Major: Biochemistry
Destination: University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine '27
What advice do you have for prospective or current Oxy students?
For current students: try to be mindful of the things you will need to have completed as you progress through school. If you can start shadowing or clinical experiences early then it will make balancing everything easier as you get closer to the point of applying. Another piece of advice would be that I think doing the best you can academically should always be the number one priority because extracurricular experiences/MCAT scores/volunteering/etc can be added/improved a lot more easily whereas grades are more set in stone. As a result I would recommend spacing out difficult classes especially pre-recs so you can give yourself the best chance of success.
For applicants: try to be as head of schedule as you can be when applying. Reach out to Kat early when you know you will be applying. Try prewriting as many secondaries as you can. Give yourself adequate time to study for the MCAT, and if you don't feel prepared you can always push it back. Overall give just yourself time to decompress because the application process is very long and it can be a rollercoaster of emotions, but try not to stress out too much because you've already put in the work and now you just have to see how everything plays out.
How did Oxy prepare you?
I think that Oxy has a pretty rigorous curriculum, especially in the Chem/Bio departments where I took most of my classes. I was nervous starting at USF and studying in medical school is certainly a different beast, but I believe if you can succeed in Oxy classes you can definitely have success in medical school. I also think the premed advising at Oxy was particularly helpful. I always knew I could reach out to Kat or Angela for any questions/concerns and all of my correspondences were very positive. Just the sheer amount of resources/workshops was very helpful and I wish I would have taken even more advantage of them leading up to applying especially but also while in school.
How Why did you choose University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine?
The initial thing that attracted me to USF was the location. I knew I wanted to go to school in a major city and the climate/culture of Tampa was really appealing. USF also opened a brand new building for their medical school downtown just 3 years ago that is really nice and a good environment for learning with plentiful resources. Overall the school very much feels like they are trying to ascend in reputation and it's cool to feel like you are a part of that mission. Finally, I can't speak to the culture of other schools but everyone here is very friendly and collaborative. I felt this environment would be a good fit for me during all of my correspondences with the school through interviews/reaching out to students before I was accepted.
What helped you decide to pursue medicine?
One of the experiences that helped cultivate my interest in medicine was participating in a shadowing program at my local hospital over the summer before my senior year of high school. While it is helpful to do shorter term activities/experiences related to healthcare I wasn't 100% sure that medicine was the path for me until I began scribing during my gap years after college. I think being fully immersed in a hospital/clinic and working alongside physicians allowed me to recognize that this was a profession I could enjoy day to day and one that would offer fulfillment.