Galen — Pre-Medical Intelligence

Galen

Application Builder

1Academics

2Experiences

3Schools

4Analysis

📊 Academic Record

Enter your GPA, science GPA, and prerequisites manually. Expand below to add a graduate or post-baccalaureate program.

Institution

Overall GPA *

▲

▼

➕ Add more detail — Major, sGPA, status, trend ▼

Major(s)

Science GPA (BCPM)

▲

▼

Graduation Year

Current Status

GPA Trend

🎓 Graduate / Post-Baccalaureate Program optional

Add an SMP, Master's, post-bacc, or PhD program

No graduate programs added. Click "+ Add Program" above.

New Graduate / Post-Bacc Program

Program Type

Institution

Field / Program Name

GPA in Program

Start Year

End Year / Expected

Status

Thesis / Research?

Key Accomplishments / Notes

🧬 MCAT

✅

I've taken the MCAT

Enter my score

📅

Not yet taken

I'm preparing

📅

No MCAT yet — that's okay!

Galen will still analyze your academic profile and provide readiness guidance. Add your score when ready.

Planned Test Date

Prep Stage

Practice Score (if any)

Target Score

👤 Background

Context helps Galen personalize fit analysis across schools with different missions.

State of Residence

Citizenship

Underrepresented Minority?

First-Generation Student?

Personal Statement Status

Target Submission Date

✓ Changes saved automatically

🏥 Activities & Experiences

Add your experiences one by one — mirroring the AAMC AMCAS format. Up to 3 Most Meaningful designations, each with a 1,325-character essay.

0 activities 0 / 3 Most Meaningful ⚠ 15-activity limit reached

New Activity

Activity Type *

Organization / Institution *

Your Role / Title

City / Location

Start Date

End Date

Total Hours (completed)

Projected / Expected Hours

Recurring Schedule

Longitudinal Activity?

Competency Tags — how admissions readers will file this

🤝 Service 🏆 Leadership 👥 Teamwork 💪 Resilience 🗣 Communication 🔬 Research 🩺 Clinical Aptitude ⭐ Professionalism

Importance to Your Application

⚡ Peripheral

⭐ Significant

🏆 Core to Identity

AAMC "Most Meaningful" Designation

★

Mark as Most Meaningful Activity

AAMC allows up to 3. You keep the 700-char description and add a separate 1,325-char "why most meaningful" essay.

Description (700 character limit)

0 / 700

📄 Publications & Research Output

optional

Papers, posters, and presentations — a natural extension of your research activities above.

✉️ Letters of Recommendation

Track every letter operationally — request dates, deadlines, Interfolio status, and school mapping. Most MD programs require 3 letters minimum.

            0 / 3 letters ready
            0%
          

Add Letter of Recommendation

Writer Information

Full Name *

Title / Position

Institution / Organization

Email Address

Letter Type *

How You Know Them *

Duration of Relationship

Expected Strength

Logistics & Status Tracking

Current Status

Date Asked / Will Ask

Date Received / Uploaded

Deadline to Submit

Letter System

Packet / Materials Sent?

Notes / Context

📋 My School List

Organize your schools into Reach, Target, and Baseline. Add schools from the browser below, then drag them between buckets — or click to move.

🔴 Reach

🟡 Target

🟢 Baseline

🔍 School Browser

Search and filter schools. Click ⓘ for school details. Click a school to add it — fit tier is auto-assigned from your profile.

🔍

Sort:

About this data

Fill in your academics and at least one school to get your full analysis.

Galen is thinking…

Analyzing your complete profile against each school's
admissions data, mission, and preferences.

Dashboard

—

OVERALL GPA

—

MCAT TOTAL

EXPERIENCE READINESS

Clinical

Research

Service

Shadow

Leadership

Other

🎯 Profile Score

Your application strength across 8 key dimensions.

🏫 School List Strategy

Ranked by your fit score.

⚡ Action Plan

✉️ Letters of Recommendation

Your Roadmap

My Plan

Priorities, schedule, and tasks — everything in one place.

⚡

What to Work On

📅

Schedule

✅

Tasks

Strategic Toolkit

Planning Center

Build, refine, and execute your medical school application strategy.

⚡

To-Do & Application Timeline

AI-generated action items and key milestones, calibrated to your cycle year.

🚩

Red Flags & Gaps

Weaknesses admissions committees will notice — and how to address them.

📋

Application Systems

AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS — which systems your school list requires.

🌱

Gap Year Planning

Select your path to get targeted advice for your timeline.

🎓 Applying this cycle

Applying during senior year or current post-bacc year.

📅 One gap year

Taking 1 year after graduation before matriculation.

🗓 Two+ gap years

Non-traditional applicant pathway — 2 or more years out.

📋 Applications

Your admissions operating system — tasks, submissions, secondaries, interviews, and school notes all in one place.

📅 Upcoming Deadlines & Reminders

Auto-generated from your school status, secondary tracker, and interviews.

✅ Application Tasks

Tasks linked to schools or in application/LOR/secondary/interview categories. Manage all tasks in My Plan →

🏫 School Application Status

Track where each school stands in your application pipeline. Click a school to expand and update its stage.

📋 Submission Checklist

Your master pre-submission checklist. Check items off as you complete them — progress is saved per profile.

0 / 0 complete

✍️ Secondary Essay Tracker

Track secondary receipt, deadlines, word limits, essay prompts, and completion status for each school.

🎤 Interview Tracker

Track interview invites, dates, formats, and outcomes. Add notes to review before each interview day.

💬 Answer Practice

Write out answers to common questions — the evaluator scores length, STAR structure, keyword coverage, and flags clichés in real time.

✍️ Personal Statement

Write or paste your personal statement below. Galen detects AAMC competencies, flags structural issues, and scores your draft in real time.

0 / 5,300 characters AMCAS limit

AAMC Competency Coverage

Start writing to detect competencies…

📝 School Notes & Research

Keep research notes, "why this school" talking points, and post-interview reflections for each school.

Smart Scheduler

Monthly Schedule

Your classes, study blocks, activities, and AI-suggested tasks — all in one view.

Class

MCAT

Activity

Task

Work

Personal

AI Fill

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

✦

Galen's Schedule Suggestions

Short gaps automatically filled with high-impact tasks from your To-Do list

MCAT Prep Tracker

Full-Length Practice

Self-report every question — track accuracy by section, topic, and skill.

Pre-Med Intelligence

The Galen Guide

Strategy, science, and insider knowledge for every stage of the medical school application — written for students who want to understand the game, not just play it.

Featured

Ready to build your application?

Use Galen to track your profile, score your school list, and get prioritised next actions.

Today's Paper

Galen Daily

One peer-reviewed paper a day — plus a live search engine and tools to reach out to researchers whose work interests you.

Key Takeaway

No papers saved yet.

Why Cold Email Researchers?

📈Research hours matter: Most competitive MD programs expect 200–1,000+ hours. Emailing PIs directly is the fastest way to get a lab position as a pre-med.

✉️Cold email works: Response rates average 20–40% when the email is specific, short, and genuine. Personalization to the PI's exact work is the single biggest driver of response.

🎯Be specific, not generic: Mention one specific paper or finding. Explain why it resonates with your experience or goals. Offer concrete availability and skills.

⏱Best time to send: Tuesday–Thursday, 8–10am. Avoid Monday mornings, Friday afternoons, and school breaks. Follow up once after 7–10 days if no reply.

✦ Build Your Cold Email

Your Name *

Your Year / Status

Your University

Your Major

PI / Researcher Name *

PI's Institution

Specific paper or research area that interests you *

Why this research resonates with you

Relevant skills / experience

Your availability

Research interests (select all that apply)

Email tone

Generated Email

Fill in your name, the PI's name, and the paper/research area above — your personalized cold email will appear here.

📬 Follow-up email template ▼

Send this 7–10 days after your initial email if you receive no reply. One follow-up only — then move on.

🏛 Your Own University

Go to your department's faculty page. Look for labs whose research aligns with your interests. Check the PI's most recent publications.

🔬 PubMed / Google Scholar

Search a topic you care about. Find corresponding authors on recent papers. Their institutional email is usually on the paper's first or last page.

🌐 NIH Reporter

reporter.nih.gov — search funded grants by institution, topic, or keyword. Funded labs are actively running experiments and often need help.

📋 AAMC Research Programs

AAMC's GREAT program lists NIH-funded training opportunities. Many offer stipends for pre-med volunteers and summer students.

✓ Keep it under 200 words

✓ Name a specific paper they wrote

✓ State what you can contribute

✓ Give clear availability

✓ Attach a 1-page CV or resume

✓ Follow up once after 7–10 days

✗ Don't copy-paste a generic email

✗ Don't ask about pay in the first email

✗ Don't send to 20 PIs at once

✗ Don't write more than 3 paragraphs

✗ Don't email on Fridays or weekends

💰 Financial Planner

School costs, aid opportunities, and a live tally of what your application has already cost you.

Residency Cost of Living

🎓

Medical School Budget

Set your annual budget for medical school. Galen compares it to estimated real costs for your listed schools.

Max annual tuition budget ($)

Max annual living budget ($)

Family / personal contribution ($)

Expected annual aid / scholarship ($)

Max acceptable 4-year total debt ($)

📋

Application Budget

Set your total application spending limit and see where you stand.

Total application budget ($)

Already spent ($)

💡

Ways to Reduce Cost

Concrete, actionable strategies to lower your total application and education spend.

🆘

AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP) Checker

The FAP waives the MCAT registration fee (saves ~$335) and reduces the AMCAS application fee to $0 for the first school + $0 each additional. Enter your information to check likely eligibility — this is not an official determination.

Household size *

Annual household income ($) *

Citizenship status

Independent (not claimed as dependent)?

Currently receiving need-based aid?

FAP Benefits if Approved

AMCAS primary fee
(saves up to $1,019+ for 20 schools)

$135

MCAT registration
(saves $200 vs standard $335)

Free

MSAR access + prep materials
(normally $28–$40/yr)

HOW TO APPLY FOR FAP