Major at SMCM: Spanish & Latin American Studies

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2010

Year of entrance to professional school: 2012

Professional school: Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry

Professional Field: Dentistry

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?

• St. Mary’s provided the pre-requisite classes for applying to dental school as well as an intelligent and caring groups of professors to write letters of recommendation.
• St. Mary’s biology program is rigorous and prepared me by teaching me the language and techniques that are key to mastering the material later on.
• A liberal arts education allowed me to pursue a non-traditional path toward dental school, and enabled me to blend both my interests in Spanish and Latin America with Public Health and Dentistry.

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
Piloting the study abroad program in Argentina prepared me for living in Miami after SMCM, but more importantly, the experience gave me a platform to blend my academic and community outreach interests by conducting research on oral health among urban children in Buenos Aires, which was instrumental to my dental application and career path.

In comparison to your peers in your professional school program, do you feel that St. Mary’s prepared you for the rigors of the program?
My preparation for dental school has been more developed through my Masters Program at Barry University, which is tailored to the courses for the first 2 years of medical or dental school. Still, the material and methods for learning Human Anatomy, which I learned from Dr. Crawford, enabled me to excel to the top percentile of my class in Head & Neck Gross Anatomy as well as not be as shocked by content and vocabulary in my Histology class.

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
You need to research all of the dental schools out there, and know exactly what their admissions statistics, requirements, trends and deadlines are. Look at the trends of where they accept students. Use multiple resources: PREDENTS.com, Student Doctor network forums, call alumni at those schools, call the admissions at those schools, visit the schools for a tour.

Anything else you’d like to share?

• You need to at least study for 2 to 3 months solidly, 8 hrs a day, 5-6 days a week for the DAT. Don’t RUSH IT. You really only have 3 attempts (in life) to take it; after that you can petition for a 4th try, but dental schools usually aren’t interested unless you score absurdly high or had an extenuating circumstances to explain the previous attempts. It is better to lose money by not taking the DAT if you’re ill-prepared than to take it, score poorly, and cripple your chances.
• DAT Scores never go away; they are not averaged; and they are updated one on-top-of-the other in your file.
• Don’t let finances prevent you from doing your best at applying. Look at the cost for taking the DAT, the prep materials, the primary application to all of the schools, the secondary application fees, and hopefully the cost of flying to all of your interviews and eventually depositing at at least 1 school.

Major at SMCM: Biology

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2008

Year of entrance to professional school: 2011 (following a 2-year Master’s program at Hampton U.)

Professional school: Eastern Virginia Medical School

Professional Field: Medicine

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?
The Biology program at SMCM was difficult for me. Most importantly it humbled me and was a constant reminder that just because you are smart doesn’t mean that you don’t have to work hard.

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
I always call SMCM my hippie school by the water and the “free love” kind of vibe that I had there has followed me since! How many people can say that they have seen Tibetan monks prepare sand mandala (at their school), had sushi and lumpia in the great hall, or discussed the need for biodegradable 2-go boxes?! The celebration of diversity has helped me adapt to new situations and maintain an easy going personality whether I am in a clinical or academic setting. I value the unique learning environment that I had at SMCM and I think that this has helped me have a unique view of the world around me.

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
Work hard not only for class but to figure out how you study, what works best for you, and how to balance school and a personal life. It took me a long time to discover this and it was a major barrier to me having a competitive GPA out of undergrad.

Anything else you’d like to share?
Although I wasn’t happy with my undergrad performance, looking back I am happy that I am a non-traditional student. I did AmeriCorps VISTA, a graduate program, worked as a cashier and ER scribe, and tutored a woman from Afghanistan all before entering medical school. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world! Everything happens for a reason and I am a living testament to that. I didn’t get to apply to medical school straight out of undergrad but at the end of the day I had 6 medical school interviews, 1 rejection, 2 wait list statuses, and 3 acceptance. Hard work always pays off and SMCM graduates ALWAYS end up on top!

Major at SMCM: Biology

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2010

Year of entrance to professional school: 2010

Professional school: University of Maryland Baltimore Dental

Professional Field: Dentistry

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?

• Helped me with my public speaking
• Gave me the opportunity to participate in research, write a research paper, and get my abstract published
• Helped me with the application process
• Prepared me well for 1st year dental classes

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
The SMP gave me a edge up on the competition. I did my research at the University of Maryland dental school and became familiarized with many of the faculty and staff. It really helped me stand out in the application the fact that I had done 8 credit hours of research and become familiar with the school (many schools like applicants that do research).

In comparison to your peers in your professional school program, do you feel that St. Mary’s prepared you for the rigors of the program?
Yes, I think St. Marys did a good job of preparing me for dental school. I recognized most the information that was taught the first year of dental school from undergrad. The only difference is the testing. Dental school has mostly all multiple choice exams while a lot of St Mary test are written.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program that you encountered while attending St. Mary’s?

• They were helpful in getting me letters of recommendation (sometimes you just have to keep reminding them though)
• -They were helpful in preparing me for my interview

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
If you have the opportunity to work or do research with one of the schools on your list, definitely take advantage of it. It is always nice to be able to get a letter of recommendation from someone in the school you are applying to.

Major at SMCM: Chemistry

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2010

Year of entrance to professional school: 2010

Professional school: University of Maryland Baltimore

Professional Field: Dentistry

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?
St. Mary’s prepared me extremely well. The science classes were challenging and the professors expected a high level of performance, which made the transition to dental school classes really easy. My professors were also extremely supportive during the application process and wrote phenomenal letters of recommendation. HSAC also was able to point me in the right directly early on in my freshmen year and helped me build a competitive application.

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
My SMP was definitely a way that St. Mary’s helped me stand out amongst other applicants. It was a large topic of conversation at every one of my interviews. I definitely feel that the interviewers were impressed by this requirement at St. Mary’s and were extremely inquisitive about the details of my research.

In comparison to your peers in your professional school program, do you feel that St. Mary’s prepared you for the rigors of the program?
Absolutely. (See questions #1 and #2)

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program that you encountered while attending St. Mary’s?
The pre-health advisory program definitely pointed me in the right direction, and allowed me to plan ahead and build a competitive resume.

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
Plan ahead! This makes the application process much less stressful. I built my resume over all four years at St. Mary’s- and didn’t wait until my last two years to cram. Getting work experience and volunteering my freshmen and sophomore year summers definitely allowed me to focus more on my specific science classes during the year. However, I was also fortunate to know exactly what I wanted to do my freshman year of college as well- and most students aren’t always so sure. However, completing my prerequisites and applying early was definitely beneficial to me. The Dental school application process was also rolling admission so the earlier I got my application sent in, the better my chances were.

Anything else you’d like to share?
St. Mary’s provided the foundation I needed for graduate school. I was guided in the right direction, and shaped into a competitive applicant for Dental school. In addition, the standards that professors set at St. Mary’s made the transition into the rigors of Dental School much easier.

Major at SMCM: Biology

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2010

Year of entrance to professional school: 2010

Professional school: University of Maryland Dental School

Professional Field: Dentistry

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?
The expectations of SMCM professors presented a challenge that helped to prepare me for the challenge of professional school courses.

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
Being able to have a close relationship with professors and classmates was the most influential aspect of St. Mary’s. Guidance and advice from both were incredibly important to me. Most professional schools are 150 or fewer students, so being able to have close relationships at SMCM was useful for learning interactions with the professors/students at UMB.

In comparison to your peers in your professional school program, do you feel that St. Mary’s prepared you for the rigors of the program?
Absolutely.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program that you encountered while attending St. Mary’s?
HSAC was great for practicing interviews and learning more about what is expected of you for realistic chances of getting into the professional program you choose.

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
Get experience – try to shadow a doctor/dentist/nurse/vet or work in a hospital. It is extremely important for your application, interview and, above all, for yourself to determine if this is the profession for you!

Anything else you’d like to share?
Be sure that you chose a career that suits the lifestyle you seek. Do what will make you happy 🙂

Major at SMCM: Biology

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2010

Year of entrance to professional school: 2011

Professional school: University of Maryland School of Medicine

Professional Field: Medicine

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?
I believe that St. Mary’s prepared me very well for medical school. I had many challenging courses while at St. Mary’s, both science and non-science courses. This taught me how to study and prepare for different subjects and courses, which has certainly helped in medical school because of the amount and difficulty of the material. I was also able to participate in several extracurricular activities at St. Mary’s, which taught me valuable time management skills that have been crucial since beginning medical school.

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
While different types of schools all have their own unique pros and cons with regard to choosing a career, my undergraduate studies at St. Mary’s truly gave me insight into what type of career I wanted to pursue. I was exposed to many different subjects, each with connections to different types of careers. In addition to the classes I took, the relationships with staff and faculty I was able to develop at St. Mary’s really helped shape my choice to attend medical school. Whenever I had a question, doubt, or other concern, I was always able to find a mentor to help lead me in the right direction.

In comparison to your peers in your professional school program, do you feel that St. Mary’s prepared you for the rigors of the program?
As I have mentioned, everyone’s experience in college is different. All of my peers prepared differently coming into medical school. That being said, I do feel that my experiences at St. Mary’s provided a strong foundation for what I have and will learn in medical school. I still have a long way to go, as I am only in my first year of medical school, but thus far I am very happy with how my education at St. Mary’s has laid the groundwork for all that I continue to learn.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program that you encountered while attending St. Mary’s?
One of the best strengths that St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program, and St. Mary’s in general, is the intimate relationships that are developed between students and faculty. As I was preparing for medical school, I had the email address, cell phone number, home phone number, and any other means of contact with multiple advisers and mentors who all knew me on a first name basis. As I have spoken with members of my medical school class, it has become evident to me that the level of effort that the faculty and staff of St. Mary’s put into ensuring success of students is unheard of in other institutions.

It is difficult for me to elaborate on weaknesses of the St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program, as I have never been exposed to a similar program from a different college or university. If I had to pick one weakness, it would be that larger undergraduate schools might have larger staffs with more resources. My pre-health advisory committee was always so great and accommodating to me, but at times I could see them working themselves to death to offer this same level of effort and enthusiasm to all other pre-health students. Different programs may be better equipped to spread out the students, lessening the burden on the committees.

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
As cliché as it may sound, I would advise current St. Mary’s pre-health students to always work as hard as they possibly can. POB may seem like a ton of unnecessary information for the first year of college, but it really does help down the road. This is true for all college courses. Developing such dedicated work ethics will pay off time and time again, in all that you go on to do.

One more piece of advice that I could have done a much better job with, as I am sure certain pre-health advisers will attest to, is to heed the advice that these pre-health committees have. St. Mary’s is able to produce so many successful students because of the amazing support system at the school. It is sometimes difficult to see at the time, but anything these advisers tell you is for a good reason.

Anything else you’d like to share?
Enjoy the time you have at St. Mary’s, and take away as much as you can from it. What you do there will truly shape the person you will become, so make the most of it while you can.

Major at SMCM: Biochemistry/Biology (math minor)

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2012

Year of entrance to professional school: 2012

Professional school: Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

Professional Field: Veterinary Medicine

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?
Perhaps this time next year I could offer a more accurate answer to this, however I can say that St. Mary’s does offer all necessary pre-requisites for my two programs. The do not offer many of the animal science related courses required by some of the schools, so I would advise any pre-vet students to look at the pre-reqs for their intended program and plan early because they may require courses that will need to be taken outside of SMCM.

SMCM does have a great reputation with VMRCVM, as all students from SMCM have done very well in their curriculum.

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
The student-teacher relationships fostered in my 4 years here are very unique to SMCM.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program that you encountered while attending St. Mary’s?

• Mock interview is by far the best asset to any pre-health student
• The committee letter is useful not only for applying to professional programs, but also internships and scholarships.
• The application process is hell, but having experienced advisers makes it easier
• Dr. Crawford’s advice on shaping a comprehensive personal statement

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
Start early and plan ahead. If you want vet school, look into the vet programs to which you might apply, write down their required and “strongly recommended” courses…plan your SMCM schedule accordingly, taking note of when courses are offered. Remember, you want to make yourself the strongest possible candidate, so do everything you can now and have no regrets later.

Anything else you’d like to share?
Keep your grades up. Partake in research with a professor. Get experience in your field of interest.

Major at SMCM: Biology

Year of graduation from SMCM: 2011

Year of entrance to professional school: 2011

Professional school: University of Virginia School of Medicine

Professional Field: Medicine

How did St. Mary’s prepare you for medical/professional school?
St. Mary’s provided a very rigorous educational program that prepared me well for the level of work expected by medical school. It made for an easier transition from St. Mary’s to UVa.

Was there anything unique about the St. Mary’s education that you feel made a difference in your career or your path toward your career?
The collaboration and small classroom environment prepared me well for the teamwork of providing medical care for patients. UVa updated their curriculum to become a more collaborative learning experience. In fact, we have more group activities than lectures! Preparing for the activities ahead of time and working well with others is essential to excelling.

In comparison to your peers in your professional school program, do you feel that St. Mary’s prepared you for the rigors of the program?
Absolutely.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the St. Mary’s pre-health advisory program that you encountered while attending St. Mary’s?
The pre-health advisory program was very helpful throughout the whole process – helping me pick the appropriate classes to take, providing feedback on my coursework and application essays, and sending in their material to medical schools in a timely manner. Each student receives a lot of individual time from the committee, so it doesn’t feel like you’re just getting “shuttled through.” The one difficulty that I encountered with the committee is in the practice interview – it was way more difficult than any medical school interview I attended. However, I suppose if you can make it through that, the rest of your interviews will be a piece of cake.

If you could give one piece of advice to current St. Mary’s pre-health students, what would it be?
Enjoy your free time because soon you will have none! Medical school will consume your life. Don’t feel like you have to take all the difficult science classes just because you think it would make your application look better – do well in the required classes and use the extra credits to take something fun like art or dance or whatever it is that floats your boat. It will make you a happier and more well-rounded applicant.

Anything else you’d like to share?
Stay focused! It’s easy to become distracted but grades trump volunteer experiences, sports, and other activities in the medical school application. Having a ton of extracurriculars will not hide a below-average GPA or MCAT score.

• University of Maryland
• Georgetown University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Harvard University
• University of Virginia
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Case Western Reserve
• Western Virginia University
• Eastern Virginia School of Medicine
• George Washington University
• United States University of Health Sciences
• University of Minnesotta
• Robert Wood Johnson University, NJ
• Einstein University, NY
• Mount Sinai, NY
• University of North Dakota
• Drexel University
• Ross University
• University of Arizona
• University of Wisconsin

• Kansas City University of Medicine and Bioscience
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

• Cornell University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Virginia Tech
• Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

• University of Maryland
• Temple University

• University of Maryland
• University of Connecticut
• Shenandoah University

• Philadelphia University
• Shenandoah University
• Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Anne Arundel Community College

• University of Maryland
• Johns Hopkins University
• Georgetown University
• George Washington University

• University of Maryland
• Temple University
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Notre Dame of Maryland University
• Mercer University

• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• University of Maryland
• Johns Hopkins University

• Barry University
• Florida
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Chicago
• Loyola University
• Bryn Mawr
• Georgetown University
• Johns Hopkins University