I was just speaking to a mentee and one thing that I would urge you all to do as you research medical schools is to contact the schools and work to develop relationships with the admissions staff. As an example of how this can be important, after I received the results of my September MCAT, I called one of the schools that I’d applied to, Burrell School of Osteopathic Medicine. I’d gotten to know the director & assistant director of admissions and was able to share my story with the two of them via emails and a couple of visits to the school over the last few years. Anyway, when I got the results of my September MCAT back, my numerical MCAT score exceeded Burrell’s minimums, but on one section, I did not hit the 15th percentile mark that that they require across the board. Normally, this would mean being automatically screened out and a denial for a secondary application, but when I called the director and explained how all of the uncertainty with COVID in relationship to my MCAT had affected me, they went ahead and sent me a secondary and I got an application review. While I was still denied an interview, I was at least given a chance to have my application reviewed as opposed to being denied flat out. Coming out of undergrad, many URM students don't understand the importance of and the power of relationship building. I was taught this lesson in the Army and its been reinforced in my PhD program. Do not underestimate the importance of building relationships with those who may have the ability to open a door for you…
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Monday, December 28, 2020
Have another medical school interview!
When I applied to the University of Arizona - Phoenix College of Medicine, it was a true reach school for me. Well, I have an interview with them. WOW. I never in a million years thought that I would have an interview with any allopathic medical school, m uch less UA-Phoenix. My wife says that she thinks that I will finish this cycle with four acceptances to U.S. medical schools. There is a possibility that maybe I won't be a SOMA student after all...
Food for my soul :-)
Throughout all of my PreK-12, undergraduate, and graduate schooling, I have only had the fortune to have three Black faculty and four instructors of color:
Growing up, the only people of color who I knew who worked in science and/or healthcare was my dad (he's a pharmacist) and several of his Black co-workers. I don't recall ever reading about any Black scientists or clinicians outside of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams and Dr. George Washington Carver and its only been in recent years, as in 2012, that I had the opportunity to work and learn under the tutelage of a Black scientist, Dr. Melva Thompson-Robinson.
This is why I was so THRILLED when Cell Mentor published a list of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America. This really warmed my heart and I immedately shared this as far and wide as possible. The scientists on this list are breaking barriers everyday and showing the world that yes, there are Black scientists and clinicians. This was food for my soul!Friday, December 25, 2020
My A.T. Still University - School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona interview
My interview with A.T. Still University - School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona was a bit different than my previous two interviews in that I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I cannot disclose the questions that were asked. What I will tell you is how interviews normally are conducted at SOMA and how mine was conducted without giving up the questions.
Normally, SOMA uses the MMI format for interviews but due to COVID-19, MMIs were canceled. The school briefly replaced the MMI format with a virtual telemedicine session but this too was cancelled. In a typical year, students would have the MMI session followed by the interviews and my guess is that when things go back to ‘normal’, whatever that is, the MMIs will be reinstated. At the moment, the telemedicine sessions are officially canceled but I have heard from other SOMA applicants who have been initially denied an interview or denied an acceptance that if they are called back, they go through the virtual telemedicine session as part of their re-interview process. Again, because of the NDA, I can’t discuss more about this but you may be able to find out some info on Student Doctor Network.
My interview day at SOMA started at 9:30 AM CST. I entered the Zoom room and there were 9 to 12 other interviewees waiting. One of the admissions personal briefly described to us what was going to happen and then we were sent to another Zoom room where one of the current faculty who is also a member of the admissions committee described the history of osteopathic medicine and OMT and why SOMA would be a great choice of school for those who are interested in OMT.
After this session, ½ of us attended a session where we received more information about the community health centers and the rest of us started our interviews. The interviews consist of three 15-minute interviews with faculty and/or staff, some of whom may be members of the admissions committee. I knew two of my interviewers; I’d worked with one when I was faculty and managing a lab at Arizona State University-Downtown, and the other I knew by virtue of doing some research consulting work with her department at SOMA. The interviews were all very conversational but much more fast-paced than my previous interviews; 15 minutes isn’t a lot of time so you have to make sure that your answers are very concise and to the point. After the interviews, I attended the session regarding the community health centers.
A few days after the interview, I was notified of my acceptance. The acceptance was conditional upon a seat opening at a CHC on 12/16. Essentially, students who have been admitted, have to pay $1,000 to lock in their top CHC choice. If they don’t they lose their seat and it’s offered to another student. On the 16th, I received a second call from SOMA saying that seats were open and that my conditional acceptance was now a full acceptance pending receipt of the $1,000 to hold my seat. The coordinator asked what my top choice CHC was and I told her El Rio in Tucson, AZ and then I immediately paid my $1000 deposit to hold my seat. I have to pay another $1000 by 1-May but I am an officially accepted SOMA student and will get my contract that locks me into El Rio soon.
To prepare for the SOMA interview, my wife carried me through several mock interviews and I reviewed the mission and vision statement for SOMA. I also reviewed the curriculum and CHCs as well as the history of osteopathic medicine and A.T. Still and his namesake institution. Finally, I reviewed the 50 most common medical school interview questions on Princeton Review's website.Wednesday, December 23, 2020
My Rocky Vista University School of Osteopathic Medicine interview
My interview at Rocky Vista University School of Osteopathic Medicine was probably the best interview that I had and was the least stressful of the three that I have had thus far.
To prepare for the interview, I participated in two mock interviews and I reviewed the Rocky Vista University Interview Feedback page on Student Doctor Network and I reviewed the 50 Common Medical School Interview questions on the Princeton Review website, and the Rocky Vista University Mission and Vision statements. The questions that stand out are:
In terms of the structure of the interview, it will be a 40 minute, two-on-one interview. You will have two representatives from the university, not necessarily faculty, who will interview you. I had one faculty member and the other was the head of the university writing center. Before you ever interview, you will be given access to a website that lists the bios of all of the members of the interview committee. This is different than my other interviews because I was able to read about my interviewers beforehand and get a sense of their personalities.
My interviewers took a tag team approach and each asked me a question. The interview was conversational and I felt that I bonded well with my faculty interviewer because he is an Army vet like me and he was an older career changer like me. The interview lasted for 37:58 so I used that remaining time to ask several questions. Your interview may not go for the full 40 minutes so make sure that you come prepared with three or four questions to ask. I asked:
You want to make sure that you research the schools that you are interested in and you don’t want to ask a question that may be easily answered by reviewing the school’s website. Only ask questions if you genuinely want to know the answer to them.
Once the interview was over and I’d asked my questions, I was told that I would receive a decision within two weeks. I was then given a link that contained various video by faculty, staff, and students and I also had the chance to sign up for a student virtual chat.
Overall, I loved this school and had I not gotten into SOMA< I would have been a very happy stundent here.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
What my Ross University School of Medicine interview was like
My Ross University interview was conducted by Zoom and was probably the most traditional of the three interviews that I have had. I met with Mr. Tom Hueller, via Zoom, for about 40-45 minutes and he asked the standard medical school interview questions:
This isn’t an all-inclusive list but give you a sense of what you should be prepared for should you interview at Ross. After the interview, I had the chance to ask three or four questions:
We ended up getting into a conversation about COVID and the COVID vaccine; this took another 20 minutes so altogether, I interviewed with Mr. Hueller for about an hour. It was very conversational.
At the end of the interview, he told me that I would hear from the admissions committee within a couple of weeks and I thanked him for his time. To prepare for the interview, I reviewed interview feedback on Student Doctor Network, reviewed a Princeton Review site that had a list of 50 commonly asked medical school interview questions, and I reviewed the Ross University School of Medicine website. Easy peazy. Next up, I’ll describe my interview at RVUCOM.
Friday, December 18, 2020
Pre-Med student conference opportunity
This was the first ever conference that I attended as an undergraduate student. It was worth its weight in gold. If you can attend, please do!
We invite you to join us on February 6, 2021 for our 30th Annual Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance (SUMMA) Conference. We sincerely hope you will be available to join us to continue SUMMA’s efforts in increasing diversity in the health professions and to foster the development of leaders who are committed to eliminating the nation’s health inequities.
The SUMMA Conference will be going virtual in 2021 and expanding its reach across the nation. Our virtual experience will simulate that of our in-person conference with concurrent pre-med information sessions, a medical school exhibit hall, networking opportunities, social activities, and more.
Featured Sessions:
Full agenda coming soon.
We invite you to join us on February 6, 2021 for our 30th Annual Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance (SUMMA) Conference.
The goal of SUMMA is to increase diversity in the health professions in order to better care for underserved communities. Our annual pre-medical conference is one of the oldest on the west coast and draws hundreds of students from throughout the Bay Area.
We are excited to offer this virtual conference experience, simulating that of our in-person meeting with concurrent tracks, educational sessions, networking opportunities, and social activities.
To register: https://summa2021.pathable.co
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Reasons to be thankful in 2020
2020 has been a hard year filled with loss, grief, political & racial strife, and more than a bit of uncertainty. Despite that, there have also been blessings, starting with the continued good health of myself and my immediate family & friends. I’ve also been blessed to learn and grow academically under the tutelage of two brilliant and compassionate scientists, Dr. Melva Thompson-Robinson and Dr. Carolee Dodge-Francis. I’ve also gotten one step closer to a childhood dream: I’ll be attending medical school at A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona in the fall 2021. Finally, I’ve taken one step closer to earning my Ph.D. by passing by dissertation proposal defense. 💯
How can non-traditional premed & online students obtain letters of recommendation?
I have been getting a lot of questions regarding how one should obtain letters of recommendation when many classes have moved online. While this is challenging, it can absolutely be done. How do I know? I’ve taught face-to-face and online classes for 12 years and regularly write letters for students in both. Most of my online students have tended to be career changers and non-traditional.
My students who have been successful with getting letters have been the ones who have been proactive about attending my Zoom office hours, calling me, or emailing me questions about their assignments. In particular, I always enjoy it when a student emails me to ask how they can improve on their work even if they are already scoring top marks in the class. They’ve used the opportunity to speak about assignments to develop a connection. I’ve had other students review my faculty profile to read about my research interests and then attempt to make a connection, via email or phone, that way.
I realize that some faculty are not as approachable in the online environment as they are face-to-face (hell, some are just not approachable under any circumstances!) but you, as the student, have to be more proactive seeking what you need from your faculty. I’ve always told my online students that I’m getting paid to ensure that they are getting the same service that my face-to-face students are getting; make me earn my pay. Reach out. You’ll find that most professors won’t mind and most will willingly write letters of recommendation (I can say this as a student who has also had strong letters written by several faculty who I’ve taken online classes from).
The other question that I’ve seen is if you have been out of school for awhile, how do you ask a previous professor to write a letter for you? What I did this cycle was this (keep in mind that I graduated from ASU in May 2010):
I had two science professors who I’d known fairly well in undergrad and I’d done well in their classes. I sent them both an introductory email reminding them of who I was, what grade I’d earned in their classes, what I’d been doing in the years since graduation, and the reason for my request. I attached a copy of my undergrad transcript, my grad school transcript (so that they could see my academic performance to date), my CV, and my medical school personal statement. I closed with an offer to meet over Zoom so that they could ask any questions that they might have and interview me further regarding my motivations to practice medicine. One of my former professors wrote back saying that he remembered me and asked me to write a letter that he would put on letterhead and sign and submit to Interfolio. The other professor set up a Zoom with me and we chatted for about two hours on June 8th. Not only did she write me a super strong letter, she gave me some advice that helped to advance my dissertation research!
My grandmother always told me that a closed mouth doesn’t get fed. You also will miss every free throw that you don’t attempt. These are imperfect times and you have to roll with what you have. Reach out to your faculty, strive to build a relationship, and you’ll get what you need.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
The importance of patience this cycle
This has been an odd medical school admissions cycle to say the least. I realize that COVID-19 has made it so that the majority of medical school admissions offices are swamped between not being able to work in the office and having far more applications than usual, but I still expected to hear from the schools.
I applied to 32 DO programs, four US MD programs, and Ross University. To date, these are the schools that I have heard something from (i.e., have received a secondary invite or an outright decline):
I’ve not heard anything else from any of the other schools. I don’t know if this means that they have not screened my primary application and I am sitting in a pile waiting to be screened. Or maybe this is what I see so many pre-meds calling the ‘silent rejection’ or ghosting. I always thought that one way or another, you would hear SOMETHING.
Why am I posting about this tonight? I think that this cycle requires PATIENCE on all of our part. I did not hear anything from RVUCOM, ATSU-SOMA, or Ross until late November (i.e., this was after submitting secondaries in August). Some of the schools that have sent me secondaries are saying that it is taking up to 12 weeks AFTER receiving the secondary to screen and decide on an interview. It may be tempting to chalk this cycle up to a failed cycle and start planning for the next one. That is prudent but also realize that you may still hear from a program or two and you may still find yourself headed to medical school in the fall 2021. Keep your head up, stay prayed up, and remain patient. Things can most definitely change…
Monday, December 14, 2020
It's official: My medical school home will be...
It's official. I will be an OMS I at A.T. Still University - School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona in the fall of 2021! :-) It was a tough decision. There is a LOT that I like about Rocky Vista University School of Osteopathic Medicine and I felt so at home during the interview; however, the final major determining factor for me was the cost of living in the Denver Metropolitan area. While rents and home prices are rapidly rising in the Phoenix Valley, they are still substantially lower than in Denver. Plus, Arizona was home for 16 years (2004 - 2020) so it will be comforting to go back to something that feels comfortable. The other thing that swayed me to ATSU is the 1 + 3 curricular model. I had the chance to attend a 'DO for A Day" event at SOMA about 10 years ago and the way that lectures are delivered fits me and the way that I like to recieve information. I also tend to be a more independent learner and the online learning modality in the OMS II year doesn't bother me. There was a lot that I liked about RVUCOMs curriculum as well but in the end, I just felt that being in a more structured, lecture-based curriculum was not best for me. One of my mentors and friends who taught me physical biochemistry some years ago also agreed as she knows how I like to learn.
So, I was given my first choice of Community Health Center (CHC), El Rio in Tucson, so it's also nice to know exactly where I will be for my OMS II through IV year. All in all, I could not be happier with the decision.
Medical school interviews for older and non-traditional applicants
As a non-traditional applicant, my three interviews were a bit different than what some of my younger compatriots may have experienced. I did not get many of the ‘typical’ medical school interview questions and in fact, the only questions that I got from Rocky Vista and ATSU-SOMA that were expected were the 1) Why osteopathic medicine and 2) Why RVUCOM/ATSU-SOMA?
My interviews really focused more on:
1) At your age, do you think that you will have the energy to keep up with your studies and compete with your younger classmates?
2) Given that you have a solid, stable career that would allow you to effect social change, why are you seeking to give that up to pursue four years of medical school and three or more years of residency?
3) Are you really sure that you want to do this at your age?
4) You are finishing a PhD and are fairly accomplished in your field. You’ve also been teaching for 12 years. Wouldn’t a tenured faculty role be easier and more attractive than the rigors of medical school?
I got each of these four questions from each of the three schools that I have interviewed at. RVUCOM asked the additional, “How do you define professionalism” question and a question regarding something about lessons learned from a time that I failed at something.
If you are a non-traditional applicant, particularly if you have had a long career doing something else, be prepared to justify “Why medicine.” If you are older, be prepared to answer questions about your age in relation to keeping up with the work load and your classmates. These questions should not be asked and most savvy interviewers will disguise their language when asking these questions; however, when I interviewed at Rocky Vista, my interviewer specifically started the question by saying, “At your age…”
If you are an older student who had some challenges in your academics, this is a great way to show growth. In my case, I was able to discuss how I wasn’t a mature student in my youth and if I had applied to medical school in my 20s, it likely would have been a failing venture. I tied my graduate education to my growth and discussed how completing two master’s degrees and being a PhD student has allowed me to hone my study skills and grow as a student.
Last thing, if you have had a career, it will be good to be able to really discuss why you are changing careers. I’ve heard the interviewers at ATSU – SOMA really dig into students who are coming from nursing, pharmacy, and PA careers regarding their reasons for pursuing medicine. When you are describing your transition, it’s important to NOT throw your previous career under the bus and you don’t want to say something about wanting to be a physician because you want to be the head of the healthcare team (healthcare is rapidly moving away from this model of care). I discussed how much I love teaching and research and while I’ve derived a great deal of joy from both, neither brings me the kind of satisfaction that direct patient care would bring. To test whether or not I still had that same love, I described the excitement that I gained from my Paramedic clinical rotations and how it took me back to that same excitement that I felt as an Army medic. I discussed how working as a scribe gave me an intimate look at some of the more business aspects of medicine. I was able to tie my training in pharmacology, research, and teaching to what I would do on a day-to-day basis as a physician and finally, I described how my PhD wouldn’t be a waste because the skills that I have learned in clinical & translational research would serve me as a physician because we are entering a time where more and more, a physician will rely on evidence-based approaches to treat patients and work with insurance carriers to get treatments approved. One of my interviewers from SOMA ate that up.
The last thing that I think is important for the non-traditional applicant, particularly if you are older, is appearance. I don’t mean in how you dress but your overall affect. Whether right or wrong, interviewers may well question your energy and motivation so it will help you to show up to your interviews well-rested, energetic, and highly motivated. Stress that no matter how old you may be, you don’t feel your age (And I really don’t look or feel 49!) The committees are judging you on everything so don’t overlook this part.
Sunday, December 13, 2020
What do I need to do to get to medical school?
This is not the easiest question to answer and much depends on your individual circumstances after you finish your undergraduate studies. Generally speaking, however, to earn a seat in a U.S. D.O. or M.D. program, you want to do the following:
Coursework:
Complete a minimum of 90 credits while completing the following courses (These should be considered minimums and understand that each medical school will have its own individual nuances regarding required courses):
General Biology (For science majors) Lecture & Lab 8 credits
General Chemistry (For science majors) Lecture & Lab 8 credits
General Physics (For science majors. Can be algebra/trig or calculus based) Lecture & Lab 8 credits
Organic Chemistry (For science majors) Lecture & Lab 8 credits
English (Depending on the medical school, some may accept courses such as technical writing or persuasive writing while others will only accept the standard two semester introductory Freshman English series. Still others will accept Sophomore-level English literature) 6 credits
Math (Depending on the school, Statistics and/or Calculus may suffice. If you must take Statistics, most medical schools want it to be taught by the math department. Some will accept stats taught by the psychology department) 3 to 6 credits
Social sciences (i.e., Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology) 3 to 6 credits
Other classes that are recommended but not required include:
Human Anatomy & Physiology 8 credits
Biochemistry 3 to 4 credits (Some medical schools are now requiring this course and some medical schools allow you to replace one semester of organic chemistry with one semester of biochemistry)
Immunology 3 to 4 credits
Microbiology 3 to 4 credits
Genetics 3 to 4 credits
Cell Biology 3 to 4 credits
Molecular Biology 3 to 4 credits
Ethics 3 credits
In terms of what you should study, you can literally choose a bachelor’s degree in anything under the sun. As long as you complete the pre-requisite courses for medical school, it doesn’t matter what your degree is in. Obviously, if you pursue a science-based degree, it may be easier to fit in these courses as opposed to choosing a humanities degree. My advice is to pursue a degree in something that you would enjoy while at the same time ensuring that it’s a degree that can potentially help you land work if you don’t get into medical school. I finished two degrees, one in Microbiology and the other in Community Health Promotion with a minor in Sociology. Both degrees allowed me to find work after graduation and I happened to enjoy both fields of study.
What about outside experiences? Medical school admissions committees will expect you to have clinical experience in the form of shadowing physicians and/or working in some sort of patient care environment (popular routes for this are EMT-Basic, CNA, home health aide, Patient Care Technician, Wound Care Tech, or Scribe). You’ll also want to pursue some sort of volunteer activities. For example, working at a local after school reading program or volunteering to feed the homeless. Gaining some leadership experience will also be seen as a positive; serving as the President or Vice-President of a student organization or sitting on your university diversity committee are positive leadership roles. Finally, while not necessary (unless you are applying to D.O./PhD or M.D./PhD programs), gaining research experience as an undergraduate student is a positive application builder.
Before I address how many hours of these different activities one should consider pursuing, I want to preface that by saying that you should do things that you care about. Don’t do things just for the sake of checking a box to get into medical school. Medical school admissions personnel know how to see through the B.S. From a deeper perspective, these should be opportunities for you to explore your interests, become a well-rounded person, and decide if medicine is really what you want. It is not uncommon for students to participate in these activities and then have a change of heart about medicine. The name of the game is GROWTH.
So, in terms of how much time you should put into doing these things, here are some numbers based on what my wife has shared with me regarding what the average applicant to ATSU-SOMA has (These are just averages; many students apply with far more than this and some have less):
80-200 hours physician shadowing
800-1,000 hours other clinical experiences
1,000 hours of volunteering
80-200 hours leadership experiences
0 – 1,000 hours research (SOMA isn’t nearly as big on research as they are service/volunteering, and it is not uncommon for students to apply with no research)
When I applied this cycle, my numbers looked like this:
120 hours shadowing three physicians, two D.O. and one M.D.
Over 18,000 hours clinical experience gained from military and civilian healthcare
I only counted my most recent, significant volunteer experience, two terms of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA – Over 3,400 hours
Over 2,000 hours leadership experience from the military and civilian world
3,500 hours in research – As an undergrad, I completed three research internships and I have conducted research across two master’s degrees and my PhD
Don’t look at my hours and think, “Wow, I will never catch up to all of that.” I am a non-traditional applicant who has had multiple careers in the years since I graduated from high school (1989). It is EXPECTED that I have a more extensive background than the typical applicant. If I applied with the averages, the admissions committee might very well ask, “What in the hell have you been doing with your life since 1989?” But I point this out to show that you can see a wide variation in what students apply with. The real issue is that you should do things that you care about and make sure that they are quality experiences.
Last thing before I go. When it comes to GPA and MCAT scores, the best advice that I can give is to make sure that you do as well as possible in your classes. GPAs > than 3.0 science and cumulative and MCAT scores > 500 give you the best odds of earning an interview and eventually and acceptance. For the current 2020-’21 application cycle, the average MCAT score for applicants to U.S. medical schools is 506.4 and the average MCAT for matriculants is a 511.5. In terms of GPA, in the 2017-’18 application year, the numbers for matriculants were 3.64 science, 3.79 non-science, and a 3.71 overall. These numbers are for all D.O. and M.D. applicants/matriculants. In practice, the numbers for D.O. applicants and matriculants are a little lower, but not by much (and the gap is rapidly closing between the two). Further, there are always students with lower numbers who get into medical school and those with higher numbers than the averages who do not get into medical school. For example, my undergraduate science GPA is a 3.18 or 3.19 and my overall was a 3.36 (As calculated by AACOMAS). My graduate science GPA is a 3.67 and overall is a 3.75 according to AACOMAS but medical schools tend to place the most emphasis on undergraduate performance when reviewing applicants for admissions. My old MCATs are expired and my new MCAT score was a 495. Conventional wisdom says that I should not have gotten into medical school, yet I hold two acceptances to two U.S. medical schools and may potentially earn interview invites to a few more (and maybe another acceptance or two) before all is said and done. This highlights another point: More than numbers goes into making admissions decisions but in general, the higher your GPA and MCAT scores, the better off you will be.
Last thing. You’ll want to develop good relationships with your professors early on as you will need letters of recommendation. As a rule, you will need either a committee letter or individual letters. Some undergraduate institutions will not allow you to request a committee letter unless you have a particular GPA. Thus, it’s probably easiest to get individual letters. For individual letters, you will need two science letters for rec, one non-science, one from a physician that you have shadowed, and finally, if you can get one from a supervisor from work, a research experience, or a volunteer experience, that will be good. Again, start building relationships early because you will need great letters of recommendation.
Financial Readiness for Medical School, Part 3
As part of my getting financially ready for medical school, one thing that you should do is to review the websites of every school that you are interested in to determine what sort of financial aid options exist. Does the school only offer loans? Does the school have any under-represented minority (URM) scholarships? Are their incentives to pursue a dual degree? What about grants? Does the school have a history of students being awarded the National Health Service Corps scholarship?
When building my list of schools to apply to, part of my consideration were those questions that I listed above and ultimately, the availability of financial aid was one of the criteria that I used to rank schools. Please be aware that some schools do not offer any scholarships and of those who do, many do not offer more than a few thousand dollars in scholarship aid. There are, however, some schools who do offer significant forms of scholarship aid. This is why I stress doing some research on each school before you apply.
Don’t neglect the outside sources of funding either:
Military HPSP (i.e., Army, Navy, Airforce)
State and local health boards and professional societies
Corporations (For example, the Tylenol Cares scholarship)
African American Greek letter organizations (For example, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation)
Association of American University Women
Even those web-based scholarship search engines such as Fastweb.com
There is a LOT of money out there that goes untouched. If you start looking early and apply often, there is no reason why all of your medical school has to be financed by student loans.
Financial Readiness for Medical School, Part 2
Here’s a story that illustrates why financial planning and maintaining financial health before and during medical school is important.
I have a friend who is amazingly brilliant. This guy also has a photographic memory and when we would study, it seemed that all he had to do was turn the pages of the book, notes, or PowerPoints to get the information stuck in his head. After our undergraduate studies, my boy was accepted to St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. He excelled in his first year and he finished his MD1 semester with a 4.0 and MD2 with something like a 3.7ish. His second year was just as amazing, and he scored a 245 on his Step 1. He was considering a career as a cardiologist and it didn’t seem that there was anything that could derail him. Except for that all-important credit score.
While my friend was in Grenada, he lived beyond his means, so he maxed his Sub/Unsub loans. He qualified for the Grad Plus loan in his second year, but he didn’t give any thought to the need to have a new credit check run when he got to year three. He purchased a lot of luxury items on his credit cards while he was in Grenada, didn’t pay a few bills and his credit score took a significant hit.
Just before he was to start his third-year rotations, he received word from the US DoE that he did not meet the credit score criteria for the Grad Plus loan. The remedy was for him to provide letters from his creditors showing that he either had paid his past due balances or he had made other arrangements to pay. He’d amassed some 25 or 30K in debt from the time before he started medical school but since he had paid minimal payments on that debt, nothing went into collections. When he got to medical school, the combination of his outstanding debt and his living beyond his means meant that he could not pay his bills so most of his creditors reported him to collection agencies, so his FICO score took a major hit. SGU gave him two weeks to figure out how to come up with the money for third year; he couldn’t do that, so he ultimately dropped out of school. My friend is home now trying to pick up the pieces to his medical career. I don’t know if he’ll be able to go back to SGU since almost six years have lapsed but his credit is better now, but he never had to be in this situation.
While this is an extreme situation, it helped to provide the impetus for me to repair my credit and get into good financial health BEFORE starting medical school.
The first thing that I had to do was take a look at my credit reports. You don’t know what you don’t know. In my youth, I had not been the most responsible with my credit, so I was honestly afraid to see what was present on my FICO reports. Additionally, during my senior year of undergrad, I had applied to a master’s program at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. One of the admission staff stole a hard drive that had the names, addresses, social security numbers, and photo IDs of several thousand applicants, including mine, and she sold them on the Dark Web. I didn’t know this until 2012 or ’13 when I got a call from the Las Vegas Metro PD but luckily, they gave me a police report regarding the ID theft that I’d suffered, and this came in handy as I worked to repair my credit. Finally, in 2012, I had a surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon; the surgeon was in network, but the outpatient surgery center and the anesthesiologist were out of network (I didn’t know this at the time). Plus, I had a high deductible health plan; this meant that a lot of the procedures cost weren’t going to be covered until I met the deductible. Altogether, these facts meant that I was likely to have a LOT of debt.
Taking a deep breath one night in 2016, I pulled all three of my FICO reports and discovered that I had about $78K in debt. My heart sank. How was I going to pay for all of this? I spent that night reading EVERYTHING that I could find about old debt, how to negotiate lower payments, how to dispute items on your credit report, and the statute of limitations on old debt for Arizona. I discovered that I had rights and using this empowering knowledge, I set out to dispute everything on my reports that I was not responsible for. This amounted to about 17K in debt and using the police report that I had from LVMPD and another that I obtained from the Chandler Policed Department, I was able to have that removed in fairly short order.
Next, I picked up three jobs. I taught at two community colleges, full-time, and at Arizona State University part time. I trimmed my living expenses to the bare bone’s minimum and every extra dollar that I made, I put towards paying those debts that were mine and had not aged out (those debts that had aged out, I disputed and had removed from my credit report). By 2018, my debt was down to $10,500 and by mid-2018, I had that paid off.
The next step was to have all of the paid debt reports removed from my credit report. Even though the debt was paid, these reports still showed as late pays/charge offs so they were still drag on my credit score. I went through another round of disputes and I was able to remove all but two items. I’ve tried to work with the two collection agencies to have these items removed but I have had no luck; I recently hired Lexington Law to assist and it’s been the best $89/month that I have spent. They have helped to tend to a couple of other issues on my FICO reports that I had overlooked, and they are currently working to have those last two items removed from my credit report.
The other two things that I did was 1) I have not had a late payment or missed payment since 2016; your payment history is the single biggest factor in your FICO score; 2) I opened two credit cards, one with a $3500 limit and the other with a $2500 limit and I have a loan of $10,000. I never exceed 10% - 20% of my credit limit and I have paid on my loan consistently for the last 24 months. It will be paid off in July; 3) I have lived within my means religiously. All of these things combined have helped my FICO scores across all three credit bureaus to reach the 680-690 range. Once those last two negative items drop off my report, I should see a boost to 700+.
A lot of my friends tell me that I am overly anal about my financial health, saving, and monitoring my credit but it is so VITALLY important. Let’s say, just for example, you want to apply for a military Health Professions Scholarship. Guess what? They run a credit check to see if 1) You are a potential security risk and 2) To see if you have a history of honoring your commitments. If you apply for a National Health Service Corps Scholarship or Loan Repayment, the government runs a credit check to see if you pay your bills on time (i.e., honor your commitments). I even know of one medical school, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, that runs a credit check as part of the admissions process, or at least they did. Back in 2011 or ’12, I thought about applying to their SMP program and I saw on their financial aid website that as part of the admissions process, they ran credit checks on every accepted student. I don’t know if this is still the case, but as you can see, your financial health is VITALLY important to being able to secure the financing that you will need. For medical school. The Grad Plus loan, private loans, and many of the federal and state-level scholarships and loan repayment programs require good credit. When you start the application process, you may need to apply for a credit card to pay for your MCAT, the primary and secondary applications, and the cost of interviewing. To give you an idea of what my application costs were this cycle, here is what I have spent so far:
MCAT $320
MCAT reschedule $95
AACOMAS application, 32 programs $196 for the first program, $46 for each subsequent program = $1,622
AMCAS application, 4 programs $170 for the first program, $41 for each subsequent program = $293
Ross University School of Medicine application $100
AACOMAS transcript entry fee $145
Transcripts ~ $95
12 secondary applications. Ranged from $50 - $100. ~ $750
1st seat deposit for Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine $250 (I will be withdrawing my application here)
Seat deposit for A.T. Still University – School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona $1,000 (I will be attending SOMA in the fall 2021 so I’ll pay the seat deposit on Monday, Dec. 14th. I will have to pay another $1,000 sometime in January)
Suit - $500
Total: ~ $4,170 (And this does not include the seat deposit that I will be paying on the 14th or the final $1,000 that I will have to pay to SOMA)
Keep in mind that all of my interviews were virtual. If I had to attend traditional face-to-face interviews, the three interviews that I had would have added another $1200-$2000 between air fare, hotel stays, food, and rental cars).
I was fortunate that I didn’t have to dip I into my credit card until it was time to pay my first seat deposit. Part of the reason why is that I budgeted $2,000 up front to start this process and I had a job that paid me enough to pay for much of this out-of-pocket. Many applicants don’t have these luxuries however so financial planning becomes key. Don’t let your medical school dreams go unrealized because of poor financial planning!
In my next post, I will discuss some of the resources that you might consider to help minimize the amount of student loans that you have to take for medical school.
Friday, December 11, 2020
Medical school acceptance # 3
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Financial Readiness for Medical School, Part 1
Why am I making my first substantive blog post about money? When I was in my senior year of undergrad, I had this notion that I wanted to apply to medical school but I hadn’t stopped to consider HOW I would get their financially. When I used to attend the University of Arizona-Phoenix and Midwestern-AZCOM seminars, the student speakers and admissions representatives always talked about the importance of grades, MCATs, shadowing, and extracurricular activities but I do not recall anyone ever discussing the importance of money. If money ever came up, the students would say, “Oh, everyone gets loans so don’t worry about it.”
So, in 2010, my first time applying to medical school, I started with paying $265 for the MCAT and $1499 for the Kaplan face-to-face MCAT class. At the time, I was working a student job on campus making $12/hr and I had to use my financial aid to cover my apartment in downtown Tempe, AZ. My, wife, who at that time, was my fiancé, would send me money from time to time but because she was in a PhD program of her own, she couldn’t afford to send me a great deal of money. I scored a 29 S on the MCAT and prepared to apply to medical school. I discovered that I couldn’t afford the AMCAS or AACOMAS fees so I looked to the fee assistance programs that both application services had. Unfortunately, I did not qualify because my father made too much money. Then there was another issue: I moved away from home when I was 17 and because I had a bad relationship with my step-person, they were not going to give me the tax documents that I would have needed to apply for fee assistance anyway. So, there went my opportunity to apply to medical school…
In a way, I consider myself fortunate that I wasn’t able to apply. I thought that everyone would get the federal subsidized or unsubsidized loans for medical school, just as I had for my undergraduate studies but as I found out, my sub and unsub loans were almost maxed out. To attend medical school, I was going to have to take the federal Graduate Plus loan and it is credit-based. My score at the time was around a 580, some 20 or so points shy of the 600ish FICO score that was needed to qualify for the Grad Plus. A cosigner was out of the question so I was not going to have a choice but to work on repairing my credit. Had I actually gotten into medical school, without some type of scholarship, I was not going to be able to stay in medical school beyond a year or two based on how much sub / unsub loan money that I was eligible for. I was being forced to confront my financial past so that I would actually be able to attend medical school in the future.
Tomorrow, I’ll be back to discuss how I was able to clean my credit up and get financially fit for medical school. I’ll also provide a breakdown of how much it cost me this cycle to apply. You will come away with a real appreciation of how expensive this endeavor is and why financial planning for medical school is as important as academic planning. I’ll conclude with some resources that will be useful to you as you financially plan for medical school.