If you're trying to get into Medical school I'll try to give you some personal experience that worked for me... and my classmates.
I find getting into medical school or dentistry or many health related fields very different than say engineering or business. I say this because it's a lot more than having a 4.0, you really, really, really need extracurricular activities. What makes medical school so difficult to get into is you need to show leadership (starting a club or being the president of a club is great), personal achievements (say a black belt in karate or you swam across the pacific ocean), excellent marks (usually nothing lower than 3.7), great MCAT score and be good at interviewing. Oh yeah, sucking up to your prof to get not a good recommendation letter but an excellent one.
A lot about Universities is making proper contacts. Having one good contact can set you up with a whole variety of options - like a great volunteer experience you can put on your resume. You also need to be organized. University isn't that difficult if you are very organized. Most successful people I know aren't the brightest and smartest, but rather they are very organized and don't try to get things done the night before.
In Sciences somehow your exams will all fall within a week of each other, I don't know how this somehow always happens but it does. Start early and find a study strategy that works for you. I liked to study alone for a few days, review all my material then meet up with friends and go through all the information and problem sets. You might think you know everything but that's probably what your friends think too.
On top of studying, you need to start seeing your prof and asking intelligent questions. Also tell them ahead of time that you need a letter of recommendation so they can prepare you a statement.
For the MCAT a lot of medical students have taken a summer off to study for it or at the very least a few months. It's a very difficult test and covers a wide variety of information.
Then if you got that all figured out and are granted an interview, you really really really need to practice this. Different Universities have different interviewing styles. I believe at UC once you get an interview, all students are judged in the same boat all on their interview. They ask you situational questions and you get marked on your response. Others ask you about why you're interested in Medicine etc.
Other than that, enjoy your time. It's a short four years, and in no time you'll be on your next steps to success.
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