I forgot to mention this in my video, but I do want to note that I recommend you focus on schools for which your stats are similar unless money isn't an issue. I didn't realize MSAR had percentiles for GPA and MCAT until after the end of the cycle. My ignorance simply happened to benefit me that time. If finances are tight, it would be in your best interest to apply to schools for which you fall within the 10th percentile. Best of luck :)
Wow i definitely though this was going to be another one of those 4.0, 520+ MCAT acceptances, but I am so glad I watched! Congrats to you and thank you for inspiring me 💗 I will be applying next year after taking my MCAT in January!
@@ShirleyHealthy Me too! Thank you so much for sharing. I am also a below-average GPA applicant with a cGPA and sGPA below or slightly below the 10th percentile to several schools. I wasn't going to apply to those schools because of it, but your video was so encouraging! Best of luck to you xx
Congrats and what a refreshing channel! Low stats, straight to the point, didn't ramble on about yourself for 30 minutes. I'll be following along! The only thing that would have made this video more helpful is mentioning the dates you submitted applications and the dates you heard back.
Hey, thanks for watching and subscribing :) Looking back through my emails / memories, here are the dates: For AMCAS: - 6/19/2019 - AMCAS transcript received - 7/4/2019 - AMCAS submitted - 8/5/2019 - AMCAS verified - 3/20/2020 - First and only MD interview invite - 5/5/2020 - MD acceptance For AACOMAS: - 6/14/2019 - AACOMAS transcript received - 6/30/2019 - AACOMAS submitted - 7/3/2019 - AACOMAS verified - 7/29/2019 - First DO interview invite - 9/2019 - First DO acceptance (different school than the first interview; can't find exact date of acceptance) I definitely recommend submitting your applications ASAP (but obviously don't rush and provide sloppy work). Hope that answers your question! Let me know if you have any others :)
@@ShirleyHealthy So helpful, thank you! So comforting to know that you can get acceptances off IIs even as late as March. I can stop neurotically freaking out at my zero IIs in July now 😅
LOL yeah, definitely no need to worry in July! Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about not hearing back from schools by a certain time because the vast majority will get back to you-just gotta be patient. It’s nerve-wracking but now it’s just a waiting game unfortunately 🙃 I recommend finding ways to preoccupy yourself in the meantime, preferably with something that would benefit your application if you have to re-apply. Not trying to discourage you or anything, but there are those with great stats who don’t get in and then there’s me, so sometimes it seems pretty random even though it’s not 😅 So always best to prepare for worst case scenario until you do get that first of hopefully many acceptances. Then you can go crazy and do whatever you want ahaha best of luck!
This is very inspiring! I was pretty down for a while when I knew that I got a B for one of my premed classes, but I know that grades aren't everything, and having people like you post videos about success in getting in are really helpful and motivating. Best of luck to your premed journey!
Hi, Evelyn :) Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you found my video inspiring! Grades are important, but yes, they aren't everything. One B won't make or break your journey to become a physician. What's important to remember is that we unfortunately can't change our past--whether it be grades, not joining enough extracurriculars, etc.--but we can always work to improve our future. So hopefully you're able to do that, and best of luck on your journey as well!
New subbie. Im so excited to follow your journey because you applied to one of my top schools. I decided I might need to do a master program then go to medical school and so im excited to see what all you accomplish
This is a great video and congrats +++ 😍 I'm amazed how many schools you guys apply to in America! Maybe here in Australia we just have fewer options 🤣🤣! Usually, we only apply to 1-3 universities. Really keen to see how your med student interview tips video goes. Subbed!
Thank you! Oh wow ahaha that's definitely not the norm in America. I don't know how easy it is to get into med school in Australia, but the acceptance rate here is around 40%, so most people apply to quite a few schools to increase their chances of getting in
I need some study tips and how to crush exam in college because I will be a upcoming freshman. I did very terrible in highschool and struggled in all my courses. I have a hard time trying to understand/ and not knowing what to study and how. Can u give me some advice?
Hey, there! So I actually touch on this in my "10 Tips to Get Into Medical School" video. In terms of learning to understand the material, take advantage of resources: office hours of both your professor and TA, tutoring offered by academic advising, forming study groups, online resources, etc. For remembering the material, use spaced repetition and active recall methods. I'll be making a future video about this, but there are various videos already made on this subject. I highly recommend Ali Abdaal's channel. Hope that helps!
Congrats on your acceptance!!! Do you have any pointers on how to tackle the interview questions? It is the one thing that mortifies about the medical school application process.
Hey, Mariano :) Thank you! Yes, I'll be making a video on that sometime next month going into more details and giving examples. For now, my top tips are: 1) Determine what sort of interview it is--one on one, group, MMI, blind, etc. Unfortunately, not sure how this will change during Covid since most interviews might be online. 2) Look up the most common interview questions for all med schools, and draft answers for them 3) Once you get your actual interviews, look up specific questions for each school and practice drafting answers for that: www.studentdoctor.net/schools/schools/12/all-medical-s-interview-feedback/1?orderby=sdn_ranking&kwd=&sort_col=sdn_ranking&sort_dir=desc&psr=0&all=1& 4) Tailor your answers and make them as specific to the school as possible 5) When asked about experiences you’ve had, describe them using the STAR method . When asked about questions in general, try to incorporate experiences to SHOW them how you are various positive qualities. Hope that helps! Feel free to email me / message me for additional questions :) Best of luck this cycle!
Congratulations! So, you accepted Western University’s offer but you ended up going to CUSM instead. How did that play out? Did you face any complications? I heard of newer medical schools providing free or reduced tuition for their student. Does CUSM do something like this?
Thank you! So for US med school applications, people generally apply to multiple schools. I was fortunate to also be accepted to multiple schools. I'd accepted Western's offer in September/October, and hadn't heard back from CUSM regarding an interview until April. Once I got accepted to CUSM and weighed my options, I decided to let Western know I'd no longer be going there so that my spot could go to someone else ASAP. Most people don't face any complications unless you have to wait until after the CTE (commit to enroll) date. Meaning let's say I got accepted to School #1, and their CTE date was May 30. I would have to fully commit to their school, and withdraw my candidacy / waitlist for all of my other applications. This is unfortunate for some applicants because they may still be waiting to hear back from other schools / still be on the waitlist for other schools, but in order to secure their spot, they have to commit to School #1 by that deadline. The purpose of the CTE date is that various applicants may hold acceptances to multiple schools, and the CTE date makes them commit to one so that other schools can give their spot to those on the waitlist / those still waiting to hear back. But anyway, I personally didn't face any complications because it wasn't that late in the cycle (April/May), and there were still a few months before school started. I simply emailed Western to thank them for everything (it's a great school!), and let them know I'd decided to withdraw. If you do get multiple acceptances, I recommend committing to one ASAP because the waiting process is a long and anxiety-inducing one, so it's nice when people hear back. In regards to free/reduced tuition, not all newer medical schools provide that, so you'll have to look at individual schools and see what their options are. I know Kaiser Permanente (free for first five classes of medical students) and NYU Long Island are two schools that cover tuition. CUSM does not cover tuition, but it does offer scholarships. Hope that answered your questions, and best of luck with applying :)
The Fee Assistance Program only helps a little...so how would you endure four years of medical school debt and paying the rent each month? Can you help me out and tell me how it is you are paying the rent portion? That I would really like to know. Are any of your parents helping you out with the $800 or so of rent each month?
Answer these next 2 questions: what is the maximum you personally are taking out in student loans per year? can it exceed $80,000 or not? That’s $320,000 before tuition gets taken off.
It depends on the source of your loans. I--as well as many other medical students--take out Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Direct PLUS Loans. Private loans are also an option, but the interest rates and terms of use can be complicated to navigate. I recommend you ask your financial aid office for info that's more specific to your school and situation. students-residents.aamc.org/financial-aid-resources/direct-loans-101
The Fee Assistance Program only helps a little...how would you endure four years of medical school and paying the rent each month? Can you help me out and tell me how it is you are paying the rent portion?
Hey, Jen! Just to clarify, the Fee Assistance Program is only for pre-meds, so it wouldn't help during medical school. In regards to your questions, there are definitely people who are more well-versed regarding finances who would have better suggestions regarding savings, scholarships, etc. As for me, I've been taking out federal loans. Due to COVID and classes being online, I've been able to live with my parents (as are many other students). Once we're back to in-person, I'll also be taking out loans for rent, tuition, and living expenses. Hope that helped! TDLR: Loans, loans, and more loans. And pray you can pay it off someday LOL
I forgot to mention this in my video, but I do want to note that I recommend you focus on schools for which your stats are similar unless money isn't an issue. I didn't realize MSAR had percentiles for GPA and MCAT until after the end of the cycle. My ignorance simply happened to benefit me that time. If finances are tight, it would be in your best interest to apply to schools for which you fall within the 10th percentile. Best of luck :)
Wow i definitely though this was going to be another one of those 4.0, 520+ MCAT acceptances, but I am so glad I watched! Congrats to you and thank you for inspiring me 💗 I will be applying next year after taking my MCAT in January!
LOL no, I wish ahaha thank you! I'm glad you found this video inspiring :) Best of luck on the MCAT and on applying next cycle!
emily fox Thank you for this message! First block was hard, and your message served as a nice reminder / boost of encouragement :)
@@ShirleyHealthy Me too! Thank you so much for sharing. I am also a below-average GPA applicant with a cGPA and sGPA below or slightly below the 10th percentile to several schools. I wasn't going to apply to those schools because of it, but your video was so encouraging! Best of luck to you xx
@@AB-fm7qh Hi Amy! Thanks for leaving a comment, and I'm glad you found this video encouraging :) Best of luck to you too!
Congrats on your acceptance! Looking forward to watching your journey over the next four years!
Thanks, Shaun :) Looking forward to watching yours too!
SHAUN!!! My favorite youtuberrr🥳
Heck yes showing everybody you can still do it with a low GPA!!!
Straight to the point. Love that
Ahaha yes! I hate unnecessarily long intros >.> Time is precious
Congrats and what a refreshing channel! Low stats, straight to the point, didn't ramble on about yourself for 30 minutes. I'll be following along! The only thing that would have made this video more helpful is mentioning the dates you submitted applications and the dates you heard back.
Hey, thanks for watching and subscribing :) Looking back through my emails / memories, here are the dates:
For AMCAS:
- 6/19/2019 - AMCAS transcript received
- 7/4/2019 - AMCAS submitted
- 8/5/2019 - AMCAS verified
- 3/20/2020 - First and only MD interview invite
- 5/5/2020 - MD acceptance
For AACOMAS:
- 6/14/2019 - AACOMAS transcript received
- 6/30/2019 - AACOMAS submitted
- 7/3/2019 - AACOMAS verified
- 7/29/2019 - First DO interview invite
- 9/2019 - First DO acceptance (different school than the first interview; can't find exact date of acceptance)
I definitely recommend submitting your applications ASAP (but obviously don't rush and provide sloppy work). Hope that answers your question! Let me know if you have any others :)
@@ShirleyHealthy So helpful, thank you! So comforting to know that you can get acceptances off IIs even as late as March. I can stop neurotically freaking out at my zero IIs in July now 😅
LOL yeah, definitely no need to worry in July! Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about not hearing back from schools by a certain time because the vast majority will get back to you-just gotta be patient. It’s nerve-wracking but now it’s just a waiting game unfortunately 🙃
I recommend finding ways to preoccupy yourself in the meantime, preferably with something that would benefit your application if you have to re-apply. Not trying to discourage you or anything, but there are those with great stats who don’t get in and then there’s me, so sometimes it seems pretty random even though it’s not 😅
So always best to prepare for worst case scenario until you do get that first of hopefully many acceptances. Then you can go crazy and do whatever you want ahaha best of luck!
I think I'm going to be in a similar situation GPA wise and hopefully mcat-wise. This gave me so much hope! Thank you!
Glad to hear :) Best of luck!!
This is very inspiring! I was pretty down for a while when I knew that I got a B for one of my premed classes, but I know that grades aren't everything, and having people like you post videos about success in getting in are really helpful and motivating. Best of luck to your premed journey!
Hi, Evelyn :) Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you found my video inspiring!
Grades are important, but yes, they aren't everything. One B won't make or break your journey to become a physician. What's important to remember is that we unfortunately can't change our past--whether it be grades, not joining enough extracurriculars, etc.--but we can always work to improve our future. So hopefully you're able to do that, and best of luck on your journey as well!
New subbie. Im so excited to follow your journey because you applied to one of my top schools. I decided I might need to do a master program then go to medical school and so im excited to see what all you accomplish
That's not a bad idea as you should only apply when you're ready :) Thank you for subscribing!
This is a great video and congrats +++ 😍 I'm amazed how many schools you guys apply to in America! Maybe here in Australia we just have fewer options 🤣🤣! Usually, we only apply to 1-3 universities. Really keen to see how your med student interview tips video goes. Subbed!
Thank you! Oh wow ahaha that's definitely not the norm in America. I don't know how easy it is to get into med school in Australia, but the acceptance rate here is around 40%, so most people apply to quite a few schools to increase their chances of getting in
Ahhh congratulations :-) I'm shirley excited to follow your journey!
LOL thank you! I'm excited to follow yours too :)
I need some study tips and how to crush exam in college because I will be a upcoming freshman. I did very terrible in highschool and struggled in all my courses. I have a hard time trying to understand/ and not knowing what to study and how. Can u give me some advice?
Hey, there! So I actually touch on this in my "10 Tips to Get Into Medical School" video. In terms of learning to understand the material, take advantage of resources: office hours of both your professor and TA, tutoring offered by academic advising, forming study groups, online resources, etc.
For remembering the material, use spaced repetition and active recall methods. I'll be making a future video about this, but there are various videos already made on this subject. I highly recommend Ali Abdaal's channel. Hope that helps!
Congrats on your acceptance!!! Do you have any pointers on how to tackle the interview questions? It is the one thing that mortifies about the medical school application process.
Hey, Mariano :) Thank you!
Yes, I'll be making a video on that sometime next month going into more details and giving examples. For now, my top tips are:
1) Determine what sort of interview it is--one on one, group, MMI, blind, etc. Unfortunately, not sure how this will change during Covid since most interviews might be online.
2) Look up the most common interview questions for all med schools, and draft answers for them
3) Once you get your actual interviews, look up specific questions for each school and practice drafting answers for that: www.studentdoctor.net/schools/schools/12/all-medical-s-interview-feedback/1?orderby=sdn_ranking&kwd=&sort_col=sdn_ranking&sort_dir=desc&psr=0&all=1&
4) Tailor your answers and make them as specific to the school as possible
5) When asked about experiences you’ve had, describe them using the STAR method
. When asked about questions in general, try to incorporate experiences to SHOW them how you are various positive qualities.
Hope that helps! Feel free to email me / message me for additional questions :) Best of luck this cycle!
congratulations!!! you did it :D
Thank you so much :D
Very happy to hear from someone who doesn’t have an astronomically high GPA
Me too 😂 Just glad it worked out and that I’ve been able to offer help to others in a similar situation
Congratulations! So, you accepted Western University’s offer but you ended up going to CUSM instead. How did that play out? Did you face any complications? I heard of newer medical schools providing free or reduced tuition for their student. Does CUSM do something like this?
Thank you! So for US med school applications, people generally apply to multiple schools. I was fortunate to also be accepted to multiple schools. I'd accepted Western's offer in September/October, and hadn't heard back from CUSM regarding an interview until April. Once I got accepted to CUSM and weighed my options, I decided to let Western know I'd no longer be going there so that my spot could go to someone else ASAP.
Most people don't face any complications unless you have to wait until after the CTE (commit to enroll) date. Meaning let's say I got accepted to School #1, and their CTE date was May 30. I would have to fully commit to their school, and withdraw my candidacy / waitlist for all of my other applications. This is unfortunate for some applicants because they may still be waiting to hear back from other schools / still be on the waitlist for other schools, but in order to secure their spot, they have to commit to School #1 by that deadline. The purpose of the CTE date is that various applicants may hold acceptances to multiple schools, and the CTE date makes them commit to one so that other schools can give their spot to those on the waitlist / those still waiting to hear back.
But anyway, I personally didn't face any complications because it wasn't that late in the cycle (April/May), and there were still a few months before school started. I simply emailed Western to thank them for everything (it's a great school!), and let them know I'd decided to withdraw. If you do get multiple acceptances, I recommend committing to one ASAP because the waiting process is a long and anxiety-inducing one, so it's nice when people hear back.
In regards to free/reduced tuition, not all newer medical schools provide that, so you'll have to look at individual schools and see what their options are. I know Kaiser Permanente (free for first five classes of medical students) and NYU Long Island are two schools that cover tuition. CUSM does not cover tuition, but it does offer scholarships.
Hope that answered your questions, and best of luck with applying :)
Thank you for taking the time to respond. You absolutely answered my questions. I appreciate your explanation.
The Fee Assistance Program only helps a little...so how would you endure four years of medical school debt and paying the rent each month? Can you help me out and tell me how it is you are paying the rent portion? That I would really like to know. Are any of your parents helping you out with the $800 or so of rent each month?
Well done.
Fallen Hero Thank you!
Answer these next 2 questions: what is the maximum you personally are taking out in student loans per year? can it exceed $80,000 or not? That’s $320,000 before tuition gets taken off.
It depends on the source of your loans. I--as well as many other medical students--take out Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Direct PLUS Loans. Private loans are also an option, but the interest rates and terms of use can be complicated to navigate. I recommend you ask your financial aid office for info that's more specific to your school and situation.
students-residents.aamc.org/financial-aid-resources/direct-loans-101
@@ShirleyHealthy but aren’t you getting student loans now? How much did you take out this year?
yay I go to med school in socal too. Best place in the country in my opinion for med school :)
simple med student Oh cool! Maybe we can meet sometime ahaha
ShirleyHealthy for sure!!
i really like your personality
Aw, thank you, Kareena :) That’s a very sweet comment!
The Fee Assistance Program only helps a little...how would you endure four years of medical school and paying the rent each month? Can you help me out and tell me how it is you are paying the rent portion?
Hey, Jen! Just to clarify, the Fee Assistance Program is only for pre-meds, so it wouldn't help during medical school. In regards to your questions, there are definitely people who are more well-versed regarding finances who would have better suggestions regarding savings, scholarships, etc.
As for me, I've been taking out federal loans. Due to COVID and classes being online, I've been able to live with my parents (as are many other students). Once we're back to in-person, I'll also be taking out loans for rent, tuition, and living expenses. Hope that helped!
TDLR: Loans, loans, and more loans. And pray you can pay it off someday LOL
Yay!!!
poggers
Why are we friends again? 🥲