Brief Profile:
General background: I have a BS in Psychology, completed a PhD in neuroscience in March of 2013, and am planning to maintain my involvement with research in medical school.
Summary of my AMCAS Experiences: - I have a few posters and publications - I volunteered in an emergency department for a couple hours a week over 2 years - I was able to shadow two spectacular attendings at the medical center and got really great letters from them - I also wrote about teaching, graduate school, a few notable experiences from my undergrad, and cycling (I love cycling)
Letters: - my PhD adviser - the two physicians I shadowed - two other faculty members at my graduate institution who taught our core courses during first year and who I did lab rotations with. - Committee letter from my undergraduate institution (UMass has a spectacular pre-med committee)
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/04/2012
Undergraduate college: UMass, Amherst
Undergraduate Area of study: Psychology/Social Sciences
Institution: UC Davis
Area of Study: Biological/Life Sciences
Degree Obtained: PhD
Total MCAT SCORE: 523
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 131,
C/P 132,
CARS 129
Overall GPA: 3.77
Science GPA: 3.77
Summary of Application Experience
I pre-wrote my secondaries because I thought it was unlikely that I would be able to write and submit them as they came in. This worked well for me and I had polished essays for 95% of the schools I applied to. The few schools that did change their essay prompts weren't terribly unique so I had a lot of great starting material and was able to submit all my secondaries within a few days of receiving the invitation.
My only other suggestion is to submit early. Also, when you press "submit" on AMCAS, you will have to check off a large number of boxes before the application is actually submitted - I wasn't expecting that and it delayed my application by about a minute.
Overall, I was very happy with my application cycle. My "top choice" changed several times during the year, but somehow I wound up getting into my "top choice" in the end, and I really couldn't imagine a better place for me.
Application Complete, Rejected
Stanford University
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: 06/04/2012
Secondary Completed: Yes
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: 10/01/2012
Summary of Experience:
First rejection! Would have been great to be considered, but I've had a lot of success so far this cycle so I'm not disappointed at all. Rejection is really inevitable. Rejection letter by mail, received on October 5th but the letterhead was dated August 22nd.
The perk to this pre-interview rejection is that I've evaded some MMI! No MMI = super =-) !!!
Summary of Experience:
I have a friend on the faculty here who I stayed with while interviewing at Georgetown. He quite enjoyed giving me a hard time about not getting an interview at GWU, but it's in a totally killer location!
I was rejected in part because they requested I express continued interest in their program and I did not.
Summary of Experience:
My family was disappointed when I withdrew from Tufts. I'm from MA originally and my mom in particular wants me to end up in Boston, but I couldn't justify/afford the interview.
Summary of Experience:
Wow. Interview day was very unstructured, but my interviewers were both very friendly and one of them had read into my application incredibly carefully. The students were by far the most valuable for providing insight into what the HMS experience would be like. Definitely stay with a student if you can.
Summary of Experience:
I absolutely loved this school! The facilities were incredible and it seemed like the students were close, collegial and happy. I think would be very happy to be here! I’ve read that some people dislike the weather but from the perspective of a MA native who spent the past few years in beautiful CA… four seasons are kind of nice and I do miss cold, snowy mornings. As for fun stuff to do, Rochester is pretty bike friendly according to my student host and the internet, which I think is a major plus. It also seemed like the students were pretty social. Finally, the cost of living is very reasonable.
As for the program, the selectives are a significant draw for me. I’m planning to continue to be involved with research as a medical student and I think I could be very productive in that regard at Mayo – both because they have a very well developed research program but also because the clinic has an incredible amount of patient data. The program places a lot of emphasis on conducting yourself professionally, as exemplified by Mayo wear. Finally, the clinical opportunities seemed boundless such that if you want to get experience in some specialty, you could make it happen.
They sent an email that I had been ranked on 9/21! I was hoping the ranking email would provide a number, but it does not. So, I will have to wait until October 15th to know anything.
Summary of Experience:
Wow - this is an incredible school. The facilities were very impressive and I loved the feel of Hyde Park. I had never actually stopped in Chicago before this, but I really liked it.
Rats! Continued sometime in late October!
Withdrew when they sent an email in the middle of May asking if I was still interested. I had already been accepted to the 3 year program at NYU so I asked to be taken off the waitlist. Awesome school and it would have been a very hard choice to make!
"high hold list" - accepted on 4/16 but had to make a choice right then and I had just scheduled an interview for the 3 year program at NYU so I withdrew.
I was very impressed with the facilities and I liked the program a lot more than I had anticipated. This is the biggest research program in NYC and I would love the chance to go here.
Withdrew after acceptance to NYU 3 year program. My financial aid here was really pretty good - 25k/year in grants and the rest was a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized loans. I would have matriculated here if I were not accepted to NYU's 3 year program.
Awesome school and I would love to go but, sadly, they don't recognize coursework taken at community colleges so I would need to take 14 credits of humanities to matriculate. Absolutely heartbreaking, but oh well.
My impression of the school improved after the interview. They are constructing several new research buildings, but I did not get to tour these. LA county hospital is very close and provides an great opportunity to get a lot of clinical exposure early on. The facilities are generally nicer than any of the UCs, but they are not as nice as I was expecting for a private institution. My interviews were good but focused on healthcare policy, which I don't consider myself well versed in.
FIRST ACCEPTANCE!!! Woo-hoo!
Withdrew after acceptance to the 3 year program at NYU. Also, their financial aid was pretty bad - 320k in unsubsidized loans.
For some reason, I really don't like the purple/white color combination they use. However, my interview day quickly got me past any initial aversion to their school colors and I had a great time. The students were wonderful, the facilities were excellent, and the clinical experience available at Belleview provides students with great training. Best of all, the three main hospitals students work at are within blocks of the residence halls.
Also, another MMI, but it wasn't bad because there were only two stations and they were put on by students. My individual interview was great!
YAY! ACCEPTED! I decided to apply to their 3 year program... we'll see how that goes :).
YAY! ACCEPTED TO THE 3 YEAR PROGRAM! I WILL BE MATRICULATING!
Wonderful facilities and relatively affordable tuition! I don't like the suburban vibe to the area though, or that its a commuter school. I decided that I really like schools that provide on campus subsidized housing :). Huge fan.
Withdrew after NYU 3 year acceptance. Financial aid was reasonable, but not great. 7.5k per year in need-based aid.
The school is gorgeous, downtown Chicago is incredibly nice and the public transit is awesome! The only drawback to the school is the cost and the lack of subsidized housing.
My individual interview went wonderfully! However, I'm not a fan of panel interviews... at least it wasn't MMI.
Withdrew after financial aid came out - it was decent but it would be more expensive than either Cornell (~60-70k) or NYU (~5-10k).
matlabLover took the old MCAT and scored a 39 which is in the 100th percentile of all old scores.
We converted this to a 523 on the updated scale which is in the 100th percentile of the updated MCAT. We also converted matlabLover’s section scores as follows:
matlabLover scored a 14 on the Biological Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 131 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
matlabLover scored a 14 on the Physical Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 132 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
matlabLover scored a 11 on the Verbal Reasoning section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 129 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
