As a goal-oriented medical school applicant, you already know that high achievement requires a synergistic blend of skills and knowledge. It is not enough to be able to name all of the biological entities in a complex metabolic pathway or to be able to draw every amino acid. Acquiring knowledge can be a tedious and arduous task -after all, you did spend hours every night redrawing each amino acid and writing out each step of glycolysis. The value of the knowledge, however, is derived from the potential of what one can accomplish with their specific skillset given what they know about the world. A biochemist using her knowledge of amino acid structure for life-saving drug discovery -that's the synergistic result of skills and knowledge.
My Personal Statement
My Skills
I am a business professional with 35 years of experience in marketing and sales. Over the course of decades, I have developed an expert ability to sell complex products and services. I posit that our combined effort to gain your medical school acceptance is actually a sales pitch. Your talents and potential are the product. You may know that you have the potential to become a great physician, but can you communicate this to admissions committees? How will you create the best possible presentation of yourself in order to increase your chances of acceptance? As shown by the devastatingly low medical school acceptance rates, this is a formidable challenge. Out of all of the students that want to go to medical school, a vanishing percentage of them are uniquely able to sell their candidacy. Even more disappointing -many of those turned away would make excellent physicians, if given the chance. They simply did not have the proper marketing strategy to win over admissions.
My Knowledge
In 2014, my oldest daughter started applying to medical schools. Like you, her commitment was clear. She performed well in college and on her MCAT. Her resume was impressive. I wondered though, if I could guide her through the considerable challenge in pursuing her dream. I knew very little about what medical schools were looking for and what it would take to gain acceptance. After scouring the internet - studying dozens of school websites, medical school forums, GPA/MCAT admissions statistics -and spending countless hours preparing personal statements, secondary applications, and interview responses, we achieved the goal! When the time came, she was rewarded with acceptance in five out of the six schools at which she interviewed. Over the years, I have successfully worked with other candidates and achieved similar results. Just this past year, one of my students was accepted into seven out of eight schools. Over a great deal of time (I'll ballpark it - 2000 hours), I have accumulated and organized a vast degree of knowledge about the medical school admissions process and the qualities that every medical school in the country is looking for in a candidate. My extensive research in this field will allow you to save a great deal of time and money avoiding mistakes that are easy to make.
After 35 years and 2000 hours of acquiring the relevant skills and knowledge, I am confident that with my guidance, we can work as a team to help you achieve your dream!
Don Barres
Senior Advisor
PrepMed Institute, LLC