Research: - No pubs, no abstracts, nothing - A few years of engineering research, in 3 different labs - Lots of national/provincial level research scholarships/stipends - Really fun interdisciplinary thesis project, people seemed to dig it
Clubs: - President of an academic club - Executive positions in 2 other clubs
Other: - TA\'ed an engineering course - Founded unique medical-related activity - Full-ride to undergrad, lots of other scholarships - Some basic involvement in music, mostly from childhood
Letters: I sent 3, a few others if necessary, but the core 3 were the strongest. - My thesis advisor...who is one of the best people I know and a beautiful writer. I owe everything to this person. - Two engineering profs I used Interfolio (<3)
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/01/2010
Undergraduate college: University of Toronto
Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology
Total MCAT SCORE: 519
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 132,
CARS 126
Overall GPA: 3.80
Science GPA: 3.90
Summary of Application Experience
Hi, guys! I'm Canadian. I applied to the US and matriculated at U of T. I was accepted at my first choice, Yale, and unfortunately, couldn't go.
3/10: Waitlisted at WashU. LOL. I am now fully sure I am going to be the waitlist queen for all these top schools :) May is so far away.
Impressions: Yay! I didn\'t realize I would love WashU so much, but it\'s really an awesome place! The students were very happy (mostly because first-year is P/F and the faculty heavily encourage you to chill out) and I even got a slight dorky vibe, which is totally me :-) Research is super-strong; clinical years seem solid, especially with exposure to the under-served in St. Louis and Barnes-Jewish\'s status as a safety-net hospital. The highlight was probably the student spaces. Seriously, how is it possible to have this much dedicated (and gorgeous, and functional!) space for medical students?! I probably can\'t afford to come here, but I certainly would love to. There are also ~20 full-tuition merit scholarships every year, so I\'ll fantasize about that!
Summary of Experience:
SS: 7/06 | C: 8/05 | II: 8/31. Waitlist --great school, but not meant to be I guess! Impressions: The campus is really beautiful, especially the new research building and clinical skills center. Nice lecture halls. Good level of wiredness. Pass-fail is awesome. Students were really happy. Opportunities in alternative medicine made me excited. I see how it might be nicer to be closer to Manhattan but Einstein is a solid school.
Summary of Experience:
SS: 7/14 | C: Never got an email | II: 8/26 | IA: Oct | LOI: late-Oct. Waitlist: Darn, I really loved this school. I guess my LOI wasn\'t effective. Maybe NYC and I were not meant to be? :-( Impressions: I am so in love. Sinai has amazing everything: pass-fail, longitudinal clinical experience, research galore, new facilities, vertical campus is super cool, low student-teacher ratio, no competition with undergrads for shadowing and research, anatomy lab looks out over central park, early clinical exposure, EHHOP, Visiting Doctors Program, amazing cheap housing in Aron Hall. Students were hands down the most happy of all the schools I\'ve been to. I am just bursting with love for Sinai. I also have friends there :)
Summary of Experience:
SS: 7/25; C: 7/26; II: 12/07.
3/09: Waitlisted at Cornell. Disappointed, but more than willing to wait it out. Letter-writing, letter-writing :)
Impressions: Despite the horrific snow (-clearing), NYC was just too cool yet again. There\'s something in the air!! Anyway, Cornell has a rockin\' location (York Ave. and 69th); block-style courses with lots of PBL and few lectures; the absolute best abroad program of any med school I\'ve visited (Weill Bugando in Tanzania in particular); great subsidized housing right across the street. Clinical experience in NY Presbyterian would be of course amazing. I could see myself pursuing research at Hospital for Special Surgery. Only downside is financial aid and a seriously red lecture hall (lol). I also suspect that I am not as cool as the typical Cornell student (double lol!)...
3/16: Waitlisted at Duke. No problem. Loved Duke, would have thrived in the warm weather :( But I\'m incredibly lucky to have the choices I have.
Impressions: Very impressed. Newly P/F, radical curriculum that puts you in clerkship by M2 and requires a research M3, strengths in health IT and pain management which I am all about, tons of funding, gorgeous campus, students seemed fun and super accomplished. Not sure if I want to be in class 9-4 in M1... Durham reminds me of my hometown. A car is a must. I really enjoyed my interviews.
3/05: Waitlisted at Stanford. You know what: it is an honor to be waitlisted. I opened the letter whilst repeating \"Not a rejection, not a rejection!\" and was pleased. Also, just a peek at the other mdapps shows that I am in the company of guys and ladies infinitely more compelling than I. Time to begin the letter-writing campaign!
Impressions: LOL I can\'t even talk about Stanford. It\'s just perfect. P/F; scholarly concentrations; every dual degree imaginable; proximity to main campus; insane strengths in tech and bioengineering (I can see Mountain View from my house...); small (86!) class size. So big on individual-attention, self-actualization, and turning out LEADERS. And as if it couldn\'t get any better, It was like 20 degrees C in January!!! People were playing volleyball in shorts and t-shirts in the Oval! My host had a pool! Top choice by far. Ahh, I don\'t want to get my hopes up, but this is seriously the best fit school for my engineery-ness!
Summary of Experience:
SS: 6/30 | II: 8/16. Withdrew.
Impressions: Invite 2! Friendly and laid-back institution. Unique curriculum and strengthening research. Cardinal Glennon is an excellent children\'s hospital. Pretty campus. Decent city. Old facilities.
Summary of Experience:
SS: 7/19 | C: 7/22 | Under review: 7/28 | Priority score 1 (\"Very\" interested in candidacy): 8/01 | II: 8/02.
Withdrew.
First invite! Impressions: It was a great experience, especially since it was my first interview. I loved this school and its students. There is truly a commitment to continual improvement of curriculum and facilities here. The Inner-City-Rural Preceptorship is a big draw. Diverse patient population in Richmond. Strong primary care. Rehabilitation research!
Summary of Experience:
SS: 7/28 | C: 8/11 | II: 9/08 | Scholarship offer: 1/26. Impressions: Wow, holy pretty facilities! Diversity and socialized hospital (free care for everybody!) is big here. BMC provides unparalleled 3rd and 4th year...I get the impression that clinical \"hands-dirty\" experience here is insane. Students are happy. Curriculum is solid, nothing radical. Boston is a great city. Expensive cost of living. Would be honored to go here.
4/13: This was hard. I will always have a special place in my heart for Case. <3
Loved Case. But I don\'t think I can go here because of the early-July start date. As much as I am dying to have a July white coat ceremony, I need an extra month to defend my thesis!
Impressions: World-class hospitals. Love Rainbow Babies. Lots of unstructured time for self-learning. Pbls in the form of IQ groups. Everyone uses laptops in class; very wired school. True pass-fail. Students were so chill and happy; it was so infectious! Amazing longitudinal research opps; mandatory thesis. Super early clinical experience. Cleveland was pretty nice too. Case is a school that I felt was a good fit for me. Something that the Director of Admissions said really stuck out to me -- that at Case, they\'re looking for happy people. And that just makes me smile.
Summary of Experience:
3/15: AHHHHH!!!!! I GOT IN!!! THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE. NO JOKE. Now that I\'ve stopped screaming...wow, this was so unexpected. My interviews here were kind of blah. And I am kind of blah as well. In conclusion, I am so infinitely grateful and excited. I hope I can go to Second Look. Also, how fortuitous is it that I got into one of the only schools that gives financial aid to Canadians?! ^_^
SS: 8/02 | C: 8/18 | II: 10/6. WOW. The Yale System blew me away. Coded, anonymous self-assessments and 2 qualifying exams per term -- otherwise, no grades at all. As a result, the students were so happy, fun, relaxed. They had the latitude to do whatever they want, including taking multiple trips in the middle of the school year. Highlights: smell-free anatomy lab, just insane arts community and opportunities for medical humanities, proximity to undergrad campus, beautiful dorms in Harkness Hall, faculty mentorship, generous funding for studies abroad...and well it\\\'s just YALE lol. New Haven doesn\\\'t seem too exciting, but there is definitely an acute and diverse medical need in the community, which makes for excellent training.
Summary of Experience:
M: 8/03 | C: 8/09 | II: 8/24. Invite 5! Impressions: Beautiful new building. Amazing hospitals and patient diversity. Co-curricular program is unique. Decent city. My interview was an hour and a half!
Accepted: I can\'t believe they let me in!! Definitely going to reassess my first impressions.
There are incredible research opportunities in peds rehabilitation here. Impressions: NU is clearly a tremendous school. The lecture halls and hospitals (including new children\'s hospital in 2012!) are gorgeous...consider that their oldest hospital is only 8 years old. Cost of living is high, but the students all love Chicago and the lakefront condos on campus are breathtaking. Curriculum is super PBL. Problem is, I got a weird vibe on interview day. I\'m not a fan of the panel interview at all (...). But I can see how they might find it useful to select for PBL-fitting students. Is it possible for a school to be too type-A and affluent for me? I don\'t know. Just a feeling. Maybe that\'s what\'s meant by \"fit\". Still, I would be honored to receive an acceptance here. Oh! And NU was cool because I met bannie22 in real life!!
