BS/MD Results - Class of 2019

[NoviceDad]

This thread is to post the stats and feedback/reflection from students / parents to post the BS/MD Acceptance at the end of the cycle. Below is a post from a student of previous cycle to provide the sample format.
This is a very nice post from previous year’s results thread. You can copy & paste & update with your details when you post. Thank you so much in advance to help future students / parents.

Important Note: Please post only results. If you have questions and discussion topics, please use the other thread which will have the year and BS/MD applicant in the title.

******* SAMPLE POST *******

Posting for my daughter …

GPA: 4.0 (UW), 4.75 (W) at the time of application

Class Rank: NA; Class Size 350+

ACT: 34
SAT: 1510

SAT Subject Tests:
Chemistry: 800
Math 2: 800
Bio: 800

AP’s (at time of application)

AP Calculus BC: 5;
AP Physics C-Mechanics: 5;
AP Computer Science A: 5;
AP Biology - 4;

AP Chemistry and AP Statistics (both will be taken this year);

IB – MYP certificate.

Teacher / Counselor Recs: Not seen but assume to be Very Strong, teachers knew my daughter well and mutual respect existed at both ends.

State: PA
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Non-Caucasian
Income: >150k
Hooks: None

Awards:

• SWENext Northrop Grumman Community Award – Winner
• Aspirations in Computing Affiliate (Regional) Award Winner and Honorable Mention
• Associate Scientist Award (Regional Science & Engineering Fair)
• Junior Scientist Award (Regional Science & Engineering Fair)
• Top 5 International Finalist at a well-known competition
• Data Jam - Winner (twice) (also Captain)

Major ECs:

• FIRST Robotics - member; Qualified four times for World Championships in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
• Piano - 10+ years ; Winner of competitions
• Martial Arts - 3rd degree Black belt – 10+ years
• Golf - High School JV and Varsity team — 4 years
• Music technology - 3 years

Other:

• AMIE / Math League
• Verizon App Challenge
• Cultural Communications Alliance International Marketing Competition

Community Service:

• President of the Local Youth Chapter of a foundation focused on education (involvement > 5 years)
• Volunteer - at an Independent Senior community &
• Volunteer - at a Rehabilitation and Wellness Center:
• Teaching and playing piano to patients needing memory support due to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Medically related activities:

• Physician Shadowing
• Research Assistantship at a local University
• Research Survey at a Medical center

Mentoring/ Teaching:
Peer Tutoring: Tutor other students at school in the subjects of Chemistry and Geometry.
Robotics: Founded a FLL Team and mentored middle school kids; mentored 3 other FLL / FTC teams
Martial Arts: Volunteered to teach children

Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:

1. Northwestern HPME - interviewed - ACCEPTED
2. PennState / Jefferson - interviewed - ACCEPTED
3. Stony Brook Scholars for Medicine - interviewed - ACCEPTED
4. Drexel/Drexel - interviewed - ACCEPTED
5. Temple/ Temple - interviewed - rejected (accepted undergrad with scholarships)
6. Hofstra - interviewed - rejected (accepted undergrad with scholarships)
7. UPitt GAP, CaseWestern, URochester, UCinncinati - rejected pre-interview (accepted undergrad with scholarships)
8. Rice/Baylor, Brown PLME - waitlisted undergrad; rejected BSMD
9. BU, UConn - rejected
10. GW - withdrew

Applied to the following undergraduates:

1. Carnegie Mellon - Computer Science - ACCEPTED
2. Stanford, JohnsHopkins, MIT, UPenn - rejected

DECISION: Northwestern HPME
Scholarship: None

Reflection:

It is a Roller-Coaster ride; be prepared for a long 6 month ride!
God only knows what these admissions committee folks look into the applications;
Interview acceptance or rejections APPEAR to have NO relationship with your score or accomplishments; a “higher” rank university may invite you for an interview and you may be rejected by a “lower” ranked university!
So apply to 10-15+ programs and pray for the best.

Somethings we learned:

• About 3500-4000 students apply for BSMD programs. If you add up the BS/MD seats available across all universities, they are < 500. So, you know the odds of getting in.
• Many universities prefer in-state students e.g. NJ, TX, CT, OH universities.
• Universities constantly re-calibrate their yields - i.e. ratio of offers to accepted students. For example, Rice this year had over 2000 applications compared to 750 last year. But they sent offer acceptances to 199 this year compared to 233 last year. You may be on the wrong side of their yield management.
• UPitt: Apply only if you have a FULL score on SAT or ACT; it is a wasted effort otherwise. It has an OUT-of-state preference (one of the odd ball universities in this regard).
• Rice/Baylor: they have 6 seats; RICE will send around 200 applications to Baylor and Baylor will invite 25. Odds for out-of-state are low.
• UCinncinati: If out of state, put it on a very low priority; very strong in-state preference.
• Same for UConn - if out of state, do not waste your time.
• BU: should change its name to "Mute" university for lack of any communications.
• Rice/Baylor and Brown PLME - I would like to call them "apply and forget" - after applying, think about them only after March 21.
• Northwestern: HPME program officials were absent for HPME session on Admitted Student days; I believe this is not respecting time and money parents spend visiting the university; excellent HPME student interactions - kudos to them; Regular Undergrad faculty present for other sessions - good interactions with them; good vibe at the campus.
• Penn/Jeff: The best and most well organized interview day. Kudos to the university. Great speakers; good financial aid session; excellent student interactions; good vibe at the campus.
• Stonybrook: No parent sessions; could not form any opinion about the school/ program; student-to-student interactions with WISE students; daughter like the university.
• Hofstra Medical: Very good and small group parent session; very informative and open to all kinds of questions; other universities should emulate them.
• Temple: Was chaotic.
• Drexel: was on a Saturday; limited student or faculty interaction; informative session and Q&A.

Lastly, be judicious about the time you spend on College Confidential. Spending more time here DOES NOT increase your chances of acceptance. But it can definitely increase your anxiety levels, especially as folks get interview calls. But, it remains a great source of information and support.

Thank you for a great forum and all the best to future aspirants!
I will be lurking around!

[vvtuav]

GPA: 3.6 (UW), 4.8 (W) at the time of application

Class Rank: top 5%; Class Size 1000+

ACT: 34
SAT: 1530

SAT Subject Tests:
Math 2: 730

AP’s (at time of application)

• US History (5)
• Statistics (3)
• Human Geography (4)
• World History (5)
• Chemistry (3)
• Art History (4)
• English Language (4)
• Psychology (4)
• European History (4)
• Spanish Language (3)

Macroeconomics, US Government, Biology, Calculus BC (will be taken this year)

Teacher / Counselor Recs: Not seen but assuming average

State: TX
Gender: M
Ethnicity: Non-Caucasian
Income: >500k
Hooks: None

Awards:

• National Merit Commended Scholar
• National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist (91st Percentile)
• AP Scholar with Distinction
• 1st chair region band
• Academic honors

Major ECs:

• FBLA Historian/Parliamentarian: 2 years
• Alto Saxophone: 7 years
• Summer Physics/Economics Classes at Brown: 40 hours

Community Service:

• CPR Initiative: 50 people certified so far
• Key Club: 3 years
• Rehabilitation Center: 40 hours

Medically related activities:

• Premed Institute at WashU (3 weeks)
• Cardiologist Shadowing (40 hours)
• STEM Research (320+ hours)

Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:

1. Penn State PMM - interview - ACCEPTED
2. UMKC BA/MD – rejected pre-interview
3. UAB EMSAP - rejected pre-interview - accepted undergrad w/scholarship (15k/year)
4. RPI/AMC PS - rejected pre-interview

Applied to the following undergraduate:

1. Northwestern - rejected ED
2. University of Chicago - rejected EA
3. Georgia Tech - ACCEPTED EA
4. Northeastern - ACCEPTED RD
5. UMichigan - ACCEPTED EA
6. Harvey Mudd -
7. Pomona -
8. WashU -
9. UT Austin - ACCEPTED EA

DECISION: Most likely Penn State PMM

Scholarship: None

Reflection: As you can see I am not even close to being as competitive as most people browsing these threads and getting into BSMD programs. Don’t lose hope. All that matters is that you try.

[zsxBSMD2019]

GPA: 3.99 (UW), 4.24 (W) at the time of application

Class Rank: 4/484

ACT: 36 (34 Math, 36 all else; 8/12 Essay)
SAT: 1550 (750 RW; 800 M; 15/24 Essay (6 Reading 4 Analysis 5 Writing)

SAT Subject Tests:
Chinese w/ Listening: 800
Math 2: 770
Bio: 770
World History: 760
Math 1: 750
Chemistry: 740

AP’s (at time of application)

AP World History: 5
AP Calculus AB: 5
AP Calculus BC: 5
AP Lang: 5
AP US History: 5
AP Human Geography: 5
AP Biology: 4
AP Chemistry: 4

Currently taking: AP CSA, AP US Government, AP Physics C (Mech & E/M), AP Statistics, AP Literature

Teacher / Counselor Recs: I saw one teacher rec and the counselor rec and honestly, I don’t think they’re too strong… very obviously seemed to follow a generic template and had information from my resume quite awkwardly squeezed in there. If I could redo, I wouldn’t give them my full resume because 80% of what they put in the recommendation was from my resume which had activities that I put in my Common App so it seemed like a waste/repetition.

State: WA
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Asian
Income: >200k
Hooks: Used my experience of moving across the country several times to exemplify several of my best character qualities; also provided a good talking point during the interview

Awards:

• National Merit Semifinalist
• National AP Scholar

Major ECs:

• Key Club (Secretary + Community Liaison)
• Knowledge Bowl (ASB Representative)
• Varsity Swim + Club Swim

Other:

• Boeing Internship in Business

Community Service:

• Local hospital volunteer
• Food bank
• Blood bank (just a little)
• Camp for children with disabilities
• Key Club service events

Medically related activities:

• Physician Shadowing
• Lab volunteer and later, research
• Hospital volunteer (1 yr; >200 hrs)

Mentoring/ Teaching:
Peer Tutoring: Tutor other students at school in the subjects of Chemistry and Calculus AB.

Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:

1. Union College/Albany Medical College: interview - ACCEPTED
2. Drew/NJMS: skype interview for undergrad (NJMS feeder schools have 2 interviews), forwarded to NJMS
3. Stevens Institute of Tech/NJMS: skype interview for undergrad, haven’t heard back yet
4. Drexel: interview invite - decline interview
5. Penn State/Jefferson: rejected pre-interview
6. Baylor: rejected pre-interview
7. Boston U: no communication, so rejected pre-interview
8. U Pittsburgh: rejected pre-interview
9. U Rochester: rejected pre-interview
10. Hofstra: received supplemental - no communication yet, so probably rejected pre-interview
11. Case Western Reserve U: rejected pre-interview
12. George Washington U: rejected pre-interview

Applied to the following Undergraduate:

1. University of Washington: –
2. University of NC Chapel Hill: ACCEPTED OOS
3. UC Berkeley: –
4. Rice: –

Decision: Union/AMC
Scholarship: $20k/yr @ Union

Reflection: I realize that my list isn’t quite complete as I am still waiting for several UG schools and for interview invites from NJMS, but since I am so fortunate to be accepted to Union/AMC this early and it’s my top choice program, there’s no need for me to interview or wait for any other programs/schools. Throughout the application and interview process, just don’t get discouraged! It’s a loooong process (4-6 months) but remember that all you need is ONE acceptance. Plus, even if it ultimately doesn’t work out, I strongly believe that all who apply for BS/MD programs and/or receive interviews are well-qualified to succeed in the traditional route as well, so as long as you’re set on the path of becoming a physician, you will find a way to get there, regardless of any obstacles.

Things I would’ve done differently:

1. Start earlier. I know every single person who has applied to college says this, and I heard this advice many times, yet I still ended up starting in mid-August, which led to a ton of stress later on. Just start early and don’t think that you’ll have enough time once school starts because chances are, you’ll be overwhelmed.
2. Call schools to confirm if you’re unsure if they want official SAT/ACT score reports. I sent my official report to every school because I thought that every BSMD program required the official ones, but there are some that do not require it. I probably could have saved at least a couple hundred dollars if I called to make sure.

I’d be happy to help if anyone has questions now or in the future, please reach out!

[MKurianMathew]

How does one pay for BS/MD program in NW

[NoviceDad]

@MKurianMathew
This thread is only for results from BS/MD applications.
Please post your question on the discussion thread

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/2081864-thread-for-bsmd-applicants-2019.html

[bsmd1826]

@MKurianMathew Paid for by parents if they can afford or take a loan

[smltwnD]

@zsxBSMD2019
Why did you guys choose union/AMC. Anything you liked when you are at the interview. I have a daughter who is a sophomore interested in business/medicine. I thought this program might be ideal, anything you can give insight on what makes her a good candidate to get into this program. Thank you for your information

[zsxBSMD2019]

@smltwnD Hi! My main reason for liking the LIM program so much is that it offers not just the BS and MD degrees but also an MBA, which is something that no other BSMD program offers. Looking at the curriculum that they gave us on interview day, everything is so well-integrated and we don’t have to take General Education courses (which is a HUGE plus for me, I’ve always felt some GenEd courses to be a waste of time), allowing time for all the healthcare management courses. The atmosphere of both schools was also just so welcoming and I truly felt like the schools care about their students. I’ve spoken to a couple former LIM students and they all loved their experiences.

During the interview, they emphasized leadership as a majorly important quality for a future student, as it is the key focus of the program, so make sure your daughter is able to discuss her leadership experiences. The interviewer had my application printed and picked things on it to ask me to elaborate about, so make sure she reviews her application before her interview date and knows it well enough to talk about it. I had an internship in Business and was thus able to express my interest in business based off my previous experiences and about how the program would allow me to synthesize my joint interest in business and medicine. So I think it would be helpful if your daughter had some prior experience business-related to discuss.

They also value the rigor of the high school course record (e.g. AP classes) and grades are important. A blind spot is the CASPer test - they never mentioned the test or how its results were used, so I’m unsure how that was weighed into the interview selection/acceptance process.

That’s all I can think of now, but if I remember other tips, I can PM you. Additionally, if you have other questions, feel free to reach out! I’d love to help as much as I can. Best of luck to your daughter when she applies

[smltwnD]

@zsxBSMD2019
Thank you so much for your insight. I will ping you once I show this to my daughter and if she has additional questions.

[smltwnD]

@zsxBSMD2019
I was trying to PM you but could not do it. Can you trying to ping me please.

[smltwnD]

@zsxBSMD2019
I sent you a message, please respond at your convenience

[gallentjill]

Posting for my daughter. I am not going to make this very detailed for privacy reasons. Unfortunately, given what I have shared in the past, I think it would be easy for people to figure out who we are. But, I wanted to post something because prior threads have been helpful to us in the past.

GPA 3.98/4
ACT 34
SAT N/A
Class Rank N/A

State NY (suburb of NYC)
Gender F
Ethnicity White
Hooks: none

She had all the usual accomplishments. Plenty of APs with good scores. High SAT2s, Research with some awards, but not national. Doctor shadowing, hospital volunteer, Jr. EMT. Lots of non-medical ECs including sports and theater. And a good amount of non-medical community service.

BSMD programs:
Drexel - rejected pre-interview
Brooklyn college - interviewed- withdrew application
Hofstra - declined interview
Stonybrook - have not heard anything yet - will withdraw application
Union/LIM - accepted - will attend.

Thoughts: We started this process without any hope that D would be accepted anywhere. We were warned about how slim the chances were and we believed it. But since D has known she wanted medicine since she was 5 years old, we took a chance. As you can see, she did not apply to very many schools - only a handful where we thought she would be happy. Honestly, going in with almost no hope made the process much less stressful. We focused primarily on finding good, affordable undergrad programs and she ended up loving several of her UG choices. We were happily surprised that she got interviews and shocked that she was accepted to Union so quickly. In the end, Union is the right spot for her. I think they valued her liberal arts background and her demonstrated interest in majoring in philosophy. It works very well with their specific program. She was also told by several people that they loved her essays and I’m sure that made a big difference. She had no problem showing genuine passion for medicine since that has been her passion for so long.

I also want to add that at first I feared that ACT 34 would not be competitive for any BSMD, however at the two interviews we attended, there were several other students with that score and they were all ORM . I would not count yourself out with 34.

D did not apply to any highly selective undergrad programs. She applied to several SUNYs and to several excellent lesser known schools which offered great merit aid and had wonderful records of getting students into medical school since that was the ultimate goal. She would have been very happy at any of them. She had many acceptances early in the process and that also helped make this all much less stressful.

I don’t think I would do anything differently, except that we somehow missed the fact that Suny Purchase had opened a program and she would certainly have applied there if we had known. I don’t know how we missed it.

[medgirl6]

GPA: 4.0 (UW), 4.563 (W) at the time of application

Class Rank: top 1%; Class Size 700+

SAT: 1550

SAT Subject Tests:
Math 2: 800
Chem: 760

AP’s (at time of application)

• US History (3)
• Environmental Science (4)
• Biology (5)
• Psychology (5)
• Microeconomics (5)
• Macroeconomics (5)
• Calculus AB (5)
• English Language (5)
• Calculus BC (4, subscore-5)

Statistics, Chemistry, World History (will be taken this year)

Teacher / Counselor Recs: Personal and Strong!

State: OR
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Non-Caucasian
Income: >500k
Hooks: None.

Awards:

• National Merit Scholar
• National AP Scholar
• AP Scholar with Distinction
• ISEF Finalist
• Taekwondo State/Nat/Intl Champion
• Academic honors

Major ECs:

• Research at OHSU
• Taekwondo- 9 years
• Intel Internship
• Robotics FRC

Community Service:

• Key Club: 4 years
• Bollywood Dance @ Nonprofits 5+ yrs

Medically related activities:

• OHSU Research
• Cardiologist Shadowing (40 hours)
• Pediatrician Shadowing/Volunteering
• Rotations through school, 80+ hrs

Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:

1. BU SMED- Interview, Accepted
2. UMKC BA/MD – rejected pre-interview
3. Rochester REMS- Interview, Rejected
4. RPI/AMC - Waitlist, Interview, Waitlist, Withdrew
5. Case Western PPSP- Interview, Rejected
6. NJMS (w/ NJIT, Drew, Caldwell)- Interview, Withdrew
7. SBU/GW- Interview SBU, Interview GW, Accepted
8. NU HPME- Rejected pre-interview

Applied to the following undergraduate:

1. Oregon State University (Safety)- Accepted

DECISION: BU SMED

Scholarship: 20k/year Nat Merit

Reflection: It’s a wild ride, and I know it sounds very cliche, but the programs just want to know you. Just remember that going into the interviews, they already love you and just want reasons to take you. Be yourself and don’t overthink things!

[gallentjill]

@cherax and @medgirl6 Congrats to both of you and thanks for posting!

[bsmdseekerskg]

@medgirl6 @cherax - Congratulations and good luck.

[GoldenStateDad]

Dear Prospective BSMD students and Parents,
I am not going to share the stats and other details of my son as I think it’s not that important or relevant to anyone. All I can share is that, like most of you, I started the following CC during my son’s junior year to get a feel of what our next 10-15 months are going to look like and be mentally prepared to deal with the possible stress. Seeing the very low BSMD acceptance rate, I suggested my son apply broadly to about 15 BSMD programs covering top/mid/low tiers, all OOS for us (Please do not make this a discussion on Tier determination as it’s purely subjective ?)
My son received the interview invites from about 13 of 15 programs that he applied to, and received acceptance from pretty much all the schools he attended the interview, including RPI/AMC, BU, Penn/Jeff, PLME (no interview), HPME etc. His only regret is that he did not receive Rice/Baylor interview.

Key observations from our experience:

1. Focus on your class rank (rank in your school) and standardized scores. Your GPA is not compared with others, but admission committees see your class rank (where you stand with respect to others within the same school district). Try to be within top 2-5% of your school. This is the key and barring few select programs, the majority consider class-rank as the first elimination criteria.
   
2. Following GPA, your standardized scores are important. Try to hit close to perfect scores SAT or ACT.
3. Class rank and test scores help you get past the initial filtering criteria. Then all your medical volunteering, EC’s, research and other leadership areas are considered for interview selection.
4. While medically related volunteering in important, try to focus on a few non-medical areas well to come across as a well-rounded personality.
5. Focus on leadership areas; especially what you did differently rather than just stating that you were a president or founder of certain clubs.
6. Try to get some clinical research experience if possible. If not, any other research is fine too. I have come across students at the interviews who did volunteering at hospitals and identified some non-clinical research opportunities to improve patient triage experience, data entry etc. Key here is to be innovative to make an impact in the community that we live in.
7. Finally, Essays are deal maker/breakers. Try to tell your story effectively.
8. Do not spend time on CC. Request your family members to do it for you. My son never logged into CC.
   
9. Luck (another term for unknown/unseen grace) plays a critical role. With very limited spots, the BSMD programs usually invite only one student from each school/region to the interview (barring few exceptions/anomalies). With my son, no one in his school received interviews from the BSMD programs that he applied to. He had to quickly withdraw from several of the programs with a hope that others on the waitlist are given opportunity. So, even after you did everything, there are things that are beyond your control (competition, gender, geo etc).
10. Most importantly, have fun during your senior years. Remember, when one door closes, another one opens and life is full of wonderful opportunities/options.

I know that what I stated here is nothing new and everyone knows but sharing anyway.

Good luck!

I am not active on CC nowadays but if you have any questions, please IM me. I will try to respond to any general questions.

[phillabi000]

GPA: 4.0 (UW), 4.167 (W) at time of applications

Class Rank: 7/342

ACT: 34

SAT Subject Tests: N/A

AP’s: I did not send them, but Chemistry (3), European History (4), Language and Composition (4)
I also have taken AP Calculus AB, and am currently taking AP Psychology, AP Physics 1, and AP Statistics. I have taken all of these classes dual enrollment as well.

Teacher / Counselor Recs: I have not seen them, but I think they are probably strong. I chose teachers that I felt were most impactful on me, and that I had the closest relationships with.

State: KS
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Income: > 150k
Hooks: none

Awards:

• National Merit Commended Scholar
• AP Scholar
• Kansas Scholar
• 3 year Academic Letter Winner

Major EC’s:

• Track and Field: two time state qualifier, three time all-regional team, three time all-league team
• National Honor Society Officer
• Piano: 11 years, various awards
• Marine Biology Club President
• Student Ambassadors
• Relay for Life

Medically Related Activities (including community service):

• Hospital Volunteering ( >100-120 hours I think at time of application)
• Nursing Home Volunteering
• General Physician Shadowing (40 hours)
• CNA and HHA Certified
• Dietary Aide
• Wake Forest Summer Immersion Program in Medicine
• Health Careers Program through my school

Applied to the following BS/MD programs:
UMKC BA/MD: interviewed, ACCEPTED
Tulsa ECCM: interviewed, ACCEPTED

Applied to the following undergraduates:
Brown University: rejected RD
Butler University: accepted
Carleton College: waitlist
Creighton University: accepted w/ Honors Program
Davidson College: waitlist
Duke University: rejected RD
Grinnell College: accepted
Northwestern University: rejected RD
Drake University: accepted
University of Kansas: accepted w/ LEAD Program
Coe College: accepted
Wartburg College: accepted

DECISION: While I have not made my enrollment deposit yet, my likely decision is UMKC
Scholarship: none

Reflection:
Going into this process, I feel like I was kind of clueless, but I have always known that I have wanted to be a doctor. I had no idea how many BS/MD programs were offered throughout the country, but I was familiar with UMKC because it is close to where I live, and I came across Tulsa’s program by chance, and I knew I wanted to do a BS/MD program if accepted. I think what helped me be successful in both my applications and interviews was my experience in patient care (such as CNA and HHA), which I could really draw from when answering questions, and that I really stayed true to myself. There are so many qualified, deserving students for these spots, and it is hard to know what exactly admissions is looking for, so your best shot is letting your personality shine through, because ultimately you want a school that is the best fit for who you are as a person. Also, I learned to have confidence in my accomplishments and abilities. I know that it is so easy to compare yourself to others, but don’t think you won’t be competitive just because you don’t have a perfect GPA, or perfect test scores. Average scores of admitted students mean that some admitted students are above, and some are below, so if you are close, you should take your chance! Finally, I think it is so important to give yourself mental breaks. While I may not have had quite as many hours in some areas, I felt like I prevented myself from becoming burned out.

[whitecane]

GPA: 3.77 (UW) at the time of application/3.82 (UW) by the end of high school year, 4.62 (W) at the time of application.

Class Rank: N/A; Class Size N/A

ACT: 35 (12/12 writing)
SAT: 1530 (24/24 writing)

SAT Subject Tests:
Chemistry: 770
Math 2: 800

AP’s (at the time of application)

AP Chem(5), AP Macroeconomics (4), AP Microeconomics (4), AP Gov (4), AP Bio (4), AP Calculus AB (4), AP European History (3), AP Physics 1 (3), AP Lang (4), AP Lit (4), AP Calculus BC (4), AP Physics 2 (3), APUSH (5), AP World (3); AP Foreign Language; 5 College Level Courses: Chemistry, Math, English Literature, Foreign Language.

Teacher / Counselor Recs: Guidance Counselor (9/10), Chemistry Teacher: (8/10), English Teacher (9/10)

Region: West Coast
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Non-Caucasian
Hooks: Nothing special

Awards:
-AP Scholar with Distinction
-National Merit Commended Scholar
-AXA Achievement Scholar (Winner)
-UKTOC/NIETOC Qualifier
-Champion at 16 tournaments for Speech and Debate

Major ECs:
-National Speech and Debate Association: Special Distinction (4 years)
-Founder and President of School Red Cross Club (2 years)
-Community Outreach Clubs (4 years)
-National Junior Honors Society/National Honors Society (4 years)

Other:
-Volunteer Coordinator at Community Cultural Events (3 years)
-Dance (3 years)

Community Service:
-Founder and President of non-profit organization dedicated for local homeless community (2 years)
-Hospital Volunteering (450+ hours, 5 years clinical and non clinical)

Medically related activities:

• Physician Shadowing in 4 specialities (130+hours)
• Research Assistantship at a renowned Research Institute (560+ hours, 2 years); working on publication, publishing in late 2019.
• Research Intern at another well-known Research Institute (160+ hours, ongoing, 3 months); 3 papers published by the time of graduation.

Mentoring/ Teaching:
-Peer Tutoring: Tutor other students at school in the subjects of Chemistry and Math.
-Speech Coach for Peers in Team
-International Tutor
-ACT/SAT Tutor
-Math Instructor (Paid)

Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
-UMKC: Interviewed, Accepted
-VCU: Interviewed, Accepted
-UPitt: Interviewed, Accepted
-CNU (2+4): Interviewed, Accepted
-Penn State: Rejected Pre-Interview
-Rochester: Rejected Pre-Interview
-BU: Rejected Pre-Interview
-GW: Rejected Pre-Interview
-CWRU: Rejected Pre-Interview
-PLME: Rejected
-HPME: Rejected Pre-Interview
-UCinn: Rejected Pre-Interview
-RPI: Rejected Pre-Interview
-USciences: never heard back lol

Applied to the following undergraduates:
UC Berkeley—Accepted, UChicago—waitlisted

DECISION: University of Pittsburgh—GAP Program
Scholarship: 15K/year

Strength: Essays! I would consider myself as a pretty strong writer, so I was able to effectively convey all my love and passion for each prompt given the world limit. I was also very passionate about both my research projects, and was able to convey that to my interviewers. Given my extensive speech background and my personality lol, I was also a good conversationalist during my interviews!

Reflection:

Wow! Its been such a long journey! My biggest fear going into applying for these programs was my low unweighted GPA, as I thought I would be filtered out by all the universities based on that. Each university has their own criteria while looking for applicants, so apply widely, you never know who’ll love your application! On that note, I am so so thankful for every interview invite, and it really boiled down to a tough decision. Every interview made me feel more confident as an applicant, and really thankful for everyone on College Confidential for the immense information and support. I am also so glad I applied everywhere to give me the best chance of getting admitted to a single program!

Somethings we learned:

-Try your every best to maintain the highest GPA possible; it took me 2 years of striving for a 4.0 GPA to balance my freshman year regrets, so every year counts to be a competitive applicant!

-Don’t get dejected by the first few rejections, all you need is a single acceptance!

-Interviews are a lot of fun!! But just be yourself, they want to know whether you will be a good fit for them and if they’re a good fit for you. Don’t pretend to be someone you are not, be genuine and let your passion for medicine and healthcare shine through your answer!

-These programs are also not everything; keep a positive mind and attitude, you’ll end up where you’re destined to! Best of luck to all the future applicants, you got this!!

[MehaPrabhu17]

Hello, my daughter also got into BU SMED.

[motivat]

Congratulations @cherax, @phillabi000, @whitecane, @GoldenStateDad and thanks for sharing stats/experiences