Brief Profile:
three summer research fellowships. presented research at 4 conferences. senior honors thesis. graduated cum laude highest gpa for human biology. summer clinic volunteer in costa rica. 3 years of research in undergrad. worked for non profit clinic near us-mexico border. solid letter of rec from prof that i worked with for 3yrs.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 2008
Undergraduate college: UCSD
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 511
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 129,
C/P 127,
CARS 127
Overall GPA: 3.73
Science GPA: 3.75
Summary of Application Experience
most schools sent secondaries or automatically allow you to fill it out. I had to do the schools whose deadlines were first, not by which ones i really wanted to go to. I took my time with the secondaries because i wanted to make sure they were a good representation of me. the hardest part was getting people to read my essays and waiting for their feed back. so i accidentally sent in some with typos etc. _____________________________________________________________________
being rejected by irvine hurt since i want to stay in CA, but i felt better once Stanford gave me an interview invite. Fingers crossed. _____________________________________________________________________
12/4 Michigan State- My first Interview! the student interview was cool relaxed, but the MD interview was OK. he didnt read my App, so while i talked he read my App. Kinda annoying.
12/5 Univ of Mich- interview #2 Awesome. Both people read my ENTIRE App. The sugeon i had said he enjoyed reading my App and wanted to see me again so he could convince me to be a surgeon. the student interview went well, we talked about art and obama. I really liked the program and hope i get in. _____________________________________________________________________
12/9 I'M IN! I got accepted to Mich State. It's not so much that i am excited about Michigan. I am just excited that i got in! this means Im going to be a doctor. This time last year I was hoping I wouldn't have to go out of the US. This time last year i was so worried and confused. It's a relief. I am truly blessed and grateful. _____________________________________________________________________ 12/16 sweet i got an interview at Hopkins! This was a confidence boost but i realize i can still be rejected from all these schools. I'm thinking about not going to Albert Einstein, even though my friend is there. when i open my wallet moths fly out. This friday im gonna hear back from Univ of Mich. I wannna know now! _____________________________________________________________________ 12/17 Thank God! I got into UMich. I really liked this school and my interviewers. more so now that im in. yay! relief. _____________________________________________________________________ 12/22 I Turned down Albert Einstein interview. that was hard to do, but i cant afford to fly all over. _____________________________________________________________________ 1/8 So my first time in Palo Alto/Stanford, its a nice area. the campus is beautiful. my alarm didnt go off so i was late but i still made it to my interviews on time. i was expecting more applicants. there were only 4 of us interviewing.
the student interview went well. i liked the doc and student i was matched with. the doc asked me ethical questions with abortion and assisted suicide. i answered honestly. i took a stance against performing an abortion and refused to refer the fake patient to a doctor that would perform the procedure. i made my reasoning clear and made it clear that i would be empathetic with the women. my stance was clearly not his, but i had to be honest. if the school does not want me because of my stance then i know its not the right school for me.
the interviewer may not have agreed with me, but i dont think i shot myself in the foot, and in the end he told me he didnt care what i thought he just wanted to see how i would answer the question.
i encourage every applicant to be true to who they are and what they believe no matter what stance you take. Dont pretend to be someone you are not, they need to see the real you in order to see if youre a fit for the school. _____________________________________________________________________
1/9 WOOOOOOOO!!!!!! finially UCSF interview invite. ____________________________________________________________________ 1/12 ok tomorrow i have my harvard interview. today i went to harvards main campus and looked around, its nice, the whole city is pretty. and cold. coming from southern cali i havent seen buildings like this (i dont get out much). ___________________________________________________________________ 1/13 at harvard i interviewed with a dermatologist and a student. the derm guy asked me about my research in detail and the student was cool we talked about everything; family, art, faith, work, research. ____________________________________________________________________
i realize the top skools really like the fact that i did research at the same lab for 3 yrs. ____________________________________________________________________
1/27 I just withdrew my application for creighton. That was hard, but im running low on cash. I really like that they are a Catholic School. The Catholic Church is in desperate need of doctors that will fight for that their rights to refuse to perform abortions and prescribe birth control. _____________________________________________________________________ 2/6 Oh Hopkins. the Doc i interviewed with told me that they reject people with perfect MCATS and a 4.00. he said that they are looking for doctors that want to do more than just be a doctor. i think he is talking about the students that have a passion to make a difference. ____________________________________________________________________ 2/11 dang. waitlisted for stanford. oh well God's going to take me where i need to be. _____________________________________________________________________ 2/19 liked LA! Liked SF! please like me too. _____________________________________________________________________ 3/16 God totally made my day. Harvard was a long shot. sweeeeet!!!!