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MD Applicants

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  • jeremy lin

  • Application cycles: 06/09/2011
  • Demographics: Male, 38, Caucasian
  • Home state: Washington
  • Last Active: 09/23/2012
  • Brief Profile: AMCAS was verified 6/21/2011
    TMDSAS GPA 3.87/3.86s (i have a bunch of A-\'s which tmdsas rounds up to A\'s ^.^)
    TMDSAS was submitted 7/29/2011 and verified/transmitted on 8/15/2011
    My committee packet was uploaded to AMCAS and TMDSAS on 8/26/2011

    Chemistry BA

    I wanted to make one of these things to represent UofC on this site since there aren\'t many recent profiles. I did a lot of research in college (wasn\'t premed but took all the prereqs b/c of my major) and graduated 2 quarters early. I worked a career completely unrelated to medicine for 2.5 years after graduation, then got back into research for another 2 years while I applied.

    Overall my application has a lot of research, some unique work experience, only a little shadowing, and almost no volunteering at all. I think I partially made up for these deficiencies by focusing on schools that seem to value research over service or value strong school/grades/mcat more than the norm. I did my best to sell how my work and life experiences translated towards being a driven and compassionate doctor. I also did a fair amount of book-reading about being a doctor and problems in healthcare. This didn\'t go on my application specifically but it definitely helped me articulate why I wanted to be a doctor and why I would be a good one.
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 06/09/2011

    • Undergraduate college: University of Chicago
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Physical Sciences
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 523
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 132, C/P 130, CARS 129  
    • Overall GPA: 3.81
    • Science GPA: 3.83

    Summary of Application Experience

    I have strong ties to IL and good stats so I felt comfortable applying top-heavy and leaning on UIC as a pretty sweet \"backup.\" If I was a straight-up WA resident I would have had to apply a lot more broadly since UW is a crap shoot. If I hadn\'t gotten in to Michigan on Oct 15 I probably would have applied to Rush too.

    I focused on schools that offer a lot of scholarships (Mayo, Pritzker, Penn, Michigan, WashU), have a low sticker price (UTSW, UT-Houston, Baylor, UDub), or otherwise seemed like a great fit for someone interested in biomed research (Pitt, Harvard). I had also been on the fence about adding Vandy, Wisconsin, Stanford, Hopkins, and Yale but never got around to them. In hindsight I probably should have tried for Hopkins since after going through this process I\'ve noticed quite a few cross-admits between Michigan, WashU, and Hopkins but fewer between say WashU and Harvard (mostly from talking to other applicants and med students, I don\'t have hard evidence to back this up). I probably would have stuck with Southwestern over anywhere else anyway so it didn\'t matter.

    The biggest factor in my school choice was my fiance applied to PhD programs along with me this cycle. Whenever one of us received an acceptance we would notify the other program\'s dean about us being a couple. There is no way of knowing for sure but I do believe these updates helped us and I would strongly recommend these communcations to others in similar situations. When all was said and done we were extremely lucky to both have options in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Dallas. We chose UTSW because it was by far the best fit for her (PhD programs tend to vary a lot more in their specifics than med schools do--in general I think all med schools give you the opportunities to succeed). Financial security was also important--the low cost of tuition at Southwestern coupled with low housing prices and cost of living in Dallas will allow us to easily get through school debt-free. I am a little worried I didn\'t choose the most prestigious school I was admitted to--if I was 22, single, and broke I probably would have gone to WashU or Michigan and taken loans--but I am very happy with our decision and can\'t wait to start.

    Applied, Rejected

    University of Texas, Houston

    Application Complete, Rejected

    Mayo Medical School
    Medical College of Wisconsin
    Harvard University
    University of Washington

    Attended Interview, Rejected

    Northwestern University

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Rejected

    Baylor College
    University of Chicago
    University of Pennsylvania

    Accepted off Waitlist

    University of Pittsburgh

    Accepted

    University of Michigan
    University of Texas, Southwestern
    University of Illinois
    Washington University in St. Louis

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