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MD Applicants

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  • MrDoctorman

  • Application cycles: 06/18/2013
  • Demographics: Male, 32, East Asian
  • Home state: California
  • Last Active: 11/07/2019
  • Brief Profile: Matriculating to: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (Geffen Scholarship Recipient)

    Applied to go straight into medical school after undergrad.

    (* = Most Meaningful)
    *Co-head coordinator of clinical research associate/ER volunteer program (3 yr)
    *Volunteer in medical clinic for homeless/low-income population in LA (1-2 yr)
    *Coordinator and tutor for high school mentorship program (4 yr)
    -Molecular bio research (3 yr; co-author on pub; poster award and stuff)
    -Research at JHU (2 mo, getting my feet wet w/ research)
    -Clinical research employment (6 mo)
    -Shadow neurologists at UCLA (3 yr)
    -Medical internship/shadowing abroad (1 mo)
    -Overseas medical volunteer in Honduras (1 wk)
    -Regents Scholarship at UCLA
    -Cool hobbies

    Please see Applications section for detailed timeline of my application cycle.
    Feel free to message me with any questions you may have!
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 06/18/2013

    • Undergraduate college: UCLA
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 525
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 131, C/P 132, CARS 132  
    • Overall GPA: 3.98
    • Science GPA: 3.97

    Summary of Application Experience

    [GENERAL COMMENTS]

    I am very lucky to have had a successful application cycle. Echoing what others have said in the past, medical school applications are random and unpredictable. I know several people that would make outstanding physicians that drew the short stick for interviews and acceptances. The process is long and difficult - especially secondaries - but very rewarding. Reflect honestly as you write your essays, because not only will you put together a better application, but also appreciate how influential certain people and experiences were in your growth.

    I submitted most secondaries within 1-3 weeks of getting them. Might have held onto Harvard for a bit too long but what's done is done. In order to get them in sooner, you can look for the prompts online. They don't change too much from year to year, and there is some overlap between schools. The prompts with highest yield are probably "What makes you unique/how can you contribute to diversity at XYZ school" and "What is an obstacle you have overcome."

    I interviewed mostly from early September to early November, with one last interview in January. In retrospect, I definitely should have tried to consolidate the East Coast/Midwest interviews to save on flight costs. However, I was too excited to not schedule every interview as soon as I got the invite. I don't even want to look at how much it cost in the end (probably around $10k!). I was still in school during the majority of the interviews, so I had to miss many classes; for a GE course, I had only attended one lecture before taking the midterm - yikes! I recommend taking a light schedule in anticipation of this or scheduling the interviews close together so you miss less time overall.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [MCAT]

    I used the SN2ed study schedule condensed to 2 months, so 1 month content review + 1 month AAMC practice tests. I studied 3-6 hours per day on average with 1 break day per week.

    AAMC Practice Test Results (PS/VR/BS):
    8/13/2012 : Practice Test 3 (14/12/15) = 41
    8/15/2012 : Practice Test 4 (14/13/13) = 40
    8/22/2012 : Practice Test 5 (14/11/13) = 38
    8/24/2012 : Practice Test 7 (15/12/14) = 41
    8/29/2012 : Practice Test 8 (14/10/14) = 38
    9/04/2012 : Practice Test 9 (15/14/15) = 44
    9/05/2012 : Practice Test 10 (14/10/15) = 39
    9/07/2012 : Practice Test 11 (13/12/15) = 40
    9/11/2012 : Actual MCAT (14/14/14) = 42

    I highly recommend the SN2ed study schedule IF AND ONLY IF you are good at standardized tests and self-motivated. The materials focus only on content review and not test-taking strategies or how to approach passages. There were days that I felt supremely lazy and it took all of my effort to stay on schedule. Without someone looking over your shoulder, it is very easy to fall behind.

    Also, you do not have to become a recluse while studying for the MCAT. That summer, I was a volunteer, coordinator, researcher, and per diem employee. If anything, I found it was crucial to get my nose out of the books and do other things to take a break.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [TIMELINE]

    (* Interview Day; $ Decision Received)

    07/01/2012-09/10/2012 : Study for MCAT
    09/11/2012 : MCAT test date
    01/01/2013-06/01/2013 : Ask for Letters of Recommendation
    06/10/2013 : AMCAS Primary application open for submission.
    06/19/2013 : AMCAS Primary submitted
    06/29/2013-08/07/2013 : Various secondaries received. Submitted most within 1-3 weeks of receiving them.
    07/23/2013 : AMCAS Primary verified.
    08/01/2013 : Interview Invite - Michigan (received before I submitted the secondary)
    08/07/2013 : Interview Invite - SUNY Downstate
    08/14/2013 : Interview Invite - Pittsburgh
    08/16/2013 : Interview Invite - Stanford
    08/22/2013 : Interview Invite - Yale
    09/03/2013 : Interview Invite - UCSD
    *09/09/2013 : Interview - SUNY Downstate
    09/11/2013 : Interview Invite - WashU St Louis
    09/14/2013 : Interview Invite - Northwestern
    *09/20/2013 : Interview - Michigan
    *09/24/2013 : Interview - Pittsburgh
    09/25/2013 : Interview Invite - Mt Sinai
    09/??/2013 : Interview Invite - UCSF (not sure exact date; randomly checked my status to find I had an II sitting there)
    *10/02/2013 : Interview - Stanford
    *10/09/2013 : Interview - WashU St Louis
    10/10/2013 : Interview Invite - UCLA
    *10/11/2013 : Interview - Yale
    10/13/2013 : Interview Invite - UCI
    $10/15/2013 : Waitlisted - Michigan
    *10/16/2013 : Interview - UCLA
    $10/20/2013 : Rejected - Mayo
    *10/21/2013 : Interview - Northwestern
    *10/24/2013 : Interview - UCSF
    *10/29/2013 : Interview - UCSD
    $10/30/2013 : Accepted - SUNY Downstate! First acceptance, so this will always hold a special place in my heart.
    10/31/2013 : Interview Invite - Temple
    *11/01/2013 : Interview - Mt Sinai
    $11/05/2013 : Accepted - UCSD! One of my top choices going into this arduous process. I opened the email in class and almost jumped out of my seat. Great feeling!
    $11/26/2013 : Accepted - Northwestern! I thought my panel interview went poorly, but apparently not.
    $12/16/2013 : Accepted - Mount Sinai! Already on winter break when this one came in and it made break all that much more enjoyable.
    *01/06/2014 : Interview - UCI
    $??/??/2014 : Waitlisted - Stanford (received via snail mail)
    $01/24/2014 : Rejected - UCD
    $01/29/2014 : Accepted - UCSF! This prompted me to withdraw from Yale, Irvine, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh, which I had not yet heard back from.
    $03/01/2014 : Accepted - UCLA! Also received the unparalleled (full ride) Geffen Scholarship! What an amazing day. This just made my decision very difficult.
    03/22/2014 : 160k scholarship from Northwestern!
    05/09/2014 : Well, that's it... I've withdrawn from everywhere except UCLA. Excited to be staying in LA for another four years!

    Application Complete, Rejected

    Harvard University
    University of California, Davis
    Mayo Medical School

    Invited for Interview, Withdrew

    Temple University

    Attended Interview, Withdrew

    Yale University
    University of California, Irvine
    Washington University in St. Louis
    University of Pittsburgh

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted

    Stanford University
    University of Michigan

    Accepted

    University of California, San Diego
    University of California, Los Angeles
    Mount Sinai School of Medicine
    Northwestern University
    University of California, San Francisco
    SUNY Downstate

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