Dr. Brenda Armstrong, Dean of Medical School Admissions at Duke, spoke here at Harvard on Monday. I personally found her to be very thoughtful and entirely inspiring. She had a nice way of putting things.
Some of my quick highlights:
- As primary gatekeepers for patients, med schools look for "well-developed humanism" in their applicants.
- In how they approach what they do in school and out, the best applicants "gave themselves a chance to be changed by their experiences."
- "Yea!" she said to the idea of time off before med school. It's a chance to grow up more, to do Teach for America, Peace Corps, research, and/or to "be normal for a year!" The pervasive myth saying it's best to go straight through is wrong.
- Having done research is a good thing but it doesn't matter what type of research, i.e. "you don't need to be a seasoned scientist."
- About concentration, it doesn't matter whether you're science or non-science. Be good at what you like. One of her best students was a dancer and philosophy concentrator at Harvard.
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