Brief Profile:
Graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bioengineering degree in 2011 with a GPA of 3.455
Did post-bacc at UC Berkeley Extension. I did not go through a formal post-bacc program. I had a few prerequisites that I did not take as an undergraduate because I didn't think I was going to pursue medicine (had decided to use my AP credits since there were a lot of classes I needed to take for my major). My post-bacc GPA was 4.0.
After AMCAS verification: Total GPA: 3.54, BCPM GPA: 3.6
ECs: 1. 1 year bioengineering club 2. ~2.5 years doing research: 1 publication (2nd author), supervised new undergraduate helpers, did a few presentations for lab meetings 3. 2 years (~330 hours) hospital volunteering (the standard type of volunteer experience) 4. a couple of mini group research projects through classes that range from traditional wet lab bench work, designing a medical device and microfluidic device, modeling through COMSOL; some include writing scientific papers and/or presentations at symposium at UC Berkeley 5. phlebotomy training/certification 6. join pre-medical student run non-profit organization: involve with leadership activities and got to shadow as many different ER physicians as I want at a teaching hospital, so got to interact with residents/interns/medical students as well (~300 clinical hours) 7. fun 1-day volunteer for ATLS: acted like an injured patient (with make-up to dramatize injuries) for doctors to continue their medical education 8. did 1 semester of lecture note-taking as a job 9. currently working full-time at Stanford University as a research assistant in the School of Medicine, involved in my own project, contributing author of 3 papers that we semi-recently submitted for review (so not sure if will be published), attended conference, gave presentations to my lab
4 LORs: 1. Organic Chemistry Professor 2. Psychology Professor 3. UC Berkeley Research PI 4. Stanford Research PI 5. Bioengineering Professor (only sent to some schools)
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/21/2013
Undergraduate college: UC Berkeley
Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology
Total MCAT SCORE: 513
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 126,
CARS 129
Overall GPA: 3.54
Science GPA: 3.60
Summary of Application Experience
It is a tough cycle so far and lots of worrying endlessly and praying that I get in somewhere this cycle. I know I am a little at a disadvantage because I'm not URM and I live in CA and I don't have the strongest numbers, but I am trying not to be neurotically checking my status from every school. I'm thankful that I at least have 2 interviews so far since some don't have any. Trying to just enjoy my life and keep on exercising, so my body will continue to feel good! :) And whenever I get a rejection, I just go hug my cat (if he lets me) and thinks "at least he still loves me (sometimes)."
FYI, I applied to all the UCs, but have yet to receive a secondary from UCLA or UCSD. I did receive one from Riverside, but I ended up not applying because I never went to UC Riverside or lived in Riverside and they sent me a secondary relatively late, so I felt as though my chances of getting in were just about zero.
If anyone wants to ask me any questions or needs help with anything, just go ahead and message me, I WELCOME ALL MESSAGES! :)
UPDATE 11/19/13: I currently have 4 interview invites, which I'm pretty darn happy about (my original goal was to aim for 5 interviews). Looking at the schools that offered me an interview, UCSF and Washington University are the ones that definitely surprised me (pleasantly!) because they are top schools and based off on my GPA/MCAT, I didn't think I had a shot. I originally was debating on whether I should apply to those schools because I didn't want to waste more money than I needed to, but I ended up applying to UCSF because I applied to all CA schools to increase my chances of staying in CA and I applied to Washington University because my sister encouraged me to, saying they look beyond numbers. LESSON: if you can financially afford it, still apply to schools that you think are out of your reach because you never know what might happen, don't discount yourself out! If you don't apply, then you for sure won't get in. :)
Applied, Rejected
Vanderbilt University
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: Yes
Summary of Experience:
Rejected pre-secondary 10/4/13
Summary of Experience:
I think I'm getting rejected because it says my application has been reviewed already and they'll let me know. It's been like this for maybe at least a month.
Summary of Experience:
One of my top schools. Have yet to hear anything from them, so I'm starting to think that they're just not that interested me, but here's to hoping!
Summary of Experience:
Put on-hold pre-interview. I'm taking this to mean that I'm rejected considering how many applicants they received. Pretty bummed, I remember liking their program :(
Summary of Experience:
I think I'm basically on-hold here because I just randomly checked my status and it says my application has been reviewed and that the review process is continuous until April.
Summary of Experience:
Ugh, I totally had everything prepared like early Aug, but because I had adblock, I didn't officially submit my prerequesites until 9/10, with 3 days left until my application would've expired. Guess I should be grateful for that, but oh so frustrating that I let adblock do something like that!
Summary of Experience:
LOR requested 8/1/13; LOR received 8/17/13; Rejected pre-interview 10/6/13 :'( This rejection was like a dagger to the heart. I knew based on my numbers that I wasn't the "best candidate," but I guess I harbored a silly hope that they'd invite me to interview since they requested my LORs. Wish I could've gotten into this school. It's a dream school for sure.
Summary of Experience:
Put on-hold, not sure how long ago because I did not religiously check my status. Maybe at least early September or late August? Pretty bummed because I liked their program. Sent in an update letter 10/5, let's see if that helps! Got rejected via email 11/7/13
Summary of Experience:
It's always sad to get rejected. I think in terms of numbers, I'm somewhat average for this school whereas I'm usually below the average for most other schools, so getting rejected here scares the bejesus out of me! hahaha
Summary of Experience:
This is obviously a great school and a school that boasts extremely high numbers. I would not have applied here not because I don't like this school, but because I feel like it's so out of my reach. I applied though because my sister encouraged me to and says they look past numbers (she currently is there as a med student). So I did, but not expecting too much out of this haha
HOLY S***! I just got an interview invite here. When I got the e-mail, my first thought was "is this a joke..?" OMG, I still can't believe it and still so shocked. A part of me is so scared that they sent this to the wrong person or it's some sort of mistake, but I keep reassuring myself that that's my name on the e-mail! :)
Summary of Experience:
WOO! Finally got an interview invite! Excited to be able to interview here at 1/10/13 (a little on the later end, but I will definitely take it!)
Summary of Experience:
Yay my 3rd interview invite! The time between my 2nd and 3rd interview invite was a bit long and I was starting to get really worried that I wouldn't get anymore, so thank goodness for Albany!
Summary of Experience:
Wow, I could NOT believe that I got an interview invite here!!!! This was the first school I heard back from and it was so great to hear good news!
I'm more of an introvert/shy, so I knew I needed to prep for my interview, but not too much because I didn't want to come off as unnatural. Met with Dean Wofsy, seemed like such an easy-going, sensitive, compassionate guy. He was trying to calm everyone's nerves by saying that if you got an interview invite from here, rest assured that you will eventually get into a really good school by the end of the cycle. There were only a few that did not end up getting anywhere. When I heard that, I thought "oh crap, please please please don't let me be that 1%!" hahaha Got to sit in a lecture class, had a very "undergrad-y" feel to it. Talked with medical students, who were all incredibly friendly, talkative, and supportive. Had a short campus tour and got to see the new anatomy lab. I had 2 interviews: a 2nd year med student and a faculty member. The med student was very laidback and relaxed. She asked me a lot of questions, but I didn't feel as though she was "out to get me." I think it went alright, but I was probably pretty nervous since it was my first official interview. My faculty interviewer was soooooooo incredibly sweet and welcoming. It didn't feel like an interview, but more like a conversation. He didn't ask me many questions, but he said he felt as though he got a good sense of who I am. I'm trying not to get my hopes up because I hear stories of people who thought their interview went great, but got rejected. But UCSF is definitely my #1 school! Such a great program with so many clinical opportunities and a definite bonus is my family will be nearby. I would definitely be devastated if I got rejected and I will be so happy with even a waitlist because it means I still have a shot!
The other applicants I met were all very friendly and talkative, just trying to get to know one another. To be honest though, I felt a little out of place because many or all had already had interviews at schools like UCD, UCSD, USC, Mayo, Stanford, University of Chicago, and the list goes on. Some had already attended multiple interviews and had more lined up! They were truly top applicants. I was probably the only person where UCSF was my first interview and that I did not have many lined up lol. I still wonder what UCSF saw in me (and I hope other schools start seeing the same thing haha), but I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to interview here since I know many others did not. Fingers crossed, I will probably find out in mid January. It would be a great belated birthday present if I got good news ;)
