Medical School Admissions Consulting and Advice From Trusted Doctors
Hello to all you future medical students reading this – we are Cracking Med School Admissions, a team of world-class medical school admissions consulting advisors who are passionately committed to helping the next generation of doctors successfully navigate their way through the daunting and stressful experience that is the medical school admissions process.
We are Stanford Medical School graduates who are passionate about helping medical school applicants throughout their pre-med journeys. We offer our services to help you reach your ultimate goal and get accepted into medical school.
We are a proven team of medical school consultants who are experts about the med school admissions process. Through extensive experience (both personally and with our premed students) we’ve figured out how to succeed with competitive medical school applications and scholarships. We are master medical school applicant strategists. As medical school admissions consultants, our goal is to teach you what you know and apply our strategies to help you stand out on your medical school applications.
How can a medical school admissions consultant increase your chances of acceptance?
As medical school advisors, we use our unique insights to coach hundreds of students with essay writing and interview skills. Our knowledge about medical school admissions comes from our own experiences as well as information we’ve accumulated from a plethora of medical school admissions officers throughout the years. Additionally, we’ve learned best practices from our working with our premed mentees and friends across the United States.
Whether you are applying to medical school as a non-traditional applicant or straight out of college, the Cracking Med School Admissions team has a wealth of experience and a solid record of success helping premed students at all levels successfully navigate the medical admissions process with clarity.
The process of getting accepted to med school starts long before working on your medical school primary application (AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS). We begin working with pre-meds as early as high school. How? We help them identify their interests and turn them into impactful extra-curricular activities.
If you are applying to medical school, there are several ways we can help you. First, we edit your personal statements, AMCAS work and activities descriptions, and secondary application essays. Next, we help students with interview preparation through mock interviews. Each pre-med is unique and we provide a very personalized approach to each application. The result? You will have an extremely polished med school application to help you stand out from the 53,000 other applicants.
Your Team of Advisors
We are your medical school application coaches, mentors, & cheerleaders
Rachel Rizal, MD
One phrase to Describe why I love Advising Students: Enabling students to reach their full potential
Hometown: Cerritos, California
Undergraduate: Princeton University, Cum Laude,
Major: Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs
Medical School: Stanford School of Medicine
Residency: Harvard, Emergency Medicine
What I Did After College:
- With the World Health Organization in the Philippines, I created new partnerships between city governments and public/private health clinics to improve Hepatitis B vaccination rates among newborns
- Launched a national HIV Awareness Campaign in the Philippines
- Produced an HIV awareness commercial for MTV
- Worked full-time at a healthcare consulting firm, advising pharmaceutical companies about marketing strategies and business development
- Created a public health program in Stanford’s Emergency Department, using iPads to educate patients about various health topics
Activities I am Passionate About:
- Mentoring and advising students
- Integrating ideas from other industries to improve healthcare delivery
- Health Education – enabling people with information to improve their health
- Business and Medicine: Health technology & entrepreneurship
- Design thinking
Major Awards Won: Fulbright Scholar, USA Today All-Academic First Team (top 20 students in America), Fulbright Scholar, Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalist, Coca-Cola Scholar, Merck Global Health Scholarship, Tylenol Scholarship, Stanford Medical Research Scholar, Stanford Children’s Health Innovations for Patient Care Grant, TED Med Ambassador, California Medical Association Scholarship, AP Scholar with Distinction, and National Merit Scholar
Rishi Mediratta, MD, MSc, MA
One phrase to Describe why I love Advising Students: Helping students attend their dream schools
Hometown: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Undergraduate: Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa
Major: Public Health Studies
Master’s in Public Health: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on a Marshall Scholarship
Masters in Medical Anthropology: School of Oriental & African Studies on a Marshall Scholarship
Medical School: Stanford School of Medicine
Residency: Stanford, Pediatrics
Current Position: Stanford Pediatrics, Hospitalist & Clinical Instructor
What I Did After College:
- Interned with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland
- Partnered with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to study child health practices in communities
- Founded and launched an NGO to improve the health and education of Ethiopian orphans
- Co-authored a book about public health interventions aimed at decreasing child malnutrition
- World Bank consultant who helped implement Ethiopia’s national nutrition program
Activities I am Passionate About:
- Programs aimed at reducing neonatal and child mortality
- Advising students for national and international scholarships
- Hospital and community quality improvement intervention
Major Awards Won: Marshall Scholarship, Johns Hopkins University Woodrow Wilson Scholar, Johns Hopkins University Dean’s List, Tylenol Scholarship, and Stanford Medical Research Scholar, Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalist
Here are some schools our students were accepted to the last 2 years!
We Offer A Personalized and Holistic Approach to Medical School Admissions Consulting Services
We remember exactly what it’s like to be in your shoes. The pressure, the stress, all of it. That’s why we offer a full and wide-ranging suite of services, that includes comprehensive packages for almost any budget, as well as a la carte services and programs for those seeking help.
Our medical school application packages are designed to help YOU succeed. That’s why all our application packages include UNLIMITED EDITS for all your essays and work/activities descriptions. Unlimited, you ask? Yes! While it takes out a lot more time, we ultimately care about helping you succeed to the best of your abilities.
PreMed Advising
As your premed coaches, we will help you standout. We love mentoring and we view ourselves as your mentors for life! Many of our students who work with us are still in touch with us years later. We’ve helped students apply to college, medical school, and residency.
Each premed advising session is tailored to whatever you want to discuss and what topics are most pertinent at the given time of your premed journey.
Some common topics we discuss with our mentees:
- Class schedules and college academic timeline planning
- Development of medical school application strategy
- Letter of recommendation plans and strategy
- Boosting and improving extracurricular activities, including leadership within each activity
- Medical school application timeline planning
- Summer internship plans
- Gap year plans
- Applications for internships, scholarships, and fellowships
Again, we’ve advised pre-health students with an array of topics. These are only the most common premed topics we discussed, but each session will be personalized to what you need.
A Comprehensive Medical School Application Packages for all types of students
We help with the whole enchilada. Everything you need to give yourself the best chance at getting into the medical schools of your dreams. Each package we offer is unique in the market, regardless of your needs.
Our most comprehensive application package includes:
- Monthly 1-hour Advising Call with Dr. Rizal or Dr. Mediratta
- Unlimited Email Access to Dr. Rishi Mediratta & Dr. Rachel Rizal
- Letter of Recommendation Planning
- Customized School List
- Unlimited Med School Personal Statement Editing
- Unlimited AMCAS Activities Editing
- Unlimited Editing for 23 Secondary Applications
- 4 Mock Interviews
- “Mastering The Multiple Mini Interview” Online Course
- Unlimited Update Letter Edits
- Cracking Med School Admissions Book
Essay Editing & Help
We are expert essay writers. No we won’t write anything for you, but we will help you make your essay standout among the thousands of applicants you’re up against. We will help you overcome any weak writing skills with expert feedback and our proven and systematic approach to:
- Medical School Primary Essays
- Secondary Essays (Medical School-specific Essays)
- Secondary Application Essays
- Master’s Degree Program Essays (Masters of Science, Masters of Medicine, Masters of Public Health, Masters of Public Policy, MBA)
- Post-bacc Program Essays
- MD-PhD Essays
- Scholarship and Post-graduate Fellowships Essays
Medical School Interviews: Prep and Coaching
Every medical school application process includes an interview; preparing for the interview is something each and every medical school applicant can do to improve their chances of fulfilling their medical school dreams.
We are interview gurus. Whether you have an upcoming MMI or traditional interview, our team will prepare you through mock interviews.
We build and develop interviewing skills as we prepare students for all types of interviews:
- Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
- Traditional Style Interviews
- MD/PhD
- Summer Internships
- Fellowships and Scholarships
- Public Health
- Public Policy
- Business
100% of our students say our mock interview preparation greatly improved their interviewing skills.
For mock interviews, we will ask you details about your medical school interview. What medical school? What’s the interview format? When is your interview? Then, we will schedule a mock interview with you. If you are in Boston or the San Francisco Bay Area, we may be able to schedule an interview in person, schedule permitting. Otherwise, our mock interviews are held over video chat.
Each mock interview is 60 to 90 minutes. During this time, we will ask you several questions and give you our frank and direct feedback. If we need to practice some responses again and again, we can do so. This interview preparation is personalized and tailored for each student to shine!
For our mock Multiple Mini Interviews, we do a fully simulated MMI. We also tailor the MMI prompts and situations to the medical school you will be interviewing at.
If you are interested in preparing for a specific medical school, then we can help you tailor your message and interview answers for a specific school. We know the nuances of various medical schools and what they like to emphasize, and we’ll make sure you hit those points during your interview. You WILL be prepared come interview day!
Letters of Recommendation
Everyone knows you need these recommendation letters and how important they are, but most do not know how to get them from the people they want, when they need them. We’ve got a proven system for you.
The purpose of the medical school recommendation letter is for your writers to convey the best things about you onto a document less than a page in length. “Your greatest hits,” so to speak.
Each undergraduate school has a different way of organizing the medical school recommendation letter. Some schools may require committee letters, whereas other schools may require that you send individual letters to the AMCAS profile. Speed is especially critical if your school participates in committee letters, because all of your other letter writers need to submit their letters of recommendation to your college’s health professions office, which then sends it to your designated committee letter writer. We will guide and coach you through the entire process.
Schools Our Students Have Been Accepted to
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
University of Pennsylvania
Columbia
Mount Sinai
Cornell
Yale
Boston University
Brown
Dartmouth
Tufts
Rutgers
New York Medical College Georgetown
Thomas Jefferson
George Washington University
University of Iowa
University of Florida
University of Miami
University of South Florida
Stanford
University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Southern California
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Riverside
Loma Linda
Oregon Health Sciences University
Duke
Eastern Virginia
Vanderbilt
Emory
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Texas – Southwestern
Baylor
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Michigan State
Northwestern
University of Chicago
Case Western
Rush
Medical College of Wisconsin
Wayne State
DO Programs:
Touro College in New York
Touro University California
Touro University Nevada
University of Toledo
Western University
Midwestern University / Arizona College
Midwestern University / Chicago College
Michigan State University
The Cracking Med School Admissions Advantage
We can help you with your medical school application no matter where you live!
We advise premed students and med school applicants across the nation. Sometimes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, students live abroad. Dr. Rachel Rizal is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Rishi Mediratta is based in the Bay Area, California.
Innovative Ideas
We take your current activities and make them impactful to the world. By working with us, you will be unique from other applicants.
Stellar Results
No other medical school admissions advisors consistently get students full-tuition acceptances to top medical schools and prestigious post-graduate scholarships.
Supportive
Whatever your communication style, we’re always here to promptly answer your questions and work with you step-by-step.
The Best Mentors
We are lifetime mentors to our students.
Your success is our success.
Deep Expertise
Drs. Rizal and Mediratta have expertise in clinical medicine, public health, global health, public policy, and business. We can help you thrive in anything.
Personalized
There is no formula for crafting a perfect essay or application. We capitalize on your unique backgrounds & interests so you stand out from others.
Excellence
We strive only for excellence. You will work with top notch Stanford Medical School and Harvard Medical School doctors.
FAST Turnaround
Time is valuable, especially during crunch time. We aim to get your edits back to you within 24-48 hours.
WE Promise
to have quick turnaround times and to be extremely proactive and supportive.
we believe
that every applicant has a UNIQUE story that includes: unique life circumstances, unique undergraduate background, unique skills, and unique experiences.
This is why we are EXCITED to get to know each applicant. Getting to know you is how we will make sure you STAND OUT to the admissions committee.
In the Community
The Cracking Med School Admissions team is passionate about giving back to our community.
We partner with post-bacc programs, University pre-med advising, pre-health frats / sororities, non-profits, and other healthcare organizations. Together, we host workshops and book signings about how to get into medical school.
Making Headlines
We are passionate about improving healthcare. We want to help you get into medical school and improve healthcare too.
Dr. Rachel Rizal is a regular writer for the U.S. News Medical School Admissions Doctor section. Her topics range from tips for medical school applicants to unique extra-curricular activities for premedical students.
We were interviewed by Stanford’s SCOPE outside Stanford Hospital one breezy spring day 2015. Dr. Rizal was broadening her knowledge of business through an administrative position in Stanford Health Care, and Dr. Mediratta was completing his pediatrics residency at Stanford…
Dr. Mediratta vividly remembers the first time he gave someone a flu shot. Thanks to the training he received as part of the school’s student-run influenza-prevention program, “My first patient didn’t even feel the needle.”
Dr. Mediratta’s work in Ethiopia began after a chance meeting with a Johns Hopkins alumnus in the Detroit airport. Spotting Mediratta’s Johns Hopkins sweatshirt, Dr. Richard Hodes, who trained in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins, struck up a conversation with Mediratta, a freshman at the time. They exchanged e-mail addresses and began corresponding — Mediratta was drawn to Hodes’s 20 years of work in Ethiopia, where he had been treating the poor and raising orphans…
Rachel’s global health story truly begins with her thesis. Funded by the Merck Adel Mahmoud Global Health scholarship, Rachel spent her senior summer studying vaccine delivery in the Philippines. She observed vaccinations at health clinics in poor rural and urban settings, and interviewed public health officials on local and national scales. The research helped her to understand some of the economic, political, governmental, public, and pharmaceutical perspectives on healthcare delivery and access to care…
Dr. Rizal is passionate about building healthcare organizations that improve access to care, care coordination, and health education. At Stanford Hospital, she founded a public health program in its Emergency Department. The program – now called “Stanford Health Advocates and Research in the Emergency Department” – screens patients for social needs and connects them with community resources. She bridges…