*** BS/MD Results For Class Of 2016***

narkor
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 18:16:58 +0000

Hi Everyone! My D is a current B.S./M.D. freshman and although this is super, super late, I would love to share this information. This was supposed to be posted about 5½ months back, but couldn’t so here it is now. It may add a tad bit information for attending interviews.
GPA: 4.0 (UW), 4.99 on a 5.0 scale (W)
Class Rank: Top 5% of a competitive class of 567 students (yes, a big class)
ACT: 34 -Subscores: Science (35), English (34), Reading (34), Math (34), Writing (10)
SAT: 2180 (took it one time and decided not to take it again)
SAT Subject Tests: Chemistry: 71, Math 2: 75, Math 1: 770

AP’s (at time of application)
U.S. History – 5, World Geography- 4, Lang & Comp III- 5, Cal AB – 5, World Hist- 5, Chem – 3 (soph)
(Senior year APs)- Calc BC-5, Eng Lit and Comp IV- 5, Bio-5,Govt- 5, Econ-5, AP ISM- (4 yrs)- 5

Recommendations: All letters were apparently great- Academic Counselor, AP Chem teacher, AP English teacher, Physician Mentor, Research Mentor & Music Teacher
State: TX
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Asian
Parents Income: >150k
Hooks: Compassion, friendliness, genuineness and demeanor. Infact, my D avoided the family hook and did NOT apply to schools where my older child is studying.

Major ECs:

Founder President of Habitat for Humanity at School: 2 yrs

President of Health Occupation Students of America: 2 yrs

Science Fair mentor @ Jr High

Piano instructor

Marching Band- Flute player of a State winning Marching band
-Research volunteer- >5 yrs

Major awards (through high school)

International Science Olympiad-ISWEEP-Bronze

Siemens National Science Fair- National Finalist (College Scholarship awarded)

Exxon Mobil State Science Fair- Representative at State Science fair for 5 yrs (as region winner)

National recognition- Foster Children’s Organization- fund raising

Barbara James National award for community service- 2 yrs

National award- HOSA- Health Education

Region winner- HOSA- Researched Persuasive speaking

AP Scholar with distinction

Summa Cum Laude- National Latin exams
-Challenges and Solutions in Medicine Award
-American Dietetic association award

Texas All State Musician award-solo & duet

Community Service: Most of the hours are over 3-5 yrs of participation

Trinity Children’s Foundation of America - 80 hrs

Senior Rehab Center - >200 hrs

Blood donation camps – 30 hrs

Peer Assisted Leadership Skills- organization which helps school children cope with personal and family children - >120 hrs

Piano instructor for underprivileged children - ~50 hrs
-Habitat for Humanity- house build volunteer who participated on a regular basis and motivated the highest membership in the region- ~100 hours

Research activities: Most of the hours are over 5-7 yrs of participation

STEM Camps every summer (3 -4 weeks) since D was in 6th grade

Research at 2 different University labs- >400 hrs (including an Independent Study Mentorship class for 3 yrs)

MD Anderson research internship - > 200 hrs (including an ISM class for 1 yr)

Medically related activities: Most of the hours are over 3-5 years of participation
Physician Shadowing - >200 hours (over the last 5 yrs) with a primary care doctor, an ER Physician, Cardiologist, Anesthesiologist, and Pediatrician

Applied to-BS/MD Programs:

1. University of Rochester/ REMS - interview – ACCEPTED

2. VCU/GMED - interview - ACCEPTED

3. RPI/AMC - interview - ACCEPTED

4. Union/AMC - interview – ACCEPTED (withdrawn- but still received acceptance letter)

5. Augusta/ MCG - ACCEPTED

6. UMKC- ACCEPTED (withdrawn- but still received acceptance)

7. Penn State/Jefferson – rejected pre-interview

8. UAB-EMSAP- No interview

9. Drexel/ Drexel- Withdrawn

Applied to- undergraduate:

1. MIT – ACCEPTED

2. Yale - ACCEPTED

3. U Penn – ACCEPTED

4. NYU- ACCEPTED

5. Columbia- ACCEPTED

6. UT-Austin Honors Biology – ACCEPTED (full ride)

7. UT-Dallas/ PACT – ACCEPTED (only for UG- full ride), rejected for PACT

8. UH-3/4- School misplaced Ds application

DECISION: University of Rochester/ REMS

Reflection:
I don’t want to sound like I am bragging about Ds achievements. But, I want to make sure I give enough information especially for those in her shoes. I am going to base some the information about her personality as per the “fast fact input” that we received after one of the school interviews.
People just loved her for “being genuine”. Apparently, she stood out at an interview for being friendly, genuine, upfront and compassionate. To begin with we did not even think she was eligible to apply to these programs. I have an older child in the combined med. D thought she was not eligible. Infact, I registered and went on CC for advice with her ACT composite score of 32 and was told that it was borderline and she had to apply to the lower tiered programs as the scores would not make the cut. They just voiced our knowledge and opinion because I also thought her chance at these programs was limited. We boosted Ds morale to be optimistic and apply. With all of this being said I don’t want to sound pompous, but for sure your personality makes a big difference especially when invited for an interview. In all, D is a very passionate person. She “loves what she does and does what she loves” genuinely. Her own words: “I like to leave this world as a place better than when I stepped on the ground- be it a local organization or my public library”. She stands by her quote at all times.
My D’s advice to applicants (in her own words): “do not underestimate yourselves if you have borderline scores- as long as you can prove that you have used your time wisely to make this world a better place you always have a great shot at these programs. Also, remember be genuine with everything you do”. A few tips:
START EARLY, APPLY WIDELY, STAND OUT GENUINELY- I mean it, the only thing that got me into these schools were that every interview. I connected very well with the interviewer and we had a fantastic and “informal chat” instead of a stressful interview and I walked out thinking that wasn’t an interview (except the AMC group interview at RPI).

TALK ABOUT YOUR PASSION, READ OVER YOUR APPLICATION. Never underestimate your interviewer’s knowledge about your application. I had interviewers at one program where I had to explain why my standardized test scores reflect a person different from who I am otherwise and I was frank about it and said I wasn’t a great test taker but work really hard to get what I need. The answer they gave me was that med school is not about “standardized test learning” but analytical thinking and working hard. I was accepted into the program after all which tells me that scores matter but they are not the cut off for every applicant.
HAVE PATIENCE- keep track of dates/ deadlines/ requirements etc.
CC- Make sure you get help from people like Roentgen, TexasPG, GoldenRock, upstream and my parent and others on this thread. They truly have a wealth of information & are very helpful. Also, please make sure you write on the results thread once you are done with the process. Sorry, I was a poor example. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!! Well, end of the school year- AP exams, too many banquets, awards ceremonies, handing over the reins to junior Presidents, band concerts, piano recitals, and competitions, INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FAIR, PROM and GRADUATION. Ah!!! long list of genuine excuses…… my genuineness and light hearted personality got me into programs I never thought I would be eligible to apply. So, why not be the same person when I write this to advice my juniors. I had this almost done 5½ months earlier but couldn’t complete it till today because of travel, move-in and then college freshman mayhem. Please feel free to PM and my parent may get on here more often now to answer as I am busy fitting into my new niche. Good luck and hang in there!!!