Free Pre-Med Resources

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How to Use the WithRinka Pre-Med Resource Library

First of all, thank you so much for subscribing! 💗

I’m so excited you’re here, and I truly hope these free subscriber-only resources make your medical school application journey a little easier.

Once subscribed, you will have received a PDF that contains the exact templates, outlines, and prompts I personally created and used throughout my application cycle. They’re all original resources that helped me stay organized and prepare more efficiently, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

Below, I’ll walk you through each page and explain how to get the most out of it.

Page 2: Letter of Recommendation Request Template

This is probably one of my favorite resources in the entire PDF because it’s something I created myself after realizing how difficult recommendation letters can be for professors.

Many professors are happy to write a letter for you, but if they don’t know you very well, they often don’t know what to write. The result is usually a very generic letter that doesn’t really help your application.

Recommendation letters are incredibly important because they show admissions committees who you are from someone else’s perspective. A strong letter can strengthen your application, while a weak or generic one can actually hurt it.

That’s exactly why I created this template.

Here’s how to use it:

Letter Writer

This is simply the professor or faculty member writing your letter.

Applicant

Your name.

Goal

This is where you explain what you hope the letter emphasizes.

For example, if your application focuses heavily on leadership, ask this professor to discuss your leadership abilities.

Think about the overall story you’re telling throughout your application. Your recommendation letters should reinforce that story.

AAMC Letter Guidelines

I also included the AAMC guidelines for writing a medical school recommendation letter.

Many professors have never actually looked at these guidelines before, so including them makes their job much easier and helps ensure they’re writing a stronger letter.

Qualities to Highlight

This section is where you list the qualities you’d like the professor to discuss.

I recommend first looking through the AAMC Core Competencies (linked in the AAMC guidelines PDF), which include things like:

  • Critical thinking
  • Oral communication
  • Ethical responsibility
  • Reliability
  • Teamwork
  • Cultural competence

Here’s a pro tip:

Don’t ask every professor to highlight the exact same qualities.

If Professor A talks about your leadership…

Have Professor B focus on communication.

Have Professor C focus on critical thinking.

Admissions committees already know you have multiple strengths, so let each letter showcase a different side of you.

Looking back, I genuinely think this strategy helped strengthen my application.

Experiences to Highlight

Next, remind the professor about experiences you’ve shared together.

For example:

  • You were their teaching assistant.
  • You worked in their research lab.
  • They supervised your volunteer work.

Include specific examples they can mention.

Numbers always help.

Instead of saying:

“She was a great TA.”

Give them examples like:

  • Held weekly review sessions
  • Improved exam averages
  • Stayed after class to help struggling students

“Specifically, if you could…”

The last section is where you politely ask for a few specific details, such as:

  • A first-person story about working with you
  • Examples of your growth
  • A comparative statement highlighting your strengths

These personal details make recommendation letters feel much more authentic.

I’ve received great feedback from professors after sending this template because it saves them so much time.

I honestly think this is one of the most valuable resources inside the entire PDF.

Page 3: Personal Statement Outline

This isn’t a fill-in-the-blank template.

Instead, it’s an outline that walks you through everything you should be thinking about while writing your personal statement.

Many applicants only focus on why they’re passionate about medicine.

But there are several other things admissions committees want to see.

Inside this outline, I included:

  • How to come up with your overall theme
  • Questions to help identify your motivation for medicine
  • Qualities you may want to highlight
  • Tips for creating a memorable personal brand

Ultimately, your application is about branding yourself.

When an admissions committee finishes reading your application, you want them to remember something specific about you.

Maybe you’re:

  • passionate about public health
  • interested in rural medicine
  • dedicated to refugee healthcare
  • committed to serving underserved communities

Find that identity and consistently reinforce it throughout your application.

Page 4: Activities Section Guide

This page includes additional examples of clinical experiences beyond what I’ve already discussed on the blog.

I also included several metrics you should think about when writing activity descriptions, such as:

  • Commitment
  • Leadership
  • Impact
  • Results

Whenever possible, quantify your accomplishments.

Instead of simply saying what you did, explain the difference you made.

Page 5: CASPer Template

This is another one of my favorite resources.

I genuinely believe this template helped me score in the 4th quartile after only about two weeks of preparation.

The template follows the PPRDJ framework:

  • Problem
  • Parties/Perspectives
  • Responsibility
  • Decision
  • Justification

The highlighted paragraph is the exact structure I used to answer every situational CASPer question.

I highly recommend memorizing it.

When you’re under time pressure, having a framework already in your head makes it much easier to organize your thoughts.

The wording inside the template is completely customizable depending on the scenario, but having that structure helped me tremendously.

Page 6: Interview Preparation Prompts

The final page includes 15 interview questions that I either personally encountered or used while preparing.

Here’s how I recommend practicing:

Round 1

Answer each question without preparing beforehand.

Give yourself about one minute to think, then start talking.

Try to speak for around five minutes.

Round 2

Now go back through each question.

Instead of writing a script, write a few bullet points.

For example:

Tell me about yourself

Instead of memorizing a paragraph, simply write:

  • hometown
  • college
  • why medicine
  • hobbies
  • leadership

On interview day, you’ll remember your bullet points instead of trying to memorize dozens of answers word-for-word.

I also recommend practicing with Big Interview, which I talk about in my Medical School Interview blog post.

Final Thoughts

That’s everything included in the current version of the WithRinka Pre-Med Resource Library!

Thank you so much for subscribing and supporting my blog.

I truly hope these templates, outlines, and prompts make your application journey a little less stressful. Every resource in this PDF is something I personally created or refined throughout my own application process, and they’ve all been tested in real applications and interviews.

I’ll continue adding new resources over time, so be sure to check back regularly and stay subscribed to the newsletter so you never miss an update.

Most importantly, I hope these resources help you feel more confident throughout your journey to medical school.

I’m rooting for you, and I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you!!