My Application Process

May 29, 2015

STAYING ENCOURAGED IN THE STORM

It can be incredibly hard to stay encouraged in the middle of a storm. In my application cycle, I had many moments where I felt discouraged, helpless, angry…I mean literally crying and asking God (okay I’ll admit, a few occasions yelling to God about how angry I was) why things weren’t going as planned. Yea. This application cycle was a roller coaster of emotions…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

May 11, 2015

THE MOMENT I FOUND OUT I WAS ACCEPTED TO MEDICAL SCHOOL…

I was getting antsy. It had been over 2 weeks since my interview. 18 days to be exact. On my interview day, I and other interviewees had been told to expect an answer within 2 weeks. A guaranteed fast turn around. So then what was taking so long? I casually glanced at my phone. No missed calls. It was 9:30 AM on a Friday, if I didn’t hear back today, it meant…CLICK TO CONTINUE

April 29, 2015

THAT TIME I CRIED IN MY MED SCHOOL INTERVIEW…

This is a true story. All of it.

It was interview day. Myself and the other interviewees had been given a tour of the school and a presentation on how AMAZING the university and school of medicine is. Up next were the faculty and student interviews. I had the student interviewer first. He was a first year student and instead of the usual “Why medicine?” He asked questions relating to…CLICK TO CONTINUE

March 13, 2015

UPDATES: “WHERE YOU BEEN GIRL?!”

It’s been exactly 6 weeks since my last post, YIKES! It’s not that I have nothing to write about or update on, it’s just…well, a combination of different things…This process has been so draining, particularly emotionally…CLICK TO CONTINUE

November 19, 2014

INTERVIEWS: CONFIDENCE, CONFIDENCE!

It’s been a while since I wrote about the med school application process – Life’s been crazy busy on my end. I’ve had it on my mind for some time now, to share the important video below on body language, confidence, and power. These are all important when doing med school interviews, and just any interview in general. I first watched this Ted Talk about 2 years ago and was…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

October 7, 2014

MED SCHOOL INTERVIEWS: DRESSING THE PART

So before I go any further, I’m going to put a disclaimer: This post is more so for people on a budget. So no, I won’t be talking about designer suits or name brands – that’s frankly not how I live. However, if you’re really money conscious or not exactly rolling in dough, and wondering what to do about your suit situation, well then, please read on…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

October 1, 2014

SURVIVING THE WAIT: MED SCHOOL INTERVIEW INVITES

If there’s one thing I have learned in this process, it is PATIENCE. For those of you also in this application process, I’m sure you can relate. Last year, a friend warned me that one of the most stressful part of this med school application process was actually AFTER the writing had concluded; it was the wait. Then, I couldn’t really comprehend what she meant. Sure, waiting for interview invites and decisions was bound to be…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

September 23, 2014

SECONDARIES: LESSONS LEARNED

Let’s talk secondaries. Earlier in the summer, when I initially wrote about my plan to tackle secondaries, I was determined to utilize all the Do’s and Don’ts I had gathered. My goal: To make sure it was as stress-free as possible. I’ve been done with them for quite some time now, so this post is definitely overdue. Here are five lessons I learned from writing secondaries…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

July 21, 2014

STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING THE STRESS OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS

The medical school application process can be very stressful. In addition to the overwhelming amount of writing – whether it be the personal statement or the flood of secondaries, there are also the “what ifs”, feelings of inadequacy, and the loneliness of the process. There is no doubt that the application cycle can be a mental battle of its own. Despite these factors, it IS possible to keep the stress level down and have a relatively anxiety free process. Personally, I have been using…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

July 14, 2014

STAYING ORGANIZED THROUGHOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS

As the secondaries continue to roll in, I have been utilizing excel to stay organized. I use a spreadsheet I created on my google drive (so I can access it anywhere) and it’s been a great help in keeping me on track and ensuring I’m submitting my secondary apps within 2 weeks as I planned. Here is how I structured mine…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

July 3, 2014

BRACE YOURSELF, SECONDARIES ARE COMING!

I received a few secondary applications this past week and like any med school applicant, I was bursting with excitement and immediately logged into the schools’ application system. I read the first prompt, then the second, then the third and then the realization of what lay ahead hit me. The excitement diminished once it dawned on me that…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

June 26, 2014

VERIFIED!

Hallelujah praise Him! It took exactly 2 weeks for my AMCAS application to be verified. Even though I submitted on June 3rd, the EXACT date the application opened up, my transcript was not marked as received until June 12th. So, as of June 12th I became ready for review and Glory be to God, 14 days later, I am now verified. In case you missed my earlier posts, I…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

June 17, 2014

I’M OUTSTANDING, I PROMISE! – MED SCHOOL PERSONAL STATEMENT

The dreaded personal statement – for some, it takes just a few weeks to craft this life defining document; for others, several months are spent painstakingly trying to formulate a story. The end goal is the same for both situations: to create a masterpiece that...CLICK TO CONTINUE READING.

June 13, 2014

CAN I GET A GOOD WORD PLEASE? – MED SCHOOL LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Never underestimate the power of a good letter of recommendation. This is a KEY aspect of your application – it can be the deciding factor for an interview or not. With this in mind, it’s important to ask people who you know will write an OUTSTANDING letter of recommendation; yes a stellar, outstanding letter of recommendation. Now most med schools require…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING.

June 13, 2014

READY FOR REVIEW!

So AMCAS finally processed my last transcript yesterday! It took almost 10 days. Yet again why it’s important to send your transcripts ahead of time. I turned in my app on June 3rd and this 2nd transcript was mailed on that day as well. Now that I’m ready for review, up next is…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

June 6, 2014

WELL HELLO STRANGER.

It has been months…scratch that, almost A YEAR, since the last time I wrote here. Apologies for the absence. I write in a private journal frequently, which makes it easy to neglect this blog. I promise to do better!

There are so many updates! Updates on my job, life after college, the med school journey, and my fitness/ start-up business. So here we go…CLICK TO CONTINUE READING