State: CA
Gender: female
Ethnicity: Asian
Income: >200k
Hooks: none
Stats
- GPA: 4.0 (UW), 4.6 (W) at time of the application, Class Rank: 1/518
- SAT: 1530 (two attempts, 750 R/W, 780 Math), SAT Math II: 800
AP Classes and Scores
- AP Euro, AP Human Geo, AP Calc AB, AP US History: 5
- AP Bio, AP Lang: 4
- AP Physics, AP Comp Sci Principles, AP 3D Art, AP Macroeconomics: did not take exam/will not take exam
- AP Stats, AP Microeconomics, AP Spanish Lang, AP Psychology, AP Lit: taking this year
Letters of rec
- Teachers: very strong from calc and lang teacher
- Counselor: not seen but presumably strong
- Coach and volunteer supervisor: very, very strong
Awards/Honors
- All just athletic and academic awards from school or club, nothing that was really special
- Recognized in local non-profit and county-wide article/newsletter for community service passion project
Extracurriculars/Shadowing/Research
- 300+ hours overall
- Founded a community service club in sophomore year (president for all three, somewhat medically related)
- Other club: president for one year, volunteer coordinator for 1 year, member all four years, coordinator and initiator of project to make homeless care packages
- National Honor Society: treasurer for 1 year, community service committee for one year, initiator and coordinator of menstrual product drive for students in need
- Math and Sci Club secretary for 2 years
- Helped initiate volunteer position/group at a local non-profit for students and senior member of that volunteer group
- Volunteer at local nursing home
- Volunteer for local Catholic Youth Ministry group
- Volunteer swimming dryland conditioning coach
- Swimmer for 10 years: HS team captain for two years, club team MVP, club team junior national development group, qualified for national-level swim meets, recruited by D1 schools + top D3 schools (NYU, Johns Hopkins, CalTech), CIF finalist freshman and junior year (sophomore year – COVID)
- Research w/ academic physician at T20 med school: >100 hours, research paper in review to be published
- Shadowed two doctors (an internist and a specialist): 100 hours
BS/MD Programs:
- Stony Brook Scholars for Medicine: interviewed, ACCEPTED
- ACPHS/SUNY Upstate Accelerated Scholars: interviewed, ACCEPTED (forwarded by Purchase too but SUNY chooses med school based on which UG ranks you higher on their list)
- Saint Peter’s University/NJMS: interviewed, ACCEPTED, over full-tuition scholarship
- SLU Medical Scholars: no interview, ACCEPTED + accepted as Presidential Scholar (full-tuition scholarship, must interview for it)
- Baylor/Baylor: invited to faculty session w/ UG, interviewed by med school, waitlisted
- Brooklyn College/SUNY Downstate: interviewed, waitlisted
- Siena/AMC: interviewed, waitlisted
- Hofstra: waitlisted for interview
- UPITT GAP: forwarded to med school, rejected pre-interview after med school essay evaluation
- Drew University/NJMS: interviewed by undergrad for BA/MD, rejected pre-interview w/ med school
- Brown PLME: no interview, rejected for UG and PLME
- Case Western PPSP: rejected pre-interview, withdrew UG application
- Rochester REMS, VCU, Caldwell/NJMS, Rutgers/NJMS, Oklahoma MHSP, UArizona APME, Adelphi/Upstate, UAlbany/Upstate, FAU: rejected pre-interview, accepted for undergrad
Non-BS/MD
- Harvard: rejected
- Cal Poly SLO (biochem): waitlisted (surprised since it was a safety)
- University of the Pacific: accepted
- University of South Florida: accepted
- Local public university: accepted
Decision: Stony Brook Scholars for Medicine (honors college)
Scholarship: 10k/year
Reflections/advice/things I learned:
- College confidential is a great resource for info, but don’t let what other people are saying on here freak you out, some people will get interviews and acceptances at different times from the same school
- Don’t be intimidated by the stats/profiles people post on here, everyone has different strengths and things to offer that a school might find impressive
- DO NOT shy away from applying to a school because you think you might not be good enough/won’t get in because of your stats, BS/MD admissions is a wild process and you just don’t know if there’s something the admissions team might like about you despite “lower” stats (i almost didn’t apply to my program of choice because I thought I wasn’t gonna get in)
- Stats do matter, but not as much as some people think (i know someone who got into a program w/ <1400 SAT because she had really good interviews) – your personality/character and meaningful experiences shown by essays, LORs, and interviews matter A LOT more
- Use your connections if you have them to get shadowing/research experience and don’t be shy about reaching out to ask doctors for them
- Apply to lots of schools/cast a wide net: acceptance rates for these programs are VERY low, sometimes lower than Ivies, so increase your chances of getting into one by applying to many, also apply to schools (BS/MD and reg UG) of all tiers – if you do, start applications EARLY, you’ll be writing A LOT of essays (great time for reflection though)
- Choose what safety schools/non-BS/MD schools to apply to wisely: did not apply to UC Berkeley, UCLA, and other popular schools t20s because they’re known for grade deflation and are very large schools to compete at for pre-med – high GPA (3.8 or higher), strong LOR, and research (both easier to get at smaller institutions where u can get to know profs) are important when applying to med school if u go trad route
- Apply to Baylor/Baylor!!!: if you make it to the faculty session (first round after initial application review), you will learn SO much that could help prep you for other interviews and learn a lot about medicine, applying to it was probably the best choice I made during the admissions process, Baylor/Baylor process was my absolute FAVORITE experience in the whole admissions process
- Most interviews were very conversational, be ready to talk about yourself and your passions beyond your interest in academics and medicine, interviews can be a great learning opportunity too
- Expect rejection (lots of it) and trust the process – admissions counselors also evaluate whether or not you would be a good fit for the school, so just bc you don’t get in doesn’t mean it’s because you’re not good enough. What schools you get into and what scholarships you get do not define who you are, so don’t let rejection get the best of you!
- when all is said and done, don’t just pick the “best” top ranked school; choose the school that is the best fit for you and that you think will make u grow into the best doctor u can be! at the end of the day, patients will not ask you where you went to med school. they just want a doctor that will treat them with compassion and kindness, and that’s what really matters.
Good luck to future applicants, and I hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if u have questions (probably will not be on CC after this summer)