Becoming a Successful Applicant

In addition to academic achievement and entrance exam scores, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and health profession programs look for core competencies among applicants.

You must also have a thorough understanding of the health profession to be a successful applicant. Gaining hands-on healthcare experience is crucial to test your assumptions about the medical field.

Gain the Experience You Need

A group of GW health students and professor in a classroom

Two GW students working with a test tube

Students and a professor in a biostatistics classroom

Boost Your Application

outside the door perspective of a professor working in his office

GW Pre-Med Planner

Core Competencies for Applicants

These 15 core competencies have been endorsed by the AAMC Group on Student Affairs Committee on Admissions to indicate a student's preparedness for medical school. Developing these characteristics takes time and effort. Students should explore campus and community involvement opportunities to gain valuable leadership and interpersonal experiences. Explore your interests — not all of your activities need to be health-related!

Interpersonal

Service orientation
Social skills
Cultural competence
Teamwork
Oral communication

Intrapersonal

Ethical responsibility to self and others
Reliability and dependability
Resilience and adaptability
Capacity for improvement

Thinking & Reasoning

Critical thinking
Quantitative reasoning
Scientific inquiry
Written communication

Science

Living systems
Human behavior

View AAMC's Anatomy of an Applicant