PreHealth Spotlight: Bailey Ingalls

Class year: 2017
Major: Chemistry and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Find what you’re passionate about, pursue it relentlessly, and make sure you enjoy it. In my experience, the successful applicants are the ones who love what they do.

Vitals

UMass Amherst senior recently accepted to the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and University of Michigan Medical School

Much as I sometimes cringe to admit it in interviews, I’m one of those stereotypical kids who’s always wanted to be a doctor. I was born with a congenital heart defect and after having it repaired I was completely enamored of medicine and how it could change someone’s life.

My path to UMass was a little less focused, to say the least. I’m from Washington, and I actually had plans to attend the University of Washington. However, the hockey coach here asked me if I wanted to come skate and I just couldn’t turn down four more years of hockey (especially since I knew I wanted to be in school basically forever). I came to UMass having never visited the campus before, but I have no doubt that it was the best decision I ever made. I started as a biochemistry major because that seemed like the pre-med thing to do but ultimately ended up switching to chemistry because I realized I was really passionate about the basic science as well. I kept biochemistry as a secondary major because I knew a lot of the classes would be good for medical school and because it set me up really well for the MCAT.

As far as extracurriculars, I got involved with research on campus and also volunteered with the local fire department. In both research and volunteering, the best advice I can give you is to invest the time to find a lab and a cause you’re passionate about. Interviewers and application screeners see hundreds of kids, and they can tell who did it to check a box and who did it because they were genuinely excited about the work.

Advising

Advising is one place to do as I say and not as I did. I got really distracted sophomore and junior years and didn’t go to Advising until I was three weeks away from my MCAT. I pretty much showed up to Dr. Webley’s office in a panic, but he was phenomenal about calming me down. He and Cathy have so many phenomenal resources, everything from advice from admissions committees to UMass alumni currently in medical school—take advantage of it! It makes the process so much less stressful when you have the advisors and other students who have already been through the process to talk you through it.

MCAT

There are so many different approaches to the MCAT, and the most important thing is to find the one that works the best for you. Personally, I used the free topic guides provided by AMCAS and basically filled them out using Google to essentially create my own study guide. This worked really well for me, and I got a score of 525. Shoot for really understanding the material, not just memorizing it. The new test is about using information in new ways, not just regurgitating facts. Oh, and I took lots of full-length practice tests. Testing endurance is a huge thing with the new MCAT, so get used to sitting for seven hours.

Applications and Interviews

The biggest thing I can say about the application process is give it the time and respect it deserves. Filling out secondaries is almost a full-time job by itself during the summer, and interviews are both hugely expensive and time consuming. It really isn’t a bad idea to take a gap year just so you can give them the time they deserve. I went straight through, but that meant constantly missing class and begging my professors to reschedule exams. . . so do it at your own risk. Most people have been really accommodating, but it definitely keeps you busy.

So far I’ve interviewed at University of Chicago, Pritzker, Hopkins, Cornell, University of Michigan, Harvard, and UCSD. I still have to interview at UCSF, Columbia, and BU. I have been accepted at University of Chicago and University of Michigan so far. I did a lot of prep initially for interviews, reading up on recent healthcare initiatives and the US healthcare system and making sure I knew specifically why I wanted to attend each school, but beyond that I tried to just relax and be myself. A huge part of the interview is just gauging fit—each school has its own personality, and it’s important to find the one that fits you the best.

Advice

I feel like I’ve said it a lot in one way or another, but the best advice I can give is the same advice Dr. Webley gave me: figure out what your story is and just tell it. There are 1,000 different ways to be a pre-med and as many different pathways to medical school. There are people and programs with a focus on basic science, healthcare policy, and everything in between. Find what you’re passionate about, pursue it relentlessly, and make sure you enjoy it. In my experience, the successful applicants are the ones who love what they do.

Published November 2016