This guide will cover everything you need to know about filling out the FlexMed application for the 2022-23 admissions cycle. We’ll also show you how to get into such a competitive EAP program and cut through the competitive admissions pool.

Note: this guide is meant to help you maximize your acceptance rate to ISMMS’s FlexMed program. The advice and suggestions here in no way guarantee your acceptance and you should also be wary of any med school services marketing such promises. If you need reliable med school admissions consulting, consider working with us during a free consultation.

Let’s get right to it.

Table of Contents

1. What is the FlexMed Program?
2. FlexMed Requirements.
3. FlexMed Application Timeline.
4. FlexMed Acceptance Rate
5. FlexMed Median GPA, SAT, and ACT
6. How to Answer the FlexMed Essay Questions (2022-23)
7. How Can I Get Accepted Into FlexMed?

What is the FlexMed Program?

Here’s what ISMMS’s official site has to say.

“The Donald and Vera Blinken FlexMed Program allows college sophomores in any major to apply for early assurance of acceptance to our school. The Institutional Partnership Program allows students in the military an alternative pathway to medical school...

…Once accepted, you are free to pursue your educational plan unencumbered by the traditional science requirements and the MCAT.  Students who are accepted to the School, are expected to adhere to all of our program requirements prior to entry.”

ISMMS Official Website on FlexMed

So, in layman’s terms: if you have the smarts, the ECs, the rec letters, and the quality of essays, your road to med school just got 1000% easier. You can pursue your educational path without all those pesky science requirements.

Oh, and you don’t need to take the MCAT. Sweet!

FlexMed Requirements.

The requirements are quite simple. Here is the minimum needed for your application to be considered.

1. Two semesters (or one full year) of Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. You only need one, hence the “or”. This may be completed in any sub-discipline, and by the application deadline.
   • AP courses do not count in fulfilling this requirement.
2. SAT or ACT.
   • There is no minimum SAT or ACT score required. However, you should consider comparing your score to the median and see how you measure up with other admitted students.
3. Three letters of reference.
   • Quote from ISMMS’s official website:
     • “You are encouraged to provide one letter from a high school teacher/guidance counselor or college professor/faculty advisor, one from professors in the sciences, and the third from other academic and/or professional references such as research mentors/supervisors.”
     • “Recommendation letters should provide the Admissions Committee with insight into the applicant’s motivation for a career in medicine.” 
4. Application entries and essays
5. High school transcript
6. College transcript including your Sophomore year first-semester final grades.
7. Qualify as a current, full-time sophomore in an accredited American or Canadian university.

FlexMed Application Timeline.

Month	FlexMed Admissions Cycle
Late August	FlexMed application opens
January 15	FlexMed application is due
January through April	FlexMed application screening period
Mid-March	Invitations to interview are sent
April	FlexMed interview period
July	FlexMed decisions released
August	Acceptance confirmations due

FlexMed Acceptance Rate

Here are the stats for FlexMed’s acceptance rate.

Yeah, we know. It’s pretty bleak.

• FlexMed Acceptance Rate: Approximately 4.25%
• Approximately 800 applicants
• Approximately 140 to 160 students interviewed
• 34 Applicants Accepted

FlexMed Median GPA, SAT, and ACT

FlexMed Median Stats

1. GPA: 3.97
2. SAT: 1535
3. ACT: 35

How to Answer the FlexMed Essay Questions (2022-23)

1) Please describe something in your life that has given you a great sense of personal, academic, or professional accomplishment. (300 words)

FlexMed Essay Prompt1

One of the most common mistakes students make when trying to answer the FlexMed accomplishment essay is in thinking only medicine-based topics count. You can write this essay on any accomplishment you want.

What matters more is what your particular accomplishment says about you.

Be sure to cover the following elements in your essay:

1. Why does this accomplishment matter to you?
2. What does this accomplishment say about you and your character?
3. Did you learn anything about yourself?
4. How does this help translate into your future aspirations as a medical student and in your future medical pursuits?

2) Please describe something in your life that has given you a great sense of personal, academic, or professional disappointment. (300 words)

FlexMed Essay Prompt 2

This essay prompt is quite similar to the med school adversity one. We wrote a guide on writing the medical school adversity essay which you can check out here. Read it and use the ideas there to translate into this essay prompt.

The same principle applies:

1. Why does this disappointment matter to you?
2. What does this disappointment say about you and your character?
3. Did you learn anything about yourself?
4. How does this help translate into your future aspirations as a medical student and in your future medical pursuits?

One of the things we’d recommend you watch out for is being too conservative with your writing. Don’t be afraid of sharing more about your disappointment. The world of medicine is going to be filled with disappointment. So, if anything, showing that you have more exposure to disappointment is a positive.

What’s more, you can use this as a way to demonstrate your fit for the world of medicine and turn a negative into a positive. Don’t be afraid of getting creative here.

3) Describe your reason for pursuing a future career in medicine and then describe how FlexMed will change your educational plan. Please describe how you will use the flexibility afforded by FlexMed. (400 words)

FlexMed Essay Prompt 3

The FlexMed “Why Medicine” essay is a bit of a word salad. Let’s deconstruct those questions above and tackle them one at a time.

1. Describe your reasons for pursuing a future career in medicine.
   • This is a straightforward question, but you can get quite creative with answering it. Maybe there’s something about your particular field in medicine that demands a special personality trait or temperament that you are capable of. If you know that you are the right person who was made for that field and you know it’s your path toward doing the most good for the world, that may be a great method of answering this question.
   • You may also want to consider connecting your moral reasons for pursuing medicine in your essay. This is a great way to demonstrate your passion and personal philosophy that goes with why you need the FlexMed program.
2. Describe how FlexMed will change your educational plan.
   • This one is a bit hard to answer. In truth, no one needs to do anything perfectly. You can still come out at the end of the tunnel with the title of “doctor” even if you’ve had bumps on the road.
   • Thus, you’ll need to consider how FlexMed will actually help on your quest in pursuing your educational goals and your medical career. Maybe there’s an advantage to streamlining the learning process without as many bumps on the road which are crucial to your personal development. Or, there are other advantages that make your path toward medicine truly easier and thus make the FlexMed program a necessary advantage to maximizing your chances of success in the field.
3. Please describe how you will use the flexibility afforded by FlexMed.
   • This is essentially an extension of #2. Except, you’re going to expand on how exactly the FlexMed program will actually help and what you’ll do with the newfound flexibility in education. Think about how a more flexible education can qualify your characteristics, learning, and personal pursuits in a manner that would better prepare you for the field of medicine.

4) Activities descriptions (150 words each). Up to 20 activities.

FlexMed Activities Section

You don’t need to overthink this section.

Nonetheless, make sure to keep descriptions concise yet impactful. So, you’ll want to describe how activities have made an impact on the community or provided some form of positive growth in yourself or others.

In addition, make sure your language is not vague. It’s common for vague and unspecific language to give admissions officers the impression that you’re trying to make your extracurriculars sound more powerful than they actually are.

How Can I Get Accepted Into FlexMed?

To get accepted, you need to understand the FlexMed application process. Specifically, how their holistic admissions process works.

“Complete applications undergo holistic screening by MD Admissions Committee members. The screeners assess the following core areas: academics, clinical exposure, community service, research and other extracurricular activities. In addition, the screeners evaluate applicant attributes that align with the School’s mission. The application and letters of recommendation are evaluated fully. The above core areas and applicant attributes are modeled on the 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students endorsed by the AAMC Group on Student Affairs…

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is looking for medical school applicants who have excelled academically, are collaborative leaders on their undergraduate campuses, and are passionate about medicine, science, and health care. We are leaders in holistic review, committed to diversity in all realms as the driver for excellence in medicine and research…”

ISMMS Official Website

Here are the attributes that you’ll be screened for in the FlexMed application process.

1. Team Player
   • Collaborative
2. Life Long Learner
   • Disciplined
   • Committed
   • Motivated
   • Passionate
3. Self-Improving and Well
   • Adaptive
   • Self-aware
   • Resourceful
   • Mindful
   • Resilient
4. Change Agent / Change Leader
   • Innovative
   • Curious
   • Leadership
5. Advocate
   • Socially Conscious
   • Tolerant
   • Empathic

The FlexMed application also judges applicants on the core areas which constitute a qualified applicant:

1. Academic excellence
2. Service activities
3. Research experience
4. Broadening and sustaining of diversity
5. Commitment to clinical medicine
6. Other experience

What you’ll notice here is that there’s a whole lot of “stuff” and “checkmarks” that admissions officers have to sort through just to get through your application. Diversity. Social empathy. Being a team player. Research experience. The 15 core competencies endorsed by the AAMC group.

For obvious reasons, you can’t fulfill everything.

Once the college admissions process, particularly the FlexMed program, fills itself with so many metrics to screen you on, it’s kind of impossible to really sift through your application with a fine tooth comb on each and every attribute possible. They just need a general idea of how qualified you are in getting into their program.

You can do this by having strong marks and high test scores, which will be the most important factor in getting your foot in the door. However, that alone won’t get you accepted.

If you really want to stand out, having research and clinical experience helps. But, we understand that that’s not realistic for practically 99% of students.

So, that’s why it’s absolutely paramount to ensure your essays stand out from the rest of the crowd.

If you feel you still need help crafting stellar med school essays for the FlexMed application, consider working with a college admissions expert with years of experience. At PenningPapers, we can provide you with exactly that expertise to help you stand out from the rest of the FlexMed admissions pool. Simply schedule a free consultation with us, and we’ll get back to you with a free 30-minute phone call.