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MD Applicants

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  • User #16390

  • Application cycles: 2008
  • Demographics: Female, Caucasian
  • Home state: Colorado
  • Brief Profile: RESEARCH
    1. 4 summers of research as an undergrad - 2 publications (journal of vascular surgery, journal of biological chemistry). research was cardiology/nephrology related
    2. 18 months as an NIH postbac IRTA in, nephrology research, Presented my research at a conference, also was a coauthor on a paper published in AJP-renal physiology.
    3. currently working at NYMC as a research assistant in a renal lab, doing research related to what I was doing at the NIH.

    VOLUNTEER
    1. visited residents at local nursing homes on a weekly or biweekly basis since 9th grade. (My dad owns 12 nursing homes and pushed me to do this. I was freaked initially, but when I went away to college, found a nearby nursing home to volunteer at b/c I enjoyed it so much in HS!)
    2. volunteered at a womens and childrens homeless shelter while living in maryland
    3. mentor for teenage girls suffering from anorexia and bulimia (my 'mentees'? - girls i mentor - right now, are all anorexics/recovering anorexics). I wrote about my experiences with an eating disorder as a teen in my PS. I wish I wouldve thought of doing this years ago. My favorite volunteer experience as of yet, because I can help people who are going thru what I went thru.
    4. volunteer for an organization that provides support to couples suffering from infertilty, helps connect them w/ top infertility docs, provides education on different treatments available, helps them find ways to pay for it b/c insurance doesnt cover most of it, etc. really cool opportunity, glad i found it!
    5. hospital volunteer-through an organization in my community that set up visits to patients who didnt have much family around.

    SHADOWING
    hundreds of hours.
    1. first doctor I shadowed was an internist, he was the one who inspired me to become a doctor (wrote about it in my personal statement), overall, I think spent about 10 to 15 full days shadowing him, in clinic and on the floor.
    2. Having worked for a vascular surgeon doing clinical resaerch for 2 summers, I spent a considerable amount of time shadowing him as well, basically, if i finished my work early, he would just let me shadow him on rounds, or in the OR which was really cool! got to see tons of different procedures, AAA repair, CABG, Amputations, etc etc, at a University hospital and VA hospital
    3. Worked in a nephrology lab for two summers. I shadowed my boss most friday mornings when he had clinic, and 'shadowed' him on medicine rounds early in the morning (before work) when he was on service in july one of those two summers as well.
    4. Shadow and ID doc. She lives in Colorado, and now that Im in NY, is more difficult to do, but every time i go home to visit family (pretty often! I would say at least 8 or 10x a year), I spend a day or 2 shadowing her. Shes an awesome teacher, so unassuming, and ID is just fascinating to me.
    5. Sophomore year over winter break- shadowed a neurosurgeon for about 2 weeks. Im not exactly interested in becoming a neurosurgeon but the experience was unbelievable!!
    7. most interesting - shadowed a doc who moonlighted (moonlit?) at a hospital prison. lots of intersting stories there.
    8. Other random days spent with different docs in differnet specialties - shadowed a few geriatricians at some of my fathers nursing homes, transplant surgeon, an endocrinologist, 2 cardiologists, Gastroenterologist, Gynecologist, ER doc, any time I met someone or had a friend or my parents ahd a friend, and they said 'oh youre interested in medicine, want to spend the day watching what I do,' I took them up on their offer!


    COLLEGE ACTIVITIES
    1. Biology club president - organized symposia with various speakers, fun stuff like movie nights, career day (together w/ chem and physics clubs), trip to natural history museum w/ kids from a local elementary school. Organized a school wide symposium on Breast Cancer and Jewish Women (went to an all girls Jewish undergrad school), where we had 2 experts- an oncologist and a surgeon, 2 survivors, and one woman who had a double masectomy after finding out she had the BRCA1 gene. it was really amazing, IMHO!!
    2. editor of the science section of the college newspaper
    3. editor of our undergrad science journal
    4. Physiology TA

    OTHER EMPLOYMENT
    1. Interned for the governor of colrado the summer between my jr and sr years of HS.
    2. taught HS english at a private school during my Sr. year of college (had a light course load, was board, didnt want to work in a lab, wanted to do something 'different' and fun, in a more social atmosphere than a lab)
    3. Tutoring. elementary, high school and college students. been doing it since high school. various subjects. does this count? didnt even list it on AMCAS.
    4. Summer Intern @ Colorado State Governor's offce as a Junior in HS.


    HOBBIES
    skiing, biking (I'm from Colorado), spending time w/ my infant son, traveling,

    LIFE/OTHER
    I graduated college in May of 06. I had just turned 20. (started college at 16-skipped a grade) I was planning on taking my MCAT in August, but I got engaged that summer, so I decided that since I was so young anyway - I would take some time off before rushing into med school - enjoy life a little, and grow up alot. Moved to Maryland b/c my husband was finishing his masters at U of MD, found a job as an NIH IRTA fellow. Took my MCAT for the first time in August of 07, bombed it - 8/7/11 (I think I just dont do good under pressure. On all my practice tests - BOTh kaplan and AAMC was scoring in the high 30s). Retook it in January of 08 - 9/10/10. Applied to 18 schools last year, 1 waitlist, no acceptances.

    Finished my NIH fellowship in June, had a baby in July, moved to NY in August (my husband is from NY and found a job here). Hoped to start med school, but since I didnt, found this job at NYMC to hold me over. Would much prefer to take the year off and be home with my baby, as I dont think Ill ever get that chance again in my life with med school, residency, felloship, but I am trying to 'play by the rules' and do what I think ADCOMS will like, I dont want to be scrutinized for taking off too much time.
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 2008

    • Undergraduate college: Yeshiva
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 507
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 127, C/P 126, CARS 127  
    • Overall GPA: 3.40
    • Science GPA: 3.60

    Summary of Application Experience

    First of all, I dont know if my mcat should be 9/10/10 or 9/11/10 - the first time I took it, I got 11 in VR, but Improved my BS and PS scores by 2 points each (originally had a 26). dont know if that makes a difference to you guys reading this.

    I know I didnt apply to dozens of schools, but I am being realistic. 1. With a kid, I feel being near family is mega-important. 2. My husband has a great job in NY, and relocating (unless its to Colorado where he has an 'in' b/c of connections I have) would be close to impossible. So my list is - all schools that are in the NYC metropolitan area, plus NJ and CT schools. Plus UCHSC-Im a colorado resident.

    Last year, I applied to all the schools I applied to this year, plus MD and DC schools. Had one Interview - at Einstein, was waitlisted.

    last year - my MCAT was a 26, I retook it in January, so this year, schools will be seeing a 29 (or 30? depending on how they look at it?), so hopefully that will improve my chances. I also applied late last year - submitted my AMCAS in Aug, but didnt submit all my secondaries till September, and my premed advisor screwed me over by not sending my letters in until NOVEMBER 25. This year, I was complete at all schools by the first week in August.

    I made this MDAPPS thing b/c despite all my improvements since last cycle, I only have one interview invite, and I want otehr peoples advice on how I can improve myself!

    Application Complete

    University of Colorado
    SUNY Downstate
    UMDNJ - New Jersey
    Yale University
    Cornell University
    Albert Einstein of Yeshiva University
    SUNY Stony Brook
    New York University
    Columbia University
    Mount Sinai School of Medicine
    University of Connecticut
    UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson

    Attended Interview

    New York Medical College

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