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Jordan spent the last 4 years grinding his application. He had genuine commitment and the discipline to see that 6 months before the submission date in June would be the right amount of time for him. We agreed that it can take us 5-6 months to fully write an application. He was proactive, but did not know what adcoms were looking for. As someone who went to a competitive undergrad, he also felt like he wasn't "ready" to apply despite his good, but somewhat disorganized, experiences. What he lacked was not effort, but a clear framework for deciding which parts of his story mattered most and how to communicate them effectively.
Starting early mattered, but having a clear strategy mattered more. Premed Catalyst helped me focus my effort instead of second-guessing it.
Despite these activities, Jordan faced two clear vulnerabilities: narrative sprawl in his narrative and no direct spike that he could point to. Everything was "good," but not "great." His application had substance, but without intentional framing, that substance risked blending in.
6 months sounds like a lot of time. Unless you are a premed applying who is working and studying like Jordan. It's just enough to complete most of the writing for most students.
I realized I didn’t need more experiences. I needed better framing and a clearer story behind the ones I already had.
Jordan’s early start paid off once paired with disciplined strategy and feedback.
Structure transformed effort into confidence.
An insight on why having a structure matters
At the beginning, it felt like I was juggling too many unknowns at once. I knew I had meaningful experiences, but I wasn’t confident about how to present them or how everything fit together into a clear application strategy.
It gave me structure and clarity. Instead of guessing what I should be doing next, I had a plan and people I trusted to guide me through it. That made the process feel manageable instead of overwhelming.
Once my story was clearly framed, I stopped second-guessing myself. I felt like I could explain who I was and why medicine made sense for me without forcing it.