<p>Now that applicants have had to submit their deposits, this is a new thread to sum up the process and aid for next year's seniors. Categories include name of chosen option/program, alternatives/options not chosen, and why. Also useful if can provide stats and what made credentials stand out. If this cycle is less successful, perhaps what should have been done differently/what have been learned.
Format:
1. Chosen Program. Hooray!!! Why this choice?
2. Options/Programs you declined. Why this decline?
3. Where you applied to, results.
4. Stats - weaknesses/strengths in your opinion. Future Plans if not successful.
5. Advice: What you would have done differently.
6. Bad advice you heard/avoided.
7. Finance major factor? Number of programs you applied to, you visited, you chose etc.
8. Would you do it again and why?
9. The above is a lot of info. But will be very helpful for the group of rising seniors, who are about to undergo the process.</p>
<p>I’ll bite, since a thread like this did not exist when I could’ve used it almost two years ago. </p>
<p>1. Chosen Program -
Shepherd University’s B.S./M.D. program (formally known as the MedSTEP program) in conjunction with the West Virginia University School of Medicine. I chose it because it was the only B.S./M.D. program that invited me to interview at the School of Medicine and was subsequently the only program to accept me. Plus, I love the fact that I get to leave my home town. It’s not too far where I feel like I would be homesick, but it is also far enough so that I do not have to deal with my parents on a daily basis. A healthy dose of separation is good for the soul.</p>
<p>2. Options/Programs you declined -
Though I had a choice of many great undergraduate programs (ie: NYU, Stonybrook), they did not guarantee medical school acceptance like the MedSTEP program. In addition, no other B.S./M.D. program accepted me.</p>
<p>3. Where you applied to, results -
*The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education - No interview/rejected
*Wayne State MedStart - No interview/rejected
*NEOUCOM - No interview/rejected
*Shepherd University MedSTEP - Interviewed/Accepted</p>
<p>4. Stats - weaknesses/strengths in your opinion -
My stats:
*3.6 GPA
*27 ACT
*I don’t feel like listing my EC’s right now.</p>
<p>Weaknesses: It was definitely my standardized test scores and my GPA. I ended up applying to the aforementioned with a 27 on the ACT and did not send in my SAT II’s. I also did not care for the first two years of high school, which ended up hurting my GPA in the process. As of this posting, I will graduate high school with a 3.6. I consider myself extremely lucky that a B.S./M.D. program even considered me for an interview. </p>
<p>Strengths: My EC’s and my interview. I’m a classical pianist and a martial artist and have partaken in said activities for more than a decade. With these activities came numerous awards, scholarship and various other life experiences that helped my resume stand out from the rest of the other applicants. My interview was also very strong, as I had previous interview experience as a result of applying to Ivy’s and the like (even though I did not get into any Ivy). </p>
<p>However, and take this next piece of advice with a grain of salt, my excessive dedication to piano and the martial arts brought up an interesting question during my medical school interview. I was asked why I decided not to pursue career’s in either the piano or martial arts, and why I decided to pursue medicine instead. If you happen to be an applicant like this, make sure you can justify why you want to pursue medicine if you happen to have excessive dedication to certain EC’s, as this was a question that actually caught me by surprise. Suffice to say, I justified my position very well. </p>
<p>5. Advice: What you would have done differently -
I did not choose to pursue medicine as a career until the summer of my junior year in high school. Needless to say, the damage was already done at that point. If I had the chance, I would’ve made sure to bust my a** during the first two years of high school, since not caring about it did not work out well for my GPA. Second, I would’ve started prepping for standardized tests much earlier than I did. A 27 on the ACT isn’t bad, but it is certainly not a score I would recommend for B.S./M.D. programs. </p>
<p>6. Bad advice you heard/avoided -
In terms of B.S./M.D. programs, not a lot. In general, I guess you can say that I avoided people who told me that I had absolutely no shot at a B.S./M.D. program unless I had a 34+ or a 2300+ on the ACT/SAT. I never enjoyed the company of gunners. </p>
<p>7. Finance major factor?
In terms of applying, no. Academically, I only had a decent shot at four programs (the names of which are listed above) and was willing to go to any program that took me. </p>
<p>8. Would you do it again and why?
In a heartbeat. Why? Because I want to be a physician, and now I have a chance to pursue that goal with a guaranteed medical school acceptance. :P</p>