daydreamerr
Application cycles: 06/16/2017
Demographics: Female, 30, African
Home state: Utah
Last Active: 04/26/2018

Brief Profile: Hoping my profile will be helpful for future applicants, especially URM. In brief, the theme of my application is geared toward urban underserved medicine. My experiences are heavily focused on service, mentorship and teaching with very minimal research. I am applying in my second gap year while working full time as a scribe and volunteering at a safety-net clinic.

Work and Activities:
- Non-clinical volunteer: 1100 + hours with same non-profit over 4 years, multiple leadership positions and awards
- Other leadership: 400 hours (3 years) in community outreach program and student govt
- Clinical volunteer: 250 hours (4 summers) hospital volunteer in various departments
- Teaching/Tutoring: 500 hours (4 years) peer tutor, mentor for underrepresented in STEM
- Physician shadowing: 80 hours (4 years) various specialties and settings
- Paid employment--Non-medical: 2,000 + hours (4 years) sales associate
- Paid employment--Medical: 250 hours (gap year, ongoing), medical scribe
- Research/Lab : 400 hours (1 summer/winter break) lab assistant, no productivity

// Applications //

Application Cycle One: 06/16/2017

Undergraduate college: Small Liberal Arts
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences

Total MCAT SCORE: 520
MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 128, P/S 132, CARS 130
Overall GPA: 3.90
Science GPA: 3.90

Summary of Application Experience

Timeline:
6/17/17: AMCAS submitted (including committee letter and MCAT scores)
7/10/17: AMCAS verified
8/04/17: Complete at all schools except UW, which requires a mission statement pre-secondary for OOR applicants

Things that went well:
Pre-writing secondaries: I recommend doing this for as many schools as possible! The prompts do not change much from year to year and most can be found on the SDN school-specific threads or even directly on the school websites. I only ended up pre-writing for 3 schools, but this relieved so much stress when the secondaries started pouring in after my AMCAS was verified.

Staying with a student host: This was a great way to cut costs for an already insanely expensive process and also get a better feel for the school before interview day. All of my hosts walked or drove me to the admissions office the day of, which also relieved the stress of potentially getting lost. I thanked each of my hosts with a card and small gift under 20 dollars- e.g. Starbucks tumbler, candy or gift card to a nearby restaurant.

Thanking people who contributed to the interview day: Has little to no sway in your chance of acceptance but it is a kind gesture. I sent brief thank-you emails to interviewers if I felt we really clicked or if there was something to follow up on. In all honestly, I did not send thank-yous to the majority of my interviewers and this did not seem to have any impact on my admissions decisions.

Enjoying the process: While it can be grueling and stressful, the application cycle is a chance to do some serious self-reflection, make new connections and explore new cities. Be proud of yourself for having the persistence to get this far!

** Note: To remain somewhat anonymous, I did not list my actual home state or my state schools that I applied to.

Application Complete, Rejected

University of Southern California

University of California, Los Angeles

Invited for Interview, Withdrew

Emory University

Attended Interview, Rejected

Harvard University

Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: 07/16/2017
Interview Invite: 11/26/2017
Interview Attended: 01/05/2018
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: 03/02/2018
Summary of Experience: I ended up having to reschedule my interview due to severe weather conditions leading to my flight being cancelled. The office of admissions was very accommodating and helpful in getting me a new interview date. For winter interviews, I would recommend scheduling for the earliest possible date in case you have to reschedule.

Interview day: The day begins with an orientation where interviewees receive the times, locations and names of their two interviewers. A few unlucky applicants were â€œon callâ€ and had to wait to receive a text later in the day with the times and locations of their interviews. Aside from the morning orientation and a lunch with current students, interviewees are able to plan their own day based on their interests and when their interviews are scheduled. There are two open-file interviews that may either be on campus or at one of Harvardâ€™s several affiliated hospitals. Cab vouchers are provided to get to the off-campus interviews and the admissions staff orders the cab ahead of time. We were repeatedly advised to relax and be ourselves, as Harvard does NOT do stress interviews. As promised, both of my interviews were very laid-back, with the main focus being on my story and path to medicine.

Pros: Its Harvard. Condensed one year pre-clinical gives extra time for research, dual degrees, extra electives. Flipped-classroom style allows more active learning. Students here were surprisingly very friendly, normal and laid back. Boston is an awesome city for young people. Top residency programs in pretty much every field.

Cons: Possibly expensive. Cost of living in Boston is high, but most first years live in Vanderbilt Hall which is cheaper.

Update: Sadly rejected, but did not have high expectations. It was an honor just to be invited to interview and now making a final decision will be that much easier!
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Attended Interview, Withdrew

Dartmouth College

Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Withdrew

Duke University

Mayo Medical School

Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: 07/22/2017
Interview Invite: 08/13/2017
Interview Attended: 10/01/2017
Waitlisted: 02/15/2018
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Applied MN campus only. First interview invite!
12/18/17- Highly ranked email received from interviewer. Replied saying Mayo was still one of my top schools, did not send formal letter of interest or intent.
1/5/18- Generic highly ranked email received

Interview day: The interview day here was very enjoyable! I had one interview with a Mayo physician and one with a third-year student, both interviews were open-file. Between interviews there were several built-in breaks, allowing time to explore the beautiful facilities with other interviewees.

Pros: Selective blocks allow students to customize their education and have breaks between major curriculum blocks. Mayo has historically been generous with financial aid (though this may change since they are switching to need-based-only aid this year). The facilities are incredible and centered around patient comfort--the main hospital is nicer than most hotels. Mayo funds three trips per student per year-- to both of the other campuses (AZ and FL) and to any designated underserved city as long as it is not on the US travel watch list.

Cons: Rochester is small and isolated compared to most of the other schools I visited. While I like the idea of having a tight-knit cohort, I think the class size here might become suffocatingly small for me, especially given the location.

Update: Decided to decline the waitlist offer. I am honored to have had the opportunity to experience Mayos unique culture, but ultimately I did not feel it was my best fit.
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Accepted

Columbia University

Boston University

University of Chicago

University of Colorado

University of Michigan

Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: 07/20/2017
Interview Invite: 08/20/2017
Interview Attended: 09/29/2017
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: 11/11/2017
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience: Tour/Pizza social: The attire for the walking tour and dinner is very casual; my student tour guide was wearing sweats and most of the applicants were wearing jeans and comfortable shoes. The pizza was delicious and free! There were many current students at the dinner, so it was a great chance to ask questions about U of M and get a better feel for the student body.

Interview day: This was one of the most well-structured interview days and by far the best free swag. After the morning introduction, interviewees were split into two groups--one group started with the Multiple Mini Interview while the other group started with the two traditional open-file interviews. Both the MMI and traditional interviews were pretty relaxed. After interviews, we re-convened for a lunch with current students. The afternoon un-tour is a fun alternative to the traditional facilities tours. My group spent time following a medical resident on pseudo-rounds. The resident brought us to meet a few patients in various departments and we had the unique opportunity to listen to their stories and hear their perspectives on U of M.

Pros: Faculty here seem very supportive and accessible and the students seem very fun and involved in many interests outside of school. Another draw for me is the accelerated 1-year pre-clinical curriculum (similar to Duke and Harvard), which gives an extra year to pursue research or a dual degree, and time to explore specialties not included in the core clerkships. U of M gives generous need and merit-based financial aid. Cost of living in Ann Arbor is cheap. Ranked highly by residency directors. Top residency programs in several specialities.

Cons: Flex-quizzes (weekly online quizzes that can be taken any time, generally between Friday and Sunday) could be seen as a pro or a con. I tend to procrastinate, so I consider it a con--I think I would burn out from quizzing on Sunday and then jumping into new content every Monday. Students here did seem a bit more stressed than at other schools, but it could have just been my timing arriving right after their flex quiz had opened.

Update 3/9/18: Awarded merit scholarship, about 135K total.

Update: Withdrew. I was not sure how I felt about Ann Arbor and the undergraduate vibe, I am leaning toward going to a bigger city for med school. Also, even with the financial aid, as an out of state resident, this would have been one of my more expensive options.
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New York University

Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: 07/22/2017
Interview Invite: 10/03/2017
Interview Attended: 10/30/2017
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: 01/25/2018
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Interview day: The day at NYU felt very short since it did not start until 10:30AM. I did not get to interact with very many current students or get a complete feel for the school in the given time, so I was very glad that I scheduled a meet-up after the interview day with a student liaison (also more free food!). The interview itself was Multiple Mini Interview format and the questions were pretty standard. I read and watched a few practice MMIs online during my plane ride to get the basic idea. When answering questions, I found it helpful to draw from my experiences scribing, shadowing and teaching (e.g. In a similar situation, I saw a physician do X which worked well.)

Pros: Training at Bellvue Hospital, a public hospital, provides the opportunity to learn how to be an effective care provider in the urban underserved setting. Bellevue Hospital, Tische and the VA are all within walking distance of the medical school/on-campus housing. 15% of students are awarded full cost of attendance scholarships! There seems to be a strong focus on student well-being. They have post-quiz parties funded by NYU (technically funded by tuition, still a cool perk) such as happy hour or going apple picking at an orchard in Princeton.

Cons: Location might be overwhelming for me.

Update: Selected to be recipient of the Deans Scholarship, which covers FULL COST OF ATTENDANCE for four years! Also loved this school on Revisit weekend--the students seem very friendly, fun and well-balanced. They have quizzes every other Friday, which means they essentially get every other weekend off and have time to pursue many non-medical interests. The facilities are state-of-the art, the curriculum seems very up to date and I prefer the 1.5 preclinical timeline (less stressful than 1 year preclinical, more time for research/elective rotations than traditional 2 year). Will likely be matriculating here!
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Cornell University

University of Washington

Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: 08/30/2017
Interview Invite: 09/13/2017
Interview Attended: 10/23/2017
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: 11/19/2017
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience: Mission statement sent: 7/12/17
Secondary received: 8/11/17

Interview Day: UW has separate interview days for in-region and out-of-region groups. Everyone on my day was out-of-region and all ~14 of us were from different states. The interview day started with socializing, a curriculum overview, a tour with a current student and a Q&A session with a faculty member. This was followed by lunch with current students. Our interviews were scheduled at various times in the afternoon. The interview format is a panel interview with three interviewers. The unique part of the interview is the role-playing scenarios where they give you a situation and ask you to act it out with one of the interviewers while the others observe. UW provides sample interview questions on their website.

Pros: The students here are very chill and the class seems tight-knit like a family. The faculty and administration are very friendly. I like the 1.5 year accelerated pre-clinical curriculum, though this is not unique to UW. I am interested in their underserved pathway and they have additional pathway options including Indian health, global health, Hispanic health and LGBTQ health.

Cons: Cost is high for out-of-region students, though students can apply for in-state residency after the first year. The facilities are a little old and gloomy. Step-1 scores are on the lower side.

Update: Awarded a non-resident tuition waiver for all 4 years of medical school!! This waiver is essentially a recruitment scholarship and covers the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition without having to apply for WA state residency.

Update: Withdrew. Even with the non-resident waiver, this was one of my most expensive options.
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MD Applicants

daydreamerr