Application Cycle One: 2006

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

• Institution: Harvard Extension School
• Area of Study: Premedical Studies

• Total MCAT SCORE: 516
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 129, C/P 128, CARS 130   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.57
• Science GPA: 3.74

Summary of Application Experience

I decided to go after medicine in the summer after I graduated, so I hadn't done any ECs in undergrad besides some student group and a personal interest in harm reduction. I have a compelling story of how I ended up in medicine and I had hoped (and been advised) that it and my public health background would stand out and hopefully make up for the lack of clinical and research experiences. At this point, although I'm overjoyed to have an acceptance, I think that I totally overshot with my school choices. My top choices were Penn, Tufts, Pritzker, and GWU.

Temple acceptance was a great Thanksgiving present and I was pretty much planning on going and excited to go back to Philly, but I just got into UMass and although I hated Worcester, it's hard to walk away from such a price difference. I'm planning on using the second look weekends and some family issues to make my final decision.

Interviews at Downstate and AECOM went well, living location and price would be preferable for Downstate (living in Park Slope beats the Bronx for me) although I liked AE slightly better as a school.

As of mid-January, I'm assuming I won't be getting any more interview invites. I had a transcript problem which delayed my AMCAS verification, so maybe an earlier application might have helped at my top choices, but I think that I overestimated my educational background, stats and ECs compared to the applicant pool. The goal was to be going to school next year, so it's awesome that I will be. If I did it again, though, I'd apply to many fewer top tier schools and save a bunch of cash on secondaries.