In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Silvia, a newly matriculated medical student who has an amazing story about her journey to medical school.
Silvia was born and raised in Brazil and came to the U.S. 15 years ago. On June 20, 2015, Silvia posted on MSHQ’s Facebook hangout group where she talked inspiring words to other members about this very challenging journey to medical school.
She is a mom of three small kids and it took her 11 years to get her Bachelor’s degree. She has overcome serious challenges including three high-risk pregnancies, multiple job losses by her husband, multiple interstate moves. She had to attend 5 different colleges/universities and had severe clinical suicidal depression at one point, and in the last two years lost over 80 pounds, got rid of depression, cleaned up her lifestyle and dealing with the MCAT while her husband while recovering from a traumatic brain injury. She scored 50th percentile on the MCAT, applied to medical school and got into two places.
Her point is this – “No matter what life throws at you, you keep going. You do not ever stop. Don’t be proud to ask for help. We all need it. If you have kids especially, it’s worth your sanity to pay a neighbor or friend to watch your kids for you so you can study or have quiet time to workout. Do everything and anything to get there. And if you fail at any point, get up and try again.”
There was time that she had to stop going to school that brought her severe depression, being the lowest point in her life. But she kept going…
The reason behind Silvia’s post on Facebook:
To instill hope in people because it’s a hard journey
When she decided to become a physician:
Right before she was pregnant with her oldest son
What happened in between her decision to become a physician and now:
Had three complicated pregnancies (she was on bed rest with each of them)
Three interstate moves in a period of 20 months
Her husband lost his job a few times
Her husband had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while she was studying for the MCAT
What kept her going to continue on her medical school journey:
Her love for helping people get better
How she dealt with moments of depression:
Having a really good support system
Working out as a stress relief
Scheduling everything on a planner
How she dealt with studying for the MCAT:
Going to the library 30 hours a week for 12 weeks
She postponed taking the MCAT twice and took it last year
Used Examkrackers and went through the books
Made a study schedule consisting of two blocks (First block for 6 weeks: all material review)
Took 7 practice tests
What her application process like:
Expensive (getting all the transcripts)
Writing is not something she loves so it was the most difficult part for her
Why Silvia only applied to DO schools:
She loves the holistic thinking of DO’s
She fell in love with OMM
Sent 8 primaries and sent 7 secondaries
Factors in choosing her 8 primaries:
Location
Presence of family nearby
Schools for kids
Medical school itself (seeing if it’s a good fit for her)
She went to 2 out of 3 scheduled interviews
Timeline of her application process:
Submitted her application between October-November
She submitted her primaries even without the MCAT score
Important lesson for everyone: If you’re taking the MCAT late, don’t wait till you take the MCAT to submit your applications.
Her first week at medical school:
It’s harder than what she thought
Silvia best describes it as getting hit in the face with a brick
Overwhelming information in such short amount of time
Some pieces of advice for premed students:
Write down your goals. Visualize them to solidify them in your mind and bring them to you.
Have clear goals and structure yourself correctly.
Don’t stop and keep going.
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I just received my admission to XXXXX! This is unreal and almost feels like I am dreaming. I want to thank you for all of your help with my application. I cannot overstate how influential your guidance and insight have been with this result and I am eternally grateful for your support!
IM SO HAPPY!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP, IM INDEBTED TO YOU! Truly, thank you so much for all your help. Thank you doesnt do enough.
I want to take a few moments and thank you for all of your very instructive, kind and consistent feedback and support through my applications and it is your wishes, feedback, and most importantly your blessings that have landed me the acceptance!
I got into XXXXX this morning!!!! It still has not hit me that I will be a doctor now!! Thank you for all your help, your words and motivation have brought me to this point.
I wanted to once again express my heartfelt gratitude for your help in providing feedback during my secondary applications. Your guidance has been instrumental in my journey.
Just wanted to share my wonderful news! I received my first medical school acceptance! Thank you for all that you do for us Application Academy!!!
I am excited to tell you that I just got my third interview invite from XXXXX today! I can’t believe it. I didn’t even know if I was good enough to get one, let alone three – by mid-September. Thank you so much for all of your help and support up to this point; I would not be in this position without it!!
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