Self-Assessment for BaccMD Scholars

If you plan to apply to the UMass BaccMD Pathway Program, you should meet with one of the advisors in the Pre-Med/PreHealth Office and submit your responses via email to the self-assessment questions listed below by end of January of the year that you plan to apply. Completed self-assessments can be sent to Catherine Eden by email.

  1. What gender pronouns do you use?
  2. What events in your life helped to shape your identity? You can include where you were born, information about your family, where you went to high school, activities and accomplishments from high school and college, anything that you feel helped to make you who you are. Because of these events, who are you today?
  3. Are you first generation to college? Do you qualify for the Pell grant? What do your parent(s) do for a living? Are you underrepresented in medicine as defined by the BaccMD program?
  4. Please list all languages you speak, and indicate level of proficiency, not including English. Please list any other skills, qualities, or experiences that make you stand out from your peers.
  5. Is there anything else UMMS should know? Or is there anything that the Pre-Med/Pre-Health Advisors should know, so we can best support your application process? This might include something special about you, a difficult circumstance that you have overcome, the reasons behind a weak semester, withdrawal from a course or absence from the university, or special or disadvantaged circumstances in your background.
  6. What is your motivation for wanting to be a doctor? Include in your answer the influence of teachers or any healthcare professionals that helped motivate you toward this career path. Also include any unusual circumstances that have occurred to you that have also motivated you to make this decision (e.g., a serious illness to yourself or a family member). Identify people, events, and experiences. What values do you aspire to uphold as a physician and why? How do you think the BaccMD program will help you get closer to your goal?
  7. Have you had any experience working or volunteering with patients in high school or college? Any shadowing experience? Have you earned any certification (EMT or CNA) in hopes of exploring the field soon? Please list the experiences in which you have you been involved. Share the dates and hours per week you devote(d) to each activity. Describe in detail your role. For each activity, share how you have grown through your participation, especially with regard to the AAMC Core Competencies.
  8. Describe your transition from high school to college. Discuss what was challenging about adjusting to being on a large college campus. How was your relationship with your roommate? What aspects of your personality were an asset to you in adjusting to this new setting?
  9. What is your major, and why did you choose it? Are you expecting to receive a minor or certificate, and why did you choose it? Is there anything unusual about the major you’ve chosen or the classes you’ve selected?
  10. Have you been involved in research? What lab are you in and what projects have you been involved in? How have you grown by being a member of a lab, especially with regard to the AAMC Core Competencies? Please share the date you started research and (if relevant) the date you concluded as well as the hours per week you devote(d) to research.
  11. Please list the extracurricular activities in which you have you been involved either since starting college or began in high school but have continued to do in college. Please include paid jobs—noting that they were paid— and whether you held them in the summer or during the academic year. Share the dates and hours per week you devote to each activity. Describe in detail your role and contributions to the team, including any leadership roles. Describe the populations of people with whom you worked (young, adult, elderly, socio-economic background, racial/ethnic background). For each activity, share how you have grown through your participation, especially with regard to the AAMC Core Competencies. List only those things you have had a sustained interest in.
  12. Please list the community service activities in which you have you been involved either since starting college or began in high school but have continued to do in college. Share the dates and hours per week you devote to each activity. Describe in detail your role, commitment, and contributions to the team, including any leadership roles. For each activity, share how you have grown through your participation, especially with regard to the AAMC Core Competencies. List only those things you have had a sustained interest in.

Examples of How to List and Describe Activities:

Summers 2019 and 2020, 15 hours per week. Barista at Starbucks. I served coffee in a fast-paced setting. Working in downtown Boston, I learned how to interact with people from a breadth of backgrounds—tourists from all over the world, time-crunched business people, and children eager to get a treat. I became adept at helping to welcome people and put them at ease while still being cognizant of the line out the door. I strengthened my ability to juggle multiple competing priorities with a smile on my face.

Fall 2019 – present, academic year only, 6 hours per week. Participant in UMass Amherst Club Swimming. Being part of the Club team allowed me to grow my resilience and reliability. I had to get up and go to the pool at 6 a.m. three days a week, no matter how late I had been up studying for an exam because I knew my teammates were counting on me. I had to push myself to achieve personal goals by cross training and was able to accomplish a new personal best in the 50m freestyle. I have also had to strengthen my resolve to be a team player and show up consistently when the team switched completely to Zoom workouts on land during the COVID outbreak.