be well prepared for the academic transition to medical school. Exploring the sciences in-depth may also help a student to learn whether s/he loves science enough to want to have it as a major component of his/her lifetime career. And certainly, if a student is incredibly passionate about exploring a science discipline, it makes sense to choose that discipline as his or her major.

However, because medical school and the work of a physician are indeed very science-heavy, many pre-health students realize that their undergraduate years may be one of their few opportunities to explore a non-science discipline in depth. So someone who is just as passionate about history as about medicine may decide to major in history while in college so that s/he has the opportunity to explore that passion. Such a student would then make the transition to his/her passion for science and medicine following his/her undergraduate years. Without question, a student majoring in a non-science area while completing prerequisite science courses can be just as successful in medical school as the student who pursued a science major.

Once you have established that you are academically ready to attend medical school, the single most defining aspect of an application is when we can sense that the applicant has a passion for something. It is pretty easy for us to know when a student has simply gone through the "pre-med checklist" and volunteered in a hospital for one semester, done one summer of research, shadowed a doctor for a week, etc. What is much more compelling is when we see an applicant who has followed a passion and devoted significant time to a certain issue or activity, explored the topic in-depth, and has risen to leadership positions within that area.

Of the many qualities that our admissions committee looks for in an applicant--interpersonal, professional, and academic--the ability of an applicant to demonstrate that he or she has the appropriate academic foundation necessary to fare well in our rigorous curriculum is of great interest to our Admissions Committee. If an applicant's GPA or MCAT scores are not strong enough to predict success in our curriculum, we would encourage the applicant to spend some time working to strengthen these areas. Possibilities may be to take additional science courses either while in college or following college in one of many post-baccalaureate programs that are designed for this purpose. The applicant also may need to consider retaking the MCAT after giving him- or herself time to address areas of deficiency and prepare for the exam again.

It is important that health care providers understand how to be critical thinkers. For all that we know about the human body, much remains a mystery. Therefore, health care providers must be problem-solvers: they must weave together the present symptoms, understand the patient's past history, and know which questions to ask to fill in the holes. They may also begin to recognize a pattern, such as several teenage patients from one school who all seem to come in with the same symptoms-what is causing that? Is there a common factor? Research in any discipline is important in helping students to understand how to ask the right questions, how to analyze the facts and the data collected, and how to draw an appropriate conclusion as a result of that analysis. These skills may be gained through bench research or through an anthropological study. What is important is that the student gets hands-on experience with critical thinking and problem solving--not just in theory, but in application.

Letters of recommendation are quite important because they help the Admissions Committee gain an informed perspective on the applicant's strengths from a person who knows the applicant well. And knowing the applicant well is key! It is not terribly helpful for a professor to write "Susie was in my organic chemistry class and received 469 out of a possible 500 points, resulting in an A-." That is information we can basically learn from your transcript. What is much more helpful is for that same professor to be able to write about how Susie asked insightful questions during class, that she helped the students around her who were struggling, that she wrote thorough and knowledgeable responses to exam questions, or even that she struggled with a concept but worked very hard to improve her understanding. It is therefore important for students to ask for letters of recommendation from people who know them well. If you haven't yet gotten to know any faculty members, start going to office hours, be more vocal in class, and begin the process!

The personal statement is your opportunity to "speak" to the Admissions Committee. The statement could address why you are interested in medicine, but it could also discuss another interest or aspect of your life.

There are two common pitfalls when it comes to writing a personal statement. The first is to basically "rewrite" your resume, listing in sentence form every activity in which you have participated. What is more compelling is to perhaps single out two or three things and then go into greater depth discussing your role in the experience, what you learned from the experience, and what that experience perhaps taught you about yourself. The second pitfall is to spend the bulk of your statement talking about someone else. It is not uncommon for a person to be drawn to medicine because of a family member's illness, or because he or she met an amazing doctor at one point in their life. But remember that this statement is about YOU.

Writing an effective personal statement takes time, and will likely warrant several drafts. It is important to have other people read the statement to see that it makes sense and that it is free from errors. It is also a good idea to have someone that you really don't know well read the statement--perhaps a coworker of one of your parents, or a sibling of a friend, or a tutor on campus. Along with looking for grammatical errors, ask the person to tell you how s/he would describe you after reading the statement. What descriptors would they use? Remember, this is a person who doesn't know you well--just like the members of an Admissions Committee. If the person's conclusions sound like you, and convey the message you were trying to send, then you have met your goal. If not, then you may need to rewrite your statement to get the appropriate points across.

The best first step would be to gain feedback on the possible weaknesses in your application. Pre-health advisors can be a big help in this area, and applicants should also contact the medical schools to which they applied to ask for feedback. Once the applicant has gathered some understanding of the areas in which s/he needs further development, s/he can then consider those activities or programs that would best address his/her needs.