GPA: 3.93/4 (UW), 4.19/4.3 W (School uses A+ (97-100) as 4.0, A as 3.8, etc…) Lowest grade is an A- in an 8th grade Geometry class
Class Rank: NA; Class Size ~300
ACT: 35
SAT: 1590
SAT Subject Tests:
Math 2: 800
Physics: 750
US History: 800
Literature: 750
Chem: 720 (Not Sent)
AP’s (at time of application)
European History-5
Physics 1-4
Calc BC-5
US History-5
Language and Comp-5
Statistics-5
Senior Courses:
AP Literature
Multivariable Calc
AP Gov
AP Spanish
AP Bio
AP Chem
Teacher/Counselor Recs: I didn’t see them, but I would assume all were very good, 8/10+ for all. I was close with all the teachers (3) and my guidance counselor, so they had a lot to write about. I also had one from my research mentor, that I assume was stellar as well.
State: NY
Gender: M
Ethnicity: Indian-American
Income: $150k+
Hooks: Not sure, but maybe my religious involvement
Major ECs:
-Memorizing the Quran and teaching others (My most involved activity. Took up the majority of my time (9-12)
-Teaching at mosque Sunday School(10,11,12)
-Study Arabic Abroad in Egypt (10)~ 200 Hours in 1 month. Learned Arabic and studied works by Ghazali and Ibn Sina
-Leading Taraweeh (prayer services during Ramadan for Muslims) (10-11)~(240 hours)
-Substitute Imam at Mosque (10,11,12)~400 hours
-Invited to recite the Quran at Interfaith events all over New York (7,8,9,10,11,12)
-Peer tutoring Club (11,12)
-Junior Scope (raise money for children’s health charities) (11,12)
-NHS
Community Service:
-Volunteer at Summer Camp for kids with disabilities (11,12) ~ 80 hours
Medically related activities:
-Internship at Infectious Disease Hospital in India (11,12) ~ 240 hours
-Shadowing Infectious Disease Doctor in America (11,12) ~ 240 hours
-Orthopedic Research at Med School (12)~ 800 hours + Coauthor of paper submitted for publishing
-Research at Med Center (11)~90 hours
Awards:
-State Quran memorization competition 1st place (Category 2 out of 4, 4th being the hardest) 11th grade
-State Quran memorization competition 3rd place (Category 4) 12th grade
-National Quran memorization competition 2nd place (Category 4)
-Other local awards for volunteer work
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
URochester REMS- rejected pre-interview—>withdrew app from UG
Case Western PPSP- rejected pre-interview—>withdrew app from UG
BU SMED- interviewed- rejected post-interview
Northwestern HPME- rejected from HPME and UG
Brown PLME- rejected from PLME, waitlisted at UG
Hofstra 4+4- interviewed- rejected post-interview (Accepted at UG)
Stony Brook SfM- rejected pre-interview- (Accepted at UG with Full Scholarship)
Brooklyn College BA/MD- interviewed- waitlisted at BA/MD program
Sophie Davis- interviewed- ACCEPTED
Rice/Baylor- rejected pre-interview- ACCEPTED TO RICE
Applied to the following undergraduates:
-Columbia- rejected (Accidentally applied to School of Engineering)
-Duke- waitlisted
DECISION: Sophie Davis 7 year med program with CUNY SoM
Scholarship: N.A.
Reflection: What can I say? This was a wild ride. I took more Ls then expected, which goes to show that one must keep 0 expectations when applying for these programs. I worked extremely hard on all my essays, I started them early, and I applied to a mix of low-high tier programs. I thought I was a lock for BU’s med program after my interview, as they usually take one person from my school. The other people from my school who did interview had less medical experience than me, but both were accepted. They did have other strong aspects of their apps (both top-notch students, one did heavy research throughout high school, the other was involved in sports and won a local medical research competition in 10th grade), so I’m happy for them. After that, I really didn’t know what would happen. I was ready to go the traditional route, as I wasn’t thrilled with the other med programs I had interviewed at/knew I wouldn’t get in.
My acceptance to Rice somewhat blindsided me. I hadn’t really considered the undergrad, and I didn’t even know that it’s a top 15 school until I was accepted. I did a lot of research about the school afterwards, met students accepted as well, and fell in love. I wasn’t offered an interview at Baylor, but I was expecting that, being from NY.
A few days later, I heard back from Sophie Davis, and I was honestly crushed that I was accepted, as I knew my parents would force me there. I applied because I was forced to, and I attended my interview out of pressure from my mom. I didn’t really see myself fitting in with the restrictive curriculum there, as I was looking forward to studying a lot of humanities in college as well.
Over the course of April, my fears were confirmed. My parents initially being open to sending me to Rice, told me to forget about it and that I was going to Sophie Davis. Tears were shed, I argued, gave them stats about how the overwhelming majority of applicants out of Rice get into med school, many getting into top-tiered ones. They didn’t budge, saying that they wouldn’t pay for my education then, and that I would have to take out loans unless I went to Sophie Davis. I finally gave in, and though I’m still not happy, I’ve accepted it and will try to make the best out of my time in NYC.
Somethings I would’ve done differently if I could redo high school are definitely doing more clubs/sports and doing research from 10th grade, even if it meant decreasing my religious activities. I am proud of who I’ve become now, so I have no regrets, but I definitely could’ve done more clubs in 9th and 10th grade, and maybe done volleyball or track throughout HS.
Some advice to future applicants: make a plan from 10th grade at the latest, if you know you want to go into medicine/will most likely end up as a pre-med. It’ll give you time to make the most out of high school/build up a competitive app. Also, only do what you’re passionate about. You’ll be able to take it “the whole 9 yards”, as they say, and that’s really what colleges are looking for. Also, research is a HUGE plus to your app. It’s a topic you’ll be asked about in interviews, and you should know it really well and be able to speak passionately about it.
Good luck everyone; I’ll try to be as much a help in the future, as others were to me during this process.