- Joined
- Jun 2, 2017
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I received a lot of helpful advice on this forum and now wish to share my experience. I have been blessed with good fortune to be sure, but I have also learned some valuable lessons.
I'm soon to complete 4 + 1 years at NYU completely debt free. Here is what happened:
First, I was rejected from the BSMD program at Miami, which coming out of high school looked to me as my best option. First lesson learned. BSMD programs in my opinion prey upon the fears of high school kids who would likely have better options in a traditional path. In retrospect, it was a blessing I was rejected!
Next, I was rejected from Stanford where I would have likely matriculated at full cost had I been accepted. I did get accepted to Duke and Vandy, but bucked the conventional wisdom of going to the most prestigious university that opened its doors to me, and instead attended USC on full tuition scholarship. There, not only was I extremely happy and productive, but with a lower percentage of the student body being pre-med, I faced less competition for grades as well as clinical and research opportunities. And, did I mention, I was extremely happy there!
After that, I was denied early admission to Flexmed, though the experience of putting together an application early helped bring clarity to the narrative of my AMCAS application. Though I would have been eager to attend Mount Sinai at full cost, I wound up getting multiple offers of admissions with merit aid, including full COA offers from UCLA and NYU.
My advice is to follow passion and not prestige and also to recognize that the shortest path to medical school isn't necessarily the best path.
I'm soon to complete 4 + 1 years at NYU completely debt free. Here is what happened:
First, I was rejected from the BSMD program at Miami, which coming out of high school looked to me as my best option. First lesson learned. BSMD programs in my opinion prey upon the fears of high school kids who would likely have better options in a traditional path. In retrospect, it was a blessing I was rejected!
Next, I was rejected from Stanford where I would have likely matriculated at full cost had I been accepted. I did get accepted to Duke and Vandy, but bucked the conventional wisdom of going to the most prestigious university that opened its doors to me, and instead attended USC on full tuition scholarship. There, not only was I extremely happy and productive, but with a lower percentage of the student body being pre-med, I faced less competition for grades as well as clinical and research opportunities. And, did I mention, I was extremely happy there!
After that, I was denied early admission to Flexmed, though the experience of putting together an application early helped bring clarity to the narrative of my AMCAS application. Though I would have been eager to attend Mount Sinai at full cost, I wound up getting multiple offers of admissions with merit aid, including full COA offers from UCLA and NYU.
My advice is to follow passion and not prestige and also to recognize that the shortest path to medical school isn't necessarily the best path.
