This will be a thread for results
** This is a very nice post from last year’s results thread. Please follow the format.**
Hi Everyone! I am a current B.S./M.D. freshman and although this is super late, I would love to answer questions and give advice!
GPA: 4.0 (UW), 4.3778 (W)
Class Rank: 1/421
ACT: 35
Subscores: Science (36), English (35), Reading (35), Math (34), Writing (10)
SAT Subject Tests:
Chemistry: 770
Math 2: 770
U.S. History: 760
AP’s (at time of application)
U.S. History - 5
Chemistry - 5
U.S. Gov - 5
Language & Composition - 5
Statistics - 5
Biology - 4
Senior AP’s: Physics C Mechanics, Calc BC, Literature & Composition, Psychology
Teacher Recs: Really great, well-rounded letter from APUSH teacher. Didn’t see my AP Chemistry teacher’s rec but she is known for writing amazing ones. Sent an English teacher rec and counselor rec to the schools that required them, and I assume they were both pretty good. Sent a letter from the director of the soup kitchen I volunteered at to a few select programs that had the options.
State: MI
Gender: F
Ethnicity: White, Native American
Income: 100-150k
Hooks: Nothing really! I stood out a little because I didn’t do a lot of research or academic ECs & focused a lot of my time on community service instead
Major ECs:
- Varsity Cross Country: captain
- Varsity Track & Field
- Key Club: co-founder, president
- Student Council: vice-president
- National Honors Society: secretary
- Paid AP Chemistry Tutor
- Orientation Leader
- Interact
Community Service:
- Local food warehouse - 180 hours
- Local homeless shelter - 300 hours
- Teacher of religious education at my church - 300 hours
- Volunteering through ECs - 150 hours
- Local nursing home - 100 hours
- Hospital - 50 hours
Medically related activities:
Physician Shadowing - 120 hours
Research in psychiatry department at Wayne State University - 60 hours
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
- Brown PLME - rejected ED - rejected RD
- Northwestern HPME - interview - ACCEPTED
- Pitt GAP - interview - ACCEPTED
- Case PPSP - interview - declined interview
- University of Rochester REMS - interview - ACCEPTED
- George Washington - rejected pre-interview
- Boston University - interview - ACCEPTED
- Penn State - interview - rejected
- University of Cincinnati DAP - interview - ACCEPTED
- Virginia Commonwealth GAP - interview - ACCEPTED
- UCONN SPiM - rejected pre-interview
- Wayne State University - interview - declined interview
Applied to the following undergraduate:
- University of Michigan - accepted
- Harvard - waitlisted
- Dartmouth - waitlisted
- Yale - rejected
DECISION: Northwestern HPME
Reflection:
Where do I begin? This process was certainly a whirlwind!! I experienced so many mixed emotions throughout it and never in a million years would have dreamed that I would end up where I did.
My greatest advice, although cliche, is to be yourself and to take quality time to reflect and think introspectively. Dig deep, think carefully about why you’re doing what you’re doing (nobody enters this process willingly without a good reason) and go beyond the idea of a checklist of items that you must meet. Don’t be afraid to be specific - it wasn’t the hospital volunteering that impacted you but the patient you met in the lobby on the way in; it wasn’t the complex chemicals that you worked with in the lab but the relationship you forged with your research mentor that influenced you. Tell the admissions people and interviewers that. Think carefully about what you love about yourself and how these can not only enable you to be a successful doctor but can enable you to LOVE medicine. Speak from the heart and everything will fall into place.
As far as interviews go (as I know that time is getting close!), have fun! The second I started treating my interviews as a conversation instead of an avenue of getting accepted into a medical program, everything changed drastically. Don’t be afraid to laugh, ask questions that you truly care about, share a personal detail from your life here and there. Be a person to the interviewer and treat them as a person. They have seen you on paper and it’s time to show them who you truly are!
Overall, I could not be more thankful for my experiences with the BS/MD programs. I met some of the most amazing people and learned so much about myself in the process.
Please don’t hesitate to message me if you have any questions at all!!!
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I am a recently admitted GMED student and I hope any underclassmen viewing this find it helpful. If there’s anything at all any of you have questions regarding, please feel free to message me anytime! I’m more than happy to talk - after all, I am a second semester senior 
GPA: 4.17 (weighted after junior year), 4.19 (weighted after junior year)
Class Rank: N/A
ACT (never submitted to colleges): 34 (36 w/writing)
SAT Subject Tests:
Biology: 750
Math 2: 800
SAT (out of 1600): 1530
SAT (out of 2400): 2280 (this was single sitting, my superscored was 2290, but I submitted the 2280 one to all my GMED schools as it was the only one available during application season)
AP’s (at time of application)
U.S. History - 4
Biology - 5
Calculus BC - 5
Statistics - 5
Psychology - 5
Senior AP’s: AP Government and Politics, AP Language and Composition
Teacher Recs: Strangely enough, both of my recommending teachers were not in STEM fields. I asked my AP Psychology teacher who I genuinely enjoyed class with for a recommendation as well as my junior year english teacher, who had informed me when I asked her earlier for a rec that she would be able to write a good one because of what she had seen of my performance in class.
Mentor Rec: I also asked my principal investigator at the research laboratory I worked at over the summer after junior year, as well as continued as part of my mentorship through my school (I attend TJHSST, which offers research mentorships as an elective alternative to doing required senior research in school). I am quite certain he wrote at least a good rec, because one of my interviewers (at Jefferson University for the PSU-Jefferson combined program) informed me my PI had a well-written rec for me.
State: VA
Gender: M
Ethnicity: Asian
Income: 100-150k
Hooks:
Definitely not my GPA or SAT. I would say my distinguishing factor was my intrinsic passion. I showed this through a diverse variety of medical extracurriculars as well as through various other volunteer activities. I didn’t have any major achievements such as winning competitions (in STEM fields at least), but I did make sure to express that whatever I did achieve was done out of my own passion. I also believe my Common App essay was well-written and communicated to GMED programs that I do truly want the program out of an intrinsic need, and the same goes for the school-specific essays well. Important tip to students: Make sure you’re the one writing your essays and not your parents! In fact, I refused to let my parents look at my essays, and instead asked friends and my AP Lang teacher what they thought of my essay. By thinking hard yourself about why you want to pursue a lifelong career in medicine, I promise you can’t go wrong in writing a powerful and moving story about the kind of person you are. There are of course many ways to tell a story, but what I found works well for Common App is to tell a captivating story about yourself, and then somehow tie that back into your interest of why you want medicine as a career choice (doesn’t and shouldn’t be explicitly stated in your Common App). For school-specific medical essays, I recommend starting off with some kind of hook involving an experience you’ve had that influenced you in a powerful way (don’t spend more than a paragraph on this). Then I focused on objectively and explicitly outlining several reasons as to why I desired medicine, and what that specific school could offer me that would make my experience more profound.
TL;DR: Focus on making your essays and extracurriculars just as meaningful as your numbers, and tell a genuine story about yourself. Try to weave your other interests into medicine as well to present a more colorful and unique side of yourself.
Major ECs:
- Trained EMT at local volunteer fire department (at least 350 hours, rough estimate)
- Shadowed doctors in several specialties (45-50 hours)
- Hospital volunteer (50-60 hours)
- Technology Student Association (On Demand Video state competition, won 3rd place and 1st place)
- Research summer internship (Co-authored/published an abstract over the summer, and presented it at a national cancer conference during my research mentorship)
Community Service:
- Volunteering through ECs - ~500 hours (mostly EMT ambulance riding)
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
- Brown PLME - rejected RD
- Pitt GAP - rejected
- Case PPSP - rejected
- George Washington - supplement - interview - ACCEPTED
- Penn State - interview -ACCEPTED
- Virginia Commonwealth GAP - rejected
- RPI/Albany Physician-Scientist - supplement -rejected
- WashU St. Louis University Scholars in Medicine - rejected
- UAB EMSAP - rejected
- Drexel BA/BS+MD - rejected
Applied to the following undergraduate schools:
- University of Virginia - rejected
- VCU - accepted
- Brown - rejected
- William and Mary - accepted
- UPitt - accepted
- WashU St. Louis - waitlisted
- Johns Hopkins - rejected
- Drexel - accepted
- Case Western - waitlisted
- UNC Chapel Hill - waitlisted
- Georgetown - rejected
DECISION: GWU BA/MD 7-year program
Reflection:
In retrospect, there are many, MANY things I could’ve done better (not doing essays 2 hours before the app deadline :O). However, along the way, writing so many essays and attending interviews ultimately strengthened my resolve to be a part of the medical field and I discovered a deep, philosophically motivated passion to pursue a career in this field. Furthermore, even given my mediocre stats, I was still able the succeed in the end - for all of you underclassmen worried about whether your stats aren’t good enough, have no fear! You have just as good a chance as everyone else out there, as to a large extent, GMED programs are arbitrary in their selection and god knows what factors they use to make the final cut out of so many qualified students. At the end of the day, no matter where you go and no matter what you end up doing, medicine or otherwise, if you’re passionate about it and have the will to succeed, you can make wonders happen. Good luck to everyone out there who is getting ready to apply next year, and don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions 
@darkjustice - Congratulations. How did you choose GWU over Penn State?
Thank you so much! I decided GWU pretty much as my dream school since day 1 of applying. This is because I’m really interested in taking part in global health, and GW being one of the highest ranked schools for international relations and public health, I thought it would be a great way to pursue that interest while also being well on my way to becoming a doctor. Also, given that its a BA/MD, I have the freedom to major in whatever I want to for undergrad and build upon that when I pursue a combined MD/MPH. Lastly, GW waives the MCAT requirement completely, whereas Penn State requires a minimum score, which was a huge plus from my perspective. GW also provided me with significant scholarship money that Penn State did not (OOS), and since I live within commuting distance of the school, it will be much more convenient for me to attend there than go all the way to Penn State (although I did really enjoy spending time with students in that program as well, and most likely would have enrolled in Penn State if I met residency requirements).
Class Rank: school doesn’t rank (but top 5% for sure)
Unweighted GPA: 4.000
Weighted GPA: 4.8000
SAT:
Total - 2250 (one sitting)
M - 760
CR - 690
W - 800
SAT II:
Math 2: 790
Chemistry: 740
U.S. History: 790
AP classes: Euro (5), Human Geo (5), Spanish Language (5), US History (5), English Language (5), Chemistry (3)
Currently in: Art History, Calculus, US Government, Economics, Literature, Physics C, human cadaver dissection course
Gender: Female
Major Extracurriculars & Community Service: Piano (13 years), worked at Pediatricians office (5 years) and Hawaii fire station (5 years), shadowing at major hospital in England (2 weeks), National Charity League (6 years - served as president and treasurer), human cadaver dissection course, writing center tutor (2 years), National Honors Society (treasurer), National Spanish Honors Society (3 years) + misc. other clubs
Essays:
Common App: I wrote about balancing my love of art with my love of science.
Research Experience: none
Applied to the following BS/MD programs:
- Brown PLME → Rejected
- PSU/Jefferson → Interview, Accepted
- Cincinnati → No Interview
- UMKC → Interview, Accepted
- UAB → No Interview
- George Washington → No Interview
- PITT → No Interview
- CASE → No Interview
- Drexel/Drexel → Interview, Accepted
- Boston U → Interview, Accepted
- U Miami → No Interview
- Northwestern HPME → No Interview
Other schools:
Brown → Waitlisted
USC → Accepted

UCLA → Accepted
UC Berkeley → Accepted
Harvard → Rejected
Stanford → Rejected
Decision: Boston U SMED
Reflection:
Apply broadly!
GPA: 3.92 (UW), 4.96 (W)
Class Rank: 2/541
ACT: 35
Subscores: Science (35), English (34), Reading (36), Math (36), Writing (10)
SAT: 2340
SAT Subject Tests:
Chemistry: 800
Math 2: 800
Biology: 780
Spanish: 700
AP’s (at time of application):
European History - 5
Chemistry - 5
Biology - 5
Calc BC- 5 (w 5 on AB subscore)
Language & Composition - 5
Statistics - 4
Senior AP’s: Physics C Mechanics and E&M, Spanish, Literature & Composition, US History
Other major tests: Top 50 in the US for Bio Olympiad, was involved with NJ Science League at state level
Teacher Recs:
-Incredible rec letter from Biology teacher since i also was involved with USABO and had a very close relationship with her/him
-pretty sure i had a good rec from english teacher (assured me that s/he would not be the reason i didn’t get into a top tier university)
-additional rec letter from close research mentor who worked at princeton. s/he worked with me on my stem cell research for a year or so and am confident s/he gave me a stellar rec as well
State: NJ
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Asian American
Income: >150K
Hooks: None
Major ECs:
-Varsity Swimming- 4 year varsity letter
-Academic Team/Quiz Bowl-Captain
-Future Doctors of America chapter-President
-Science Olympiad Team-President
-DNA sequencing program
Community Service:
- Hospital- more than 300 hrs
-Red Cross- 50ish hrs
-Tutoring
Medically related activities:
-Stem Cell Research at HS lab
-Fellowship at Foreign Hospitals for 2 summers
-Certified EMT
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
- Brown PLME-Waitlisted at UG
- Northwestern HPME - interview - rejected (waitlisted at UG)
- Pitt GAP -rejected pre-interview
- Case PPSP - rejected pre-interview
- University of Rochester REMS - rejected pre-interview
- George Washington - withdrew
- Boston University - interview - ACCEPTED
- Penn State - interview - rejected
- UCONN SPiM - interview- ACCEPTED
- TCNJ/NJMS- interview- ACCEPTED
- Rice-rejected pre-interview
- Drexel-interview-rejected
Accepted at:
Yale, Cornell, Rice, WashU, other UG’s with significant scholarship
Waitlisted at:
Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Northwestern
DECISION: BU SMED
Reflection:
It was very tough to turn down Yale. PM me for specific questions
@SmartAlec Congratulations!
Did you interview with George Washington ? OR you withdrew before interview ?
Also Can you tell us how one can get a EMT certification while in high school ?
EMT certification requires a minimum age of 18. If you can tell us how you got certified , it will great help for future BA/MD students. Can you please PM me ?
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Class Rank: School does not rank - N/A
PSAT: 236 CR – 76 M – 80 W - 80 - National Merit Finalist
SAT (1 sitting): 2300 CR – 740 M – 760 W - 800
ACT (1 sitting): Composite 36 Writing 9
SAT Subject Tests:
Biology: 800
Math 2: 800
Chemistry: 800
Spanish: 750
AP’s (at time of application)
AP Chemistry 5
AP Stats 5
AP Spanish 5
AP Psychology 5
AP Comp Science 4
Senior Year AP courses:
AP Biology
AP English Lit
AP Physics 1
AP Calculus BC
College course: Introduction to Human Physiology & Lab at UCB
Research Experience: RA at UCB for 10 weeks in Junior Summer
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None. But State participant for 5 consecutive years in history competition.
.
Teacher Recommendations:
Chemistry Teacher: Don’t know
Spanish Teacher: Don’t know but she likes me a lot
Counselor Rec: Don’t know
UCB Summer program guide Rec: I think it is very good 9/10
State: CA
School Type: Highly competitive public school (530 senior students)
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Income Bracket: Did not apply FAFSA and hoped for Merit Aid
Intended Major: History and Pre-Med
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 6-7 (I didn’t spend enough time on them)
Extra curricular activities:
Speech club 4 years – President (1 yr), Officer (2 yrs)
History club 4 years – Co-Founder, President (2 yrs), Officer (2 yrs)
Cross country team – 3 years
Community Service:
Total 700+ hours
Miscellaneous 250+ hours
Tutoring 350+ hours
Hospital Volunteer 100+ hours
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
Applied to many programs and rejected pre-interview.
Got interview at
Uof Akron/NEOMED (waitlisted),
Drexel/Drexel (Rejected),
Uof Houston/UTH-UTMB (Rejected),
Uof Oklahoma (Accepted).
Applied to the following undergraduate schools: many
Accepted at: UCLA, UCSD, UC Berkeley, UCSB (Regents), UC Davis, UC Irvine, Vanderbilt, Rice, Boston univ., Uof Rochester ($17k aid), CWRU ($28.5k aid), Pitt (full tuition)
Decision:
University of Oklahoma - BA/MD Medical Humanities Scholar Program
Merit Scholarship: National Merit Scholar - Almost full ride for UG
Strengths: Course work, test scores, leadership experience
Weaknesses: Did not have substantial activities to demonstrate the passion to medicine profession
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays were not strong enough, interviews went okay
Parent Reflection:
Let the student make the decision if they want to do medical profession or not.
It is not practical to expect every student who decided to apply for BS/MD program is at the same advantage. Because some students would have decided only in 11 or late in 10th but some would started way early like 9th summer onward. Unfortunately this program demands very high expectation because of very few seats and highly talented and qualified students who have demonstrated the connection to medicine.
Ensure both students and parents are prepared to accept the worst case scenario and grow stronger and go for the regular route (BS and MD later).
Think twice even if you get some programs and even if you can afford financially, whether it is worth that expense. Because some programs for people who don’t apply FAFSA will cost half a million dollars.
Though it costs and logistics involved, it is good there is an in person interview. That was a eye opener. Because for some programs/place, both parent and student were not comfortable at all and would not have joined.
It is unfortunate the BS/MD application process is SO COMPLEX and takes significant efforts if a student applies to many programs.
Students need an admin assistant (parents!) but not for writing essays or various prompts! (but for reading the posts in this CC forum!)
Student Reflection:
This was a very grueling, often disappointing process, but I did meet a lot of people from around the country, which was both fun and informative. If I could redo this year, I would definitely only apply to schools I could see myself going to. The general advice is “Apply everywhere,” but I realize now there are quite a few schools I would not have gone to, even if accepted in a BSMD program, because of expense/ranking/environment. You can save yourself quite a lot of money and time by ruling out places you would never want to go to–after all, do you really want to spend 7-8 years in a school you dislike? The applicants I met were bright, hard working, and passionate. With a traditional route, they would have to redo the application process to get into med school, but I am sure they would succeed because they are at the top of the applicant pool already. NOTE: my advice is opposite that of my dad’s haha.
I find it very ironic that I was rejected almost everywhere except the one school that fit me best–I love the program, the merit aid, and the environment/people. I am overjoyed and thankful and looking forward to the next seven years. Boomer Sooner!
@GoldenRock Your DD says that she is only looking forward to the next seven (7) years, of an 8-year BA/MD program. It looks like maybe she dreads Senior year of Med School?
@RayznHELL, I believe his daughter said 7-8 years, more referring overall to 7 and 8 year programs, not necessarily to her specific program.
I do think @GoldenRock hit on the weaknesses of his daughter’s application completely. Her academics and standardized test scores were absolutely superb and would have helped especially at the very competitive programs. It’s the healthcare oriented activities section of the CV that was a little lacking. Any admissions officer would reasonably ask, ok, so how do you know based on your experience that becoming a physician is for you? Have you shadowed? Have you volunteered in a hospital and seen the sights and sounds? Have you done something like physician scribing? It’s much easier to convince someone of that when there is evidence you’ve gotten your feet wet.
A lot of emphasis is placed on that because students a lot of times don’t know what they’re getting into by going thru this pathway, even at the undergraduate level. All the more reason why it’s emphasized even more when you’re giving someone an early admission spot to the medical school. Just goes to show applicants that a lot of this process is very much holistic, and that one section (academics and standardized test scores) are not an automatic acceptance by any means.
@Roentgen Please note that I was trying to add a little humor into this often difficult process. But if a joke has to be explained–it failed. @GoldenRock’s DD was referring to the OU MHSP 8-year BA/MD. Maybe she has enough AP credits to petition the program to allow her to graduate BA in only 3 years.
Ha, ha!!! Sorry, @RayznHELL, I completely read it at face value. LOL. @GoldenRock’s daughter had said 7-8 years so I was confused. Definitely more a reflection on me than on you. lol.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (Through junior year: 97.21 weighted, 95.88 unweighted)
Class Rank: Top 10% (in reality, school doesn’t rank)
SAT: 2260 (720 CR, 770 M, 770 W) technically superscored but in reality this is my score on my second
ACT: 35 (35-E, 34-M, 36-R, 34-S) one sitting
SAT Subject Tests:
U.S. History: 770
Chemistry: 710
AP’s (at time of application)
U.S. History - 5
World History - 5
Language & Composition - 5
Chemistry - 3 (did not submit)
Senior APs: Calculus BC, Spanish Lang, US Gov and Pol, Biology
Major Awards: National Merit Commended Student, Safety Star of the Day @ 2 FRC Competitions (2014 and 2015 Finger Lakes Regional), AP Scholar with Honor, Premio de Plata (Silver Medal) National Spanish Exam 2014 Lvl 3, Honorable Mention National Spanish Exam 2015 Lvl 4
Teacher Recs: 11th grade PreCalc teacher 9/10 (she might have been a bit critical); 11th/12th grade Spanish teacher 10/10 (she loves me; I love Spanish); Counselor 10/10 (she’s really dedicated!)
Major: Biology/Cognitive Science
State: NY
School Type: Private, Catholic, college prep
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Income: 150k
Hooks: N/A? Female going into STEM major but otherwise none.
Major ECs:
-JV Tennis 9/10 (Co-Captain 10), Varsity Tennis 11/12 (Co-Captain 12)
-FIRST Robotics 9-12 (Safety Captain 10-12, Scouting and Analytics Co-Lead 12)
-NHS 11/12
-Girl Up! 12
-Stage Crew 10
-Off-Season Tennis 9-12
Community Service:
-Mentor at FLL Qualifying Tournament 9-12
-Gala Volunteer 9-12 (largest fundraiser at my school)
-Junior Spirit Committee 11
-Senior Coffeehouse Committee 12
-Organized FRC safety training event/fundraised for WE@RIT 12
-Fundraised and donated Beanie Babies to SMH Pediatric Unit
Work Experience:
-Jewelry manufacturing business (summer job, basic office work)
Medically related activities:
-Mini Medical School @ Univ of Rochester: competitive 3-week residential program; shadowed surgeries, in ER, practiced suturing, etc.
-Volunteering in Pediatric Drop-in Care @ SMH: summer program, about 28 hrs total
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
- Pitt GAP - no interview (accepted UG with full tuition)
- Case PPSP - interview - ACCEPTED (alternate)
- University of Rochester REMS - no interview (accepted UG)
Applied to the following undergraduate:
- Harvard - rejected
- Johns Hopkins - rejected
- SUNY Univ at Buffalo - accepted (Honors College)
DECISION: Case Western Reserve PPSP
Reflection:
It’s insane to look back and think about what I was going through just a few months ago. I am very happy to have finally selected my college and have no regrets about the process! All in all, I have a few simple tips for applicants hoping for admission in coming years.
-
Alternate status doesn’t mean it’s over.
Although rejections of course must be accepted at face value, I took alternate status for just what it was: a chance to prove myself further, to prove myself willing of the time commitment such a prestigious program like PPSP needs in case a spot opened up. I emailed the director of the program expressing my continued interest in the program and he was very receptive to my emails, stating that he noted the strong interest in my file. By the end of the month, I had been accepted into the program! If it’s really your dream, pursue it. -
Don’t discount any of your options simply because you didn’t get into BS/MD.
In the end, my decision came down to Pitt and CWRU. Pitt was offering much more money but no guarantee, and financials certainly come into the equation for myself and my family. But something to keep in mind is that if you can get in now or even are smart and motivated enough to apply, it is almost certain that that motivation will eventually lead you to medical school. Thus, in some cases, a strong UG program with a good scholarship could be a better option than a lower-tier BS/MD and/or very expensive program. -
Visit/know what you’re getting into before you apply.
Most of these are eight-year programs, usually meaning that you’ll be in one place for eight years, an often tedious task for the ever-changing college student. Make sure that you’ll be happy wherever you end up, that the environment is one that you will prosper in. Sometimes it’s important to consider the real, subjective factors of a school instead of taking an offer simply because of the guarantee of medical school. Happiness is key to success in the long run. -
Take advantage of any support system you might have.
Parents, guardians, counselors, friends - whomever it may be. The application process is incredibly grueling, but knowing you have people cheering you on can make it a whole lot easier. Ask questions, make sure you’re staying healthy, and stay positive throughout. You’ve made it this far, you can make it through this year.
If you have any other questions about my applications or process, feel free to message me! Overall, I am very happy with how this process turned out as I think PPSP is an amazing fit for me!
GPA: 3.93 (UW), 4.22 (W)
Class Rank: Doesn’t Rank, Top 10%
ACT: 35
Subscores: Science (32), English (35), Reading (35), Math (36), Writing (10)
SAT Subject Tests:
Chemistry: 680
Math 2: 790
AP’s (at time of application)
Calculus BC - 4
Chemistry - 3
Language & Composition - 5
Environmental Science - 4
Senior AP’s: Physics C Mechanics, Statistics, Literature & Composition, Comparative Government & Politics
Teacher Recs: Didn’t see any of my recs - probably decent but not absolutely stellar. Got one from the chair of the department I did research in (research hospital).
State: Northwest
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Asian American
Income: >150k
Hooks: None
Major ECs:
- Musical Instrument (Orchestra, State Competitions, Private Lessons)
- Research Intern at Local University, Computer Science Dept.
- Founder/President of school music club
- Orientation Leader/Ambassador
- Girl Scouts Senior
Community Service:
- Started organization to teach music to underprivileged students - 200(?) hours
- Hospital - 50 hours
- Service trip to third world country - 110 hours
Medically related activities:
Physician Shadowing - 40 hours
Research in biochem department at University - (full time for a summer)
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
- Brown PLME - rejected RD
- Pitt GAP - rejected pre-interview
- Case PPSP - rejected pre-interview
- Boston University - interview - ACCEPTED
- Penn State - rejected pre-interview
- University of Cincinnati DAP - rejected pre-interview
- U Miami HPME - rejected pre-interview
- UAB - rejected pre-interview
Applied to the following undergraduate schools:
- Emory - accepted
- Rice - accepted
- Duke - rejected
- Johns Hopkins - waitlisted
- Harvard - waitlisted
- Yale - rejected
DECISION: Boston University SMED
Reflection:
Start early on the application process! You need as much time as you can get with all the essays and forms you have to fill out, especially when you are applying to both BS/MD programs and regular undergraduate schools like many end up doing. You cannot sacrifice quality for quantity (or the other way around) when it comes to these applications, so only apply to programs/schools that you can really see yourself attending! Along with this, make sure you know each program really well before you apply - scour everything they have online so you can make sure that you are absolutely certain you would consider going there if you got in. And again, START EARLY! Like-as soon as the Common App opens-early. It’s never too early.
For interviews, just make sure you think about questions to ask the interviewer and be yourself! I honestly thought I did terrible in one of my interviews, but I ended up getting in, so you really never know. Just stay loose and don’t get stressed out too much.
Looking back, I would not have done much differently. It is a long process with often unfruitful results, so be prepared for anything. I went into this whole thing expecting the worst, so I was pretty excited when I even got into one program, especially when it was BU’s program. Good luck to all future applicants and wherever you all end up, I’m sure you will thrive!
GPA: 4.00(UW), 4.00 (W)
Class Rank: 1/333
SAT: 2380
SAT Subject Tests:
Chemistry: 800
Math 2: 800
Spanish: 800
AP’s (at time of application):
European History - 5
Chemistry - 5
Biology - 5
Calc BC- 5 (w 5 on AB subscore)
Language & Composition - 5
Statistics - 4
Senior AP’s: Physics C Mechanics and E&M, Spanish, Literature & Composition, US History
State: CT
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Asian American
Hooks: None
Major ECs:
-Track and Field
Jazz and Wind ensemble
-Science Olympiad Team-President
TEAMS Team captain
Math honor society president
Community Service:
- Hospital- more than 100 hrs
-Interact -40 hours
Medically related activities:
Two weeks research internship
Capstone on Asthma
Job shadow- 24 hours
Mini medical program at UConn health Center
-Certified EMT
Applied to the following BS/MD Programs:
UPitt GAP -rejected pre-interview
Boston University – rejected pre-interview
UCONN SPiM - interview- ACCEPTED With presidential scholarship
Accepted at:
Yale, Johns Hopkins, Upitt undergraduate with full tuition scholarship
Waitlisted at:
Brown
DECISION: UCONN SPIM
GPA: 3.8 (UW), 4.1 (W)
Class Rank: 39/345
ACT: 35 (34R, 34E, 34M, 36S)
SAT Subject Tests:
Math 2: 780
Chemistry: 730
AP’s at time of application:
World History: 4
Chemistry: 4
Physics 1: 3
English Language: 5
US History: 5
Senior AP’s: Physics C Mechanics & E+M, English Literature, Calc AB, Biology, US Government & Politics
State: NY
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Asian American
Hooks: None
Major EC’s:
-Varsity Golf, 5 year starter and 2 year captain, state qualifier for 3 years
-Varsity Basketball, 3 year starter and 2 year captain
-Varsity Tennis, 4 year starter and 2 year captain, state qualifier for 2 years
-Science Olympiad, President and won numerous regional and state competition medals
Community Service:
Hospital for 72 hours
Local Youth Bureau for 56 hours
Medical Activities:
Shadowing Endocrinologist for 32 hours
Working at local university for 6 weeks on a research internship
Applied to following BS/MD Programs:
Pitt GAP- Rejected Pre-interview
St. Bonaventure/GW- Rejected Pre-interview
Case PPSP- Interviewed and Accepted,
Stony Brook Scholars in Medicine- Interviewed and accepted with full tuition,
Union/AMC Leadership in Medicine- Interviewed and accepted with Presidential Scholarship
Accepted at: SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Binghamton, Cornell, UNC-Chapel Hill, UVA
Rejected: Johns Hopkins University
DECISION: UNION/AMC LEADERSHIP IN MEDICINE PROGRAM
If people don’t feel comfortable posting in the BS/MD results page linked thru their CC username, I’m more than happy to post it under my username in this thread (if you PM it to me), to make it more anonymous. I can alter the CV (i.e. remove specific institution names/hospitals, for example). I can then send it back to you thru PM for final approval, BEFORE I post it into the thread. Please follow the format posted by @texaspg: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19511182/#Comment_19511182.
College Confidential is only as good and as helpful as its members are, so the more information we have, the more it can help future applicants when it comes to gauging how competitive they are for specific combined programs and for getting ideas on building their CVs if they’re just starting out. If you benefited from this forum in anyway, please take the time now to give back to those who are coming up behind you, and will also be applying in the fall, who will have the very same questions, concerns, doubts, anxieties you had while going thru this process, by posting in this thread.
@Roentgen - Thanks for your lead on asking this year applicants to share their experience on results thread. As a parent of next year’s applicant, I am disappointed that not many shared their stats and reflections.
@srk2017, yeah, I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed as well, especially since we’ve had a lot of great applicant participation this year (more than prior years, even in my school’s thread). People don’t have to necessarily list every nitty gritty thing that might identify themselves, but in the past, the results threads w/advice have been invaluable to future applicants who are starting up their CVs and need good ideas of where to even start. Students want to hear from those who have gone thru the gauntlet and their hindsight and perspective. It’s how this forum gets better w/more participation. So I thought I would at least paste it on people’s behalf so that their result isn’t tracked with their previous postings.