Similar to @Tzuriel, I have some advice for future applicants.
I did manage to get an interview, but at the moment, I am sincerely crossing my fingers until April 1st. The interview was fine, and the questions were really targeted towards getting to know me better as a person. I think that Sophie Davis really concentrates on a certain type of student rather than grades and exam scores. However, I was extremely nervous as I traveled from Texas to get interviewed.
Here are my stats either way:
SAT: 1440
ACT: 31
GPA: (weighted) 4.129
As you can see, my stats are not particularly very outstanding; I am slightly above average at most.
As for my essays…
For the extracurricular essay, I wrote about how swimming taught me that you may be a big fish in a little pond, but you could end up being the sardine in an ocean. Basically, I wrote about how although I was the cream of the crop in my city as an athlete, when I advanced to state and national levels, I realized that I was nothing. From that experience, I was able to realize that motivation should not be trying to be the best or always getting first; that is unrealistic. Your motivation should be based on your own passion, and your biggest competitor should always be yourself.
For the problem in the U.S., I really dove into a topic I was passionate about; how healthcare in the United States is particularly structured to make profit, rather than to find real "cures’. The biggest killer in the U.S. is heart disease, but all we have are a ton of medications and procedures that only temporarily treat its symptoms. I wrote about how I believed that if we truly cared about our people, we need to support research in what causes the disease. Food and nutrition. The majority of us believe that these top killers (heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer) are simply hereditary and a part of being American. It’s not true. Hereditary simply means that you eat under the same table as your family. I continued to provide research that I had accumulated and I was very much myself. I think that because I stood for what I believed in, my essay stood out to them.
Finally, for the essay about why I want to pursue medicine, I wrote about myself. To do this, I used an interview-style question and answered it in essay format. “If you were an m&m, what color m&m would you be and why?” I told them that I didn’t think I could define myself with one color; I am all of them at full brightness. I went on to explain that I am red because… I am blue because… etc. Within these explanations, I connected it to why I would be a proper candidate for medicine, and how these traits have helped me realized why I want to pursue medicine.
I do believe that you need to really present who you are in your essays. All applicants are unique in their own way, and you should be proud to show yourself off.
I wish everyone who got an interview good luck, and I hope for the best. No matter what happens, we will all find our own paths. If we all truly want to pursue medicine, someday, somehow, we’ll get there.