Application Cycle One: 2007

• Undergraduate college: Smith College
• Undergraduate Area of study: Fine Arts/Architecture

• Total MCAT SCORE: 507
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 127, C/P 126, CARS 127   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.79
• Science GPA: 3.74

Summary of Application Experience

Sooo many things I would have done differently if I were to do it again. I was complete sometime between September and October for most schools, and I should have applied much earlier. I took an April MCAT and then took it again at the end of July. It would have been better to wait until May, make sure I was prepared, and only have to take it once! (Got the same score both times, btw, although a slightly different distribution, so I'm not even sure if taking it again ended up helping me). Pace yourself on the secondaries, you'll get really burned out. I'm glad I applied broadly even though it ended up being expensive- it's a really competitive process, a lot seems to be pretty arbitrary, and you never know what kind of luck you'll have. Remember that numbers don't mean everything, but I definitely felt like I had to do a good job of making up for my MCAT score in other areas of my application... and even so, I didn't have a ton of luck. I spent most of January feeling very demoralized, but after my acceptance the pressure is off :-). I'm so excited to be attending my first choice, and even though I wonder about the other places, since so far UMass is the only place I've interviewed, I think I'm making the right decision.

Best pieces of advice I got during the process:

Apply early
Apply broadly
Numbers aren't everything
Write letters of interest
Call/ email admissions offices periodically
The waiting SUCKS
It only takes one.

Best of luck!