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“Why should we accept you?” This is a common question that strikes fear into the hearts of students in the medical school interview and in their secondary essays. 

But here’s what you can do to make it easier for you to think about it, write about it, and talk about it.

Don’t try to sell yourself.

Your goal with this essay question is not to sell yourself. 

Trust me. 

You’re not the hardest working premed student out there. You’re not even the most dedicated premed student out there.

There’s always going to be someone who is more hardworking than you or more dedicated than you. 

So writing about those things on your essay or talking about those in your interview will have no impact. Your readers or interviewers won’t be able to really understand who you are.

Why should we accept you?

Think of this question as being about how you are going to add to the educational environment of the school’s students. 

Below are a few points that you might want to ponder on as well:

1. How are you going to benefit everyone else?

Don’t sell yourself. Don’t talk about how amazing you are. Instead, talk about how are you going to make the other students amazing. 

Lean on who you are, your experiences, your skills, and your talents.

2. Are you a connector? 

If you’re coming from the corporate world, you can probably talk about how you’ve connected people together. 

Now, be able to translate this into the medical school scene. How are you able to take students from different backgrounds and cultures and bring them together?

3. Are you a tutor, coach, manager, or organizer? 

How are you going to come in and help students who are struggling? How are you going to help lift them up? 

Why are the schools going to accept you?

It’s not just because you’re amazing. 

Instead, how are you going to add to the community? 

You have to be able to add to the community and be a part of that community of students.

The admissions committee’s job is to put together a community of students. They do not want all of their students to be the SAME. They want to see how you’re going to fit in that community. 

This is what your essay should focus on.

Lean on your experiences, traits, and skills, and talk about how you’re going to be a part of that community.