Application Cycle One: 2005

• Undergraduate college: University of Southern California
• Undergraduate Area of study: Psychology/Social Sciences

• Total MCAT SCORE: 514
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 129, C/P 128, CARS 129   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.42
• Science GPA: 3.46

Summary of Application Experience

I really wanted to tell my story here because so often as pre-meds we are bombarded with stories of failure. I want to give hope to others out there who feel they have a passion and a dream but feel like it is out of their reach. When I first decided I wanted to go to medical school my sophmore year in college my GPA was so low my premed advisor told me I would never get into ANY medical school and I should give up and try a different profession. I had ~ 3.1 at the time it was not looking good. I was not a science major and felt hopelessly outmatched in my premed science classes.

But, I knew that medicine was the right career for me and I was confident that I could become a great doctor if I could just get schools to give me a chance. I worked hard every day for those last two years and pulled my GPA up to a 3.4~3.5. This is still pretty bad and below average admittance, but I felt my other qualities would at least get my foot in the door.

I had a lot of doubts but was presently surprised by the results of the application process. I applied a lot of places and had a lot of success in surprising ways. I was shocked that I did not receive ONE invite from the UC system as I am a california resident. My scores are roughly at or above the averages posted online of most of the schools but apparently they were completely uninterested. I work at UCSD medical school and a professor there told me that the schools are so focused on GPA that they would never even give me a chance. This has made me extremely bitter to the UC system and I feel I have been cheated out of the oppurtunity for a state education in my home state.

Onto more positive things though, not everyone in the US is obssesed with raw numbers. Some schools bothered to look at the full picture of me. They saw someone who had gone from low grades to multiple 4.0 semesters, somone who worked to pay his own tuition and housing, someone accomplished in research and clinical work. Basically they looked beyond the equation and saw that I was dedicated to medicine fully. No school impressed me more with their knowledge of my application then University of Chicago. I was very impressed with their facilities and their reputation. My interviews went fantastic and I nearly cried when the dean called me to tell me I was in. This was my first acceptance and turned out to be the only one that would really matter. I will be attending medical school there in the fall. They were also generous with financial aid so roughly 1/3 of my education costs are covered by scholarships.

The randomness of the application process is really showcased in the fact that I was not even invited to interview at UCdavis (US NEWS rank #48) but was accepted to Chicago (Rank #17). My path was full of surprises but in the end I am extremely happy. I was able to achieve what so many people told me was impossible. So I hope after reading this you realize that you too can achieve your goal if you only want it hard enough. I made a great deal of sacrifice to make this happen but in the end it was all worth it. Good luck future applicants and dont let the negativity of the system deter you from chasing your dream.