Medical School Admissions Case Studies

Our consultants are all Former Allopathic (MD) Medical School Admissions Officers at some of the best medical schools in the nation. We will work with you to maximize your odds of admission to an allopathic medical school. Our experts will work with you to weave a compelling mission in medicine in the medical school application that combines your research, clinical and volunteer experiences. We help applicants to develop compelling narratives explaining why they want to be doctors, both in the written application and during interviews. Below you will find Case Studies of clients we have successfully helped to gain admission to medical school.

Case Study No. 1

Client Profile: Muslim female majoring in bioengineering with a minor in computer science at an Ivy Plus School. 4.8/5.0 GPA, MCAT score: 513. Prior to working with Solomon, she had research experience at various cancer, biology, and agricultural research institutes and laboratories.

Changes made through consulting: Consultant advised client on course selection and strategies to raise GPA: recommended finishing college with required premedical coursework, recommended tactics to achieve A’s in each class. Consultant additionally recommended continuing research experiences that were most meaningful for the student, including high-impact academic research to further generate high-quality academic products desired by medical schools. The student was also advised to leverage and organize her experiences to best position herself as a stellar applicant despite an average MCAT and to follow up with research mentors to track academic products for inclusion in her medical school applications. Solomon consultant worked with student on strategic positioning, focusing on her passion for “social engineering”: applying engineering principles and engineering problem-solving techniques to confront large-scale social problems. In pursuing this strategy, the student leveraged her experience in engineering to confront social issues at a large pharmaceutical and manufacturing conglomerate.

Outcome: Accepted at Stanford University School of Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine and Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.

Case Study No. 2

Client Profile: Middle Eastern female majoring in human biology with a minor in healthcare studies at a top 30 college. GPA: 3.76; MCAT score: 522. Student came to Solomon with research associate experience at a large city health commission, and had also served as a research assistant for a stem cell lab and a university hospital’s department of neurological surgery. In addition, the student founded an undergraduate healthcare advocacy club and served in her university’s student government.

Changes made through consulting: After exhaustive review, the assigned Solomon consultant made course recommendations, extensively discussed course strategies to raise a borderline GPA, and formulated strategies to ensure a balance between academic and extracurricular pursuits. In positioning, the consultant provided resources to encourage the student to pursue her passion for public health, advocacy, and legislation related to medicine and healthcare. An additional challenge was posed regarding a “W” grade from an external institution and the consultant made recommendations on how to address said grade with transparency and ownership, while demonstrating growth and maturity. Solomon’s consultant aided this student in developing a letter of recommendation strategy to include mentors at the intersection of law and medicine. This strategy was intended to provide a unique angle to her application that would create additional dimensionality.

Outcome: Accepted at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine and University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

Case Study No. 3

Client Profile: East Asian female majoring in public health with a minor in Spanish at a top 30 college. GPA: 3.64; GRE scores: 159 verbal reasoning (82nd percentile), 160 quantitative reasoning (72nd percentile), 5.5 analytical writing (98th percentile). Prior to working with Solomon, this student had a number of strong medical and teaching/educational volunteer experiences (including one in Costa Rica) that leveraged her bilingual proficiency. She had also gained some research experience in infant kinesiology and motor development.

Changes made through consulting: Consultant’s initial review included recommendations on course selection and strategies for raising GPA prior to application. After considering the client’s volunteer and research experience, the consultant recommended research that would generate scholarly products to set her apart. Although this student initially lacked confidence, the Solomon consultant encouraged her to apply broadly, while also reaching for top schools under our guidance. Throughout the process, the consultant encouraged her not to count herself out despite her relatively low GPA, given the strength of her extracurricular activities. In her essays, the consultant encouraged her to discuss her passion for global health through narrative reflections on her rich in-person experiences, which were especially unique, given the dearth of opportunities at the height of the COVID pandemic.

Outcome: Accepted at Duke University School of Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine.

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