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Medical School Admissions Consulting | MD-Led Advising | ConnectPrep
2026–27 Cycle: AMCAS opens May 5 · First submission May 28 · Start advising now — rolling admissions rewards early applicants
Medical School Admissions Consulting

Get Into the Medical School
You've Worked For.

ConnectPrep's 1:1 medical school admissions consulting is led by former admissions committee members and practicing physicians. Personal statement, AMCAS, secondary essays for every school, all interview formats, CASPer, AAMC PREview, school list, and letters of recommendation — start to white coat.

Book a Free Strategy Call What We Cover ↓
0+
Students placed at MD programs
~42%
National MD acceptance rate
4.9★
127 student reviews
2026–27 AMCAS Cycle · Key Dates
May 5, 2026
AMCAS application opens
Opens
May 28, 2026
First submission date — submit early
Submit
June 26, 2026
Verified apps transmit to schools
Transmit
Jun–Aug 2026
Secondary essays arrive & due
Secondaries
Sep–Feb 2027
Interview season — rolling admissions
Interviews
April 30, 2027
Decision day — choose one school
Decision
Start Advising Now
Former Adcom MembersLead every T20 MD engagement
All Essays, Every SchoolNo per-school caps or add-ons
All Interview FormatsTraditional · MMI · Hybrid · Kira
Connecticut & NationwideIn-person + live online
Why ConnectPrep

What Makes Our Medical School
Consulting Different

Most admissions consulting firms use recent graduates and generic frameworks. ConnectPrep's advising is led by physicians who served on real admissions committees — advisors who have actually made the decisions that determine who gets in.

Former Adcom Experience

Our lead advisors served on medical school admissions committees. They've read thousands of real applications and sat in the rooms where decisions were made. That institutional knowledge — what actually triggers an admission vs. a rejection — is the rarest asset in pre-med consulting.

1:1 — No Junior Hand-Offs

Every session, every essay review, every interview drill — same senior advisor. No intake-then-hand-off model. The person who understands your application and your story is the person coaching you through every stage of the cycle.

Unlimited Essay Rounds

No per-school secondary limits. No essay round caps. Every school on your list gets the same depth — personal statement through all secondaries, unlimited revisions, until each essay is genuinely submission-ready.

Pre-Written Secondary Strategy

We pre-write secondary essay drafts for the 8–10 most common prompt archetypes before your primary is submitted. When secondaries arrive, you respond in 7–14 days — the turnaround that actually matters. Most applicants take 4–6 weeks. That difference costs interviews.

All Interview Formats, Including MMI & Kira

Traditional, MMI, hybrid, panel, blind-file, and Kira Talent video essays each require completely different preparation. We prepare specifically for every format your target schools use — recorded mock sessions for every format, reviewed and iterated.

Honest Triage — Including "Wait a Year"

Some applicants aren't ready. A good advisor says so — before you spend a cycle and thousands of dollars applying with numbers below the 10th percentile at your target schools. ConnectPrep advises on post-bacc programs, gap years, and re-application strategy with the same candor we bring to competitive applications.

What We Cover

The Full Medical School
Application Cycle

Every element a competitive MD application requires — from school list through decision day — delivered as 1:1 consulting over 6–12 months.

01

School List & MSAR Strategy

Strategic list of 20–30 MD (and/or DO, and/or TMDSAS) schools built using MSAR 10th-percentile screening data, out-of-state matriculant percentages, waitlist movement trends, mission alignment, and specialty fit.

Deliverable: Final school list with tier breakdown (reach/target/likely), in-state vs. OOS strategy, rolling admissions submission priority, and financial aid probability ranges.
02

Personal Statement (AMCAS/AACOMAS/TMDSAS)

The 5,300-character personal statement that opens your application. Not a summary of your resume — a narrative of why medicine, told through specific moments that only you could have lived. Unlimited revision rounds from brainstorm through final polish.

Deliverable: Submission-ready personal statement across unlimited revision rounds. Separate versions for AMCAS, AACOMAS (5,300), and TMDSAS (5,000) if applying to multiple systems.
03

AMCAS Work & Activities

Up to 15 activity entries, each with a 700-character description, plus 3 Most Meaningful entries with an additional 1,325 characters each. This is where you prove the hours, depth, and diversity of your clinical, research, service, and leadership experiences.

Deliverable: 15 optimized activity entries. Full Most Meaningful narratives for your top 3 — the entries that connect your experiences to your reasons for medicine.
04

Secondary Essays — All Schools

Most schools send 3–8 secondary essay prompts per application. We pre-write drafts for the most common archetypes before your primary is submitted. When secondaries arrive, you respond within 7–14 days — the window that matters for interview invitations.

Deliverable: Pre-written drafts for 8–10 common secondary prompt types. Custom responses for every secondary from every school on your list — typically 50–100 individual essays. No school caps.
05

Interview Preparation — Every Format

Traditional 1:1, MMI (6–10 stations), hybrid, panel (open-file and blind), and Kira Talent video essays. Recorded mock sessions for every format your specific target schools use — reviewed and iterated until your performance is genuinely competitive.

Deliverable: Full mock interviews in every format your schools use. Video-recorded sessions with specific feedback. Ethical scenario library. School-specific research for each interview institution.
06

CASPer & AAMC PREview

CASPer (required by many MD programs and all Canadian schools) and AAMC PREview (now used by 30+ programs) both require specific preparation — not just a "be yourself" approach. We drill scenario frameworks, response structure, and time management under real test conditions.

Deliverable: Scenario drill library (50+ CASPer scenarios), response-structure frameworks, timed mock CASPer and PREview sessions with feedback.
07

Letters of Recommendation Strategy

Strategic selection of letter writers, coaching on who to ask and how, talking-points frameworks for each recommender to ensure letters speak to AAMC core competencies, and submission tracking through the AMCAS Letter Service.

Deliverable: Recommender selection strategy, personalized briefing decks for each letter writer, AMCAS Letter Service submission tracker, and follow-up protocol.
08

Waitlist Strategy & Re-Application

Waitlist update letters, letter of interest strategy, and LOCI (Letter of Continued Interest) coaching. Re-application strategy: full application audit, what changed (and what didn't), and whether post-bacc, SMP, or another gap year is the right move.

Deliverable: Waitlist update letters per school, re-application audit report, post-bacc and SMP program recommendations where relevant, full application rebuild for re-applicants.
Essay Deep Dive

Every Essay Component,
Explained

The written components of your medical school application are where you have the most control — and where the most avoidable mistakes happen. ConnectPrep advises on every written element across every application system.

The Personal Statement Is Not a Summary of Your Resume

The most common personal statement mistake is treating it as a chronological summary of your activities. Adcoms already have your activities list. The personal statement should do something different: tell the story of why medicine — through specific moments, not general claims. ConnectPrep's editing process is built around the question: does this essay show us something we couldn't have learned anywhere else in your application?

AMCAS Primary
Personal Statement
5,300 characters

Your central narrative across all applications. One personal statement, read by every school on your list. The most-read document in your application after your MCAT score and GPA are noted. At schools where you're near the median, this is often the deciding factor.

ConnectPrep approach: Brainstorming through 5+ potential narrative angles before committing. 4–8 draft rounds minimum. Our goal: an essay that reads as irreplaceable — one that couldn't have been written by any other applicant.
AMCAS Primary
Work & Activities
Up to 15 entries · 700 char each

Where you prove clinical, research, service, and leadership depth. 15 activity entries — each needs a strategic headline and a description that goes beyond "I did X" to "I learned Y, which is relevant to medicine because Z." The 3 Most Meaningful entries (1,325 characters each) are disproportionately important and should not be afterthoughts.

ConnectPrep approach: Full audit of all activities for inclusion strategy. Most Meaningful entries coached to carry real narrative weight — connecting each experience to your vision of the physician you intend to become.
School-Specific
Secondary Essays
3–8 prompts per school · 250–500 char avg

Every school on your list sends a secondary. Most arrive within 2–4 weeks of primary verification. Schools expect responses in 2 weeks — the applicants who respond quickly and well convert interviews at much higher rates. Most secondary prompts fall into 8–10 archetypes: diversity/identity, adversity, "why this school," COVID impact, research, specialty interest, and gap year.

ConnectPrep approach: Pre-write archetype responses before primary submission. When secondaries arrive, customize and submit within 7–14 days. Total secondary volume: typically 50–100 essays across 20–30 schools.
School-Specific
"Why This School" Essays
Varies by school

The "why here" essay is a specificity test. Adcoms can identify instantly whether an applicant has done genuine research about the program or is recycling a generic answer. Specific professors, curriculum elements, clinical sites, student organizations, and mission alignment make these essays work. Generic answers ("your excellent clinical training and diverse patient population") make them hurt.

ConnectPrep approach: Genuine research process per school. We help you identify the specific faculty, curriculum features, and institutional priorities that make your "why this school" credible and differentiating.
MD-PhD Specific
MD-PhD Additional Essays
Research description + PS-MD-PhD

MD-PhD applications require two additional essays: a description of meaningful research experience (detailing methods, results, and your intellectual contribution) and a personal statement addressing why MD-PhD specifically — not MD alone. These essays must demonstrate scientific identity, research independence, and a clear vision of how the dual degree advances your specific career trajectory.

ConnectPrep approach: MD-PhD as a distinct advisory track with separate school list strategy, faculty-match targeting, and essay framing that speaks to both clinical and research training committees.
Interview Preparation

Every Interview Format.
Prepared for Every School.

Medical school interview formats have diversified significantly. Generic interview prep doesn't work anymore. ConnectPrep prepares applicants specifically for every format used by every school on their list — with recorded mocks, ethical scenario drilling, and school-specific research for each interview institution.

Traditional Interview
1:1 or Panel · Open-File or Blind
A single interview with one faculty member, one admissions officer, or a small panel. Open-file interviews allow the interviewer to review your application; blind interviews (like Harvard's) give the interviewer only your name and require you to tell your own story unprompted. The most common format among US MD programs.
Format at: Harvard Medical School (blind), Columbia Vagelos, Yale SOM, Georgetown, Tufts, Boston University, Dartmouth Geisel, and the majority of US MD programs
Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
6–10 Stations · 5–10 Min Each
A circuit of short, independent interview stations. Each station presents a new scenario — ethical dilemma, role play with a standardized patient, policy question, data interpretation, or behavioral prompt. A different evaluator scores each station. Originally developed at McMaster in 2004; now used by 30+ US programs and most Canadian schools. Requires a completely different preparation strategy than traditional interviews.
Format at: Stanford School of Medicine, UCSF, UC Davis, Virginia Tech Carilion, Penn State, Oregon Health & Science, UConn School of Medicine, and many others
Hybrid Format
Mixed Stations + Traditional Conversation
A blend of MMI-style stations and traditional 1:1 conversations. Some hybrid formats use a traditional interview to establish narrative context, then MMI stations to assess applied judgment. Others reverse the order. Each school's hybrid format has its own logic — preparation must account for the specific combination your target schools use.
Format at: NYU Grossman, Johns Hopkins, Emory, Case Western, University of Illinois, Washington State University Elson Floyd, and many more
Kira Talent & Video Essay
Asynchronous Recorded Video Responses
Asynchronous video interview platforms (primarily Kira Talent) require applicants to record timed video responses to prompts — typically 1–3 minutes per question, often with 30–60 seconds of prep time. Camera presence, response structure, and delivery timing are all evaluated. A growing number of schools use Kira as a pre-interview screen or as a component of the full interview process.
Format at: University of Cincinnati, Texas Tech TTUHSC, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), and 20+ other programs using Kira as screen or supplement
Panel Interview
2–4 Interviewers · Structured or Conversational
Multiple interviewers — typically a mix of faculty physicians, residents, and an admissions officer or medical student. Questions may be coordinated (each interviewer covering a specific domain) or conversational. Navigating group dynamics, addressing different interviewers appropriately, and maintaining composure under multi-evaluator scrutiny all require explicit preparation.
Format at: Many DO programs (AACOMAS), some MD programs with faculty-plus-student interview panels, and several research-intensive programs
Ethical & Scenario Stations
Ethical Dilemmas · Role Plays · Policy Questions
Whether embedded in MMI circuits or as standalone questions in traditional interviews, ethical and scenario-based questions are the most commonly failed component of medical school interviews. The right framework is not about having the "correct" answer — it's about demonstrating a structured reasoning process that adcoms can evaluate. ConnectPrep drills a library of 40+ ethical scenarios categorized by type: patient autonomy, resource allocation, end-of-life, professional responsibility, and social determinants of health.
Scenarios cover: Principlism framework, futility cases, informed consent edge cases, healthcare policy dilemmas, professionalism, and contemporary medical ethics topics

CASPer and AAMC PREview are due before interview invitations go out. Many applicants don't realize these assessments are used to screen who gets invited to interview — not just as supplementary data. ConnectPrep includes dedicated CASPer and PREview preparation in every comprehensive advising program, with scenario libraries and timed mock sessions.

Specialization Strategy

Your Target Specialty Changes
Your School List Strategy

MCAT scores and GPA don't exist in a vacuum — they matter differently depending on where you want to end up. ConnectPrep advises on how your specialty interest shapes your school list, your personal statement narrative, your research and clinical experience framing, and your interview talking points.

Academic Medicine & Research
MD-PhD and Research-Focused MD Programs
NIH T32-funded programs, lab-specific faculty alignment, research statement strategy, and how to frame 1,000+ research hours for both MD-PhD and MD-only applications. Target MCAT 517+ for top NIH-funded programs. School list built around research infrastructure and specific faculty labs, not just ranking.
Surgical Specialties
Neurosurgery · Orthopedics · Plastics · Vascular
Surgical specialties rank from top-20 MD programs at disproportionate rates. A 520+ MCAT combined with research (ideally a publication) and robust surgical exposure positions applicants for the school choices that make competitive residency matches possible. School list strategy accounts for surgical residents' match outcomes, not just US News rankings.
Primary Care & Family Medicine
Mission-Driven Programs · Rural Medicine · Global Health
Top primary care programs (UNC, UW WWAMI, UCSF Fresno) evaluate mission alignment as heavily as MCAT. A 510+ with a compelling service narrative and rural or underserved clinical exposure is competitive at programs that produce the majority of the country's primary care physicians. School list weighting toward mission fit over prestige.
Dermatology & Competitive Specialties
Derm · ENT · Radiation Oncology · Ophthalmology
The most competitive fellowship specialties originate overwhelmingly from top-20 MD programs. If dermatology or another hyper-competitive specialty is your goal, that constrains your school list significantly. We advise honestly: a 515 with a strong application can get you to a top-20 school; a 509 at a regional program makes competitive dermatology residency very difficult. The school list and the MCAT target are inseparable in this track.
Internal Medicine & Subspecialties
Cardiology · GI · Hem/Onc · Endocrinology
Competitive IM subspecialties — cardiology, GI, hem/onc — originate from strong residency programs, which in turn match from a mix of T20 and solid mid-tier MD programs. A 513+ combined with research experience in the relevant subspecialty (clinical or translational) positions applicants well. School list weighted toward research strengths in target subspecialty areas.
Psychiatry & Neurology
Neuropsychiatry · Child Psychiatry · Movement Disorders
Strong P/S backgrounds, mental health clinical experience, and research in behavioral neuroscience increasingly differentiate competitive applicants. MCAT 510+ positions competitively at most MD programs. School list may include programs with strong neuroscience or psychiatric research missions. Psychiatry's growing competitiveness is reshaping school selection strategy.
Emergency Medicine
High-Volume Clinical Experience · Procedural Competency
Emergency medicine programs weigh clinical volume, procedural exposure, and evidence of high-pressure decision making. MCAT 510+ with significant EM shadowing, EMT certification, or scribe experience creates a strong application narrative. School list benefits from programs with strong Level I trauma center affiliations and EM residency match rates.
Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
AACOMAS · DO Programs · Osteopathic Philosophy
DO programs generally accept MCAT 500–510 with strong personal statements that engage authentically with osteopathic philosophy. Many students apply to both MD and DO programs in the same cycle. ConnectPrep advises on DO-specific personal statement framing, AACOMAS differences from AMCAS, and when a DO-only strategy makes more sense than an MD+DO combined strategy.
Pediatrics & Child Health
Children's Hospital Programs · Pediatric Subspecialties
Pediatric programs weigh pediatric clinical experience, developmental work, and often global health or community health engagement alongside MCAT. MCAT 512+ combined with pediatric-specific shadowing and research positions applicants competitively. Children's hospital residency programs match from both T20 and mission-aligned regional programs.
Application Timeline

Month-by-Month: The 2026–27
Application Cycle

Medical school admissions is rolling. Earlier applications consistently outperform later ones. Here is the actual 2026–27 AMCAS cycle timeline, and what ConnectPrep is doing with each student at every phase.

Jan–Mar 2026
16+ months out

Planning phase. Finalize MCAT test date. Build preliminary school list using MSAR. Identify recommenders. Begin personal statement brainstorming. Start pre-writing secondary archetypes. Engage ConnectPrep advising. Complete AAMC PREview (open year-round) if required by target schools.

Apr 2026
~13 months out

Last strong MCAT window before summer. April MCAT score arrives before early AMCAS submission. Finalize personal statement drafts. Lock in recommenders and deliver briefing decks. Request transcripts from every undergraduate institution attended.

May 5, 2026
AMCAS opens

AMCAS application system opens. Fill out biographical sections. Input coursework exactly as AMCAS requires. Finalize Work & Activities entries. Polish personal statement. AACOMAS and TMDSAS also open the same week.

May 28, 2026
First submission

Earliest date to submit AMCAS primary. Goal: submit within the first 2 weeks of June. Verification takes 10–14 days. Transmission to schools begins June 26. Every week of delay at this stage measurably reduces interview rate.

Jun–Aug 2026
Secondary season

Secondary essays arrive. Most schools send secondaries within 2–4 weeks of primary transmission. Target: respond within 7–14 days per school. Pre-written archetype responses make this possible. CASPer test must be completed before most secondary deadlines.

Aug–Sep 2026
Interview prep

Interview invitations start arriving. Begin format-specific mock interview sessions. Research each school's interview style and format. Complete remaining secondaries. Continue CASPer and AAMC PREview preparation.

Sep–Feb 2027
Interview season

Six months of rolling admissions. First-invited, first-decided at most schools. Acceptance letters begin arriving October 2026. Waitlist management begins for holds and waitlists. ConnectPrep continues mock sessions for upcoming interview invitations.

April 30, 2027
Decision day

Choose your medical school. Hold only one acceptance after April 30. Waitlist movement continues through the summer. Medical school classes typically begin July–August 2027.

Program Placement

Where ConnectPrep Students
Get Accepted

Admissions outcomes from ConnectPrep medical school advising students across the past five application cycles.

Student Profile · 2025–26 Cycle
Pre-med → Harvard Medical School
Biology major, 3.92/4.0, MCAT 522. Research: 2,000+ hours, two publications. Clinical: 500+ hours. Weak spot: scattered personal statement narrative. ConnectPrep rebuilt the essay around a single formative clinical moment. Submitted June 3. Interview November. Accepted January.
Student Profile · 2025–26 Cycle
Post-bacc → NYU Grossman + Columbia Vagelos
Non-traditional applicant, 3.2 undergrad / 3.9 post-bacc, MCAT 515. Two prior rejections. ConnectPrep rebuilt school list around out-of-state friendly programs, restructured personal statement to address grade trend directly, pre-wrote all secondaries. Two acceptances including waitlist-to-acceptance at Columbia.
Student Profile · 2024–25 Cycle
Engineering Major → Stanford School of Medicine
Aerospace engineering major, non-traditional path, MCAT 521. Strong research, limited narrative clarity around why medicine. ConnectPrep built a personal statement framing the engineering-to-medicine pivot around patient encounter during hospital volunteering. Stanford MMI prep: 4 mock circuits. Accepted.
Student Profile · 2024–25 Cycle
First-Generation Applicant → Yale SOM + UConn SOM (Full Scholarship)
First-generation college student, 3.85/4.0, MCAT 517. Exceptional service background. ConnectPrep advised on amplifying first-gen narrative in diversity statement, identifying mission-aligned programs, and structured traditional interview preparation. Accepted Yale SOM. UConn offered full scholarship — ConnectPrep coached the financial aid negotiation letter.
T10 MD Programs
  • Harvard Medical School
  • Stanford School of Medicine
  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
  • Columbia Vagelos P&S
  • NYU Grossman School of Medicine
  • Perelman School of Medicine (Penn)
  • Yale School of Medicine
  • Weill Cornell Medicine
  • UCSF School of Medicine
  • Pritzker School of Medicine (UChicago)
Top-30 MD Programs
  • Mount Sinai (Icahn School of Medicine)
  • Georgetown School of Medicine
  • Emory University School of Medicine
  • Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine
  • Boston University School of Medicine
  • Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Case Western Reserve School of Medicine
  • Keck School of Medicine (USC)
  • Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  • Duke University School of Medicine
Regional & State Programs
  • UConn School of Medicine
  • New York Medical College
  • Quinnipiac Frank H. Netter MD School
  • NYU Long Island School of Medicine
  • Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical
  • Stony Brook Renaissance School of Med
  • Hofstra Zucker School of Medicine
  • SUNY Downstate College of Medicine
  • SUNY Upstate Medical University
  • Albany Medical College
Engagement Options

Three Ways to Work With Us

No generic packages — every engagement is custom-scoped to your timeline, starting point, and target schools. These represent our three most common engagement structures.

Focused
Personal Statement & Essays
For students who have their school list and recommenders handled but want expert support on the written components — where rejection most often happens.
  • Unlimited rounds on personal statement
  • AMCAS Work & Activities review
  • Up to 5 secondary essay school sets
  • Pre-written secondary archetype drafts
  • 6–10 sessions across 2–3 months
Inquire →
Comprehensive
Full-Cycle Advising
Complete start-to-decision-day consulting — from first strategy call through final acceptance. Our most common engagement for T20 MD applicants.
  • School list + MSAR analysis
  • Personal statement (unlimited rounds)
  • Full Work & Activities optimization
  • Unlimited secondary essays, all schools
  • Letters of recommendation strategy
  • CASPer & AAMC PREview prep
  • All interview formats — recorded mocks
  • Waitlist strategy if needed
  • 20–35+ sessions across 10–12 months
Book Free Strategy Call →
Interview-Only
Interview Preparation
For applicants who have received interview invitations and need focused, intensive preparation for specific school formats in a short window.
  • School-specific format research
  • Traditional 1:1 mock interviews
  • MMI circuit mock sessions
  • Kira Talent video essay coaching
  • Ethical scenario drill library
  • 4–8 sessions across 3–5 weeks
Inquire →
The Team

Physicians. Former Adcom Members.
People Who Have Been Inside the Room.

Four advisors covering every phase of medical school admissions — adcom strategy, writing, interview preparation, and data-driven school list building. Every credential below is real.

SM
Admissions Lead
Dr. Sarah M., MD
MD Admissions Lead · Former NYU Grossman Adcom Reader
MD — NYU Grossman School of Medicine 5 years on NYU admissions committee Practicing Internal Medicine 600+ applications reviewed MMI panel interviewer

Dr. M served five years on the NYU Grossman admissions committee while practicing Internal Medicine, personally reviewing hundreds of applications and participating in committee decisions. She has read an application that was rejected in the morning and approved a nearly identical profile in the afternoon — and knows exactly why the outcomes differed. Her value is institutional and specific: she knows how adcoms actually discuss applicants, what language raises flags, and what narratives convert. Every T20 MD engagement at ConnectPrep is led by Dr. M.

ML
Essay Specialist
Dr. Marcus L., MD, MFA
Personal Statement & Secondary Essay Specialist
MD — Yale School of Medicine MFA Creative Nonfiction — Iowa Writers' Workshop Emergency Medicine attending 8 years admissions essay coaching

Dr. L is the rarest type of medical school advisor: a practicing emergency physician with a formal MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His writing training means every personal statement and secondary essay he coaches has structural integrity that admissions readers notice immediately — not because it's polished, but because it's shaped. Students who work with Dr. L on their personal statements consistently receive feedback from interviewers that the essay "stood out." He specializes in applicants targeting top-20 programs and in non-traditional applicants whose story doesn't fit a standard template.

KP
Interview Specialist
Dr. Kiran P.
Interview Preparation & MMI Specialist
MD Candidate — Harvard Medical School B.A. Ethics & Philosophy — Princeton Interviewed at 18 MD programs MMI panelist, HMS All formats: traditional, MMI, hybrid, Kira

Dr. P is a current Harvard Medical School student who personally interviewed at 18 medical schools during her application cycle — across every format in active use: Harvard's blind traditional interview, Stanford's MMI, NYU's hybrid, and Kira Talent video sessions at multiple programs. She now serves as an MMI panelist for HMS admissions events. Her combined perspective as a recent applicant who experienced every format and as a current HMS panelist who evaluates applicants is genuinely unique. She coaches all interview formats at ConnectPrep with recorded mock sessions reviewed session by session.

RT
Strategy & Data
Rachel T., MPH
School List Strategy & Data Lead
MPH — Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School B.S. Statistics — Cornell Former AAMC MSAR data analyst MSAR 10th-percentile modeling CASPer & AAMC PREview specialist

Rachel's Hopkins MPH combined with her former role as an MSAR data analyst for the AAMC means she builds school lists from actual screening data — not rankings or intuition. She models 10th-percentile screening thresholds, out-of-state matriculant percentages, waitlist movement, and mission alignment for every school on a student's list. She is also ConnectPrep's CASPer and AAMC PREview preparation specialist — having researched both assessments' construct validity and scoring methodology in depth. Rachel advises on re-application strategy and post-bacc program selection with the same data-first approach.

Meet the Full ConnectPrep Team →
How It Works

How ConnectPrep Medical School
Advising Works

A clear six-phase process, typically 10–12 months, built around the rolling admissions calendar and your specific cycle goals.

1

Free Strategy Call

Profile assessment. School list direction. MCAT evaluation. Engagement scope and timeline confirmed.

2

School List & MSAR

Final 20–30 school list using MSAR 10th-percentile data. Application calendar per school.

3

Personal Statement

Brainstorm through submission-ready final draft. 4–8 rounds minimum. Unlimited revisions.

4

AMCAS + Secondaries

Work & Activities optimized. Secondaries pre-written. Respond to each school within 7–14 days.

5

CASPer, PREview & Interviews

Scenario drills for CASPer. All interview formats mocked per school. Recorded and reviewed.

6

Decisions & Waitlists

Waitlist LOCI letters. Final decision support. Re-application strategy if needed.

Questions Answered

Frequently Asked Questions
About Medical School Admissions

From pre-med and post-bacc applicants in Westport, Manhattan, and nationwide.

When should I start medical school admissions consulting?
Ideally 8–12 months before your target submission date. For the 2026–27 cycle (AMCAS opens May 5, 2026; first submission May 28, 2026), start by January 2026 at the latest. Rolling admissions is real: data consistently shows that applications submitted in June outperform those submitted in September by 2–3x on interview rate. ConnectPrep recommends a free strategy call 9–12 months before your target submission.
What does medical school admissions consulting cover?
The full AMCAS/AACOMAS/TMDSAS cycle: school list using MSAR 10th-percentile screening data, personal statement (5,300 characters), AMCAS Work and Activities (15 entries + 3 Most Meaningful), secondary essays for every school, all interview formats (traditional, MMI, hybrid, panel, Kira Talent), CASPer and AAMC PREview preparation, letters of recommendation strategy, and waitlist and re-application strategy.
What are the 2026–27 AMCAS key dates?
AMCAS opens May 5, 2026. First submission date: May 28, 2026. Verified applications transmit to schools starting June 26, 2026. Secondary essays arrive 2–4 weeks after transmission. Interview season runs September 2026 through February 2027. Decision day (must hold only one acceptance) is April 30, 2027.
What interview formats do medical schools use?
Medical schools use several formats. Traditional (1:1 or panel, open-file or blind) is the most common. MMI (Multiple Mini Interview: 6–10 stations of 5–10 minutes each with ethical, role-play, and scenario prompts) is used by 30+ US programs. Hybrid formats mix MMI stations with traditional conversations. Kira Talent is an asynchronous video platform used by 20+ programs as a pre-interview screen or supplement. ConnectPrep prepares specifically for every format your target schools use — recorded mock sessions for every format.
What is the AMCAS Work and Activities section?
The AMCAS Work and Activities section allows up to 15 activity entries (140-character title, 700-character description each), with up to 3 designated as Most Meaningful (additional 1,325 characters each). This is where you prove clinical, research, service, and leadership depth. The 3 Most Meaningful entries are disproportionately important — they tell adcoms what you consider most significant about your path to medicine, and adcoms pay close attention to them.
How are secondary essays different from the personal statement?
The personal statement (5,300 characters on AMCAS) is your central narrative across all applications. Secondary essays are school-specific and arrive 2–6 weeks after your primary is verified. Most schools send 3–8 prompts: diversity, adversity, "why this school," COVID impact, gap year, research, and career goals. Schools expect responses within 2 weeks. ConnectPrep pre-writes secondary archetypes before your primary is submitted so you can respond immediately when they arrive.
What is CASPer and do I need to prepare for it?
CASPer (Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) is an online situational judgment test required by many MD programs, all Canadian medical schools, and some DO programs. It presents 14 scenarios with 3 open-ended questions each. It is used to screen who gets interview invitations at many schools — not just as supplementary data post-interview. ConnectPrep includes CASPer preparation in all comprehensive advising programs, with scenario drill libraries and timed mock sessions.
Can you help with re-applications after a prior cycle?
Yes. Re-applications require strategic restructuring — a completely new personal statement, updated experiences, and often a reconsidered school list. The re-applicant's biggest mistake is submitting the same application with minor tweaks. ConnectPrep audits your prior application, identifies exactly what needs to change (and why it didn't work before), and builds a new strategy — including whether a post-bacc, SMP, or another gap year is the right move before re-applying.
Do you help with DO applications and AACOMAS?
Yes. DO applications via AACOMAS have a different structure, timeline, and personal statement approach from AMCAS — osteopathic philosophy must be genuinely engaged, not mentioned in passing. ConnectPrep advises on MD-only, DO-only, and combined MD+DO application strategies, and on when adding DO schools makes strategic sense given your MCAT, GPA, and target specialty.
Do you help with MD-PhD applications?
Yes. MD-PhD applications require two additional essays (research description and MD-PhD personal statement), a different school list strategy (NIH T32 funding, faculty alignment), and interview preparation that addresses both clinical and research training committees. ConnectPrep advises on MD-PhD as a completely distinct track with its own strategy — not an add-on to a standard MD application.
Do you offer in-person consulting in Connecticut or New York?
Yes. In-person consulting throughout Manhattan, Fairfield County CT (Westport, Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Wilton), Westchester County NY (Scarsdale, Rye, Bronxville, Larchmont), and New Jersey. Live online sessions available nationwide. Call (914) 288-5718 to discuss your timeline and engagement scope.
How is this different from ConnectPrep's MCAT tutoring?
Completely separate programs. MCAT tutoring is test preparation focused on content review, section strategy, and score optimization. Medical School Admissions Advising is consulting focused on application materials, essays, interviews, and strategy. Many students do MCAT prep first, then transition to admissions advising — but they have different advisors, different deliverables, and different timelines.
Locations

We Work Where You Are

In-person consulting at your home. Live online nationwide. Sessions built around your schedule — evenings, weekends, and summer-intensive scheduling available.

Manhattan & NYC
Upper West Side · Upper East Side · Morningside Heights · Midtown · Financial District · Tribeca · Brooklyn Heights · Park Slope · Riverdale
Fairfield County, CT
Westport · Wilton · Darien · Greenwich · New Canaan · Fairfield · Stamford · Norwalk · Ridgefield
Westchester County, NY
Scarsdale · Rye · Bronxville · Larchmont · Harrison · Chappaqua · Armonk · Mamaroneck
New Jersey
Hoboken · Jersey City · Summit · Short Hills · Montclair · Ridgewood · Princeton · Basking Ridge
Long Island, NY
Great Neck · Manhasset · Port Washington · Garden City · Syosset · Jericho · Roslyn
Nationwide Online
Live 1:1 consulting for pre-med and post-bacc applicants in every state. Same team. Same quality.
Companion Program

Still Working on Your MCAT Score?

ConnectPrep's MCAT tutoring is a completely separate program with an MD-led team including tutors who scored 519–524 on the actual exam. Your MCAT and your application need to align with the same school targets — many students do MCAT prep with us first, then transition to admissions advising. Both programs are available, but they serve different phases of your journey.

MCAT Prep Program →

You've Put in the Years.
Now Get the Application Right.

Book a free strategy call. We'll review your MCAT, GPA, activities, and target schools — then tell you exactly what your application needs to be competitive. No commitment required.

Book a Free Strategy Call Call (914) 288-5718
Manhattan · Fairfield County CT · Westchester NY · New Jersey · Long Island · Nationwide Online