1) volunteer responder with city's EMS Department for 3 years, ~1000 hrs of volunteer clinical experience. Member of Rapid Response Mtn. Bike Team, numerous teaching roles with EMS/Homeland Security classes, administrative committees, etc. Also, lots of experience in disaster relief/response from Ivan, Katrina, & Rita.
2) ocular tissue recovery- I work for an Eye Bank and surgically recover corneas and whole eyes in ORs around the city for future use in transplants or for research purposes. As a sup, I also train newly hired techs, and interview the family members of recently deceased indiv.
3) 2007 Harry Truman Scholarship Finalist- Im interested in public health. Got through the first two rounds, but ultimatly didnt get through the final round. Ive been told that med schools like to see youve applied and taken the effort for these big nationally recognized scholarships (esp the Truman in light of its idealistic goals....), and i had to beat out a lot of really good people just to be a finalist...so hey whatever..i guess ill put it on...
4) AED- President this past year-- very active chapter. thousands of hrs volunteered by members, 2000 lbs of canned food raised, $8000 for local charity, etc etc this year
5) Influenza Research for one year- no pubs, but hopefully will by Jan 2008. also im the 'sole researcher.' no grad students, post docs, etc helping me so its a bit slow at times, but im learning a lot in from the experience, ie, i have to write my own iacuc protocal, seek out other professors for consult, etc. Worked mostly in MDCK tissue cultures and balb/c mice
6) appointed by dean/provost to serve on a few faculty/student committees
7) Eagle scout
8) named the 'outstanding student of the year' by univ chancellor.
9) Traveling/Study Abroad- Im graduating in Dec 2007 so I can spend the first 6 months of 2008 traveling on an 'around-the-world' trip (spending my time mostly in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific). Spending this summer in Buenos Aires for 9 weeks of a Spanish immersion program at a local university, and then traveling through Bolivia and Peru for 5 weeks. Lots of Europe travel from past years. Also one summer spent studying at University College London.
10) founded an organ/tissue/eye donation advocacy organization on campus.
11) ESL tutoring for a semester
12) Volunteering with Hansen's Disease patients in Carville, LA for a summer
13) cooked/served monthly dinner at local homeless shelter for a few years
14) very involved with Habitat for Humanity for a year, spring break trip with them as well
15) Member of a swing dancing club.
Also, fluent in one foreign language (family immigrated to the states when i was a kid...been a naturalized US citizen for about 5 yrs now) and working on the Spanish thing this summer...
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 2007
Undergraduate college: LSU
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 522
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 130,
CARS 132
Overall GPA: 3.88
Science GPA: 3.92
Summary of Application Experience
Let the crapshoot begin.
Comments appreciated. I found mdapplicant profiles very helpful when I was beginning to apply and gauge my 'chances.' Likewise, I hope someone will find my experience helpful as they complete their application in the upcoming years.
Transcript mailed: May 30 Transcript Received: June 4th AMCAS Submission: June 5th AMCAS verification: June 8th
Ended up being able to do a 9 day plane trip where I first flew to Chicago, interview at Northwestern (Friday), UofC (Monday) then flew to Boston (on Tuesday) and did BU, Tufts, and HMS three days in a row (Wed, Thurs, Fri).
Hard decision but ended up settling on HMS.
Attended Interview, Withdrew
Louisiana State University, Shreveport
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: Yes
Interview Invite: Yes
Interview Attended: Yes
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
R: 6/28, S: 7/15, I: 9/28 for ???
