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!!