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Profile Questions and Answers
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| Why medicine? What is your story? | I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 8 years old. I am a chronic moderate asthmatic that has been shuffled from doctor to doctor and who takes tons of medications that don't completely work. I've been on the other side of the examining table, and I know how it feels. Also, I'm only 5'2", which is much too short to attain my dream job: becoming a Rockette. Seriously. | read other replies on this topic |
| Are you in any special circumstances? Anything unique? | I paid for my undergraduate education, and only the second in my family to go to college. I'm the first person in my family to obtain a professional degree. | read other replies on this topic |
| What was the hardest part in preparing for med school? | I think the hardest part was ignoring all the people telling you negative things, no matter how well-meaning the individual was. Everything happened in my life to lead me to this point, and many times I didn't understand them. Focus on your goal, and figure out what you need to get there. | read other replies on this topic |
| How much did you work while going through pre-med? | I worked full-time in undergrad to pay my tuition. It was very difficult, but it is something that helped me in organization, scheduling and time management. I worked several positions as a lifeguard, fitness instructor, swim teacher and coach, resident assistant and tutor. Working hard is something I am used to, and I think it helped me to adjust to medical school. | read other replies on this topic |
| What did you do for MCAT preparation? | I was in the hospital at the end of January and on bed rest part of February, so I was unable to take an MCAT class. It did give me a lot of time to read through Kaplan's materials and study on my own. It was difficult to split time studying for the MCAT and for the classes I was currently taking however. | read other replies on this topic |
| How much did you shadow physicians? | I shadowed physicians a few weeks in the summer after I took the MCAT in a clinic for people without insurance, and again in the fall of my senior year in the local hospital. | read other replies on this topic |
| How much did you volunteer? | I volunteered as often as I could, but volunteer work came after classes and work. I did whatever I could through my college and it worked for me. I'm too far removed to even guess how many hours a year. | read other replies on this topic |
| What clinical exposure did you have? | See "shadowing" | read other replies on this topic |
| What did you do for research? | I researched for three years during my undergraduate years, and opted to present my research as a thesis in the end. My research was entitled "Identification of Lepidopteron Apolipoproteins." Through this project I became experienced in working with RNA and DNA isolation, Polymerase Chain Reaction procedures, Gel Electrophoresis, Northern, Southern and Western Blotting techniques, antibody production sequence alignment and insect dissection.
I also worked two summers as an intern in a biotech company in Horsham, PA called Nucleonics, Inc. working in QC and Preclinical research on HBV, HCV and influenza. | read other replies on this topic |
| Do you have any leadership experience? | My senior year I was president of the Genetic Engineering Club, secretaries of Beta Beta Beta, Nu Delta Alpha and Amnesty International. My junior year I was treasurer of Amnesty International. I was also head resident assistant for 2.5 years and an active member of the Cedar Crest Dance Company for 3 years and Stage Company for 2 years. | read other replies on this topic |
| What suggestions do you have for the personal statement? | Make it your own. Provde personal relevant details. Make sure it sounds like you, otherwise when you get to the interview they may not believe you even wrote it. Make sure it is grammatically correct. Finally, make yourself different. I started mine with, "I wanted to be a Rockette, but decided on Medicine when I realized you needed to be at least 5'5"..." | read other replies on this topic |
| What suggestions do you have for the secondary applications? | KNOW THE SCHOOL YOU'RE WRITING ABOUT | read other replies on this topic |
| What suggestions do you have for the interview? | Don't fidget too much. Answer questions honestly. Wear a suit, and relax. They want to know who you are! | read other replies on this topic |
| Describe your pre-med schedule, typical day and week | Monday, Wednesday: Work 6 AM-9AM,Class 9 AM-12 PM, Lunch 12 PM-1 PM, Lab 1 PM-4 PM, Work 6 PM-10 PM
Tuesday: Work 6 AM-10 AM, Lab 10 AM-12 PM, Lunch 12 PM-1 PM, Class 2 PM-4 PM, Dance 4 PM-6 PM, Work 6 PM-10 PM
Thursday: Work 6 AM-10 AM, Lab 10 AM-12 PM, Lunch 12 PM-1 PM, Class 2 PM-4 PM, Work 4 PM-10 PM
Friday: Class 9 AM-12 PM, Lunch 12 PM-1 PM, Work 1 PM -6 PM
Saturday: Work 8 AM-1 PM
Sunday: Work 2 PM-6 PM
I had club meetings most days during Lunch and Dinner. I worked as an RA one night a week and one weekend a month 8 PM-8 AM. This is a pretty typical schedule for me. | read other replies on this topic |
| Did you do any other extracurricular activities? | Dance Company-3 years
Stage Company-2 years
GE Club-4 years, President
Amnesty International-4 years, Treasurer, Secretary
Beta Beta Beta-3 years, Secretary
Nu Delta Alpha-Charter member, Secretary
Chemistry Club-4 years
American Association of University Women-2 years
Pre-Medical Society-4 years | read other replies on this topic |
| How did you choose your med school? | I really liked the atmosphere when I visited. The people seemed happy, not stressed as they did when I visited some other schools. I was very excited to learn OMM and so I chose a school with a fantastic reputation for OMT and good rotation sites. PCOM was the best fit for me, and I think it's important to find the school that fits you best. | read other replies on this topic |
| Did you take any extra coursework in preparation for med school? | I took courses required for my major (Genetic Engineering) and minor (Chemistry) as well as tons of classes in dance, as it's my first love. I did not take any classes specifically for medical school, and I would do the same thing again if I could. | read other replies on this topic |
| Any open-ended advice? | Listen to your heart. | read other replies on this topic |
