Boost Your Chances of Getting Into US Med School 

Number 2:  Get Into a Strong Medical Research Group and Try to Get Published 

Spend one semester getting acquainted with the University but if you already have the goal of becoming a medical doctor in mind, it is best that you get into a Research Group as soon as possible.  This may be a difficult task depending on your University so talk to an adviser early on to determine the best way to find out how to discover research opportunities.  I completed my Undergraduate training at the University of Florida and this school is well-known for its medical research.  Luckily for me, our University provided websites that listed all the professors using UF funding for their research as well as their chief study.  This was extremely helpful in finding a topic that you are interested in and you are able to access the Principle Investigator's e-mail to inquire about a research position for an undergrad.

I was able to find placement in a very interesting study dealing with Neonatal Anesthesiology but I was only able to start 3 months after my initial search began.  The sooner you begin searching, the more opportunities you will have to be involved in the studies.  

It is also a good idea to make sure you research your PI before you agree to begin researching because you need to have multiple publications.   A strong differential between medical school applicants is the number of publications they have been a part of in high-quality journals.  A PI that writes a new journal article every 3 months is much more desirable than a PI who has had 1 publication in the last 3 years.  You need to get your name out there and make sure that your name pops up multiple times on MedScape or PubMed. Admissions Boards do put a lot of weight in this and I spent at least 10 minutes of my 30-interview going over my research studies and the roles I had in the projects.  

Even if it may seem appealing, do not try to find a position that gives a salary.  Admissions Boards will look at this as a negative and even if it is necessary to survive with some additional money in University, it is better that you find another method to get rid of your medical school debt. Medical Schools view a salary as an ulterior motive to motivate you to use your spare time for research so refuse a salary if you are offered one.  

Number 3:  Get to Know Doctors at Your University 

This is absolutely essential to try to get your foot in the door.  

Most students will all have strong bullet points so it can be hard to stand out in those situations.  If you spend a few days a week shadowing a doctor at your local University hospital, then you will be able to get valuable insight in a career you may want to do (or not want to do) in the future as well as meet important doctors that are on the Admissions Board. If you are asking intelligent questions and are enthusiastic about your learning, doctors notice that instantly. They will soon learn your name and some of the dreams you may have in Medicine and will help you network and may even put in positive words for you when you are attempting to get into the Medical School.  

All this effort will lead to your application having a flag on your file.  When a secretary, or resident is looking through your application, they will spend extra time actually looking at your information instead of just 3 quick bullet points.  You may have lower MCAT scores or maybe not as competitive an application as you would have liked, but if a doctor working for the hospital gives you strong support, that is a good way to get an interview to the school.  You can afford to give up one early Saturday every week to start rotations early in the morning so it is in your best interest to start this as soon as possible.  Rotate through multiple departments and eventually, you will meet a lot of influential people.