them a direct personal view of the actual world
of medicine and the realities of medical
training. To learn about such exceptionally
meaningful opportunities, make inquiries at
the volunteer office of local hospitals; also
ask your premedical advisor or senior pre-
medical students who may have already
participated in such a program.
Special Achievements
Medical schools usually look for applicants who,
for one reason or another, stand out
among the large pool of qualified individuals
seeking admission. Therefore, gaining
acceptance into honor societies or receiving
awards for scholastic achievement or ser-
vice will strengthen your admission potential.
Demonstrated leadership capacity will
also enhance your appeal. Achievements such as
serving as a student senator at your
college, gaining election to an important
student office, organizing a band, forming a
volunteer group of students to visit the sick
at your school infirmary or the elderly and
handicapped in the neighborhood, or tutoring
underprivileged youngsters would all be a
strong plus on your credentials. These kinds of
accomplishments demonstrate that you
have initiative, concern for others, an ability
to interact constructively as part of a team
effort (a requirement for modern patient care),
and the determination to succeed. All
these qualities are desirable in applicants
seeking to enter such professions as medicine.
Individual Status
Your individual status can have a significant
bearing on your chances for admission.
Five factors are involved: citizenship, state
of residence, age, sex, and minority status.
Each of these factors is discussed separately,
below.
Citizenship
U.S. medical schools have more qualified
applicants than places available to train them.
Moreover, the tuition paid by medical students
covers only part of the actual training
costs, with the balance made up by the school,
state, and federal funding. Consequently,
medical schools naturally have as their primary
obligation the training of U.S. citizens
and thus only rarely accept noncitizens into
their freshman classes. Applicants not hold-
ing citizenship status, including Canadians,
are clearly at a great disadvantage when
applying for admission to U.S. schools. This
handicap can be somewhat diminished if
the applicant can secure a green card and
establish permanent residency status, as well
as initiate the first formal steps toward
citizenship.
State of Residence
The state where you reside is another major
factor in determining your chances for suc-
cess. Many state schools have significantly
lower tuition levels for their residents and
exclude nonresidents from admission as well.
They have this policy because they are
funded by state taxes and thus believe that
their primary obligation is to train profes-
sionals who not only live in the state but who
are likely to set up practice there. The
state of your residence should be carefully
considered when the time comes to make up
the list of schools to which you plan to
apply.
If your state has only a few medical schools,
you need not consider this an insur-
mountable obstacle because there are quite a
few private schools that do not discrimi-
nate against out-of-state residents, although
they may demonstrate geographical prefer-
ences to applicants from a general section of
the country.
To be classified as a legal or bona fide
resident of a state, you usually must maintain
domicile in that state for at least 12 months
preceding the date of first enrollment in an
institution of higher education in that state.
Student status at an institution of higher edu-
cation (for example, as an undergraduate) does
not constitute eligibility for residence
status with regard to graduate-level work in
the same state. You must maintain residence
in a non-student capacity for the prescribed
time in order to gain residence status. The
student's eligibility to establish residence is
also determined by his or her status as an
adult or a minor. (A minor is any person who
has not reached the age of 21, 18 in some
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