How to Write Strong College Essays for Pre-Med and BSMD Applications

Webinar Transcription

2025-08-14-How to Write Strong College Essays for Pre-Med and BS:MD Applications

Anna: [00:00:00] Hello everyone. Welcome to our webinar on “How to Write Strong College Essays for Pre-med and BS/MD Applications.” We are so happy you’re here this evening or afternoon or morning, whatever time it is from wherever in the world you’re joining us from. We are thrilled you’re here. My name is Anna Vande Velde. 

Anna: I’ll be your moderator today. I’m a Senior advisor at CollegeAdvisor. I’ve been with the company for four years, and in addition to working with students one-on-one, I’m a co-captain of our essay review team. So I love our essay topics, uh, for our webinars. To orient everyone with the timing of our webinar,

Anna: we’re gonna start off with a presentation, then answer your questions in a live q and a. On the sidebar, you can [00:01:00] download our slides and you can start submitting questions in the q and a tab anytime. Please note that given our format tonight, questions that, um, would be helpful to other students as well will be the best fit conversations, uh, that are really specific about your situation.

Anna: Um, it’s not the best format for that, but we will get to options, um, for where you could discuss those questions with us. So submit your questions anytime as we go and we’ll get to as many as we can at the end. Keeping in mind that we’re gonna prioritize the questions that would be helpful to. Everyone here.

Anna: All right, enough housekeeping. I am thrilled to turn it over to our presenter to introduce herself – Ishaani. Oh, Ishaani, you are muted. 

Ishaani: Hi everyone. Sorry about that. Um, my name is Ishaani. Thank you so much for the warm introduction, Anna. And, um, so a little quick background on me. My [00:02:00] name is Ishaani. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs.

Ishaani: Uh, so I went to high school out there in the northern suburbs. Um, and then for undergrad and medical school I went to Brown for both as a member of Brown’s eight year, uh, BSMD program. The program in liberal medical education or PLME, sometimes colloquially referred to as plee-mee. Um, so I’m a recent graduate of Brown’s Medical School.

Ishaani: I’m currently an internal med, internal medicine, a resident. And then with respect to the college advising space, I also am, um. I’ve been working with CollegeAdvisor for a couple years now, and I’ve been working just generally in the college consulting space since my sophomore year of undergrad, so for about seven years now.

Ishaani: So I have a lot of experience, uh, working with students. I remember I went through the process of applying to colleges and BSMD programs myself about, you know, back when I applied in 2017. Um, and so I have my own [00:03:00] personal experience to build on. I’ve worked with so many students and I’ve sort of found my niche as well in advising, particularly in, um, this BSMD in pre-med space.

Ishaani: And then, um, are, the reason I love this work so much is I love the mentorship aspect, and I also love reading and writing and editing essays. Really pulling out students’ stories, um, and their individual stories and weaving them into these cohesive, thoughtful pieces. So that’s a little bit about me and the work that I’ve done in this space.

Ishaani: Um, I’m super excited to, for the webinar today, and to answer hopefully most of your questions and just give, just to give a good general chat about how to write a strong college essay, particularly for pre-meds and for BSMD program applicants. 

Anna: Well, we are excited to have you here. You’re the perfect person to talk about this topic, so we’re really glad you could join us.

Anna: Before I turn it over to you for your presentation, I thought it could be helpful for us to get a sense of who’s joining us. So I’m going to open this poll. Please let us [00:04:00] know what grade you are in or will be in if your school year hasn’t started yet. Uh, if you’re joining us as an educator, parent guardian support person, please select other while we wait for those results.

Anna: Shawnee, I’m gonna put you on the spot. Sorry. And ask, um, oh, this is actually a, a question from a student who registered for tonight. There are multiple BSMD programs. What made you choose Brown? 

Ishaani: That’s a really great question. So I think first things first, I think the student identified that there are a lot of BSMD programs.

Ishaani: I think it’s easy to kind of be like, oh, like they’re all BSMD programs. They’re all, um. Kind of the same, like they’re all guaranteed acceptances. I think every single BSMD program brings its own flavor, its own, um, you know, institutional vibe and mission. And that’s something to be really mindful of. And something that really excited me about Brown’s program in particular was the academic flexibility.

Ishaani: So Brown as an undergrad institution, even outside of Plain E, just [00:05:00] Brown as an undergrad institution, is really all about, um, academic freedom and the open curriculum and being the architect of your own education. Um, and I think with that. Kind of honor that it comes with a, that comes with a lot of responsibility.

Ishaani: So privilege and kind of sometimes if you’re undecided, can be a bit challenging and maybe in some ways a burden to not have any gen eds and to be like, wow, I have to really be so intentional and thoughtful and mindful with my curriculum. So for me personally, I knew I loved computer science classes as an undergraduate student.

Ishaani: Um, and I, one knew I wanted to major in computational biology. Brown was, I think one of three schools I even applied to that even had computational biology as a major. So that was a huge draw to me for Brown as an undergrad institution. And then the PMI program also, like, I was like, I could, you know, learn about these things as an undergrad and carry it on to med school.

Ishaani: And I also think the EE program in Brown as a whole just really has such a, I think, a great, uh, mission. And it’s a very, like, [00:06:00] focused on the social determinants of health. So I feel like I got a very, like, well-rounded, holistic and liberal arts kind of education at Brown, also as a med student. Even though I was a computational biology major, which is a pretty stem heavy major.

Ishaani: So, yeah. 

Anna: Yeah. Really cool. Thanks for walking us through your, your thought process there. Just so you know, joining us tonight, we have 50% seniors, uh, about 30% juniors, and then, eh, 15% 10th grade, and then the rest are distributed between eighth, ninth and other. So the full spectrum with us tonight. And with that, I will turn it over to you.

Anna: Yeah. 

Ishaani: So I’m excited to chat about, uh, these programs with everyone. I think the first thing I’d like to chat about is what does it even mean to be pre-med? Um, so essentially what that means is you’re interested in going to medical school after your undergraduate education. I think it’s super important to remember that there’s both MD and do [00:07:00] school.

Ishaani: Both are medical school, um, and both provide great training for you to become a doctor. Um, it’s also important to remember that there are many different pathways to medical school. So I know right now I’m talking to high school students that are think going into college, um, thinking that they wanna be pre-med and that they want to do MD or do school after medical school.

Ishaani: Um, I think it’s really important to remember that there are some people that have like non, and especially in my medical school, there were a lot of like non-traditional, quote unquote non-traditional students. Um, and what that means is some people that took a lot of gap years, people that had careers after college in different fields like tech and finance, and then found themselves drawn to a career in medicine and they ended up doing a post-baccalaureate or post-bac and then they went to med school.

Ishaani: So there are a lot of people that got into medicine that way and maybe sometimes took a little bit of time before becoming a physician or deciding that they wanted to become a physician. So that’s something I like to highlight and remind people that you don’t have to know now. Um, there are a lot of ways to could become a doctor if you don’t know right [00:08:00] now, when you’re 18 or 17 or 16.

Ishaani: I also think it’s important to remember that, uh, being a doctor is not the only way to have a career in healthcare. There are so many other ways to have, have amazing and fulfilling career in medicine. Um, for example, you could be a PA in physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, nurse practitioners.

Ishaani: Um, there’s just so many different ways to get into the field of healthcare and I think when people think healthcare, they think of doctors. But there’s just so many people that do such amazing work in healthcare and I feel like we’re like, not really. I mean, I wasn’t even aware of them until I was in med school and I was working with so many great people in the hospital.

Ishaani: So it’s just something I always like to let my students be aware of, um, to think about. Um, next slide. Let me see how I, ah, there it is. Okay. So now our next question is probably wondering what is a BS MD program? So kinda like the name Imply, so BS, so [00:09:00] Bachelor’s of Science and an MD program. That being said, like there are of course programs, you get a Bachelor of Arts and then an MD, the BS versus BA, not a huge difference, but I think people just tend to say BSMD.

Ishaani: ’cause that’s, you tend to go a bachelor of science before, but you don’t have to. So essentially what these programs are, are these combined and conditional acceptance programs to both an undergraduate and a medical institution directly after high school. So as a high school senior, you’re applying to a.

Ishaani: Both a medical institution and an undergraduate at the same time? Um, I think the conditional point is very important to highlight. Um, there are certain programs that have, um, pretty strict criteria that you have to meet after your four years of undergrad for you to like, earn that spot, um, in the medical school.

Ishaani: So it’s not like, oh, you got in when you’re 18, you’re set, you’re done. Some are like, okay, you got in conditionally if you meet this certain GPA requirement during undergrad, and if you get the certain MCAT score during your time as an undergrad. [00:10:00] So that’s the conditional bit. That is also something that varies a lot from program to program.

Ishaani: So, like I was saying before, not every BSMD program is the same. There’s a lot of variation and variety between different programs. So Brown, for example, it really, there were no conditions on our acceptance. Like we essentially got in, didn’t have to take the mcat, didn’t have a GPA requirement, essentially had to stay in academic good standing, which was essentially like not, you know, like.

Ishaani: Fail a lot of classes and you were good to go. And if there’s some programs that kept pretty strict GPA requirements, um, so that’s something that you’ll have to read on each individual website. And what I always advise my students to do is, when you’re thinking about BSMD programs, keep your running like spreadsheet list of schools and one of your columns, something that you’ll be looking at is, okay, is there conditional acceptance?

Ishaani: And if there is, what are those conditions? Just so you get a sense of the program. Now, kind of focusing more about the college essay, like the writing bit, um, as is at the topic for today’s, um, webinar. So why is [00:11:00] writing a strong essay important for when you’re applying to these programs? Um, something that, I don’t know if I mentioned explicitly.

Ishaani: I actually read apps for, um, Brown’s program in liberal medical education this past cycle. So I was an application reader, so I, you know, I applied to these programs. I’ve advised students these programs and now I’ve kind of seen the other end. I’ve seen how we evaluate students who have applied to these programs.

Ishaani: And from reading all those applications, I think it gave me such a great bird’s eyes view. Um, I think I really realized that these essays are really what tip, kind of tip the scale at this point to be really frank. Um, especially since when you’re applying these hyper ultra competitive programs, these essays are really the place where you get to show who you are at this level.

Ishaani: Like everyone has pretty fantastic test scores and extracurriculars and leadership. Um, but what really makes people pop outta their page is their writing, because that’s where we get a sense of voice. We get a sense of your character, we get a sense of like, why do you even want to be a doctor? And it’s not just a [00:12:00] list of all the things you’ve done, which is what a resume is and what the extracurricular sentence is, but it’s how you actually put those things into context and we get a sense of how you think about the world and what’s important to you.

Ishaani: So that’s, it’s really key to distinguishing yourself among all the other fantastic applicants who have equally strong. Test scores and extracurriculars. Um, I obviously don’t know how it works at other programs, but I think some of these programs kind of have like, you know, GPA kind of, you know, like, like only makes to even be selected for a review by the committee.

Ishaani: You have to pass, be above certain academic bars. Um, and then when you get to be reviewed by like the BSMD committee, then this is what makes you stand out. So how should my essays be structured? Um, I get this question a lot. There’s really no one correct way. I think this is really obvious advice, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to say it really ensure that you’re answering the question that was asked.

Ishaani: Um, I [00:13:00] think especially as I’m sure you know, these BSMD programs tend to have additional supplements and I usually try. Making very clear to my students that you wanna be like, very straightforward. Like I think you’re applying to medical school, you’re telling someone why do you wanna be a doctor? And you’re just the age, you know, like you’re only 18 and you’re committing to this lifelong career.

Ishaani: Um, and also to be frank, like years of training. So I applied to medical school when I was, you know, I essentially gone into medical school when I was like 17, 18 years old. And you, you know, medicine’s a long career. Like I will not be a full fledged doctor until 11 years after that at, that’s like the absolute fastest way I could become a doctor is four years of undergrad, four years of med school, and then minimum three years of residency.

Ishaani: It’s, it is a long time. So you’re really committing to a lot by applying to these programs. So you really wanna make sure your commitment and your passion to medicine clear. I think when you apply to anything, and this goes for cover letters and jobs, I always like to. Make sure that every [00:14:00] essay, like a why blank essay is always answering essentially two questions.

Ishaani: Why should this program want you? So what are you bringing the table? Why should this program be excited about you joining the ranks? And then also, why are you excited to join them? Why do you want this program? So think about like a relationship between you and this institution or you in this program and what are they getting and what are you giving?

Ishaani: So just I think ensuring that you’re really answering those two questions is key factors that make for a great essay. Um, I think you uniqueness, I think identifying a specific personal story, an area of interest within medicine. So I often work with my students. So when I work with seniors, I of course focus more on the application process, the essays and the editing.

Ishaani: But with my, um, students that are more early in the, the high school, so like ninth, 10th, 11th graders, I focus on extracurricular development and making, and I think something I really try to emphasize is trying to have like a niche [00:15:00] within medicine. I think for some people when I say niche, I think of like, oh, like I should tell them I wanna be a cardiologist or an orthopedic surgeon, or like a certain specialty.

Ishaani: And I wanna make it very clear. Niche is not a specialty. I think sometimes deciding you want to, you know, committing yourself to a specialty so prematurely at the age of 18, sometimes it actually, maybe lands a little bit worse. But what I mean by identifying a niche in medicine is identifying like an area or maybe an intersection between medicine and a different field that makes you stand out.

Ishaani: So when I applied to these programs, I um, talked about how I loved my computer science. Classes as a, as a high school student, but I also wanted a career in medicine and how I was excited to be at the intersection of the two. And so my niche within medicine was the intersection of, you know, computational work and computer science and medicine.

Ishaani: That was my niche. Um, I know some people were really into writing and they were like the school, like Steeler for the student newspaper, like a editor of [00:16:00] the school newspaper. And they also maybe wrote a few like health articles. So their niche could be like health journalism, narrative medicine. Um, some people took like a more engineering approach and like a more innovative approach to medicine.

Ishaani: Some people took like a very public health and like economics approach and their niche was like health economics. So if you have anything like that, that’s a fantastic thing to highlight and that will make you stand out a lot. Um, that’s one thing. But I also think really importantly is stories that can convey strong character.

Ishaani: You know, we see you on the paper, like you’re an incredibly accomplished student. Um, but what we can’t see on paper is like, who are you as a person? So I, I especially loved reading stories that gave a sense of like, who was this person and who are they? Like how do they help people? How do they step up for people and how do they think about the world?

Ishaani: Um, I think it’s really easy to talk. I think a lot of students do like amazing jobs talking about [00:17:00] volunteering. Um, but I think sometimes if speaking about it in a certain ways, like I’ve definitely read essays that have come across accidentally, maybe a little bit tone deaf. Um, and so just thinking about how you speak about volunteering and how interaction shape you, how you work with others, um, that’s fantastic.

Ishaani: And also, you know, weaving these interactions not only in the BSMD essays, but also your supplemental essays and your personal statement because, um, people do read your whole application when you make it to that level. And also, again, you’re applying to a BSMD program. You’re just 18, you’re why medicine should be very clear.

Ishaani: Like, why do you even wanna be a doctor in the first place? Um, and so how can I demonstrate my interests and passions for medicine through my stories, uh, through my essay? So my suggestion is always tell a story. Um, you know, to the best of your abilities. Sometimes it’s a quick hook and it’s like a mini story that’s like two to three sentences long.

Ishaani: And then you kind of get into the why this program. But a story always grabs people’s attention. [00:18:00] Um, really highlight if you’re applying to a BSMD program, highlight the more medical activities, of course in your BSMD supplemental essays. Um, I always advise my students talk about max one to two activities per essay.

Ishaani: If you talk and even two with pushing it, if you go to three, then it just, sometimes just, it’s like, I did this and I did that and I did this, and it feels just like a bullet point list. And I’m like, well, I have a bullet point list of your activities already. It’s in your resume. I want to, I wanna have this activity pop off the page and really come to life.

Ishaani: So try focusing on one thing really well. And I always advise students if they have like multiple volunteering experiences, try to focus more on like hands-on active experiences like volunteering, research, um, then more passive experiences and the things that have more of an indirect impact. So I think there’s some students that are like, oh, I, I volunteered and I like led a fundraiser that raised X amount of dollars towards this cause.

Ishaani: And that’s fantastic and amazing work. But I think when people speak about that, as opposed to speaking about like, oh, I [00:19:00] worked in a nursing home and I played piano for, um. Residents of a nursing facility. I think that like the direct impact was indirect impact. The direct impact always is a little, it sparkles a little bit more to be honest.

Ishaani: Um, people always ask me like, okay, like Shawnee. Then what did you talk about in your BSMD program? So I did anecdotes, you know, like I focus on my medical activities as I suggested prior. So I did anecdotes of my medical volunteering. So I volunteered at a neighborhood assisted living facility. And then I also spoke briefly to like my own scientific research.

Ishaani: Um, I very clearly identified my own niche within medicine, so computer science and computational biology as I mentioned before. And I think one thing I wanna also mention about the scientific research bit. So I think mine, I really quickly just slipped it in more in passing just to highlight that I did it, but I, it wasn’t like I was getting into the nitty gritty scientific detail.

Ishaani: I wasn’t saying my thesis was titled. And the long [00:20:00] title or I wasn’t saying, and then, so it was pretty surface level to be honest. Um, and a again, especially when people do like, remember that the, think about who’s reading your essays. So in these application committees, it’s a, it’s a lot of different physicians from a lot of different specialties.

Ishaani: So if you speak to like a really specific molecular biology project you did, and you speak about it for like a paragraph, and then the person who’s reading it is someone who’s like, very clinical in a very different field, they’ll probably be like, oh, that’s like interesting and good to know, but they might not be able to like relate or connect to it too much.

Ishaani: So when you speak to something that’s like super, super specific and you, and especially scientific, sometimes I, I feel like my, you know, like people’s eyes tend to glaze over a little bit more, but like human interactions of like, oh, I, I spoke to this assisted living facility and I had this really meaningful interaction with this senior citizen.

Ishaani: I think people like everyone can kind of relate to that a little bit more.

Ishaani: Um, so common mistakes to avoid in the pre-med and BS MD essay [00:21:00] process. Uh, not tailoring ’em to a specific school and program. So that kind of goes back to the point I was making at the beginning of, um, not all BS MD programs are the same. Each has their own distinct personality and ethos. Um, I know Browns of course, is like this, like Brown’s a very liberal institution as very like, so kind of more social medicine and wanna think about the patient as a whole person.

Ishaani: Um, I know certain BSMD programs, they’re a lot more like STEM heavy and innovation heavy. So that’s just really look through the, the website and then think about the words they use. Try to like reflect their language, reflect their values back to them. Um, and that also like shows that, you know, you put in the effort in the work to really understand this program and so then you’re, why that program?

Ishaani: It shouldn’t be like, oh, I wanna do BSMD. Just so I can, like I had this guaranteed empty acceptance, like, that’s so cool. Obviously we’re all thinking that, but you don’t wanna say that. Um, you should have like a specific reason of like, [00:22:00] I’m really drawn to your program’s, focus on this and your program’s focus on that and how that and the big picture will make me a better physician.

Ishaani: Um, and then also, again, don’t rehash your resume. Really focus on Max wants to do experiences and focus on explaining stuff like a couple things. Well, rather than listing everything and not really explaining any of it that well.

Ishaani: Um, and then my last piece of advice, uh, really be yourself. I think writing college essays. I remember feeling this as well, like when I was writing my essays. It is such a tricky time. You like want to put your personality out there, but also like not too much, but not, you don’t wanna be like boring and you don’t wanna give too little personality, but if you’re too much of yourself, you’re like, do I sound too casual?

Ishaani: Should I be more formal? So try being, I think my best view advice is always be authentic. I think sometimes people are like, oh, like I should just, you know, you don’t wanna sound like you’re like a, you know, like you’re just also like, you’re just a teen, [00:23:00] you’re a high school student. You also wanna get across your sense of like fun and playfulness if you can as well.

Ishaani: So be yourself. Don’t be like inauthentically, like formal. And also don’t be like inauthentically. Like I think some people are just trying to do like things that are really out there and really unique, but if it feels very forced sometimes it feels very forced. Um, so that’s my piece of advice there. If you are like, I don’t know if my essay is forced or not, ask someone else to read it and give it a glance over and ask someone for their honest opinion.

Ishaani: Uh, ask someone that you trust would really give you their honest opinion and not be like, oh, like it looks great ’cause they wanna make you feel good. One exercise that I do with my students who are writing essays, and this is like not just for BS MD programs, but any essay is really ask yourself before you start writing, what are you trying to tell the reader about yourself here?

Ishaani: So like you’re showing this moment of you and your volunteering experience. Ask yourself, okay, someone just read your essay. What do you want them to think about you? They wanna think that you’re at these X, [00:24:00] Y, Z adjectives. So really do that. And so one exercise I do with my students is when they write an essay down and I’m reviewing it, I’m like, tell me paragraph by paragraph, what are you trying to get across in paragraph one?

Ishaani: What’s point of paragraph two, paragraph three, paragraph four, paragraph five? And sometimes it helps just like organize your thoughts and your flow of the essay and like what are you even trying to tell you? And it also help sometimes helps people realize like, oh, actually, like I don’t really know what I’m trying to get across in paragraph two.

Ishaani: Maybe I could cut it and replace it with something more impactful. Again, make it really clear why, you know, you want a career in medicine, you’re deciding to this lifelong journey and this like really amazing profession, um, so young. And so speak to the experiences that make you confident about why you want this career.

Ishaani: Um, and then this is something that I personally think maybe it’s, again, could be like the Brown University ethos in my personal opinion. So take with a grain of salt, but at its core remember that medicine is a people facing and a service [00:25:00] focused profession. So I think hiding the character bit in the human and as and in the human aspect of medicine is really important.

Ishaani: Obviously, like we want our doctors to be like very smart people that know, have all these answers and can work through these really complicated, um, diagnoses and everything like that. But also at the same time, we want them to be really kind to humanistic. People that like working with people and that enjoy working with people.

Ishaani: Um, the way that I like to explain it is like when you think, if you think about, you know, a doctor that’s really had an important impact on you, maybe it’s someone that took care of you or like a family member. When you think about an amazing doctor, is it, sometimes it’s people that were like really proficient and really amazing at their job, but also sometimes it was people that just like explained things really well or were very kind or were really thoughtful and made you feel very safe.

Ishaani: Um, and I think that’s sometimes what separates a, a good doctor from a great doctor. So think about that as well. [00:26:00] Um, those are the main things that I wanted to chat about. I feel like I went through those slides pretty quickly, so if people have more questions, but that leaves us more time for quick q and a.

Ishaani: So 

Anna: Yeah, exactly. That just leaves more time, more time for questions. Thank you so much, Ishaani. As you said, that’s end of the presentation part of the webinar. We hope you found this information helpful and remember, you can download the slides from the link in the handouts tab. And I forgot to say this at the start.

Anna: Thank you to someone who asked this in the q and a. This is being recorded. And it will be emailed to you after we have some time to get it processed. Um, so you will be able to, uh, look back at all of this. We’re gonna move on to the live q and a. I’ve been reading through the questions you submitted, both now and when you registered.

Anna: As I get to each one, I will paste it into the public chat so everyone can see it, and then I’ll read it out loud before responding. As a heads up, if your q and a tab isn’t [00:27:00] letting you submit questions, just double check that you join the webinar through the custom link in your email and not from the webinar landing page.

Anna: So you might need to close out, go to your email, click the link you got there and rejoin. But remember, it’s being recorded. It’ll be emailed to you, so you won’t miss anything if you have to do that. All right, I think that’s the housekeeping. So let’s just dive into our first question. Ishaani, do you think students should write a separate personal statement for BSMD programs that’s more medical centered and then a different essay for the rest of their, uh, schools?

Ishaani: So I’m assuming when you, like you’re talking about the common app essay, like the essay you submit is your common app personal statement? Yep. The 

personal statement. Yep. 

Ishaani: So I, I personally did not, I wrote one common app essay, um, for the same, for all the programs I applied to. Mine personally was like not related to medicine at all.

Ishaani: Mine was all about, um, jazz. So I was a [00:28:00] musician in high school and I still, like, I’m a little bit of musician today, so I played the bass and I, I talked about jazz versus classical music and how class or jazz, you know, taught me how to, you know. Hmm. Deal with ambiguity and there not always being a right answer ’cause you have to improvise.

Ishaani: And it’s about listening to each, you know, the fellow, there’s like the interaction. So I, mine was just about music and like the lessons it taught me and the lessons jazz taught me that’ll like help me carry, that I can carry forward in life. So not only to medicine at all. Um, to be honest, I feel like these BSMD programs tend to ask, like if you look at their supplemental essays, it tends to be like, sometimes two, 300 word essays or like 1-4, 500 to 750 word essays.

Ishaani: So they’re, they’re pretty long hefty supplementals. You have a lot of space to really dig into why medicine in the BSMD supplements. So I’m personally of the opinion, um, that to really make yourself pop again, stand out and pop out of the page, um, I, I like prefer kind of hearing a common app essay that [00:29:00] isn’t related to medicine, or at least you just don’t wanna be repetitive, I think is my biggest piece of advice.

Ishaani: If, you know, like, if you’re repeating a lot of topics between your common app essay and your BSMD essays and it’s like. You know, you’re talking about the same thing twice. You could be using those words in a better way. So I, if my, if I was working with one of my students, I’d usually try advise ’em to like, honestly not write about medicine in their personal statement or write about it in a way that’s very different or like, maybe mention more in passing compared to your, um, your BSMD essay.

Ishaani: So that’s my, my opinion on that. I don’t think you need to write a new essay, um, for just the BSMD programs because you’ll address all those points in the BSMD supplements. 

Anna: Helpful, thank you. Mm-hmm. You mentioned at the start there are different types of med school. There’s a, an MD degree in DO. 

Mm-hmm.

Anna: Can you elaborate on what those stand for and what the differences between the programs are? 

Ishaani: Yeah, so basically MD school, that’s what’s called like allopathic medical schools. And then do is [00:30:00] osteopathic medical schools. Let me confirm. I got those right. Um, so Brown, for example, is, um, a. An MD school, um, and lemme just confirm I got that right.

Ishaani: Essentially what, what the difference is is like in the actual training, like, you know, I think do students have to take a few additional like exams during medical school, but we still take the same like step one boards, step two boards during medical school and um, get compared apples to apples.

Ishaani: Traditionally, what people say is that, um, MD schools are more competitive to get into than do schools traditionally. Um, and then sometimes because of that it’s a little bit for very competitive specialties, like when you’re applying to residency. Um, it’s a little bit harder to get into them from do schools.

Ishaani: That being said, there are students that absolutely kill it in do schools and match ’em to extremely competitive [00:31:00] specialties like orthopedic surgery and radiology, et cetera, et cetera. So it definitely can be done. Um, that’s kind of the general difference. Um, I wouldn’t think too, too hard about it at this time since you’re in high school, but most of these BS MD programs, it’s, I don’t think there’s really BSDO programs to my knowledge.

Ishaani: Um, but that’s my understanding of it. And if you want to read more about it, I’m sure there’s, you could just like do a quick, like, what’s MD versus do and they’d be like some quick bullet points, but that’s like the, the practical kind of answer to your question. 

Anna: Thank you. Mm-hmm. Um, so you are on the other side of your BSMD program.

Anna: How rigorous was it? 

Ishaani: Yeah, so that’s the thing. Browns BS MD program, I think for all intents purposes compared to other, uh, these of these combined programs is pretty. Like it was, you know, like Brown’s like a challenging institution. Like I was academically challenged as an undergrad for sure, but I think like I didn’t have a GA requirement, I didn’t have to take the mcat.

Ishaani: So was my journey into [00:32:00] getting into med school a lot easier than most people getting into med school? Like yes. So I think I was lucky that like I learned a lot and it was challenging and I felt really academically motivated to try and push myself. But could I have like coasted a little bit more and like could I have made it a little bit less rigorous?

Ishaani: Yeah. 

Anna: And if students are interested, how do they apply to BSMD programs? Are they on the common app? 

Ishaani: Yeah, so it’s a really fantastic question. Um. So somewhere on the common app, I remember again, I applied like eight or nine years ago now. But Browns, for example, was on the common app, like part of the, the common app.

Ishaani: It was like, are you interested in applying to plea me? And I clicked, yes. Then I had two additional supplements just to fill out. Um, some, I believe, like I had to do these like in their own separate individual application portals. Um, obviously stuff has changed in the past eight to nine years, I’m sure.

Ishaani: So maybe like, you know, new schools have joined the Common App, BSMD programs. I think also like the [00:33:00] programs and themselves are in flux. Like there are programs that like you used to be able to apply to eight to nine years ago and like programs shut down and stuff like that, for example. So my piece of advice is just like, the best way to answer this question is just go on, there’s those individual programs, websites and just see what they say.

Ishaani: Like, is it an individual application? Is it in the common app? They’ll make it clear on those websites. 

Anna: Getting some good questions about your thought process. Uh, when you were applying and making all these decisions that I think could be really insightful for students. So one is why did you choose a BSMD program instead of, uh, you know, going the traditional route that’s, did you apply to other programs?

Ishaani: That’s a really fantastic program and, uh, question. I think it’s one that I didn’t address, so I’m glad we’re getting to it. So usually when I think of BS in the, like as someone who’s advised, while in this space, when I think of people who apply to BSMD programs, I feel like I put them in like one of two buckets.

Ishaani: I have some, I’ve worked with some students who are like, extremely motivated and [00:34:00] their main goal of the college application processes to get into a BSMD program, like that’s their goal. They’re like, I want to get into a BSMD program period. So they apply to BSMD programs and again, since they’re, they’re so competitive, it’s sometimes they’re like applying to like, you know, I’ve heard of students apply to like 20 BSMD programs.

Ishaani: Um, like a lot I personally applied to, I wanna say. Like five or six. And so that’s like kind of bucket one is like the kind of thing where it was like the BSMD or like, or or bust bucket of people that had that kind of mindset. Um, and then there’s bucket two, which I was more a part of where I was like, I know I wanna be a doctor, I know I wanna get do med school after undergrad, but whether I do that after a four year instant program that I, like a four year undergrad institution that I love or I go through a BSMD program either is fine with me.

Ishaani: So I applied to like a small handful of BSMD program and then also some, like some top tier colleges that I was really excited about as well. And in addition to my like, you know, safeties and reaches ’cause one, [00:35:00] you wanna cast a wide net and make sure you’re not only applying to BSMD programs so you have safety and reaches and those programs of course are not, um, safeties and reaches for anyone or safety or targets for anyone.

Ishaani: So that’s kind of the two ways of thinking about it. I also wanna remind students that most people become a doctor by going to. You know, undergrad, taking the mcat, getting a grade application ready and applying to med school. So I have something to like, oh, I need to get into a BSMD program. And it’s really important to emphasize, you don’t need to get into a BSMD program.

Ishaani: You’ll get into an amazing undergrad program that could set you up for an to be an amazing medical school applicant and be an amazing doctor. Um, so that is kind of how to think about it and don’t have the B like apply to a lot of BSMD programs. So I’m very for that, if that’s what you want, but don’t have a BS or bust m like BSMD-or-bust mindset is my big piece piece of advice.

Ishaani: Um, so what I think personally is I, I knew I wanted to apply to these programs, so I applied to a handful of them only at [00:36:00] programs that I’d really genuinely be happy and excited to be at their undergrad institution. And then I also applied to undergrad programs that I liked as well. Um, and then I, I, I think another important thing to note about BSMD programs is sometimes they’ve interviews the acceptances, come back later.

Ishaani: So since I was applying to a decent amount of BSMD programs, I didn’t want, I was like, I’m not intentionally not applying anywhere early decision because if I gotten somewhere ED, then I was like, I, I can’t go to a BSMD program ’cause I’d find about those acceptances like, you know, later in the application cycle.

Ishaani: So that’s how I thought about it. Um, and it all worked out for me and I just, at the end of it, I applied nothing. Early decision. I had no binding stuff. Um, and I just saw all the acceptances I got and then compared apples to apples and realized Brown Plain was the best fit for me in the program I was most excited about.

Anna: That’s great. Thank you. And sticking with your personal journey for a bit longer, how are you planning on using computational biology in your career? 

Ishaani: Yeah, that’s [00:37:00] a great question. Um, I’m still figuring it out myself. Um, I, that’s a great question. So I’m currently doing some research in this space and still deciding.

Ishaani: If it’s something that I really want to like, have as be part of my career as a physician, um, I’m doing an internal medicine residency, so what’s really exciting about that is I can, you know, sub-specialize further after that. So different directions you can go. Um, so I’m thinking about first of all, like what subspecialty do I wanna apply to in three years?

Ishaani: Um, I feel like I know, but I wanna be like a hundred percent certain. And then once I go from there, I can kind of think more about my like, academic and research niches in the computational space. Um, that being said, I know people, like some colleagues and friends from med schools that are like really in this space.

Ishaani: I think some of like a done amazing work applying, um, computational methods to radiology. For example, I’ve had some, uh, friends who have done amazing work, like building apps that help people with [00:38:00] health, um, with respect to like global health or, you know, even like companies and like a more informatics way in like a more, um, business focused way.

Ishaani: So there’s really so many directions you can take it. 

Anna: Uh, thank you. Here’s, uh, another interesting question. Can you apply both to the college undergrad program and BSMD? So let’s say you don’t get into the BSMD program, could you still go to its undergrad program? 

Ishaani: That’s a great question. So I think, again, that’s specific to the school.

Ishaani: I think for the most part, I wanna say like, usually like, yes, but I obviously like haven’t checked every BSMD program, so I don’t wanna lead you astray. But like, for example, at Brown, like when you apply to play me, you’re automatic, like you’re applying to Brown as an undergrad institution and you’re applying to play me.

Ishaani: So there are some, there are people for sure that like, have got, got, get accepted into abroad as an undergrad institution, but then don’t get accepted to pmi. So you def for sure, you totally can. It’s not like, oh, you didn’t get into [00:39:00] BSMD program, you can’t even get a bachelor’s here. I feel like most programs don’t do it that way.

Anna: Thank you. Um, shifting a bit, how do you recommend students get research experience when they’re in high school? Yeah, that’s a really great question. 

Ishaani: Um, I, my biggest piece of advice is to think about any nearby institutions. Um, I know I was like really fortunate and lucky to be honest. Like, I lived in the suburbs of Chicago, so there are so many medical institutions in the city of Chicago, and I was able to commute to go downtown.

Ishaani: Um, so I honestly like, like just Googling like high school internship Chicago, like, I did like a lot of Googling applied to like, honestly like as a high school student. There not that many formal internship opportunities. At least there were when I was in, when I was like applying. So I found like two or three internships to apply to.

Ishaani: I applied to those, but also in addition to that, I was cold emailing like so many people. Um, [00:40:00] so I would, I guess my piece of advice would be one if, see if there’s institution near you. Um. Hopefully. And then just cold email people that have research interests that align with you. And you know, like this is the kind of thing where like you might send out 15, 20 emails and hope one to two people get back to you.

Ishaani: Um, my like, kind of hacks for making this a little bit better is if you’re able to find the email of their administrative assistant online, always CC the admin assistant. ’cause a lot of these people are really busy doctors or really busy PhD like PIs of these labs and they’re not, they’re just like, they get so many emails a day.

Ishaani: So if you CC an admin assistant, they’re more likely to respond to the email, whether that’s positive or a negative response. Um, so that’s my kind of little hack there. And then also if you respo, if you email the PI and they don’t get back to you, consider emailing someone that’s like, a little bit, like, not the pi, but like maybe like a senior scientist or someone else in the lab.

Ishaani: Um, and then [00:41:00] also in, in this, especially since like, you know, you guys are like, we’re in the age of remote. Like when I was applying, like I. I went, all, all these internships were in person, but now I know so many people do, and like, you know, myself included, like remote research opportunities where I do research projects without really meeting mentors in person.

Ishaani: So that’s, it’s even more possible for you, but you just have to find the right person, um, which is, is challenging, especially as a high school student. 

Anna: So, and I’m just gonna add as a follow up to that Ishaani, do you think students need to have research experience to get into college or BSMD program? 

Ishaani: I think to get into college, absolutely not.

Ishaani: Like, for sure. No. Um, I like, did I always say, like, now looking back, like I feel like I, I just dipped my toes into research as a high school student. I had like a five week internship. Um, I didn’t have any papers like published or any abstracts. Like I didn’t get any, like, I didn’t have any like output from it.

Ishaani: ’cause you know, I was just a high school student. That being said, like. [00:42:00] There are definitely people that do have research output in high school. Um, that just wasn’t me personally. And, you know, like I, I got into a BS MD program without research output. I’m sure there are people that got in with research output and there are people that were rejected that, you know, didn’t have did or didn’t have.

Ishaani: So it’s, I think again, it’s like, you know, what makes you really stand out of the page is, um, you know, it’s the, the character and like how you convey yourself and your story and like your desires and, you know, goals for a career in medicine. Um, so that would be my, my 2 cents on that. 

Anna: Great, thank you.

Anna: You’ve been going strong for over 40 minutes now, so I’m gonna give you a little break. Thank you. So I can talk about CollegeAdvisor. I’ve seen some questions in the chat about is Ishaani an advisor? How can we learn more about who we could work with at CollegeAdvisor? This is how you learn that. Scan this QR code.

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Anna: we are here for [00:45:00] the whole process, uh, all the way up to when you have multiple acceptances and you’re trying to decide where to go. Uh, we’re here for that, that part as well. So please, whatever grade you’re in, give that QR code a scan, get that free assessment, um, with some of our initial recommendations and learn more about how we might be able to help.

Anna: We would love to have you join the CollegeAdvisor family. That said, we’re gonna go back to the q and a, but that QR code’s gonna stay on the screen, so give it a scan if you haven’t. Um, Ishaani, we’ve gotten a handful of questions about this. What extracurriculars or experiences do you recommend in general?

Ishaani: Yeah, that’s a really great question. Um, so first things first, I wanna make sure, um, like getting these medical stuff like related to extracurriculars is super important. But I also wanted to, before I got into that in more detail, [00:46:00] I just wanna add that you should like, what, at least, you know, for programs like, like we love seeing well-rounded students.

Ishaani: Like all your essays should not be about medicine. We wanna know about your life and who you are outside of medicine because this is an important and exciting career. But obviously, like you are so much more than your career and we wanna know that, you know, like hearing about how a student also plays a sport or isn’t a band, or does choir, like, that’s really great to get context of who they are.

Ishaani: And also those are very character building activities. Um, and you wanna see ’em as multidimensional as possible. Um, so I always, I always wanna make it clear that like you shouldn’t, like, I’m gonna talk a little bit more right now about the medical specific essays or specific activities, but. Don’t, just don’t drop everything unless it’s related to medicine.

Ishaani: Like have, you know, I think that’s what I’m, it makes you stand out and look even better. Um, so kind of now answer the question of like, what are those medical related activities I can do? So, um, I like to think of in [00:47:00] like kind of two buckets. There’s like one’s like the more scientific kind of medicine, one’s like the more human end.

Ishaani: So scientific kind of think that’s like more things like research, um, shadowing in a doctor’s office, which I know sometimes is a hard opportunity to get, especially like when there’s like age and you’re like, oh, I’m under 16, et cetera. So do your best to try find these opportunities. Then there’s stuff that really emphasizes the human aspect of medicine.

Ishaani: So like, I know a lot of students do volunteering in, again, I feel like I mentioned like assisted li living facilities. Um. Community centers around you, like, you know, community health centers. Um, and really I think my biggest piece of advice, ’cause I have a lot of students that are like, oh, like, well the hospital’s far from me, I can’t shadow at a hospital.

Ishaani: I would encourage ’em to take a step back and really have like a pretty broad definition of health and like, what impacts health. Um, so, you know, think about community health centers. I’ve had students that are like, oh, I’m interested in volunteering at a local public library for this program that like, you know, where you read to kids and if you really think [00:48:00] about it, like so many things and the social determinants of health impact people.

Ishaani: So you can always find a way to tie those kind of activities back to medicine. Um, so I’d always, I think about that as well. I also think having a little bit of clinical time is also a strength because you’re, you’re saying, Hey, I wanna be a doctor at the age of 18. And I think what people, especially like you, people that are reading these are like, these, like, you know.

Ishaani: Older doctors and they’re probably thinking, okay, like what does this, does this student even know what being a doctor looks like? Do they even know what that really entails? They know what, like a privilege. Um, but also sometimes like onerous task that is, so if you’re able to, I think having some clinical activity, like you don’t need it, but having a sense of like what an honor and privilege is to have someone’s health in your hands is having something that kind of like conveys that is really special and makes people stand out.

Ishaani: For sure. 

Anna: The flip side of that question is, are there any extracurriculars you do not recommend? [00:49:00] 

Ishaani: Um, don’t remember. Honestly, I don’t think, there’s nothing, there’s nothing that I, I think is like, I don’t think there are any like red flag extracurriculars obvious. Um, so I, I don’t think so. Granted, if you, you know, I think if you’re writing your essay, like, I don’t think it’s a red flag to do certain activities, but like, don’t spend your.

Ishaani: Entire BSMD program talking about how you’re volleyball captain like that’s awesome and I’m not, that’s amazing. But you know, talk about stuff where it’s appropriate. That’s the place where you wanna be talking more about your more medical related activities. And maybe you can talk about being volleyball captain in your personal statement.

Ishaani: So just put things in the appropriate spot, but there’s no bad extracurriculars in my opinion. 

Anna: Yeah, and I’ll just add from my own personal experience, what I advise against is just signing up for a bunch of extracurriculars because you think it’ll look good on your college application. I did that in high school and guess what?

Anna: They didn’t all even fit on the application. ’cause they set a limit. You can only [00:50:00] submit 10. So I did all of that and I couldn’t even put it all on the application. So. I suggest that you just follow your interests and your passion. That’s the whole point of extracurriculars, and that’s what colleges are looking for in these applications, in these essays, is what drives you, where’s your passion?

Anna: And if it’s medicine, it’s gonna come through in what extracurriculars you’re, you’re choosing. Um, all right, let’s see. Here’s another one is BSMD binding. And what they mean by that is if you, you get accepted to a BSMD program, you complete the bachelor’s degree, are you then bound to go to medical school?

Anna: What if you change your mind? 

Ishaani: So that’s a really great question. Um, so that’s again, so that’s like different, um, program by program. So I guess to answer your first question, no one’s gonna force you. I mean, to my knowledge, I don’t think there are programs where it’s like you have to go to med school.

Ishaani: [00:51:00] Like if you don’t wanna go to med school and you’re like, you know what? Like I actually want, um. To work as a community organizer, like I don’t wanna be a physician. You’re like, you know what? I wanna work in tech. I don’t wanna be a doctor that no one, I don’t, I don’t think there are any programs that are out there that’d be like, you have to go be a doctor.

Ishaani: I don’t think anyone’s being forced to be a doctor. That would be a little bit, I don’t know how they would even do that logistically. That being said, I think you’re asking, you’re kind of getting to another point of there are certain programs, or let’s say you finish the four years of meds of undergrad and you’re like, oh actually, like I have a conditional acceptance to this program and like this eight year program at the same institution.

Ishaani: But actually I realize my dream med school is like this med, like med school X um, and there are certain programs where it’s like you say like if you apply out to other med schools, you lose your conditional spot at that school. So that’s something to keep in mind. Again, that’s really specific program to program.

Ishaani: I think maybe there are programs out there that are like, you’re ha like [00:52:00] you’re welcome to apply out to other program, but you’ll keep your spot. I think that’s uncommon, but it’s still probably possible. Um, and something that you could probably see on their website, if you don’t see it on their website, honestly, I would probably not advise you to email the program coordinator and ask, because I just don’t think it’s a really great look.

Ishaani: Um, but that’s maybe the, so if it’s not on there, I, I wonder how you get that information printed of like, thinking about it logistically and I’m like, 

Anna: Hmm, I 

Ishaani: don’t know. 

Anna: Maybe, uh, if you can somehow get connected to a current student. 

Ishaani: Yeah, I get connected to a current student or like, if you were to get admitted to that program and now as someone who’s been admitted and they’ve already said yes to you, like you have a spot here, then that’s gonna be the time to ask.

Ishaani: Like those kind of tough follow up questions. 

Anna: Absolutely. Um, do you have any tips on how to pay for med school? Are there any scholarships you’d recommend? 

Ishaani: Yeah, so there’s, that’s a really fantastic question. Eight years of schooling is, [00:53:00] um, a lot. Um, I don’t know if I have any specific things. I think looking into scholarships, like as early as, um, junior year is like a really great idea.

Ishaani: Um, there also, it’s important to note that there are certain programs that allow you to get medical school compensated. Like I’m pretty sure like the Army and the Navy had like kind of an ROTC equivalent where they. Pay for your med school and give you a stipend so you get kind of paid to go to med school and get free med school during four years.

Ishaani: That’s an option. Granted, you have to like pay back that time and service to the, the US military. Um, I think there’s also like a certain, certain programs for people going into primary care where you have to like spend a certain amount of time at like working at these federally qualified, like health centers or in rural areas and kind of do that.

Ishaani: Um, one scholarship that I am aware of is called the Cameron Impact Scholarship, and that’s a program in which they give, um, four [00:54:00] year full tuition to about 15 undergrads. So 15 high school students fully pays for your undergrad education to 15 people a year. It’s extremely competitive. It’s a really big deal.

Ishaani: Um, I’ve definitely had students I know like apply to it or I’ve heard of people applying to it, so I, I’m aware of that. They’re probably similar ones to that, but I, I look into it. Yeah. 

Anna: And Okay. When, when do you start applying for BSMD programs? 

Ishaani: Yeah, so it’s kind of just like the same normal cycle. I think I rem if I remember correctly, like some programs were like, oh, make sure if you’re interested in BS MD make sure you get your, your application in by like October 1st, somewhere like October 15th.

Ishaani: So really again, my basic advice is look at the individual websites. It’ll say specifically when it wants the app in. For the most part, I think the earliest was like November one, I wanna say if I remember, but somewhere in October, somewhere randomly in December, somewhere in Jan. Um, ’cause again, the people read these applications, like the people that read the [00:55:00] MD bit of it, they’re people that are played with the middle school, so they’re like totally like not in sync with like the application, undergrad application cycle.

Ishaani: It’s totally separate group. Separate group of people usually. So sometimes I do things a little bit differently. 

Anna: Sticking with the timing question, when do you advise students start working on their essays and how do they know what the prompts are? 

Ishaani: Um, sorry, what was the question? 

Anna: When do you suggest students start writing their essays and how do they find out what the prompts are?

Ishaani: Um, I would, I’d make your common app essay or common app account as early as you can and just go onto the websites and just start populating your spreadsheets. And if the prompt is there, you can start writing. I, I think my advice on when to start doing it earlier is better. Um, I know for me personally, like I think when I was, it was this time for me when my application cycle, like Midgut, I had maybe just finished, like I had a pretty [00:56:00] solid draft of my.

Ishaani: Personal statement, my common app essay. And that was kind of it at that time. Um, I think I finalized my common app essay, like fully, like I also like in a lot of rounds of revisions, but I think I fully finalized it by like mid-September, but it was basically done by Midgut. But I’d done zero supplements and I, I work with some students that are like, oh, I’ve done like, you know, I’m very like, I finished most of my supplements by September and I was not them.

Ishaani: Um, so you can do whatever works for you, but again, earlier was always better. I always advise earlier. Um, I think I made myself have a really a rough senior year. I remember still remember my winter break was pretty brutal ’cause I was just doing so many apps that were due on Jan first. So 

Anna: yeah, I agree. I have, uh, when I’m working with juniors, I have them start their personal statement in their, the spring of their junior year.

Anna: Um, and I don’t say that to make anyone who hasn’t done that feel behind because like Ishaani, I, well. I was more delayed than nee I was [00:57:00] writing my personal statement, my senior fall. Um, but starting early, you’re going to thank yourself later. Absolutely. Nee how many undergrad and BSMD programs do you think students should apply to overall?

Ishaani: Yeah, I think that really depends on how, again, like that whole mindset of like, are you something that’s like, I just really wanna get into a BSMD program, but also remembering you could also just, you know, do get into med school the traditional way. Um, so I think if you’re really committed to, like, I really wanna be in a BSMD program, I’d probably apply to like as many as you can that you’d be excited about.

Ishaani: Um, again, they’re all extremely selective, so you can apply to over 10 and not get into any of them. Um, but I think if you’re really, really, like, I just need, I really wanna get into a BSMD program, applying to more will obviously help your odds maybe apply to over 10, but I mean, I personally didn’t do that.

Ishaani: But if those are your goals, you could do that. Um, just like the number that feels, you know, [00:58:00] most in line with what you want. And I think, again, when you’re like thinking about your college application, probably your, this kinda like a list building question. Like what does your list look like? Re remember if my advice to my students is always like, remember, make sure you have some solid safeties in there.

Ishaani: Some solid targets. But the reach is like, there’s no, how many reaches you wanna have on your list is really like, how much time do you wanna spend in an application? So you’re gonna have like a set, like your number of targets and safety should be set reaches if you do five reaches versus like 10.

Ishaani: That’s just like, do you wanna do this Five extra applications? So. Yeah. 

Anna: Yeah. I think we have time for maybe one or two more questions. Um, in med school, did you notice any advantages or disadvantages for your, your fellow students who took the traditional route and didn’t do? Uh, PLME? 

Ishaani: No. I think honestly, like no advantages.

Ishaani: Everyone, everyone I worked with in med school, you can never tell who’s, like, everyone’s fully equal. The [00:59:00] playing field is fully equal. Um, so no difference at all. 

Anna: Great. Love that clear, crisp answer. Um, you’re gonna be great no matter which route you take. Um, there’s a, a great pathway to med school. Okay.

Anna: Maybe we can sneak in one last question. Shawnee. If you had to reapply today, what would you do differently? 

Ishaani: That’s a really great question. I feel like I, I just picked something and stuck with it and didn’t look back. Um, I don’t know if I would’ve done every anything differently. I feel like I applied to the programs I was excited about.

Ishaani: Um, I think looking back there honestly were like a few schools that I was like, oh, I don’t, I’m not gonna apply here. ’cause I don’t think I would get in. I think looking back, I, I think, I don’t think it would’ve changed. I probably would’ve stuck with Brown PLME ’cause it’s just such an incredible program.

Ishaani: But I think my, my mindset I had of like, oh I don’t wanna apply here ’cause I’m afraid they’ll reject me and like, it’ll hurt my ego by getting a rejection. That was silly. I think I should have applied to a few more reaches. 

Anna: Great note to end [01:00:00] on. Thank you so much Ishaani, for your expertise. Thank you everyone for coming out to join us.

Anna: Like I said, this will be, the recording will be emailed to y’all. Um, and best of luck with your applications. Take good care. 

Ishaani: Bye guys. Nice to meet y’all.