Overview of the Series

In this series of articles, I will be sharing excerpts of case studies on several of my former students (with their permission, of course). Names and other identifying information have been changed, but the material facts — MCAT score, GPA, etc. — are unchanged. The full case studies are published in my book, Pre-Med Success Stories.

I’ll present each case study in three parts (except this one!) — an introduction of the student, followed by an in-depth assessment of the student’s profile and chances for admission to medical school, and then finally I’ll explain what happened to the student once s/he applied.

In this article, I will finish this six-part series on a client of mine named Louise.

Part VI — Where Did Louise Get In?

Good news for Louise came soon. She was accepted to Albany Medical College and the Drexel University College of Medicine and also waitlisted to Georgetown University School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Medicine.

Through her emotional maturity, Louise was able to successfully demonstrate herself as a scientist, role model, and healer. The additional three years were necessary. It allowed her to be sure of her career choice — and it was good that she was so sure, because forensic pathology is an often-overlooked field within medicine. Her dealings with morbidity and mortality separated her from most pre-meds. While most candidates would be too fazed by the hands-on experience to actually pursue forensic pathology, Louise was sure that this was her calling — after all, she had been thinking it over for three years. These additional years made it clear to the admissions committee that Louise was not pursuing medicine on a whim. She was serious and it showed.

Science for Louise is much more meaningful when it’s considered in its social context. This was evident throughout her experiences. She wasn’t content in just learning the material; she needed to apply this knowledge by teaching youth, and she did so through her work as a student-teacher. Not only a scientist, she had developed as a person. And she demonstrated this in her application, where she was able to successfully capture herself as a human being that cares rather than just a pre-med who has big dreams. Medicine has intrinsic meaning for Louise and this shined throughout her application. It clearly demonstrated to medical schools that medicine was the only field for her.

Want to Hear More about Louise’s Story?

Louise is one of the most unique students I’ve ever worked with. If you’ve enjoyed her story, I recommend you check out my book Pre-Med Success Stories. It has much more on Louise’s experiences, including excerpts from her recommendations and personal statement.