Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 524
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 132,
C/P 132,
CARS 130
Overall GPA: 3.97
Science GPA: 3.97
Summary of Application Experience
5/5: Transcripts ordered 5/11: First transcript received by AMCAS 5/16: Second transcript received by AMCAS 6/1: Application submitted and verified 6/7: Committee letter packet uploaded to AMCAS 6/20: Michigan interview invite 6/24: Pitt interview invite 7/20: Davis interview invite 7/25: Irvine interview invite 7/30: Mayo interview invite 8/2: Wake Forest interview invite 8/9: Vanderbilt interview invite 8/15: UCSF interview invite 8/17: Case and Cleveland Clinic interview invites 8/24: Johns Hopkins interview invite 8/25: UCSD interview invite 8/26: UMich interview attended 8/30: Stanford interview invite 8/30: Penn interview invite 8/31: Pitt interview attended 9/2: USC interview invite 9/7: MCW interview invite 9/8: WashU interview invite 9/9: UC Davis interview attended 9/12: Mayo interview attended 9/15: Johns Hopkins interview attended 9/20: UCI interview attended 9/22: Vanderbilt interview attended 9/28: Wake Forest interview attended 9/30: USC interview attended 10/5: Penn interview attended 10/7: Stanford interview attended 10/10: Dartmouth interview invite 10/13: CCLCM interview attended 10/14: Case Western interview attended 10/15: UMich acceptance! 10/17: Wake Forest acceptance! 10/17: Hold status at Mayo 10/18: UCSF interview attended 10/20: Johns Hopkins acceptance! 10/25: WashU interview attended 10/27: USC Waitlist 10/31: UC Irvine acceptance! 11/2: Case Western acceptance! 11/10: UCSD interview attended 11/15: UCLA interview invite 11/18: WashU acceptance! 11/22: UCSD acceptance! 12/13: UCLA interview attended
Some thoughts for those applying in the future:
1. Don’t worry too much about interviews. Yes, they’re a little scary, but the vast majority of my interviewers have been down-to-earth, nice people who are easy to talk to.
2. My personal statement was almost never brought up during interviews. I don’t think my PS is fantastic, but it’s probably not bad either. I think the PS is overemphasized on SDN. Write something passable, but don’t completely freak out over it.
3. In contrast to the personal statement, I think secondaries and activity descriptions are super important. Spend some time on them, especially your three most meaningful activities.
4. I have a hunch that letters of recommendation are far more important than most people realize, especially at the very top schools. This isn’t something to worry about if you are close to applying (your letters are what they are), but if you have a few years left really try hard to have great relationships with teachers, PIs, volunteer coordinators, etc.
5. It’s possible to get into good medical schools coming from community college and/or state schools. And you might just come out of it with a unique perspective.
Summary of Experience:
Definitely my favorite California school south of the Bay Area. To start, the location is fantastic, at least relative to USC. There’s a little more happening here than Irvine or La Jolla. Traffic sucks, but I’m used to that. It wouldn’t be much of an adventure moving to Westwood, but I would settle in really quick and be comfortable and ready to work. I really like the curriculum at UCLA, which has most of the components that I’m looking for (curriculum for the first two years is not terribly high on my list of needs, though). Block schedule, P/F, preceptorships, seemingly abundant mentorship, and prosection in anatomy.
I really like that housing is offered on campus. It’s kind of expensive, but probably not any more than Palo Alto, Irvine/Newport, SF, or La Jolla (why are all California schools in super ritzy real estate markets?). The hospital (Ronald Reagan) is amazing, super shiny and right across the street. Similar to SD and Stanford, I really like that the undergrad is attached. We were only able to interact with one student today (the tour guide), but she was very nice.
The MMI itself was more similar to Stanford than Davis. I don’t like MMI, and I would much rather talk with someone in a traditional setting. I didn’t find this interview to be any more stressful than other MMIs, though, which is good. I definitely think UCLA did a better job of selling itself as a school than UCI, UCD, and UCSD. Overall, very impressed by DGSOM. Also, I’M DONE WITH INTERVIEWS!
Summary of Experience:
I\'m not sure about this school, mostly because of the area. This was my first time in Sacramento, and while it wasn’t terrible, it didn’t impress. It’s pretty far from my family, and without the redeeming qualities of San Francisco or Palo Alto. Cost of living is decent, which isn’t true in much of California.
The school itself is not bad at all, and has a lot of great qualities. The medical education building is new, and the campus has a nice amount of open space (I would prefer if the undergrad campus was attached!). The students were friendly and happy, but this is true at almost every school. The school really sets itself apart in terms of clinical experiences available to students. There are a huge number of free clinics that the students are involved in, and I only heard great things about them from everyone I talked to. I couldn’t quite get a read on the research opportunities available at Davis, but I’m confident enough to say that research isn’t the real focus here.
I wouldn’t call the MMI fun, and it’s actually a little bit stressful. The Dean really values it, though. I know Davis would provide an excellent education, but I don’t think it’s my top choice right now.
Summary of Experience:
Everyone loves Mayo, and I’m not an exception. There’s hardly much to say, but I’ll give my impressions. First off, the Gonda building is absolutely amazing. It’s gigantic, beautiful inside and out, and among the best in the country for nearly every specialty. I didn’t get to see too much of the hospital, which is unfortunate. It would be incredibly exciting to do rotations here and learn from the best of the best in their fields.
I really like the idea of selectives. Research, travel (to Arizona, Florida, or further), and vacations are all possible, and funding is available. Because of the small class size, I feel like Mayo can really cater to its students in a way no other medical school can (except for possibly Stanford?).
What really impressed me about Mayo were the students. I genuinely liked every one that I met. I think this is because Mayo is looking for things other than numbers, and selects heavily for things like personality and altruism. Apart from the students, the financial aid is fantastic. I’m always worried about debt, and it would be less of a worry if I went to Mayo. The big negative, of course, is Rochester. It really is small, and it does get incredibly cold. It’s only four years, though, and I think Mayo Medical School would be more than worth it. Too bad the acceptance rate is so low!
Summary of Experience:
I was really hoping to be impressed by UCSF. The school holds a certain mystique among California residents, probably because of its ranking, relative anonymity outside of science and medicine, and mysterious admissions practices (it seems like many extremely qualified applicants are mercilessly rejected from the school).
I’m happy to say that UCSF lived up to my expectations, and the school has many positives. I was able to sit in on a class, which seemed pretty lively and fun. (I don’t normally sit in on lectures, mostly because I know what a lecture is and I would rather be doing more interesting things!). San Francisco is fantastic, and the school is in one of the nicest parts. Golden Gate Park is a 5-minute walk from UCSF.
The facilities here are a mixed bag. The library and simulation center are beautiful, while some parts of the hospital and medical school do seem a little run down and dingy. The new anatomy lab, which will open for next year’s entering class, will be amazing (~15th floor means panoramic views of the Bay!). There’s also a gym right on campus. I would prefer if there was an undergrad attached, but I could get over that.
There are some negatives here as well. I probably can’t take my car for the first two years (parking is terrible everywhere in SF). It is also annoying that UCSF doesn’t provide a bus pass to students (most schools in urban areas seem to offer this). UCSF is a public school in a state known for fiscal idiocy, so there is always the fear that tuition will skyrocket or budgets will be cut. Finally, San Francisco is pretty damn expensive. It’s hard to think that I will be paying $900-1000 a month to live with two roommates near the hospital.
Overall, UCSF is a great school and I hope to get an acceptance. As far as Northern California schools go, I would probably prefer suburban Stanford, but you obviously can’t go wrong with either.
Summary of Experience:
The Cleveland Clinic really has a lot to offer. The campus is pretty large, and very nice looking (almost certainly larger than Mayo, but not quite as pretty). The clinic is about a mile from Case Western and its associated hospitals.
The big plus here seems to be the strength of faculty involvement in students. There is a very high faculty:student ratio, and the faculty genuinely want the students to succeed. There is some great research going on at the Clinic, and students definitely get tons of experience in that area. I\\\'m considering some specialties that have a significant research focus, and I feel that Lerner will really prepare me for residency applications. Also, tuition scholarships are a huge draw.
I\\\'m not terribly excited about living in Cleveland. There seem to be a lot of run-down (possibly dangerous?) areas in the city. The weather is also terrible, or so I hear from students and friends.
Obviously, the admissions committee is huge on fit here. They really want to students who fit the mission, and cater extensively to those who do. I don\\\'t have my hopes up because of the tiny class size.
Summary of Experience:
I have mixed feelings about the city of Pittsburgh, and I’m not really sure why. I have some family about 2 hours away, and it might be nice to visit them occasionally. I can imagine that the dreariness of the city can get depressing after awhile, and my student tour guide told us it’s the biggest negative of the school. I like the urban campus, and there are definitely lots of undergrads around. I just have a gut feeling that I might not be very happy in Pittsburgh (although the student housing is quite nice).
Pitt really places an emphasis on research, which is fine. They seem to do a good job in preparing students for the required research project. UPMC is really huge, and I definitely wouldn’t be worried about clinical opportunities. It’s an expensive school (what school isn’t), and I think that student aid is going through some painful cuts.
I felt like my student interviewer was just reading questions off a sheet, which makes it a little hard to make a connection. My faculty interviewer was a little tough. It could be that the interviews themselves influenced my view of the school (I’ve noticed that when I have really dynamic, exciting, easy to talk to interviewers, I get more excited about the school). Pitt waitlists a whole lot of students, so we’ll see what happens.
Summary of Experience:
This was my third California interview. The campus is about 35 minutes from my house without traffic, but is worlds apart from Orange County. The area around the Health Campus rivals Baltimore for most run down, but I’m a lot more comfortable here because it’s in California. I definitely wouldn’t want to live here, and would most definitely drive in from somewhere else.
The campus itself is actually quite nice, and feels very secluded from the outside area. The pharm school (a very good one) is right next door. The facilities are above average as well, and every student gets a nice little desk/cubicle for the first two years. The hospital itself is just a few years old, very shiny, but you need to go through a metal detector to get in.
I was impressed by the friendliness of the admissions staff. My student interviewer asked mostly standard questions, but I felt like I had to work pretty hard to carry on the conversation. My faculty interview was pretty much a stress interview, and he admitted as much to me near the end. Still, I didn’t like some of his questions and was kind of put off for the rest of the day.
Finally, this school is incredibly expensive. The cost alone is enough to knock Keck down quite a few places on my list. Definitely a great school, I just don’t know if it’s right for me.
Update: withdrew late December. There\'s really no reason to stay on the waitlist here.
Summary of Experience:
Penn deserves its fantastic reputation. I was unsure about Philadelphia before my interview, but I actually liked the city a lot. I stayed in Old Town in a really awesome bed and breakfast, a 5-minute walk from Pennsylvania Hospital (founded in 1751). I didn’t get to see very much of the undergrad campus, but I liked what I did see. On a side note, lunch was on the 15th floor of one of the hospital buildings with a really great view of downtown Philly.
The dual-degree options are so good at Penn that even I would consider getting one. I got to sit in on a PBL session with some second year students, and it seems like it would be helpful (some people went to observe in the gross anatomy lab, but I didn’t want to deal with the smell all the way home). The real attraction here is the hospitals, especially CHOP. I would love to be near the best children’s hospital in the country. My second interviewer was a pediatrician and had a lot of great things to say.
As far as negatives, I’ve heard that Philadelphia can get sketchy if you move too far from the campus. I’m not sure if this would really affect me. Of course, it also gets cold in the winter. There’s always the question of expense, but it will be interesting to see how the 230 million dollar Perelman donation affects student debt. It will be a long wait until March.
Summary of Experience:
I was blown away by this school. Throughout my interviews, I’ve had a nagging feeling that maybe city life is not for me. Palo Alto is beautifully suburban, similar to what I grew up in down South. There are plenty of shops and restaurants, as well as grocery stores (small things that will make a big difference in quality of life). San Francisco is not too far. The entire campus is mind-blowing, the prettiest I have seen by miles.
Obviously, there is a huge emphasis on research. I’m ok with that, and I feel like the school is incredibly supportive of whatever the students want to pursue. Along with Mayo’s selectives, Stanford’s “concentrations” seem to be truly unique. I’ve heard complaints that clinical training is lacking at Stanford, but I don’t really believe it. The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital is excellent. Also, compared to most other private schools, there are some great opportunities here to reduce debt, including TAing and paid research opportunities.
As for the interview itself, I’m ambivalent. It’s an MMI, but very different from Davis. I don’t really know how I did, but I definitely would have preferred traditional interviews. Overall, I can easily see myself living in Stanford and really enjoying it, something I can’t say of many other schools and areas. It’s far enough away that I feel like I’m leaving, but close enough that I can still visit home when I want to. I just need to get in!
Summary of Experience:
Vanderbilt has been one of my top choices for a few years now, and the interview day confirmed most of my expectations. I stayed with a friend for my interview, and she showed me around most of the city. Nashville is nice! It gets cold, but not as bad as the Northeast. I like country music, and the place is permeated by it.
Vanderbilt is my second favorite campus (behind Stanford). There are lots of trees and some really beautiful buildings (especially on Peabody Campus). The medical school and undergrad are attached, which is something that I’m looking for. Undergrads bring life and excitement to a place, even if you don’t interact with them directly. I particularly liked the children’s hospital, and my faculty interviewer (a pediatric surgeon) gave me a tour of the PICU and NICU (I’m interested in neonatology).
The students were very friendly, and quite a few stopped by the admissions office to chat. Admissions staff were excellent, and really made me feel welcome. I got a personal escort to my interview at the hospital. As far as curriculum, Vanderbilt is changing things up this year. Shortened preclinical stuff, I think. (It’s terrible, but I always zone out during curriculum talks).
If I were to leave California, this school is very high on my list. Nashville is very livable. I’m hoping for good news!
Summary of Experience:
My very first interview! I was nervous, but I think it went well. To start, the UM Health System is very impressive. Nice campus, and very centralized. I felt pretty strongly throughout the tour that Michigan could train me to be a great doctor, which was an exciting feeling. The new children’s hospital is going to be out of this world.
I have to say, I was incredibly impressed by Michigan’s students (more so than any other school thus far). The school has a reputation for being very numbers-centric, but I didn’t see any robots. They were kind, friendly, and down to earth, people I would really like to be with for four years. My interviewers (two students and one faculty member) were amazing as well.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the opportunity to see the undergrad campus (or any of Ann Arbor, really). Because of this, I can’t really comment on whether I think I would be happy there (disappointing!). There seems to be lots of great food and culture, though, so I’m not too worried. I am a little worried about the cold (California boy here).
Michigan is very expensive for out-of-staters, and I’m not really interested in subsidizing the education of in-state students. This is probably the biggest negative of the school. Overall, though, definitely loved Michigan. We’ll see what happens on the 15th!
Withdrew late April. I know they give a lot of scholarships, but the need-based aid sucked. Little sad to let this one go...
Summary of Experience:
WashU isn’t treated very fairly on SDN. It seems like it\'s always mentioned as the “stat whore school.” Based on my interview day, though, WashU is definitely one of the best schools in the country regardless of the average matriculant MCAT score.
To start, the facilities at this school are dazzling, maybe even better than Johns Hopkins and Stanford (my measuring sticks). The student study areas are particularly swanky (individual study carrels are a nice touch, similar to USC). Olin Hall is pretty nice as well, with a good gym and hang out areas. Every part of campus is connected indoors for those cold days. The anatomy lab is tip-top also, featuring a real Egyptian mummy.
I felt extremely welcomed by the school, from the security guards to the students to my interviewer. The pizza party was a nice touch, and the students were very willing to chat.
St. Louis is better than I expected, and seems very livable. I love that Forest Park is so close (less than a block from the school), and I can see myself really taking advantage of the nice trails. The cost of living in St. Louis is pretty cheap. The weather is a negative, but this is true of most places outside of California. As much as I like the school, it’s not worth $51,000 a year, which is insanely expensive.
Finally, the students that I met were friendly and normal, similar to most other schools I’ve visited. WashU seems to really emphasize that they have some of the best students in the world, which might be true but is a little off-putting. When you really are the best, you don’t need to brag about it. You just are! Also, I hate that the second year is graded. Johns Hopkins, UCSF, Stanford, Harvard, etc., are all completely P/F for the first two years, and they definitely don’t have any disadvantage relative to WashU when it comes to residency placement. Overall, though, I was super impressed by this school. We’ll see what happens!
(Also, the school is extremely easy to get to by the train. Don’t waste your money on a taxi from the airport).
Summary of Experience:
I was actually pretty excited about this interview. Like UC Irvine, I think the school could have presented itself a little better, but I was still very impressed. For me, the huge strengths of this school are the location and weather. I like suburbia, and La Jolla is fantastic. The cost of living is high, but this is California after all (and it wouldn’t be worse than San Francisco or Palo Alto).
I had two interviews, both open file. I took a 20-minute shuttle to my first interview at the UCSD Medical Center. It’s a nice hospital, and my interviewer was fantastic. My second interview was a little tougher, but I don’t mind that so much. UCSD has a pretty new curriculum which I actually like a lot. Afternoons are free most days, classes are P/F, and there is a nice little longitudinal preceptorship (gobbledygook for following around a primary care physician one afternoon a week). The hospitals are definitely adequate, and there is a way above average free clinic. The new medical education building is very posh (but still doesn’t compare to Stanford or Johns Hopkins).
It’s a little disappointing that the hospital is so far from the medical school. I would definitely prefer that everything is walking distance (although I do like having a very nice undergrad campus attached). I’m also disappointed that I only saw two students here, both second years. Where was everyone? Lastly, the tour was a little inadequate. I would have liked to see some of the campus, the anatomy lab, the library, some of the research space, or really anything outside of the new medical education building.
Withdrew 5/1. Good need aid, but would cost about the same as Hopkins.
I have to say, I was a little skeptical of Hopkins, and didn’t even add the school until about a month after I was verified. I was mostly wrong, and I’m happy that’s the case. The big unknown here was Baltimore. I heard some really terrible things about the area, and they are partly right. While there are some very nice places to live in Baltimore, near the Hospital isn’t on that list. There are guards on every corner, so I never felt unsafe, even at 5 in the morning waiting for my shuttle.
The clinical training here would be absolutely fantastic. It would be really cool to study at such a historic hospital and school. Research opportunities are abundant. There was a huge turnout of medical students for the pre-interview happy hour the night before, and the applicants were probably outnumbered 4-1 (which was appreciated). The new student center/medical school building is remarkable. I can’t even imagine how much it cost to build, and it has the best facilities of any school I’ve been to (by a large margin).
People are genuinely excited about the school, and we got to eat lunch with some really cool attendings (very different from most other schools!). The huge, giant negative is the financial aid. Hopkins does not give merit aid. I’m really trying to limit my debt from medical school, and I can’t imagine paying sticker price for a Hopkins education (assuming I even got in, which is still a long shot!). Also, there is a surgical lab here where live pigs are used for surgery practice. This seems cruel and unnecessary.
Edit: I\'m leaving my whole analysis up for posterity, but I was very wrong about financial aid here. It turns out that Hopkins will be cheaper for me than any other school (including in-state options). Very excited to start here in the fall!
Summary of Experience:
There’s a lot to like about Wake Forest. I didn’t apply too broadly in the South, but I’m glad Wake made the list. The school is kind of hard to get to without a car, and I ended up paying for a taxi/private car. The area is very pretty, as expected. Far more trees than I’m used to (surprisingly, all the trees make me feel a little claustrophobic). There are lots of outdoor activities possible here, which is great.
There were only 6 of us at the interview day, and I was with a good group. The small number of interviewees really makes the day more personal. The admissions staff was very kind (Southern Charm!). The hospital can be a little dingy in parts, but the medical school facilities are much better than I expected, and were actually pretty impressive. I was really drawn to the school because of its great reputation for regenerative medicine research, but research was not a focus on interview day.
If I’m honest with myself, Winston-Salem might be too small for my tastes. The first two years are not P/F, which is a pretty significant drawback. On the plus side, cost of living is super low. I would be excited to have Wake Forest as an option. (On a side note, the interview day consisted of 3 shorts interviews back-to-back. One of the interviews was a little more stressful than the others, but I’m not sure if this was planned.)
4/4: Withdrew. Misread the financial aid e-mail and didn\'t have my tax return in on time (which means only loans were offered).
Summary of Experience:
This is my hometown school, very close to pretty much all of my family and friends. To me, this is probably the school’s biggest positive, and maybe the biggest negative. I think I may need to get away for a few years.
The school is better than it presents itself on the interview day. The hospital is ~15 minutes away, and about half of the interviewees took a shuttle there for a faculty interview (I didn’t). My first interview was scheduled during the tour, but thankfully my student interviewer showed me around a little. I also missed the housing talk. Although it’s a small point, I really think the admissions staff could have had better attitudes. I got some weird vibes from one person in particular.
I know from prior experience that UC Irvine Medical Center really is a great hospital, but it’s obviously very hard to see that on interview day. The area around the school is very nice, and very quiet (even by Orange County standards). Honestly, I’ve always found Irvine to be a little bit boring. Newport Beach and Balboa are close, which is a positive.
The students seemed happy and personable, especially my student interviewer. My faculty interview wasn’t my best, but not terrible. Overall, I got a slightly bland feeling from UC Irvine.
Summary of Experience:
The students were pretty cool at Case, and the admissions staff was absolutely top notch. I feel like Case does PBL right, but I would rather stay away from so much PBL time. The hospitals are impressive, especially Rainbow Babies.
I like a lot of the small touches here, like the fact that each student has a desk in the \"house\" common room, anatomy takes place over two years, systems based curriculum, and ample room for students to hang out.
The big concerns here are location and price. I didn\'t really care for Cleveland. I don\'t think cold, gray, and snow are for me (unless we\'re talking about a program like CCLCM, which I might brave the North Pole for). Case is very expensive as well, and I don\'t think student aid is all that great.
Withdrew. More expensive than other options, and I\'m not sold on PBL.
n1221 took the old MCAT and scored a which is in the percentile of all old scores.
We converted this to a on the updated scale which is in the percentile of the updated MCAT. We also converted n1221’s section scores as follows:
n1221 scored a 15 on the Biological Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 132 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
n1221 scored a 14 on the Physical Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 132 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
n1221 scored a 12 on the Verbal Reasoning section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 130 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
