The Premed Perspectives

This week, Esha sits down with Claire Jean, premed mentor and future medical student! She discusses her non traditional route of achieving success as a premed, including her engineering major and not having as many clinical hours as most applicants. 

She explains the important parts of the med school application and how to focus on things that you enjoy and give you valuable experience. She gives amazing advice for all premedical students and this is a must listen! 

If you are interested in the MCAT retake course that was mentioned during the episode, make sure you visit /www.pillartestprep.com/the-retaker-course and use discount code "PREMEDPERSPECTIVE" for 20% off of your purchase.

This week Lasya sits down with Maria Green, a medical student at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. She discusses her tremendous journey of taking the MCAT three times to cross the 500 score barrier. 

She describes her confidence levels every time she took the exam, what she improved every time she took the MCAT, what she did to improve her score during every attempt, what she would have done differently if she were to take the exam again, and how she made her school list based on her MCAT scores. 

If you are interested in the MCAT retake course that was mentioned during the episode, make sure you visit /www.pillartestprep.com/the-retaker-course and use discount code "PREMEDPERSPECTIVE" for 20% off of your purchase.

This week Ambika sits down with Dr. Cochran, a PGY2 Internal Medicine Resident. She discusses her interesting path of being an international medical graduate from Mexico and later completing her residency in Puerto Rico. Dr. Cochran shares the scarcely known fact that Puerto Rican residency has equivalent ACGME accreditation to US residencies. 

Dr. Cochran describes how working in Puerto Rico and Mexico with limited resources made her a better physician who was able to critically think in situations and  gives advice about applying to residences and the cost associated with it. She describes that not many people are aware at the amount it costs to go through the full journey.  

Listen to this episode if you are interested in working in Underserved Areas and want to learn about different paths to medicine! 

This week, Lasya sits down with Anjali Vaishnav. Anjali started her application cycle in 2020 (her senior year), graduated from The University of Michigan in 2021, and is currently an M1 at the University of Michigan Medical School. In this episode, she breaks down all the major milestones of a medical school application cycle, reflecting on what ultimately led to her successful outcome. 

First, she describes how she created a school list, focusing on many more factors other than average MCAT and GPA of matriculants. Next, she explains how she assessed her potential fit at the medical schools she was virtually interviewed at. Finally, she describes how she was weighed her acceptances and decided that the University of Michigan Medical School was her perfect fit.

Listen to this episode if you will be applying to medical school in the future - especially 2022 applicants - so you know exactly what you need to do to have a successful application cycle. 

If you are interested in the MCAT retake course that was mentioned during the episode, make sure you visit /www.pillartestprep.com/the-retaker-course and use discount code "PREMEDPERSPECTIVE" for 20% off of your purchase.

This week Ambika sits down with Dr. Katie Ruger, Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Life at Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Ruger discuses the application process and gives advice on how to “be yourself” in an application 

In this episode she discusses personal statement do’s and dont’s as well as the importance of including experiences in Osteopathic Medicine. She details certain student mistakes that admissions committees see through in the Personal StatementDr. Ruger also gives interview tips and gives advice on how to remain authentic in the interview. She is a big advocate for not giving “a text book” answer in an interview. 

If you are interested in applying to medical school, specifically an Osteopathic medical school, Dr. Ruger has the insider information that you want to know! Be on the lookout for a future episode with Dr. Amalfitano, DO, the Dean of MSUCOM, to hear more about what it is like to be an osteopathic physician and what being a DO truly means! 

If you are interested in the MCAT retake course that was mentioned during the episode, make sure you visit /www.pillartestprep.com/the-retaker-course and use discount code "PREMEDPERSPECTIVE" for 20% off of your purchase.

This week Lasya sits down with Kavya Davuluri, an MD/MBA candidate at the University Michigan Medical School + Ross School of Business. Kavya matriculated directly to medical school from Wayne State University. Her very unique experiences propelled her in this direction.

In this episode, Kavya discusses how she has a passion for business and was able to start an organization (OptiMize) in undergrad which helped others start their own businesses for social impact and participated in many business related internships — all alongside experiencing many medically related experiences.

She explains how she articulated her passion for medicine and business to gain admission to her top choice medical school with a merit scholarship. Overall, listen to this episode if you want to learn about how you can do what you love (medically or non medically related) and get into medical school!

In this episode, Viji sits down with Olivia Failla, who is a current OMSII at MSUCOM. Olivia received a BSN from the University of Michigan and worked as a registered nurse in a dermatology clinic before starting medical school. Olivia shares her motivation for pursuing nursing in undergrad and why she decided to apply to medical school later on. 

Olivia also discusses how she came overcame hurdles she faced in her path to medical school, including having to retake the MCAT and go through two application cycles before being admitted. She shares the valuable information she learned from her first application cycle to attain success the second time around. 

A lot of great information and advice in this podcast especially for those considering a career change into medicine or planning to reapply!

If you are interested in the MCAT retake course that was mentioned during the episode, make sure you visit /www.pillartestprep.com/the-retaker-course and use discount code "PREMEDPERSPECTIVE" for 20% off of your purchase.

Did you know that nearly 50% of people who apply to medical school have to take the MCAT multiple times? Retaking the MCAT can be a daunting feat, but Pillar Prep has the exact strategies and resources you need in order to do well on your next attempt. 

One of the only prep companies that offers a specific retaker course, Pillar's Prep promises one-on-one attention to your success, a customized study plan, 100s of strategy based videos, and a UWorld subscription as a part of your purchase. They have plans for you to improve your score in as little as 8 weeks! 

Check out https://www.pillartestprep.com/the-retaker-course for an in-depth look at the packages, and use discount code "PREMEDPERSPECTIVE" for 20% off of your purchase. 

LINK FOR PILLAR PREP REVIEWS: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/seanstudies.com

This week, Lasya sits down with Dr.Keme Carter, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Admissions at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr.Carter shares a lot about the mission and vision of the medical school such as what their curriculum entails, what students thrive in that curriculum, and what her favorite part of being a leader in the school is. 

Later, she answers some hot topics within the admissions world such as the pros and cons of taking a gap year, lack of clinical experience due to COVID, and whether research is experience is necessary for gaining admission to medical school. 

Listen to this episode if you want to hear directly from a medical school admissions expert to learn how you can get into your dream medical school! 

This week Lasya sits down with Nidhi Jha, a premed at Case Western Reserve University. Nidhi is a student athlete (tennis player) and a leader in many different communities, including her sorority/Panhellenic community. They discuss how Nidhi balances her various extracurriculars with being premed. Additionally, it is very difficult to study for the MCAT without any extracurriculars - let alone while being so busy! Nidhi discusses how she balanced the MCAT and found a lot of success on her second attempt. This episode is perfect for any student, premed or not, who is extremely involved in their college experience.