Aisa Osayuki Estelle

“The longer you wait, the more important you become.”

I feel like I've been thrown into a tornado. But I like it. My life was so calm before June but it was starting to get boring. A lot has happened and is currently happening and I feel like I'm reaching all over the place trying to find a way to stabilize myself. Side note: if you're one of my YouTube subscribers, now you know why we've been MIA haha. Anyway, right after Thailand, as if to mark the next chapter in our lives, Will cut his long golden locks in favor of a more professional short haircut. Then we moved into our current apartment. I hadn't thought of this before but I when I stepped into our new place, I realized that this was a big step in my relationship. Yes, I lived with Will for years before this but it was in a co-op, in an old frat house, with like 20 other college students/recent graduates. No we have a two bedroom, two bath, two walk-in closet to ourselves.


But even though this is a huge change for me, the biggest change came when class started. Someone told me that medical school is like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. They couldn't be more correct. It's not like the information is incredibly difficult. It's just the amount that's thrown at us. We're expected to learn so much in a very small amount of time. On top of that, since school is just starting, there are a lot of random things I have to keep track of that sometimes take me by surprise. Buying scrubs, getting a stethoscope, livescan, mask fitting, white coat, frenzied schedule, hospital ID, gloves for anatomy, downloading the software we use to take tests, etc. And I have to admit, sometimes I longingly looked back to the boring life I had just a few months ago, but then I experience things that remind me of how much I want to be here. I dissected my "first patient" and for the first time, saw the inside of a human body. I watched an open-heart surgery on a 6 month old baby as surgeons showed me the little holes in his heart that they had to cover up. I watched them wire his tiny ribs back together and I never thought I would think a baby could be so durable. It was awe-inspiring. I saw another patient today who had a huge gash in her arm from wrist to elbow but I ended up learning more about her hectic home life and saw how resilient she was to confidently navigate through situations that many would consider traumatic. Coming home to study has more meaning to me than it ever did as an undergrad. For the first time, I can really see what I'm working towards and learning, to me, has become a blessing rather than a burden. This tornado of a life is tossing me around right now but I'm starting to go with the flow and watch the pieces fall into place. Soon it'll calm down. And I'll be flying.

• I think one of the most important things to do when requesting letters of recommendation is to ask your writers early!
• Most schools require a letter from two science professors and one non-science professor. Of course sending in other letters is recommended (especially if the writer played a big role in one of the most meaningful activities you wrote about). But make sure you get the required professors to write letters.
• I would suggest going to office hours and getting to know the professor so that they can write a good and personal letter on your behalf. Getting an A in the class is not enough because a short/bad letter is much worse than not having a letter at all. Some students go to their TA's office hours if their classes have like 200+ students. The TA can write a big part of the letter on your behalf and give it to the professor to finish and submit.
• I also suggest talking to your writer in person and then emailing them after they agree to write the letter. They will most likely ask for a CV and and a statement of purpose (or a rough draft of your personal statement). In the email, you can give them all the details about how to submit or mail the letter to AMCAS. Make sure your email is polite and professional and send it as soon as possible.

• Attire: professional, no exceptions. A suit with a shirt and tie for men and a suit with pants or a skirt (with pantyhose) for women. Make sure the skirt isn't too short or too tight. When buying suits, I'd stick to black, grey, or navy blue. Shirts should always be tucked in. A lot of websites say that women should wear heels. I disagree. You'll take a tour of the school before or after every interview so make sure you wear comfortable close toe shoes. If you're comfortable in short heels, feel free to wear them. To my first interview, I wore short heels and brought flats in my bag. After that, I just wore flats to interviews. Many other girls did too. Your jewelry should be limited to small stud earrings (and maybe a necklace if it's understated).
• Your hair should be neat and out of your face. I wore my hair in a top bun to every interview. Don't overdo your makeup. You can wear mascara/eyeliner and a little foundation if you want. But don't wear falsies or bright lipstick or anything distracting. If you absolutely have to wear makeup, go for a neutral look. Also, your nails should be clean and trimmed. I suggest not wearing any colored nail polish but if you do, make sure it isn't chipped and the color isn't too "loud".
• Bringing a bag is optional but I recommend it. I brought a dark maroon bag that was professional looking. They will give you folders and papers so you'll need a place to put them. I also suggest bringing a portfolio folder to take notes. I saw that some websites recommended bringing a copy of your application and CV. You can if you want, but I see no point in doing so. They have all your information already.
• Look up the school and its values before the interview. They will want to know why you applied to that specific program.
• Some schools ask about current events in medicine so read up on that.
• If you're flying to an interview, book your flights early and if possible, fly in two days before the interview. Especially if you're interviewing in the winter (because flights often get delayed/changed/canceled because of snow or other weather problems).
• Be on time!!
• Have a general idea of what you want to say but don't rehearse it. The one question you have to, HAVE TO know the answer to is, "Why do you want to be a doctor?" To help people is not a good answer. Briefly talk them through your journey to realizing medicine was for you. Know the answers to questions about your 15 activities, personal statement, and grades (some might ask why you got a low grade in a certain class).
• Have good questions to ask at the end of the interview. Sometimes they ask if you have any questions for them. Make sure you look up the school. You can ask about specific programs or their experiences, etc. I was genuinely curious about the answers to all the questions I asked and I think they could tell. I didn't just look up what to say. And not every question was medicine-related.
• MMIs:
• Not every school has them but most of the interviews I had were MMI style
• This website explains what they are is perfectly. To sum it all up, there will be different rooms ("stations") and you and your fellow interviewees will rotate through the stations. You'll have 8-10 minutes in each station and each will be very different. You might meet an actor and have to play a role (so they can see how you'd react in a certain situation), you might just be interviewed regularly, you might be given a scenario, you might have to write an essay, you might be in there with another interviewee, etc.
• This YouTube page helped me prepare for the scenarios I faced. I really suggest watching the MMI videos. They were sooooooo helpful!
• Get a good night's sleep the night before. Try to relax (I know it's sometimes easier said than done). Be friendly and fun to talk to.
• My experiences:
• I was fortunate to have an extremely relaxed first interview. It was not at all stressful. I was nervous when I arrived (the school is in LA and it rained! I thought that was a bad sign since it never rains over here). But the dean of the school was so nice and welcoming! She told us to relax and she sat down to informally chat with us. I could almost physically feel the tension leave the room after just ten minutes of talking to her. By the time she left the room, we were all joking and laughing and having a good time. My interviewer, unlike the rest, was dressed pretty casually. We went into a room with couches and a coffee table. The first question she asked was, "Tell me about yourself." And from there, our "interview" just turned into a fun conversation. Seriously, it was like we were old friends catching up. We were laughing and talking and I was getting to know her just as much as she was getting to know me. I don't think it was supposed to be like that but the way I answered the first question led our conversation away from the formal interview and towards the casual conversation. Then we were given a tour and I sat in on a class. After that, I had a student interview. The student had a list of questions to ask so our interview still felt a bit like an interview (but only a bit). She was about my age, went to my undergraduate college, and had the same major I did. We couldn't finish all the questions because of our conversations. Our interview actually ended a little late because we were still talking and we continued our conversation even as we exited the room and went back upstairs to meet the others. I genuinely enjoyed my time there. If it had been under different circumstances, I think we could have even become friends. The dean actually told us the date she would send out the acceptance/rejection emails so on that day, I was had my gmail app open on my phone basically refreshed it every 5 minutes until I got my acceptance email (I felt like crying and had to show my boyfriend to make sure I wasn't making it up in my mind). This is my #1 school (tied with another school).
• The rest of my interviews were MMI style. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan but I think that's just because my first interview was so well. MMIs weren't that bad and those interviews seemed to go by very quickly because of the way they were broken down. I was surprised I never got the same question twice with how many schools I went to with this kind of interview style. So be prepared for anything because they have a wide variety of station questions/tasks. I got accepted into one of them (my backup school) and waitlisted at another (my #4 choice). I'm waiting to hear back from the rest.
• Afterwards I got denied from two schools (I wasn't even invited for an interview), withdrew my application from other schools, and canceled the rest of the interviews I had scheduled.

• Honestly I think this is the hardest part :(
• After the interview, send thank you notes or emails to your interviewers.
• If the school allows it, send updates if you've accomplished more after you were interviews (new publications, new volunteer experiences, etc.)

The personal statement is arguably the most important part of your med school application (depending on who you ask). You have 5300 characters max to explain why you want to go to med school (this is usually about a page and a half long). There are so many paths to take when writing your personal statement so how you write is completely up to you. This website has a few examples of the directions people go with their personal statement. I highly suggest you check it out if you're not sure how to start. I'm going to give some general tips about what to incorporate in your personal statement and then I'll tell you how I wrote mine.

Personal Statement Tips

• PROOFREAD! You should type your personal statement into Word or something with spell check before submitting it to AMCAS. But mistakes include more the misspelled words. For example, if you write about a patient you met and you used a fake name (to maintain their privacy), make sure you use that same name throughout the entire essay. Also check for grammatical errors.
• Have as many people possible look over your statement. They're probably going to catch things that you didn't.
• The essay can't be changed after you submit it so make sure it's perfect.
• Make sure it's not just a narrative form of your resume ("I want to be a doctor because I shadowed... then I volunteered... In 1995, I worked...").
• Keep it relevant. If you want to mention how Dr. So-and-so had a great impact on your decision to become a doctor, that's fine. But don't spend two or three paragraphs talking about his achievements. Keep the essay about you.
• Be unique. It's likely that you and many other applicants will have similar experiences. Think hard and ask other people. What can you say about yourself that no one else can? Yes, you'll have some things in common with other applicants, but you're still different and there are things about you that make you special.
• Don't get fancy with your writing. No writing in all CAPS or only lower-case letters. Don't write a poem either.
• Don't lie about (or exaggerate) your life and do not plagiarize someone else's work.
• Avoid controversial topics. You could risk alienating someone who does not agree with you.
• Think ahead. You might be asked to explain details during an interview so make sure you feel strongly about what you wrote.
• Include specific experiences and how they impacted you
• Things to consider including
• Significant hardships or obstacles that might have affected your education
• Explain bad grades if they aren't explained elsewhere in your application - don't apologize or give excuses though. Talk about what you learned from it and how you improved.
• Note: when it comes to bad grades, it's important to have an upward trend. It looks really bad to explain what you learned from your bad grade but show no improvement in your transcript. That tells the committee that you didn't actually learn anything.
• Questions to consider
• Who are you?
• Why do you want to be a doctor? TO HELP PEOPLE IS NOT A GOOD ANSWER. Not by itself anyway. Most professions allow you to help people in one way or another so that doesn't explain why you want to be a doctor. Be specific. What happened in your life that made you realize medicine is your passion? What helped develop your interest afterwards? 
• What do you want medical schools to know about you that hasn't been disclosed in another part of the application?
• How do your experiences prove that you have the characteristics you say you have?
• Keep in mind that the readers are not medical specialists.

My Personal Statement

When requesting letters of recommendation, it's important to bring a copy of your CV and Personal Statement when you meet up with the letter writer (or attach it to the email if you don't). If you're like me, you won't have your personal statement (or maybe even your CV) finished by the time you ask for a letter. That's ok as long as you give them a draft. They need something to work with.

CV Essentials

A CV (or curriculum vitae) is a summary of your experience, skills, and education. It's very similar to a resume but is more detailed (a description of what you did rather than just your position title) and includes more sections. I used one of the resume templates on Word to make my CV and mine was 3 pages long. It should include (if applicable):

• Research and publications (and posters and abstracts)
• Name of institution
• Mentor (full name and degree)
• Name of project and brief description
• Honors and Awards
• Academic Experience (not coursework)
• Clinical experience
• Volunteer experience
• Professional experience
• Certifications
• Eduction (any place after high school from which you earned a degree)

Pre-med required and recommended courses

o Every school has a list of their required and recommended courses and extracurricular activities. Most schools have the same requirements but it’s still very important for you to check because there are always those couple of schools with that random class you haven’t taken.

o Taking classes abroad: I took Physics abroad through a UCLA program and the grades were transferred to my UCLA transcript. Be careful taking classes abroad though. Some schools only accept required classes taken in the United States (you can take any class abroad except for the required ones). But obviously some schools are ok with taking any class abroad. Just email or call the schools you hope to attend beforehand to make sure it’s ok for you to go abroad before you sign up for those classes.


Don’t be afraid to ask for help

o I found that it is important to realize that you are not alone. Have mentors and a cohort you can go to. I can't count how many times I got lost on my journey to med school. Thankfully I had older students who gave me advice concerning school, extracurricular activities, and so much more. I also did an amazing pre-med program one summer that equipped me with all I needed to become a successful applicant. Also, even though GPA and MCAT don’t make the applicant, they’re still very important. You might have to go to tutoring or take an MCAT class.


Extracurricular activities/Experiences:

o The AMCAS application asks for extracurricular activities (at least one and up to 15). For each activity, you’ll have to provide a short description (700 characters).

o You will have to pick at least one (and up to 3) meaningful activities. For those, you’ll have to type an additional paragraph explaining why it was meaningful to you (1325 characters).

o Quality over quantity. You might not fill out all 15 spaces on the AMCAS application but it’s better for them to see a few activities you did for years than to see 15 activities that each lasted a week. If you can, do as many activities as possible but don’t overwork yourself to the point where your grades suffer. When describing your 15 activities, make sure you include why it will make you a better physician (even if the activity has nothing to do with medicine, it could have helped you develop characteristics that are important to have as a doctor). I highly suggest that you have at least one shadowing experience and one clinical volunteering experience. A lot of pre-med students are also involved in research, though it is very possible to get into med school without research.

o They want to see personal development and the skills you will bring to their school and your practice. Choose activities that have a growing impact on you. Make sure you will be able to talk about them in your interviews.

o You should have a letter of recommendation from all of the activities you said were the most meaningful. You might not submit them to some schools, but some schools ask for those letters.

o If possible, try to have at least one activity in 6-8 categories (not a requirement though):
- Paid employment
- Community service/volunteer (both medical and non-medical)
- Research/lab
- Teaching/tutoring
- Honors/awards/recognitions
- Conferences
- Presentations
- Posters
- Publications
- Extracurricular/hobbies/advocations
- Leadership
- Athletics
- Other


Letters of Recommendation

o You can submit up to 10 letters of rec on AMCAS. For each school, you’ll have to select which letters you want them to receive. Every school has their own letter requirements so look on their websites before selecting what letters to send to them.

o GET THEM EARLY! It can take a long time for the letter writers to complete a good letter for you (one of my letter writers took almost an entire year!). Talk to them about potentially writing a letter for you as soon as you’re done with the class or experience so that they don’t forget about you.

o Not getting a letter is better than a getting a bad letter. Keep that in mind if you decide to ask someone last minute for a letter. Give them time to write the best letter possible.

o Most schools require two science professor and one non-science professor so be sure to ask those teachers.

o Give them your CV (CV essentials coming soon) and personal statement

o Go to office hours and get to know them

o Opt not to read the LOR even if they end up sending it to you


MCAT

o I took the old MCAT (the one with three sections and out of 45 points). I started studying three months before taking it and did as many practice tests as possible.

o I took Berkeley Review classes and also used Examkrackers to self-study. I can’t say if these companies are better than others. They worked well for me but of course you can always go to Kaplan or Princeton or any other company. I suggest taking a class though along with self studying.

o KHAN ACADEMY! It’s free :) you can use this along with your other MCAT study resources.


Choosing where to apply:

o I found MSAR to be the most important resource when picking schools. It's only $25 for a year's subscription and it tells you almost everything you need to know about a school before applying including, but not limited to:
- Mission statement and contact information
- Student life, research, and cost of attendance
- Combined degrees and special programs
- Matriculant demographics by race and gender
- Application deadlines and requirements (remember how I said schools vary in their required classes? You can find the classes on this website and whether or not they accept AP credit. You will still have to contact them to ask about studying abroad thought).
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (in my opinion)
- Selection factors: this is the freshman profile. It tells you the range and median of MCAT scores and GPAs and compares them to the national range and median.
*Note: don't let the numbers scare you though! There are always exceptions. I know a few myself*

o Most people apply to about 10-25 schools (depending on their confidence level and financial situation). The reason I said knowing the selection factors is important is because applicants need to be realistic. I highly encourage applying to a couple dream schools even if your numbers are up to par (I did!). But I also suggest applying to some back up schools (schools with average MCAT scores and GPAs near or lower than yours) along with schools exactly in your range.
- I applied to a few "out-of-reach" schools and I ended up getting accepted into one really early and getting interview invites for some of the others (I'll keep you guys updated on those). So I'm an advocate for occasionally ignoring the freshman profile. Just limit the number of "out-of-reach" schools (unless of course you have enough money to apply everywhere).

o The primary application is $160 for the first school and $36 for each additional school (keep in mind you'll have to pay for secondary applications and plane tickets/hotels for interviews also)

o Look into their grading system. Do you prefer letter grades? Pass/no pass? Honors/high pass/pass/fail? I personally prefer pass/no pass because it facilitates team work and minimizes competition. But everyone has their own preference

o Public vs. Private. Private schools tend to be smaller and more intimate. But public schools are usually less expensive. There are other pros and cons to both types of schools. Decide which kind you'd rather attend and apply to more of those schools

o I know I mentioned cost in the previous bullet point but I personally don't think cost should be a factor. One of my interviewers told me, "You'll be a doctor. You're gonna pay it off." But if money concerns you, include it in your decision making process

o For me, the biggest factor in deciding where to go was location and weather. I unfortunately was limited to certain states. I actually looked up "most racist states in America" and stayed away from those lol. In addition, I NEED sunshine. I don't care if it's cold or hot as long as the sun shines. Prolonged cloudy weather gets me down and demotivates me. I can't afford to lose motivation as a med student because I know I will need a drive to be able to keep up with the rigorous curriculum. Some of you might be in the same boat. Some of you might consider location for different reasons (getting away from home or staying close to home etc.) but regardless, location is usually a factor.

o I didn't include prestige for a reason. The goal should be to be HAPPY wherever you end up. Whether you like big or small or out of state or in state or sun or clouds. Pick a place where you will be happy. You'll be spending four years of your life there. You don't want to be miserable.


You're all done right?

Not exactly

o Proofread EVERYTHING! People tend to only proofread their personal statements and forget about activity descriptions, courses, and background information. Make sure your ENTIRE application is accurate and paints an accurate (and positive) picture of you

o Ask other people to proofread. People who know you well, doctors, med students, English majors etc.


APPLY EARLY!!

o The earlier you apply, the higher your chances are of getting in because most med schools do rolling admissions.

o I think one of the main reasons I am where I am is because I started the AMCAS app as soon as it opened and I submitted it only 4 days after they began accepting applications.

o HOWEVER, it's better for you to submit a perfect application a little late than to submit a rushed application on the first day.


*Note: most allopathic schools use AMCAS but some schools have other application processes so look that up before you start applying

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comment section below. Or you can email me directly using the “contact me” section at the bottom of my blog.

Stick around for more posts about other things like personal statements, CV essentials, interviews, secondaries, etc.

The Primary Application Part 1

• The most important quality of a pre-med student: PASSION! It’s so much work and it can be exhausting. But if you’re really passionate about being a doctor, it won’t overwhelm you. The entire foundation of your future rests on your passion.