Undergraduate college: Large Public Research University
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 520
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 131,
C/P 129,
CARS 129
Overall GPA: 4.00
Science GPA: 4.00
Summary of Application Experience
Began working on personal statement in May (after final exams); made countless revisions, had two friends, my boyfriend, and two non-science faculty review when I had it nearly finalized.
The primary application was far more work than I expected. Creating descriptions for my activities, and even just determining how to enter and classify them, was an enormous undertaking. Looking back, I would have started earlier--May flew by in a blur of primary application prep, though I fortunately ended up getting it submitted on the first day.
Submitting on the first day was absolutely worth the stress, though, once interviews started coming in.
I took the MCAT once, studying during the summer before my junior year of undergrad.
Applied, Withdrew
Duke University
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Did not complete secondary.
Summary of Experience:
Did not complete this secondary--my advice: pre-write your secondary essays! It's difficult after just completing the primary, and I was in lab and volunteering at the time; but if you want to apply to 15+ med schools, it's necessary to avoid burn-out. I ended up prioritizing my top schools, then those with easier secondaries//less competitive choices, and didn't fill out secondaries for 6. Be careful to consider how much time these take vs. how many schools you want to apply to in order to feel comfortable.
Summary of Experience:
Received a II, withdrew pre-interview. I withdrew because I already had been accepted at Michigan before receiving this invite, and knew that I would choose Michigan over Ohio State.
Summary of Experience:
By far the hardest interview I had during the cycle. Amazing place, amazing fellow interviewers--wasn't admitted early, but we'll see what happens in late Jan/early Feb!
Update: denied admission outright. Honestly, as the cycle went on and I explored other schools, Mayo fell to the bottom of my list of top schools--so much so that I stopped mentioning it in my list of favorites. It would have been a contender had I been offered an "appointment", but probably wouldn't have been my ultimate choice. Moral of the story: don't assume a school you think will be your "top" choice--even if you love it when you first visit--will be your ultimate love, especially if it's early in the cycle. I fell in love with different schools that I expected as the cycle progressed, and my entire top list was actually formed AFTER my Mayo interview...maybe there is something to be said about interviewers being able to assess "fit" (and I admit to having not performed terribly well in this interview ;) )
Summary of Experience:
Could just be my own impression (and I flew in late the night before, so I was running on minimal sleep for this one), but students seemed more stressed/less happy here than at other schools I interviewed at. The research opportunities and clinical years are excellent, however--nowhere has such incredible flexibility for pursuing different levels of research. Large focus on the more traditional academic medicine career.
Summary of Experience:
Pleasantly surprised by the strong emphasis on community engagement at WASHU. For such a research powerhouse, it seemed like they truly valued service, and there was a strong community among the medical students.
Students didn't seem concerned about the lack of P/F in the short second year, and talked about it possibly even being converted to full P/F (though this has been speculated for years on SDN!). I was concerned before my interview, but speaking with the students it seems that WASHU shares the same collegial and collaborative environment as the other top full P/F schools I've been to.
Had a very enjoyable conversation regarding my research and opportunities at WASHU during my full length interview, too.
UPDATE: Waitlisted, which after zero communication up until this point is not a surprise! After completing the interview cycle, WASHU wasn't in my top 5 of schools I enjoyed the most. Post-interview day, my impression of WASHU had risen significantly. Its seeming focus on GPA/MCAT above all else (this is the only school where my MCAT is below the average, and it's crazy to think that a 37 is below-average; it's not a 45 or anything, but still, to be below average means they have a monopoly on the 40+ crowd) worried me, but the Dean made a strong effort to talk to us about how that is not what WASHU looks for, and the culture of the school is not at all cutthroat. Still, after the post-interview honeymoon period I seem to go through with a lot of schools, it didn't compare to the feel I had elsewhere. My parents were really pushing for this one (my dad's family is from St. Louis, so he values the WASHU name up there with Harvard), but they know it never was my top choice.
Med school admissions are such a random process. I'm extremely fortunate that my WLs and rejection have all been schools I wasn't in love with; I know it could easily have been the other way around. I still don't know how my cycle has been so successful--I plan on posting a bit about my app once I've made my decision, as I know looking on here helped me make my own application list. I probably won't get around to it until after graduation, as I'm working on a thesis, researching, and have a couple Second Looks to attend in April.
Summary of Experience:
LOVED my "24 hours in Blue" interview day experience! The admissions people are very welcoming, and I really enjoyed my untour, etc.
My 30 minute interviewers both knew my application very well, and I felt like I connected with them both. I actually found the MMIs here to be very enjoyable: the acting scenarios were, in particular, very easy to engage in and felt genuine. Very different experience from my MMIs at Cincinnati.
Summary of Experience:
Thrilled when I received this II. Concerned about interviewing later in the cycle (this was my last interview until Harvard came in with a surprise invite), but it seemed that we were still "in the running". Hopkins had posted in reply to a SDN post that they weren't yet halfway through interviews, so fingers crossed for good news!
Exceptional school, students, clinical experiences...there is a reason why the name "Hopkins" is so respected. Their unique interview day could have been stressful, but the 4th years were all very engaging and kept it from being so.
Update: ACCEPTED!!! I was so excited about this...I called my parents, notified my letter writers, and went out to celebrate that night :) It's going to be a very tough decision. I was so certain that the email I received was going to be a rejection (it just says that there has been a status update in your profile), and prepared myself for rejection/WL...but then absolutely FREAKED OUT when I saw it was an acceptance!
Summary of Experience:
Very first interview! MMIs were very challenging, especially since I felt that the MMI format isn't very good for answering traditional interview questions in (there were a number of stations with these). I honestly didn't think I did well at all, but I guess you never know :)
Summary of Experience:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--- Update (5/1): I absolutely LOVED Pritzker's Revisit weekend. Met the most amazing, kindest, every positive superlative-people ever. In the end, however, Hopkins aligned more with my goals (and I also felt a similar "fit" and strong community there as well...although I don't think Pritzker can be beat) I was consistently amazed with the focus of the school on social justice and student well-being. In another life, I would have had an exceptional time as a student here (and met some amazing people who will be part of next year's class).
Summary of Experience:
Enjoyed visiting SLU and meeting the students. The Jesuit mission seemed to truly permeate the school. In the end, it was just not the best fit for me (not as research-focused as I would like), and I decided to withdraw my application post-acceptance.
Summary of Experience:
I was "continued" in late October following my interview (told to expect a decision in March), and received an acceptance in mid-February.
Summary of Experience:
Still not completely comprehending that I interviewed, let alone was accepted, here. Wow. My interviewers here were phenomenal; I had an excellent interviewing experience here, but still cannot believe it! It is incredibly humbling to think of the amazing people that I would learn from and, potentially, one day aspire to become at a place like Harvard...I now have an extremely difficult choice to make. Why are Harvard and Hopkin's second look weekends the SAME WEEKEND?!?!
