Brief Profile:
After college: clinical research (mainly academic stuff), 2 papers submitted for publication, 1 abstract accepted for a conference, volunteered in a community hospital, college admissions mentoring
During college: basic science research (2 years), leadership & deep involvement in ethnic organizations (including service time abroad), lots of activities related to education/mentoring (very passionate about this!), 1 semester of ER volunteering, some physician shadowing
First in family to go to college, ethnic background is unusual (multi-cultural). Also, FYI, AMCAS does not have a URM box to check off. You simply check off the ethnicity/race(s) that apply to you.
I'm interested in academic medicine (teaching and clinical research), and I don't need a PhD for what I want to do. However, if I was more interested in bench research, I would've gone for the MD/PhD.
I think my GPA is the biggest weakness on my application. However, I have a definite upward trend after a tumultuous sophomore year (3.8 senior year), which is explained in my committee letter. I retook the MCAT (previous score was a 29Q with a 7 in VR). 38 on the retake!! AWESOME!!
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 2007
Undergraduate college: Ivy League
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 522
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 131,
C/P 130,
CARS 129
Overall GPA: 3.53
Science GPA: 3.45
Summary of Application Experience
SR: Secondary Received SS: Secondary Submitted C: File Complete II: Interview Invite Received I: Interview Date WD: Withdrew A: Accepted :-) R: Rejected
Costs Incurred: Transcripts: $30. VirtualEvals: $95. AMCAS Application (18 schools): $670. Secondary Apps (17 schools): $1,505. All Interview Expenses (attended 9 out of 12 interviews): $1,118. TOTAL: $3418.
Applied to 18 schools Withdrew from 4 post-secondary, and 1 pre-secondary Rejected from 1 post-secondary Attended 9 out of 12 interviews Withdrew from 2 post-interview Accepted to 7 schools
07/17/07- Submitted AMCAS
08/02/07- AMCAS verified
08/13/07- Halfway done with secondaries!
09/10/07- Finished all of the secondaries I received!
10/03/07- Received UCSF secondary! Sent it in, and now I'm REALLY done with secondaries.
11/28/07- Attended my last interview!!
03/28/08- Michigan offered me a scholarship that covers $25,000/year for 4 years! (I just realized that out-of-state tuition at Michigan is almost $42,000/yr though... ouch)
03/31/08- Emory offered me a full-tuition scholarship for 4 years! (Similar to what the Woodruff fellowship covers, but without the stipend). I went to revisit and loved it! Don't sleep on Emory-- this is a GREAT place to study medicine.
04/13/08- Went to Columbia's revisit and absolutely loved it, and my financial aid package was incredible! I will withdraw from Cornell, Michigan and Emory soon.
04/21/08- Withdrew from Hopkins. It is down to the final two: Columbia and Harvard.
05/03/08- I'm not going to lie, the pressure to attend Harvard is INTENSE!!! I don't know what to do.
05/14/08- COLUMBIA P&S HERE I COME!!!
People may think I'm crazy for turning down Harvard to go to Columbia, but there were so many factors going into my decision and in the end, I think P&S is a much better place for me. A few reasons why I picked P&S: - The current students were awesome and tight-knit, especially the first year class. I loved their enthusiasm about the school. There also seemed to be a significant amount of interaction between the 4 classes at P&S. - I meshed very well with the students at P&S. Several students at HMS made me a bit uncomfortable, to say the least. - Lots of support for students in general (for example, SSN- the Student Success Network), and for minority students in particular. BALSO is where it's at! In contrast, it felt like the atmosphere at Harvard was more sink-or-swim. - The administration strongly supports student activities because they are concerned about quality of life, and don't believe that students should have to 'lose themselves' in the process of getting an MD. Even the alumni are actively involved in P&S, which says a lot about their satisfaction with their own experiences here. - While others may disagree, I like Washington Heights. I love Dominican culture, and 'The Heights' is as close as you can get to being in the DR without actually being there. - During clinical years, students get really good at doing stuff because ancillary services can sometimes struggle. - I got a great financial aid package from P&S (though Harvard's was good as well, just not as good as Columbia's). - NY is my hometown!! and I am not a fan of Boston.
