Applying to Medical School While Abroad
In my first two months in Chile, I often found myself perched on a stool at a café with my headphones on and my computer in front of me. The spot I sat at had a view of the quiet city street. It was normally nighttime when I visited, so the window wall in front of me gave a pale reflection of my focused face. In my perch, I was surrounded by an abundance of creepy crawly plants on the wooden countertop. On the speakers, there was a mix of English and Spanish pop songs that filled the air in the cafe. The reason I frequently found myself here was to complete secondary medical school applications.
One of the reasons I went to Chile for the health studies program was to prepare for medical school. A significant portion of the medical school application process involved secondary applications. These applications normally had four or more essay questions, where I wrote 1000-3000 words per school. After doing that for about ten schools, it really started to add up, especially when it meant making my final case to medical schools that I am the candidate they want to invite to their school.
Night after night, I would spend around two hours on these applications. Not to worry, I would always work alongside my chief editor, my mother, to make sure I didn’t go crazy. These secondary applications were quite brutal. Not only do they ask vague questions that I could approach in a thousand different directions, but they also limit the number of words and characters. It is difficult to answer different versions of the question, “Who is Sam, and why do you want to go to our school (answer in 300 words)?” So many times throughout the application, I wanted to say to the schools, “Ah, just let me talk to you! Let me show you who I am! Let me show you my heart for medicine!” Instead of being able to say that, I balanced the line of showing my personality, my preparedness, and my maturity.
This wasn’t necessarily at the top of my list for things to do in Chile. When I left for Chile, I imagined I would have so much more free time to explore the city, meet new people, and make an impact on the people around me. Completing these applications was not really part of that plan, and it was draining my time and energy. How could I get the most out of my study abroad experience if I’m spending my time sitting at a cafe working on a laptop?
However, in the midst of the application writing process, I was able to do all the things I had hoped to do. By running in the city, I got to know its streets and landscapes to visit my favorite places, like the cafe. And there, I became friends with the workers and had many conversations about faith, life, and dreams with my old friend, Patricio, who always closed up shop. I’m grateful that I gained an unanticipated community in the new city and country.
Applications weren’t at the top of my study abroad list, but for anyone interested in having a rich experience studying abroad and applying in three years, trust me, you can do it!
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