Just some tidbits: I immigrated to the U.S. from a fairly poor country in a severely economically undeveloped area, i.e., no running water/central plumbing, or electricity in every room. My cultural background and life experiences are a huge part of my identity and thus, my application. Mommy to two little ones. Fluent in Spanish, basic french. -Top 20 ugrad, psychology major. Lots of research (4 years) with several independent projects, lab manager/research coordinator in two labs, two publications (additional in writing), program/project lead on a number of grants. -Not a crazy amount of shadowing ~100 hours, two specialties, lots of community service/volunteering (leadership roles in these) in my neighborhood and kid's school. Average amount of clinical volunteering/exposure.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 08/21/2016
Undergraduate Area of study: Psychology/Social Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 472
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 118,
C/P 118,
CARS 118
Overall GPA: 1.00
Science GPA: 1.00
Summary of Application Experience
Application Complete for all schools from 8/24-10/6, so sort of a late applicant :/
MATRICULATING TO UCSF-PRIME!!!!
Application Complete
University of Pennsylvania
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: 08/22/2016
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Status of Death: 11/16 Taking this as a soft rejection for now
Summary of Experience:
I didn't know anything about this school before I applied and honestly because I had FAP it was one of the schools I added in order to have a round 20 applications. After I started reading the school threads from years prior I realized how incredibly competitive it is to get an interview here from OOS with no ties. So this rejection didn't surprise me at all, and really didn't hurt in the slightest.
I would advise against applying OOS if you don't have LM > 75 and some ties to the state/school.
Summary of Experience:
This was my dream school coming into this process and in most of my pre-med career. It changed to be tied for top two once I learned about UCSF and the opportunities there for neuro and NSG. By the time I got rejected here I already had interviews at UCSF and Harvard, so while I was disappointed it was easy to get over. I am more in a state of damn, that was my goal for so long and I didn't even get an II. Oh well.
Summary of Experience:
Pros: Absolutley loved it here. Wealth of opportunies, wealth of support, wealth of resources. Feel like I can literally pursue whatever I want. 1 year (14 months) Preclinical period, MS2 is clinical rotations year, MS3 and MS4 Scholarly research, electives, and generally whatever you want to do time. Amazing curiculum set up, flipped classroom, rare lectures. Daily schedule 8-12noon. Can live close to campus. diversity office very in touch, faculty and administration very receptive and resposinve to feedback. Again, seriously this Curriculum is lit. <3 Internal MPH basically guaranteed and can be completed during research, optional 5th year embdedded. Class is very close, like a family, great comradierie. Pass/fail, no internal rankings, no AOA, no pressure! Cons: Honestly, don't have any!
Summary of Experience:
I absolutely loveeeed this school. Seriously I wish I had the energy to talk about everything I loved about this interview day, but let it suffice to say, this school is solidly in my top three. I would absolutely love to be a part of this school and community. Pros: Pass/Fail, amazing hospital and givent hat St. Louis has no public hospital it is first in line for trauma and working with the underserved population, yet at the same time with reknown surgical and specialty areas, access to amazing tertiary care. Care for the underserved is well woven into the curriculum in Practice in Medicine and PLUNGE. Dean of diversity very in touch with enriching the experience for all students through his PLUNGE program, among other things. MPH program between 3rd & 4th year, also with Dean Ross. Tons of research opportunities with a dedicated research coordinator to place students in available spots internally and externally. Loan cap at 28k per year with rest being met with scholarships, hear that scholarhips in general are very generous so good to hear. Cons: It's in the midwest and it gets cold haha. Honestly didn't see or hear of any other cons. Hear back "as soon as possible" *eye roll*
Summary of Experience:
Pros: Love Boston, students seem nice, stressed collaboration and collegiality, very strong sense of helping the underserved community. Regular patient interaction in the pre-clinical years, new curriculum, PASS/FAIL grading system. Cons: Expensive, both school and COA. Might not be possible to live close to school, especially south end. No dedicated time for research, and very difficult to maintain year long research. Hear back in January.
Summary of Experience:
ACCEPTED JMP and JMP/PRIME!
ACCEPTED MD Program and PRIME!
Interviewed for MD + MD/PRIME + JMP + JMP/PRIME I had such an amazing time here! Pros: I loved San Francisco. The medical school and hospital is located in such a beautiful area of town, perched on a hil with ocean and city views that are just breathtaking. I can't see how you can come into the hospital without a smile on your face everyday! The bridges curriculum sounds fantastic to me; a mixture of lectures, small group case-based learning, and other activities. I think the multiple components and methdology in teaching the foundation could really lend to more cemented knowledge, and a better experience with the basics overrall. 1.5 year pre-clinical with many opportunities for early clinical exposure even before that. The resources available here, and the type of work being done in basic, clinical, and public health research is a major major raw for me. IIRC there are 7 clinical sites in SF and other in Oakland, Richmond, and other places. Each has a vastly different patient population and this type of diversity in clinical exposure sounds amazing. I was glad to see all the work and involvement the students have with the underserved and how motivated many of them seem to be for social justice. I also am interviewing for UCSF PRIME so my interview day we interacted with mostly PRIME students who share these goals. P/F in preclinical years, does have AOA however. Step I taken after 3rd year. This sounds like a major positive, I have heard from many mentors, students, residents that having the practical clinical experience can do a lot more for preparing for steps than just the classroom prep. Students I met all had wonderful things to say, in fact I met a number of faculty that said they chose Harvard or Penn or what have you over UCSF and if they were to do it again they would choose UCSF in a heart beat. Okay Cons: EXPENSIVE. EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE. I had to say it three times because that is how overwhelmed I am by the cost of living, and scholarships are hard to come by. I am coming from DC, from an expensive neighborhood, but still this is even more ridiculous. The tutition part is high OOS, but you can apply IS after the first year. The bulk of my concern is finding housing at an affordable rate and being able to live comfortably. Parking is a dissaster and having two cars, I would need to figure out what I would do if I did matriculate here. I need to do more research into the more affordable neighborhoods, but as it stands, cost is the only barrier that would keep me from matriculating here. JMP specific: Pros: Lots of the same pros as UCSF but some major differences. The curriculum is completely PBL learning in groups of 8. Total class size is 16 and they are split into Blue/Gold group for their sessions. Most students have their PBL sessions MWF from for four hours, two- two-hour sessions, and then their master coursework on Tu/Th. Message me for PRIME specific questions. No date given to hear back, but last interview date is mid February.
Summary of Experience:
Pros: Love it! Feels like home, can live wherever we want, DC, VA, MD, wherever it's affordable. No mandatory attendance, everything lecture captured, problem based learning, Pass/Fail grading, 18 month pre-clinical curriculum= 6 months for earlier clinical rotations. Rotations in INOVA, Va, Walter Reed, Washington Hos, community clinics everywhere. MPH at Johns Hopkins between 3/4 yr. Research that I'm interested in with faculty members that I am familiar with. Cons: Expensive, Step I in February-March of M2, Faciltiies on the older side
Pros: Loved it. Perfect fit for patient population, required research, MPH concentration good fit and between M2/M3, summer research ooportunities and relevant research options. Will need to take summer class before M2 to make sure enough time to study for Step I. Area is lovely, potential to live in Beltsvile/Columbia/Bowie and commute or find affordable living in Canton/Inner Harbor. typical Day ends at noon after small group meeting Cons: Grading system (A/B/C/D/E), rotations only in Baltimore, no community clinics or opportunity to go to DC. Trauma focused hospital. Two year pre-clinical curriculum
Summary of Experience:
Pros: This city has the lowest COA of anywhere I've been to or researched thus far. Like seriously, my host had a 3 bedroom town house for $600 less than my 2 bed apt in MD, and $500 less than my old 1 bd apt in DC. So affordability is 5 stars. Everyone seemed nice, students highlighted many examples of their collaborative environment. I sought out URM students to talk to because Pittsburgh as a city is not diverse, they all had great things to say. The class has quite a high percentage of URM students (latinos and black/AA) far more than most schools. I believe one of the students told me the current M1 class is 10% black, plus a good size of latnios. Pass/Fail. Curriculum makes use of lectures, PBL, and small group sessions. (Students I spoke to had mixed feeling about how the PBL sessions were run, however.) Lectures are captured, no mandatory attendace for lectures. No internal rankings. Longitudinal Research required and emphazised but very flexible in what kind. PSTP and CSTP programs is a big draw for me personally. (Questions about the please feel free to PM me) Cons: 2 year pre-clinical, very small city with a not so diverse population. My perception of the campus was that it seems very spread out so there is a lot of walking from ex. Lecture hall to simulation center. With all the pros, I had a hard time connecting with this school and the city as a whole, I left feeling rather indifferent so I am not sure this is a good fit for me personally, although I can't pinpoint why.
Summary of Experience:
Pros: Preclinical years completely with UCLA in Westwood. Opportunity to rotate at all of UCLA's faciltiies but also Drew's hospital affiliations in underserved and poorer areas. Small class, very much a family, tight knit and supportive. Family housing available, scholarships seem generous. Pass/fail Cons: 2 yr preclinical, lottery rotations, segregated from Westwood in many ways, smaller administration, quality of opportunities unknown. Hospital just reopened, seems at risk for staying open. Hear back in January.
WhitsAboutYou 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 WhitsAboutYou’s section scores as follows:
WhitsAboutYou scored a 1 on the Biological Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 118 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
WhitsAboutYou scored a 1 on the Physical Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 118 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
WhitsAboutYou scored a 1 on the Verbal Reasoning section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 118 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
