<p>2nd generation Korean-American
Born in Georgia, now residing in suburbs in California
Income bracket <40,000</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.67 weighted
Rank: 4/517 (for now…I think I will be moving up to 2/517 by next year)
PSAT: 190
SAT: ugh…690M, 650W, 640CR----I am currently studying to retake in Oct…my goal is to get 730+M, 700+W, 700CR
SAT II: 660 Math IIC, 670Bio E, 710 US History—retaking in Nov.</p>
<p>Special Circumstances: nothing really, except that I moved from GA to CA in the second semester of my sophomore year and that GA did not offer AP classes to sophomores…so I technically had only 1 semester of AP World History…</p>
<p>10th:
AP World History: A (5 on exam)</p>
<p>11th:
Pre-IB Pre Calc/AP Calc AB: A
AP English Language: A
AP US History: A
AP Biology: A</p>
<p>12th:
AP English
AP Calculus BC
AP Art History
AP Govt
AP Economics
AP Physics</p>
<p>EC’s:
National Honor Society 2 years</p>
<li><p>California Scholarship Federation 2.5 years </p></li>
<li><p>Latin Club 4 years (founder/instructor)
I had previously taken Latin in GA however, moving to CA which did not offer Latin, I decided to create a latin club and teach latin I and the culture to those interested)
I also took the National Latin Exam for Latin I and got bronze medal</p></li>
<li><p>Future Doctors of America 2 years (founder/co-president)
Basically, we bring guest speakers to our club meetings (neurosurgeons to pediatric cardiologists) who talk about their occupations, do volunteer work at local hospitals/Red Cross, and provide hands on experience to those interested in pursuing a medical profession.</p></li>
<li><p>LiNK-Liberty in North Korea 3 years (co-secretary/promotions director/public relations)
Spreading awareness upon the humanitarian crisis in North Korea and doing humanitarian activist promotions (ie: organized an all-day LiNK awareness assembly at school, protests in front of the Chinese Embassy in LA, sending petitions to various embassies and release North Korean detainees, host a benefit concert and raise $5,000 for SAFE Haven orphanages in China that are posts involved in an Underground Railroad to help NK refugees) I am a great advocate for this cause while many ppl in my church have dissapproved b/c they feel that I am simply straining the already tense relations our motherland: SKorea and NKorea and US. Nevertheless, I this issue itself is my passion and energy not only b/c of the horrendous atrocities being committed right under noses but also b/c some of my family members are in NKorea right now…and so, its not only a matter of human decency but of ultimate necessity. </p></li>
<li><p>Model UN 2 years (cofounder/activities director)
My involvement in LiNK led me to intiate our school’s 1st MUN chapter. (our school just opened in 2004…hence our class is the 1st graduating class for 2007!)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I'm a rising undergrad junior in the PPSP med program. If you' have specific questions about that feel free to PM me about it. With you're current stats I think Case would be a match for you. If you're interested in applying for the PPSP program, I would stongly suggest a retake of your SAT I's and II's so that your scores are competitive with the other applicants. As a heads up (that you may have already realized) we do not have a "pre-med" major, pre-med students simply major in a field that they are interested in and make sure that they incorporate the required pre-med courses, gen chem, ochem, bio, physics, calculus etc..</p>
<p>crazed junior,
pretty good as long as you do okay (3.4+ gpa) it varies from year to year but I've seen figures in the high 80's which is pretty good considering they don't screen anyone out - anyone who wants to apply to medical school can get a recommendation letter. If you haven't heard about this it's some to be wary of when school's have really high med school acceptance rates, some schools will only write letters of recommendations for their best applicants thus ensuring that they'll have a high percentage get accepted. For all applicants from Case (including those with sub 3.4 gpa's) I've seen figures more in the low 80's/high 70's.</p>
<p>For the PPSP program you have to maintain a 3.6 overall and a 3.6 in your math/science classes. I haven't found this to be too hard of a requirement and nearly all of my friends interested in medical school have been able to keep themselves above the 3.4 level.</p>
<p>thanks for your replies...to be honest I don't know much about case western but if you could just describe some of the pros and cons of case that would be great...my real passion is within humanities/social sciences but I think it would be interesting to combine that with sciences. Science isn't my forte but I am a hardworker and am interested in becoming a doctor. With that said I am more inclined toward liberal arts colleges but one of my friends strongly suggested case so I thought I would look into it...also, I am a California resident and I am debating whether UC's (UCB/UCLA/UCSD) or Case would be better for pre-med studies...any suggestions?</p>
<p>Pros/Cons
Case is much smaller than UC-Berkeley, UCLA or UCSD, we only have about 3500 undergrads, UCB and UCLA have more around 30-40k I'm not sure off the top of my head I just know they're huge. Thus the environment is quite different. Our largest classes gen chem, ochem are 200-300, I know from friends at the U of Washington that their respective classes are 800+. Although 200 is still big many of the professors make a large effort to get to know as many students as possible and have very flexible office hours. There's also the SI program where upperclassmen who excelled in the course as a first/second year student give extra review sessions outside of class. I wanted to go to a smaller school where I wasn't just a number so I never really considered any large schools. I think that the opportunities to really get to know faculty and pursue undergrad research etc. all things that are helpful when it comes time to apply to medical school can be more easily found in a LAC or smaller research university like Case, Carnegie Mellon, Rochester. It certainly would be possible to major in a humanities/social science area and do a 2nd major or minor in bio/chem/biochem at Case. If I were you I'd try and visit some LAC's, maybe Pomona - since you could take classes outside of Pomona at the other Claremont schools, and see what environment is the best fit for you.</p>
<p>thanks for your help...I have considered the liberal arts in claremont however, not necesarily pomona...I really don't think I could make it into such a prestigious college! :)</p>
<p>Now, are you just doing premed at Case? Or are you considering the pre-professional program. I think you could be a good match for Case. PPSP is really selective, though.</p>
<p>I am confused...I thought pre-med was just a pre-professional route I could take in college while majoring in an actual subject such as english or biology...and what is PPSP...I am sorry for sounding ignorant, I really don't much about Case-could someone explain please?</p>
<p>You are right. I am majoring in biomedical engineering and taking a pre-med track. The Pre-Professional Scholars Program is a highly selective "pre-admission" program that gives you a seat in Case's med school (#22 in the nation) at the same time they give you admission to the university (after an extensive application/interview process). If you are serious about medicine, I would definitely look into it. And learn more about Case bc it has a very good reputation for being a feeder school for med schools (and law schools, business schools... graduate schools in general).</p>
<p>Very rigid, but if you have AP Credit or take summer classes, you can take a few electives. Also, you don't have to specialize. It's up to you.</p>
<p>Case is great because your workload is as hard as you make it. You can choose to take 18 credits a semester or just take 14. You can specialize, take the basics, or switch majors pretty easily.</p>
<p>You do need to have a specialty for BME. The difficulty of the degree largely depends on what specialty you choose, but all around, it is not easy. So far I've completed a little over half of the Bioelectric specialty, and I've been pretty happy with it. The classes are a bit rough, but help is always available. And switching majors isn't necessarily a ticket to an easier time at Case :-)</p>
<p>It's really easy to drop from bme to biochem. The bme major is the biochem major plus the engineering core. Biochem also gives you a lot more electives for a second major or a minor.</p>