Application Cycle One: 2007

• Undergraduate college: University of California, Davis
• Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences

• Institution: Boston University
• Area of Study: Biological/Life Sciences
• Degree Obtained: MA

• Total MCAT SCORE: 514
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 127, CARS 129   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.14
• Science GPA: 3.07

Summary of Application Experience

7/11/2007 - AMCAS submitted
8/07/2007 - AMCAS verified
- Just starting secondaries... working on masters thesis till now.

8/17/2007 - just trying to get them done now...

9/28/2007 - all received secondaries done. Just waiting for interviews now.

10/31/2007 - received invitation to interview at Boston University. Woohoo!

11/15/2007 - interviewed at BU. Went really well, wonderful interviewer. Still waiting for more.

1/10/2008 - BU deferred my decision to March.

1/14/2008 - interviewed at SUNY Downstate. Waiting to hear back any day now...

1/24/2008 - interviewed at University of Vermont. Beautiful campus, friendly faculty.

2/16/2008 - waitlisted at UVM, still waiting to hear from SUNY Downstate and BU.

2/28/2008 - on hold for spring consideration at Downstate.

3/14/2008 - interviewed at UC Davis. Awesome experience, I really want to go there!

3/31/2008 - waitlisted at BU. Made me wait 5 months to hear that. What sweethearts.

4/21/2008 - applied to SGU. Back up time.

4/29/2008 - on the hold list at UC Davis. Chances are low now... starting to freak out.

6/27/2008 - waitlisted everywhere that I interviewed. Accepted for January 2009 to St. George's... praying that something works out before then! Also contemplating applying early decision to Boston University. Big fat maybe on that one.
In response to the comment below - I applied while I was completing my thesis for GMS, not the summer before I started.

7/15/2008 - got the acceptance call from SUNY Downstate! SOOOO ecstatic and now looking for a place to live!! THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS OFFICIALLY OVER. I'm very, VERY happy with the result!

For those commenters who asked for advice:

#1: Put your absolute best foot forward in every step. If waiting a week to submit a primary or secondary means it has a chance of being substantially more well-written, then take that week to make it happen.

#2: Be sincere. Especially in interviews when they ask what you think the solution to health care is... don't pretend to be a genius if you're not one... my answer was 'I don't know,' and I went on to describe that it's a complex problem and blah blah blah. Bottom line, if someone had an answer that could be explained in a med school interview, that person would be in the White House.

#3: If your GPA out of undergrad is sub-par like mine and you plan on doing a Masters or Post Bac, GET A 4.0. End of story. I really believe that I got lucky in this process, and even then I got accepted VERY late in the cycle after I resigned to going to the Caribbean and considered reapplication. If my GPA at BU was higher, I am confident I would have been accepted to more schools.

#4: Stay positive. There were so many times in this process where I felt really down, and it's not worth it. Send out good vibes, and good news will come your way. Besides, if the competition of applying to med school has you so insecure about your qualifications that you don't feel good about it, how will you sell yourself to anyone else? Put on a happy face and step forward with confidence! I kept telling myself 'Something will work out, and it will be good.' It worked for me, and that's what counts.