Work & Activities

Three Ways to Answer "How Are You Diverse?

Discover the key to acing the diversity question in your admissions essays and interviews with Passport Admissions. Explore three layers of diversity beyond race and ethnicity that can make your application shine.

The One Factor That (Almost) All Failed Applicants Have in Common

Do you want to get into your dream school? Then you need to avoid the biggest mistake that most applicants make: failing to see themselves clearly. In this article, you’ll learn why self-perception is so important and how to improve it with some simple strategies. You’ll also hear from an expert consultant who has helped hundreds of applicants get into their best schools. Don’t miss this chance to boost your self-awareness and your chances of getting in. Read more now!

Networking 101 Business Cards: The College Student's Shortcut to Professional Cred

If you want to boost your professional credibility and network effectively, you need to have a business card. This blog article will show you how to create and use a business card as a college student or a young professional. You will also learn how to design a digital portfolio and a resume that showcase your skills and achievements. By following these steps, you will be able to build a strong and respected professional identity and open doors to future success. Don’t miss the chance to test your knowledge with the interactive networking game at the end of the article!

Networking 101- How to Network Without Selling Your Soul

Do you want to network like a pro, without feeling like a sleazy salesperson? In this article, you’ll discover how to connect with people authentically, kindly, and strategically. You’ll learn how to change your mindset, practice meditation, network for your future self, and use online tools to find and contact potential contacts. You’ll also get to practice your skills with an AI bot that can give you feedback and advice. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to network without selling your soul.

Admissions Tips from Famous Actors' Auditions

If you want to learn how to ace your college or job applications and interviews, you should check out our new blog post, where we share six tips from famous actors who went above and beyond to land their dream roles. From showing, not telling, to making a bold move, to consulting an expert, these tips will help you impress your interviewers and get accepted to your dream school or company. Don’t miss this chance to learn from the best and boost your chances of success. Click here to read the full article and get ready to shine.

From Biceps to Box Office: The (Unofficial) Schwarzenegger Guide to Crushing College

What can you learn from Arnold Schwarzenegger, the bodybuilder, actor, and politician? In this article, you’ll discover five life strategies inspired by his remarkable journey, from total immersion to schmäh. Whether you want to pump up your muscles, your career, or your confidence, you’ll find some valuable tips to upgrade your programming and become the hero of your own story

Are You Red, Blue, or Purple? What Your Personality Color Says About Your Feedback Style

Feedback is a crucial part of your personal and professional growth, but not all feedback is created equal. In this article, Ryan Kelly shows you how to identify your personality color and use it to receive constructive criticism. He also gives you tips on how to avoid ineffective criticism and find the best sources of advice.

It's Okay to Be a VolunTourist - Trust Me

VolunTourism, or the combination of travel and charity, often gets criticized for being unethical, ineffective, or cliché. However, there are also some overlooked perks of VolunTourism, such as learning a foreign language, gaining practical skills, and meeting diverse people. You will also find out how to choose a trustworthy volunteer organization and how to write effectively about your VolunTourism experiences.

Newsletter: Why Mowing Lawns is Better than Your Summer Internship

Are you looking for a summer internship that will boost your resume and impress your future employers or admissions committees? Think again. In this blog post, you will learn why mowing lawns is better than your summer internship. You will discover how “crappy jobs” can give you real competencies, stories, and character that will make you stand out from the crowd. You will also see examples of how former students used their “crappy jobs” to showcase their skills and achievements. Don’t miss this opportunity to rethink your summer plans and find out why getting a “crappy job” is better for your soul and your future.

Newsletter: Back to School 9/2023

Back-to-school is a time of excitement and anxiety for both parents and students. How can you make the most of this new academic year? In this article, you will find some tips and tricks to help you get a strong start to the semester and embrace the challenges and opportunities of going back to school.

Unlearning Your Bad Writing Habits from School (Part 1)

Our schooling–whether consciously or inadvertently–trains us to be crappy writers.‍ And that’s a big problem for anyone who needs to write in a real-world context, whether for an application, a cover letter, a journal submission, or just in everyday life. ‍So, if you want to be a successful writer, you’ll need to unlearn all your bad habits from school.‍ Let’s focus on one of the worst writing habits you developed in school and discuss how to give your writing a total makeover that will instantly make it more readable, original, and enjoyable for the reader!

Is It Okay to Be Political in Medical School Application Essays and Interviews?

“I don’t want to be political,” my students will say, “what if the wrong person reads my application and suddenly hates my guts?” I understand where my students are coming from. It can be scary to advertise one’s political views amid such contentious and polarized times, especially on the competitive chopping block of medical school admissions. So, what’s the answer? Is it ever okay to be political during the application process?

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Scientific Inquiry

Medical schools are interested in more than just statistics when reviewing applications. In particular, they are looking for students who display the 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students | AAMC. In this post, we will discuss Scientific Inquiry and how to display this competency in your application.

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Quantitative Reasoning and Critical Thinking

Medical schools look into more than raw statistics and take a holistic approach when reviewing applications. Specifically, they are looking for students who display different core skills outlined by the 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students | AAMC, which describe qualities of a good applicant and potential doctor. Today, we aim to discuss Quantitative Reasoning and Critical Thinking.

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Living Systems and Human Behavior

Throughout this series, we have been exploring many core competencies, but in this article we will analyze Living Systems and Human Behavior. We will examine the courses you will need to take in order to receive a biology degree or complete the prerequisites for medical school; we also have different study habits that we recommend. In addition, we will review opportunities for you after completing the courses and where you can apply the material.

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Written Communication

The 15 AAMC Core Competencies can be seen as the backbone of the ideal medical student. Some, of course, are straightforward enough - service, teamwork, cultural competence. But what about the ones hidden at the bottom of the list? How would you make, say, ‘Written Communication’ hold substantial weight in your application?

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Oral Communication

If you’re applying to medical school, you must understand that admissions committees want well-rounded candidates. Statistics are not everything. In your application, you should try to display the AAMC's 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students. Throughout this series, we have been exploring many core competencies, but in this article we will explore Oral Communication. We will examine the common ways of satisfying this core competency versus how to stand out from other applicants. 

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Capacity for Improvement

Being a pre-med can be very demanding. Pre-meds are bound to experience failures, which are a normal part of life. However, it is important to bounce back from failures and strive to be better moving forward.

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies: Social Skills

The range of social skills among pre-med students is very large. Some are very talkative, active, and extroverted, while others are shy, reserved, and introverted, but in the end, "social skills" aren't just about being outgoing versus quiet. Social Skills are one of the AAMC's 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students that medical schools look for when selecting candidates. Let’s talk about what it means, how most pre-meds satisfy it, and how you can make your Social Skills stand out among the pool of applicants.

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Teamwork

Medical schools are interested in more than just statistics when reviewing applications. They’re looking for students who display different core skills, particularly the AAMC’s 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students. In this article we’ll be exploring Teamwork. Let’s talk about what it means, how most pre-meds satisfy it, and how you can make your Teamwork stand out among the pool of applicants. 

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Ethical Responsibility

How does the AAMC define 'Ethical Responsibility,' and what does that mean for you as an applicant to medical school? Read this post to find out the best and worst ways for you to demonstrate this core competency in your application.

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Service Orientation

The AAMC Core Competencies are a groundwork for personal achievements and skills that can underscore your qualifications to enter medical school. This blog post will break down the intrapersonal competency of Service Orientation. Why is it significant and why do medical schools focus on your service when you seemingly have so many other tangible qualities to offer?

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Resilience and Adaptability

Let's go into detail about this core competency, what it means for your application, and how to present yourself with these qualities without making it feel like you are just checking the boxes.

Breaking Down the AAMC Core Competencies - Cultural Competence

In case you didn’t already know, medical schools look at more than just statistics when considering an applicant. Among many factors, they want to see future students who can exhibit the AAMC's 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students. In this article we’ll be exploring Cultural Competence. Let’s talk about what it means, how most pre-meds satisfy it, and how you can make your Cultural Competence stand out among the pool of applicants.

How to Shadow a Doctor as a Pre-Med

How much shadowing will you need to apply to medical school? Where should you start looking for doctors to shadow if you have no connections? Is it even possible to shadow amid the COVID-19 pandemic?‍ You probably have many questions about shadowing as a pre-med, and we’re here to answer all of them and give you the foundational knowledge you’ll need for this aspect of your medical school application.

In Our Shoes: A Physician’s Take on Virtual Shadowing and Medical School Applications

The pre-med path often seems less like a path and more like a smooth-faced, dastardly vertical cliff to climb. Which foothold should we pre-meds choose? How many should we choose in order to stay latched onto the unruly rock? While we all latched onto the plethora of virtual shadowing and clinical opportunities that popped up during the pandemic, is it time to let go? In this interview, Dr. Christopher Behringer surmises how he would have approached shadowing requirements and medical school applications had he been a pre-med right now. Dr. Behringer also discusses the exciting new ways he and the HEAL Clinical Education Network are working to make the pre-med, medical school, and residency paths more integrated than ever before! 

5 Reasons Why Pre-Med Shadowing Requirements are Unfair

Imagine being a pre-med student in Grant, Nebraska. There are no physicians in your city, the closest clinic is miles away, and you have no connections with anyone in the healthcare field. But your dream is to go to medical school, and all of them require shadowing hours, something you simply don’t have the luxury of pursuing. Physician shadowing is often considered to be one of the most important things a pre-med student can do to prepare for applications and get real-world experience. But while shadowing can be an incredible asset, it’s not always feasible for every pre-med. 

10 Do’s and Don’ts When Describing Your Pre-Med Shadowing Experiences

Do you understand all the challenges that lie between you and your dream medical school? You might recognize obstacles like obtaining a high GPA or taking the MCAT, but there’s a challenge that blindsides many: describing your shadowing experience. Getting shadowing is difficult enough, and its true benefit is often lost through poor or common descriptions. In this article, we’ll provide you with some do’s and don’ts on how to make your shadowing experiences shine while analyzing samples of students’ writing.

4 Tips for Blending In-Person and Virtual Shadowing Experiences

“Virtual shadowing is a waste of time.” All of us in the premed community have probably heard or thought this over the past year as we casually sat in our beds and watched clinical shadowing videos. We may also have wondered, does virtual shadowing really count for anything? As fellow pre-meds, we think that virtual shadowing can definitely play a strong role in your medical school applications if applied effectively. Here’s how you can strengthen your application and maximize your medical knowledge by combining virtual and in person shadowing opportunities!

Deconstructing Pre-Med Buzzwords: What Does ‘Holistic’ Actually Mean?

The term ‘holistic’ can be pretty contentious. I’ve even heard comments that pre-meds will “never get in” if they use the word in their essays for osteopathic medical schools (but I have hundreds of past students who’ve proven that wrong). The reason it’s so contentious is that it can have several very different meanings to different people. With that in mind, it’s crucial for you to understand how this term can be interpreted so that you don’t use it in a misleading or confusing way. This article will break down the most common definitions and interpretations of the buzzword ‘holistic’ and give some examples of each. That way, you can make it work effectively for your intentions and purposes in your application.

Deconstructing Pre-Med Buzzwords: What Does ‘Cultural Competence’ Actually Mean?

Do you know what ‘machismo’ is and how might it affect Latino men’s health or family dynamics? Do you know why many Jehovah’s Witnesses disagree with blood transfusions? Are you aware of the disparities that have led to greater maternal and infant mortality in African American women and babies? These are just a few of the questions that physicians need to explore in their goal to provide culturally competent care. There’s the key buzzword - the triple C - ‘culturally competent care.’ It might sound like a broken record in pre-meds’ essays and activities, but it has both intrinsic and practical value for you as a future physician. This article will do its best to deconstruct and simplify the term ‘cultural competence,’ while also providing some concrete examples.

Deconstructing Pre-Med Buzzwords: What Does ‘Critical Thinking’ Actually Mean?

Regardless of what you think about the term 'critical thinking,' it has unfortunately become a cliche buzzword in the pre-med world. But like most cliches, there is some truth behind it and its importance in the pre-med path. As with most unavoidable pre-med cliches and buzzwords, the key goal is to “make it your own” through specific illustrations and examples from your own personal experiences. In this article, I will simplify something that’s needlessly complex, explain what ‘critical thinking’ really means to you as a pre-med, and show you how you can effectively demonstrate it to medical schools.

How to Write About Your Virtual Shadowing Experiences

Writing about your virtual shadowing seems like a difficult task. Due to the passive nature of shadowing, it’s already tricky to write about it compellingly, and the virtual format only makes this more challenging. But it can definitely be done, especially if you’ve gone out of your way to find optimal virtual shadowing and taken steps to get the most out of the experiences. We’re here to answer all your questions about writing about your virtual shadowing experiences, including some do’s and don’ts and an example for you to emulate. If you follow this advice, you’ll be able to show medical schools the value of your virtual shadowing experience in a memorable, convincing narrative!

Virtual vs. In-Person Shadowing - What Should Medical Schools Accept?

Virtual shadowing experiences can run the gamut in terms of their quality - ranging from pre-recorded videos with no interaction to interactive live observations with physicians and patients in real-time. With this high level of variance in mind, it’s understandable for medical schools to be skeptical and apply a degree of scrutiny to applicants’ virtual shadowing hours. But from the applicants’ perspective, this scrutiny can seem incredibly unfair given how difficult it has been to secure meaningful shadowing (whether in-person or online) amid pandemic restrictions that have lasted over a year. We want to consider both viewpoints - the schools and the applicants - to posit our argument about what kinds of shadowing that medical schools should accept for the 2021-2022 cycle.

Medical Schools’ Responses to Virtual Clinical Experiences

As the opening of the 2021-2022 medical school cycle looms near, many pre-med applicants have a pressing question on their minds: in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, how will medical schools evaluate virtual clinical experiences? Well, we’re here to help answer that question. We have gathered data and responses from 162 MD and DO schools to assess how they will treat virtual clinical experiences and what competencies they’ll be looking for in these experiences. Let’s breakdown the data and analyze the qualitative responses so that you know what to expect during this upcoming cycle!

6 Holiday Break Activities to Increase Your Chances of Getting into Medical School

The holiday break can be a time of blissful unproductivity - lazing around, eating hearty meals, tinkering with new presents - but it can also be a good time to put in some work on your medical school application (hopefully it’s a little bit of both!). So, if you’re feeling ambitious, how exactly should you spend your holiday break? Well, that depends a little bit on how far along you are in your pre-med journey. Regardless of whether you recently applied or won’t be applying for a few years, we wanted to give you 6 possible options for holiday productivity.

How to Design A Pre-Med Virtual Capstone Project

Capstone projects are a great way for pre-meds to stand out from the pack and be memorable to admissions committees. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated this type of endeavor. So we wanted to give some examples of pre-med virtual capstone projects to show you that it’s still possible to accomplish this kind of initiative, even amid the restrictions and limitations of the virus.

How to Meaningfully Volunteer as a Pre-Med During the Pandemic

Whether you’ve already applied and are looking for gap-year activities, or you’re a younger pre-med who’s trying to meet requirements, you’re facing an unprecedented challenge in finding meaningful volunteer experiences. Beggars can’t be choosers, but you shouldn’t just sign up for the first available thing you find. Why not? Because your choices will be measured against all the other pre-meds who are in your same position. So, what defines a “quality” volunteer experience during the pandemic, and which ones will make you stand out to admissions committees?

Which Virtual Medical Shadowing Opportunities are the Best?

Based on what we can tell, most medical schools will accept virtual shadowing and clinical hours. That’s good news for pre-meds who have been deemed non-essential during COVID-19. However, not all virtual shadowing platforms are created equal, so you’ll need to carefully choose which ones you pursue. What makes a virtual shadowing experience worthwhile, and which platforms are the best?

Will Medical Schools Accept Virtual Shadowing?

Hospitals and clinics have mostly banned pre-med students from shadowing and volunteering, but medical school admissions committees continue to require hundreds of clinical hours (~300 total, 100 shadowing) in order to get in. You could opt to get an EMT or phlebotomy certification, but those essential jobs typically require 20+ hours per week, not a time commitment that most full-time students can keep. So how do you get clinical experience when you're not "essential personnel?" 

Medical School Admissions Requirements 2020-2021

You’ll need to meet all the prerequisites to be considered for admission, but you’ll need to go above and beyond to stand out and ensure your chances of getting in. Since you’ll have to go above and beyond, we want this post to do the same thing. We’ll give you all the requirements, BUT we’ll also provide tips and tricks for separating you from the countless other eligible applicants.

The Best Volunteer Opportunities for Pre-meds During Coronavirus (Without Leaving Home)

The Best Volunteer Opportunities for Pre-meds During Coronavirus (Without Leaving Home)

50 Activities for Your Pre-med College Bucket List

50 Activities for Your Pre-med College Bucket List

Do's and Don'ts for Writing About Coronavirus in Your Personal Statement

Do's and Don'ts for Writing About Coronavirus in Your Personal Statement

How do ordinary people get into medical school? (Video)

How do ordinary people get into medical school?

How Do Ordinary People Get into Medical School?

How Do Ordinary People Get into Medical School?

The Top 40 Pre-med Summer Internships

The Top 40 Pre-med Summer Internships

Five Types of Med School Gap Years, Ranked Best to Worst

Five Types of Med School Gap Years, Ranked Best to Worst

The MedSwipe Dating App: A Guide to Your Med School Application

The MedSwipe Dating App: A Guide to Your Med School Application

3 Tips for Writing an Effective Resume for Medical School

As you get ready to apply to med school, you should update your resume. But it's not because you will use a resume when you actually apply to med school. You don't submit a resume as part of AMCAS or AACOMA

The Best (and Worst) Hobbies to Include in Your Medical School Application

Running in charity 5Ks. Traveling around the globe. Playing the piano. These might sound like great hobbies to include in your medical school application, but the truth is that every pre-med does them.

What Separates the Typical from Stand-out Pre-Meds

One of our core philosophies is based on a question that most pre-meds aren’t asking before they apply to medical school.“Why should medical schools accept you? What makes you stand out?”

Every Question You Have About the AMCAS

The race begins! The AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) opens tomorrow, and if you’re not one of the first few to fill it out in the hours that it opens, you will never fulfill your dreams of becoming a physician.

Is It Okay to Use Bullet Points in Your Work and Activities Section for Medical School?

Imagine you’ve worked hard for months on your AMCAS application, and you’re showing it to your pre-health advisor for the first time.

How to Be Pre-med While Still Being Yourself

Pre-meds have a dilemma - they need to be both qualified and distinct as a candidate, but those two things can feel contradictory, or at least mutually exclusive. How can you be both at the same time? How can you avoid the “boxy” fate of so many pre-meds?

How to Stand Out If You’re Totally Average: the Pre-Med Capstone Project

It’s easy to feel inferior as a pre-med. You look around your classes and see people who are smarter than you, work harder than you, who have overcome unbelievable obstacles to get where they are today.

Red Hot Ways to Show Your Medical School Fit

In the late 1980s, Flea and Anthony Kiedis--the two founders of Red Hot Chili Peppers--were having a hard time finding a drummer. The band had already met with some success, releasing three albums, the last of which had climbed to number 148 on the Billboard charts. The original drummer quit after a drug overdose claimed the life of his close friend and lead guitarist. The next two drummers were both fired, one for chemistry and the other because he couldn't stay sober. The Chili Peppers needed a drummer, one who not only could play the drums but would fit with the band.

Volunteering, Research, Community Service: Great Ways to Get Rejected from Medical School

Do any of the following sound like you?You’re volunteering every week in the hospital to get enough hours to put on your medical school application.You’re pushing through your research internship even though you don’t like it much - because you know medical schools want students with research experience.You’re volunteering your time at a homeless shelter or attending blood drives to get your hours above the threshold most medical schools seek in their applicants (roughly 200 hours if you’re curious).

6 Ways to Level Up Your Medical School Application

Being a pre-med is like playing a massive, multiplayer role-playing game (RPG). Similar to characters in RPGs, pre-meds must gain experience, collaborate with others, conquer obstacles, and step into unfamiliar territory.

A Research Manifesto: How to Make the Most of Your Pre-Med Research Position

A ‘manifesto’ is a published declaration of someone’s intentions, motives, or views. Although often associated with radical politics and revolution, manifestos can be written to capture the spirit of any group or movement. Why does research need a manifesto?

3 Signs It’s Time to Quit Your Pre-med Research Position

Quit your research?! What pre-med in their right mind would question their coveted research position, let alone actually quit? The word ‘quit’ is not typically part of a pre-med’s vocabulary, and the last thing you want is to be viewed as weak or non-committal.

5 Strategies to Get the Most Out of Your Scientific Research Position

‘Parameters.’ ‘Controlled environment.’ ‘Following protocol.’Let’s be honest - these words don’t exactly instill feelings of growth and independence. Early in your research career, it’s normal to become a tad disenchanted by the lab.

A Simple Pre-Med Resume Guide and Example

The medical school application process can be cryptic, and the resume is no different.What do admissions committees want to see? How should my resume look? Is X, Y, or Z important to include?

The 10 Biggest Myths About Getting into Medical School (Part 2)

In our first installment, we broke down myths #1-5 in an attempt to decode the cryptic and overwhelming medical school admissions process.Now we’re back to complete the top ten and put an end to the rumors once and for all.

The 10 Biggest Myths About Getting into Medical School (Part 1)

In our work with pre-meds, we hear all kinds of crazy claims. About 95% of the time we hear one of the above phrases, what follows is false. No, you don’t need 400 hours of shadowing to get into medical school. No, it doesn’t help to finish college in three years. And when you get a rejection letter, you shouldn’t call the medical school and plead to be given a second chance.

5 Time-Saving Strategies for Writing Medical School Secondary Essays

BONUS: Every Secondary Essay Prompt For Your Medical Schools. Overachievement is clearly the norm for pre-meds. So it’s no surprise that they’re expected to complete something ‘secondary’ months in advance.

7 Common Mistakes on the Work and Activities Section

Even though it seems straightforward, the Work and Activities Section should not be taken lightly. It’s the first piece of your writing that admissions committees will read (yes, even before your personal statement), so it’s crucial to make the best possible first impression.

10 Unique Activities That Got People Into Medical School

Although the information has been altered slightly, this list contains real activities from real former students--all of whom were accepted into medical school. Even though the entries are quite diverse, they all have one thing in common: they’re all unexpected pastimes that deviate from the pre-med norm.

Job Titles Don’t Make Great Leaders; Impact Does.

4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Doing Community Service for Medical School

Community service should only feel obligatory when it’s court-mandated. If your service in college feels like the metaphorical equivalent of picking up trash on the freeway, then you’re doing something wrong.

What Should I Do During My Gap Year?

One year from today, your life will be over. When you start medical school, you will be consumed by academic and extracurricular responsibilities, and your free time will effectively end. And of course, while it's hard to think about that day when you haven't yet gotten in, it's important to plan for it nonetheless.

Highly Recommended: Chris Sacca on How to Stand Out from Your Peers

A recent episode of the Tim Ferriss Show featured Chris Sacca, possibly the most famous venture capitalist right now (he was recently featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine).