Brief Profile:
Do not listen to what others say, including counselors and SDN. Just do the best that you can, be passionate, be genuine, and dream big. Numbers are significant but without the experiences, essays, and LORs even with the highest numbers you will have difficulty getting in. Do not let a set of numbers define you. Everyone is unique and has something to offer, it is up to you to figure out what that is and to sell it to admissions committees.
I have very significant clinical experience, leadership experience, work experience, and research experience (although no publications). I feel that I was lacking in community service and volunteer work. I am passionate about going into academic medicine.
I am blessed beyond measure. I was ecstatic to receive every one of my interview invitations and acceptances. I saw myself being very happy at any school I was accepted at. My dream was to be accepted by a MD school and in the end I had a few incredible choices. It definitely was an incredible year and I encourage all of you to dream big, do not underestimate yourselves, and to shoot for the stars! Remember, you miss every shot that you do not take.
If you have any specific questions please feel free to send me a message.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 07/02/2013
Undergraduate college: University of California, Irvine
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 513
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 128,
CARS 124
Overall GPA: 3.60
Science GPA: 3.70
Summary of Application Experience
Incredibly expensive...this process selects against the underprivileged. Seems like an extremely unfair process.
Applied, Withdrew
University of California, Davis
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Secondary received immediately upon receipt of verified AMCAS....I felt that I was not a good fit so I decided to save the money.
Summary of Experience:
Added late due to the amount of scholarships the school offers. Since I added it late I threw the secondary together and I think that was clear to the adcom.
Summary of Experience:
I am not sure I would have wanted to be in Baltimore, MD but I would have jumped at the chance to visit such a historic medical school.
Summary of Experience:
I was really excited about this school going into the cycle, felt that I was a good fit, and hoped for an interview since they interview so many applicants. I suppose they felt that I wasn't that great of a fit. I heard a fair amount of negative things about the med school facilities and location from fellow interviewees during my interview trail so maybe I didn't miss out on too much. This was probably my most disappointing pre-interview rejection.
Summary of Experience:
HMS has an incredible campus and some of the best hospitals in the world. Interview day wasn't filled with events, which was nice so late into the app cycle, I was kind of burnt out on the same stuff over and over again. The school did come off as being a pompous and rather stuffy environment....fellow interviewees were fairly different than most schools.
My first interview was with literally the coolest doc I have ever met. That interview went great. Second interview was uneventful. Some students seemed really cool, others were kind of stuffy. Overall HMS offers unparalleled clinical and academic opportunities. Stuffy environment and Boston weather makes the school not that great of a fit for me.
Unsurprisingly rejected, yet still disappointed...my numbers were way too low for them. HMS needs to interview less candidates and save applicants money! However, I am very grateful that I had a chance to visit the school and interview.
Summary of Experience:
Chicago seems like a cool place but the weather during the winter sounds rough. I had a pretty negative experience at Feinberg. I was unimpressed by the students that I met and I thought the group interview was dumb. I understand the idea behind it but it didn't really play out and instead turned into a public grill session. My one-on-one interview was also uneventful. The hospital facilities are absolutely incredible and probably the very best I have seen so far. Feinberg's hospitals facilities were extraordinary!
Overall this school is not a good fit for me at all. I think out of all the schools I interviewed at this one ends up at the bottom. The school has a strong program and excellent facilities, it just does not have what I am looking for. Withdrew post acceptances from other schools.
Summary of Experience:
Secondary received more than three months after being verified.
Interview invite three months after being complete. DGSOM has a very long and drawn out admissions process. I am pretty sure that I will be interviewing on their last interview date.
DGSOM is a cool school with a lot of opportunities. Their MMI was similar to UCSD's and NYU's....I enjoyed it and I felt that it offered me a fair opportunity to display my strengths.
They have an odd admissions timeline and there is zero chance that I would matriculate at UCLA instead of UCSF so I withdrew.
Summary of Experience:
Absolutely loved the school and campus but was unimpressed by the clinical opportunities available. The students were really chill and I enjoyed the pizza night before. I think that I clicked the most with the stanford students. I really saw myself fitting in and enjoying these students. I was very impressed by most of my fellow interviewees. I definitely was not a huge fan of palo alto, although being right on the Stanford main campus is awesome and would offer a lot of really cool opportunities. Palo alto, although quiet, is still extremely beautiful. Stanford's MMI was by far my worst interview experience. I actually enjoyed the NYU and UCSD MMI but Stanford's was awful. The raters were purposefully rude and confrontational. The whole process felt almost abusive. Hearing from a school almost three months after they tell you that you would hear from them also leaves a very bad taste in your mouth. Pretty bad admissions timeline....apparently a lot of folks felt this way as well.
Seeing as I had such a bad experience with their MMI and I am a low number applicant I am not surprised at all to be waitlisted. In fact, I am kind of surprised that I wasn't rejected post-interview.
Withdrew...would not attend over UCSF even if I came off of the wait list.
Summary of Experience:
Mount sinai was cool. Fellow interviewees seemed friendly and sociable. I liked one out of two of my faculty interviewers. The other was condescending. They had just bought a large healthcare system in NYC when I interviewed and they said that that would offer more clinical opportunities. I wasn't blown away by the school but I thought it was a nice place. They definitely had the best NYC dorms that I saw. I liked NYU's location better but being right next to central park would have some perks. Not the best fit for me though.
My first interview went well, the other went alright.
Summary of Experience:
Secondary received one week after receipt of verified AMCAS.
The school exceeded my expectations. San Diego is a very cool, fun, and nice area with the added plus of being able to serve a lot of underprivileged folks. Enjoyed the school but wouldn't attend over a scholarship at USC.
My MMI went alright, I was recovering from a cold and wasn't in very good shape. The MMI was extremely similar to NYU's.
Summary of Experience:
Secondary received three weeks after receipt of verified AMCAS.
I felt like both of my interviews went well, but were not spectacular.
ACCEPTED! Best day of my life so far. UCSF has forever been a dream school for me. I almost didn't apply because I thought I would have no chance. I had hoped for a waitlist and eventually an acceptance in May as a best case scenario. Will most likely be matriculating.
Matriculating here, this place is amazing and I was offered a need-based grant (50% tuition). The faculty, students, clinical sites, and city are all phenomenal. I feel incredibly lucky!
Summary of Experience:
For some reason I went into my interview with kind of low expectations but the school completely blew me away. I was extremely impressed and felt that I would be very happy at UMich. This school definitely is special and has a lot going for it. I even considered braving the frigid weather to attend!
Love LAC+USC...amazing hospital with extremely impressive opportunities for service and learning. LA is a really cool place. LA doesn't have much of a downtown but the city and surrounding cities have a TON to offer.
I felt like my faculty interview was outstanding and my student interview went poorly.
Summary of Experience:
I immediately did not enjoy New Haven. That and East coast weather was unattractive from the start. Facilities and the library were pretty amazing. Interview day was enjoyable. My fellow interviewees were some of the coolest people I have met on the interview trail so far. Great interviewee hotel deal was really refreshing.
I probably had my two best interviews here at Yale. I didn't click at all with either of my interviewers but they both asked really introspective questions and had a chance to truly get to know me.
Accepted! I am surprised because of my low numbers but figure it was probably because of my excellent interviews here.
Withdrew....I would have matriculated if I did not get into UCSF.
Summary of Experience:
Really great school with a lot of great clinical opportunities and located in a pretty ideal spot in Manhattan. However, I didn't feel like the school would offer me any better clinical opportunities than USC. I wouldn't attend over a scholarship at USC so I declined my acceptance offer and hope another great applicant can take my spot and enjoy all that NYC and NYU has to offer!
Summary of Experience:
Sent an "in-the-area" email and received an II two days later. Their receptiveness to these sorts of emails seems to be an appreciated trait of the school.
Cornell was definitely my favorite NYC school. It is in a very nice area of NYC, has very nice facilities, tooons of research opportunities, and NY Pres is a really cool hospital. The students I met were really chill and seemed like nice people. As nice as NY Pres and the upper east side are, I am not sure that they would provide the best clinical environment for medical training.
Since Cornell was one of my earlier interviews I felt that my student interview was either par or below par. My interview with admissions staff went well. Apparently there is one faculty member that purposefully terrorizes interviewees and everyone knows it....I am not sure why they still have him interviewing candidates. Nonetheless we all felt sorry for fellow interviewees that landed this interviewer.
Overall Manhattan and the abundance of research opportunities makes this school attractive. However, with a new curriculum starting for the class of 2018 I don't really want to pay a ton of money and spend my medical training years as a guinea pig...
livingthedream 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 livingthedream’s section scores as follows:
livingthedream scored a 13 on the Biological Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 130 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
livingthedream scored a 11 on the Physical Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 128 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
livingthedream scored a 8 on the Verbal Reasoning section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 124 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
