THE FOLLOWING ARE QUESTIONS FOR A NEW SERIES OF POSTS ENTITLED “READER PROFILES.” EACH POST IN THIS SERIES WILL DETAIL THE CURRENT SITUATIONS AND CHALLENGES OF A MEDICAL SCHOOL HQ READER. THE PURPOSE OF THIS SERIES IS TO HELP US ALL IDENTIFY WITH PEOPLE LIKE US (IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS — NOT ALL WILL BE, OF COURSE, BUT EVENTUALLY I’M SURE YOU WILL FIND SOMEONE LIKE YOU HERE), GET TO KNOW THE FREQUENT COMMENTERS ON THE SITE, AND HEAR SOME WISDOM/CHALLENGES FROM PEOPLE OTHER THAN THE SITE CREATORS. I BELIEVE THIS SERIES IS A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO THOSE THAT DON’T ENJOY DIGGING AROUND FORUMS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SITUATIONS THAT THEY MAY BE CURRENTLY PLAGUED WITH. USE THE BELOW QUESTIONS AS THE OUTLINE. YOU CAN EXPAND EACH ANSWER BEYOND THE DEFAULT QUESTIONS I HAVE ENTERED. ADD ANYTHING YOU FEEL WILL BE HELPFUL TO THOSE AT THE START OF THEIR JOURNEY.

If you’re interested in contributing to this series, then drop me an email. The series can be a very valuable source for readers and I need a steady stream of new ones to keep it going.

Next in the series is MedicalSchoolHQ reader AP. She answered my questions (in red below) as follows:

Please tell us a bit about yourself (include where you are in your path to becoming a physician).

I have a PhD and a couple years of clinical experiences. Through working with cancer patients daily, I reaffirmed my interest in medicine and decided to take the plunge and started this journey about a year and half ago.  I will be starting med school next Fall. I have 2 MD acceptances and 1 DO acceptance so far.

Describe your path to medical school (MCAT scores, undergrad GPA with emphasis on any difficulties in required courses, D.O. vs M.D. and why, and if you are further along in your training any other information you think would be helpful to others – i.e. AMCAS process tips, interview tips).

I completed my B.S. in a foreign country which has caused some problems with admission requirements. Because of my foreign background, my undergraduate GPA is ignored by most medical schools. Even though I have an advance degree from a U.S. university, I am still required to complete all pre-requisite courses. For financial and scheduling reasons, I opted to take Gem CHM, Physics, English, Calculus at a local community college, and Org CHM and Bio at a 4-year university. I made sure to have a 4.0 post-bacc GPA.

My MCAT scored was 36. As a non-native speaker, the verbal section was most challenging to me. In order to prepare for verbal, I read a lot of articles such as the New York Times book reviews. I also did many verbal practice passages, including EK101 and some older materials I found from our local library. The library has been a good place to find free resources during my application process.

What were(are) the biggest obstacles to your path to an acceptance letter?

The biggest obstacle is to overcome the FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt]. Thankfully, my husband is super supportive.

What have you encountered that you wish you could go back and tell your younger self?

Make connections wherever possible, you never know when someone can provide advice/help/support in the future. More importantly be grateful for the assitance provided by others.

What are your plans for the future (medical school goals, residency goals, practice types)?

I would like to work as a community oncologist in the future.

What is(are) your best piece(s) of advice for others on their path to medical school?

Try to avoid community college classes if possible. It is better to do everything within one’s power to make sure the application is a strong as possible. Community college classes are still less respected.

Again if you’re interested in contributing to this series, then drop me an email. 

If you feel like the information in this post is useful, please share it. I would also love to hear your comments below.