Brief Profile:
First of all, I thank God above for the opportunity to write this report and for the blessings he has given me and my family in this process. It has been a tiring journey, and his strength has been the one stable constant through it all. More particularly, I am writing this log as an aid to URM students who are the first to do medicine in their families and need every bit of encouragement and help they can get. Its a difficult process and I was in that position when I applied last year. I felt as if I didnt have much precedent to go off of, and I didnt really know where to turn for advice. I hope that this short profile is a help to you in your journey.
The most important element of your application is that you tell a compelling story. Whether you do volunteer work, academic work, shadowing, research, whatever, youre application must tell a story. Youre reader has literally hundreds of these applications to go through and will spend less than 3.5 minutes reading your application. You have that amount of time to make an impression that lasts. I found that the greatest tool which helped me in this process was self-reflection. I was able to trace a thread through my experiences that linked everything, that made it all make sense.
For me, this is the general story outline: I came into college wanting to serve God by serving people with my career, but didnt know what that career would be. I tried lots of things; volunteering in the hospital, doing volunteer work, studying science, teaching, writing/editing a magazine, etc. It was only during a summer I spent interning in a hospital that I found definitively that medicine was what resonated most with me. I now hope to earn degrees in medicine and theology to eventually work with churches to enact community based healthcare programs in under-resourced areas. My grades and MCAT are not that stellar; I truly think I got interview because people just wanted to hear more about how that story developed. Weave your story through your application; it will be your greatest asset.
Some of the ECs I put on my application in no particular order. I put the lesson that I learned from each experience as well, a practice I highly recommend you follow on the application. It shows you were thoughtful about each thing you did:
1) 40hr/wk for 5 weeks internship in rural South African hospital: learned that medical work can be a tireless campaign, but it can improve a patients quality of life immensely.
2) 7 hr/wk for 3 years Editor of a campus magazine : taught me how to lead by example and motivate others to work alongside me.
3) 40hr/wk for 2 months camp teacher in New Orleans for underserved kids: reminded me of the great needs facing children growing up in big cities, especially young Black children, and how I can be a mentor to those kids.
4) 12hr/wk for 3 years founder of a volunteer networking organization: developed the skills necessary for connecting a diversity of people to communicate and motivate towards a common goal
5) Received a 4yr full-ride leadership scholarship for undergrad: pushed me to extend my capacities as leader and servant, both of which have helped prepare me to begin medical studies.
Please message me if you have any questions or comments.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/15/2011
Undergraduate college: Top 10
Undergraduate Area of study: History/Humanities
Total MCAT SCORE: 513
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 129,
C/P 127,
CARS 129
Overall GPA: 3.60
Science GPA: 3.40
Application Complete, Rejected
Mayo Medical School
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: 08/19/2011
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: Yes
Summary of Experience:
They asked for my letters, but not further.
Summary of Experience:
I really enjoyed the flexibility of the Yale System, though I\'m a little afraid it will take me some time to find the right level of self-discipline to keep afloat. The divinity school is also a big draw for me. New Haven was a nice small city, so this is somewhat high on my list.
Summary of Experience:
I loved the school when I stayed there last summer, but the interview day left much to be desired. It was not very personalized and I felt as if they just sent us off without really trying to sell the school. I know the school offers a lot because I researched there, but the interview day wouldn\'t show it at all.
Summary of Experience:
I had a terrible interview, but the school I really appreciate. Lot of community action and deep focus on making medicine better through clinical training as opposed to research or policy.
Summary of Experience:
I really enjoyed that the school was doing research in spirituality as well as medicine, but I wasn\'t as interested in the location. Living in the capital would be different, but not ideal.
Summary of Experience:
I enjoyed Penn far more than I thought I would. If I had been accepted outright, it would have been a very difficult decision. The city was one of the big pluses for me, though I would have liked to see the university more engaged with the underserved populations of the area.
Summary of Experience:
The staff were incredibly kind to me and the other students. I especially liked the minority community. Really hard decision not to go here, but I wanted something that would push me to think beyond what I was normally capable of, and I thought I would get it better elsewhere.
Summary of Experience:
This is it; I\'m headed here next year. The innovation is incomparable, the location is fantastic, and I\'ve never lived in California; should be an adventure. Only draw back is no theological interests here. I guess I\'ll just have to start getting people excited along with me.
Summary of Experience:
Loved the school, had a full scholarship, lots of religion and health research (both good and bad), and it was pretty much a toss up between here and my top choice. Still, I felt I would be pushed more elsewhere. They train great physicians, and I look forward to working with them in the future.
Summary of Experience:
My state school. I didn\'t like how big the student body was, or the multi-campus experience. Financial aid is lacking as well unfortunately. Might be good if you\'re interested in taking business classes as well.
Summary of Experience:
I was surprise to get in here; my numbers are in their bottom 5% I think of entering students. They seemed very intense, which I like, but didn\'t sell the school super well. I didn\'t revisit, but I\'d definitely recommend people to give it a shot. It\'s not a school all about numbers; they are really focusing a lot on how to make better physician-scientists.
Summary of Experience:
I enjoyed the visit, but I went to undergrad here; I wanted to diversify my education. The div school is unbeatable, so maybe I\'ll end up here a few years down the road.
Summary of Experience:
Liked UCSF a lot more than I thought I would, but didn\'t like that it\'s just a med school (no university attached). They seemed really serious about training great urban clinicians, something I appreciate a lot.
