PreHealth Spotlight: Cindy Le

Class year: 2018
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Along with my Biochemistry degree, I also minored in Sociology and got a certificate in Asian American Studies.  For me, these were things that I enjoyed learning on the side and really shaped my perspective of who I am...

Vitals

• First year medical student at UMass Medical School

While at UMass Amherst...

• SI and Peer Mentor in Biology
• Residential Assistant (RA) for UMass Amherst Residential Life (O Hill)
• Volunteered at UMass Memorial Hospital Worcester (Emergency Dept and Endoscopy Unit)
• Volunteered with New England Rehab Center
• Research Assistant in the Wang lab (BMB)
• Summer volunteer with 4H STEM Ambassadors program

My general advice for undergrads preparing for medical school, is to really be yourself while you are finding jobs and things to do on or off campus. This gives you a unique way to express who you are and also enjoy what you are doing. The whole process is indeed stressful, but if you plan ahead and take things step by step it should be okay! Don't be afraid to ask your premed advisors or mentors when you have questions! I also think that taking a gap year was something I was reluctant to do at first, but it ended up being the best thing I have done. I got to relax after school, save some money, and had time to really work on my application!

I worked as a residential assistant (RA) as an undergrad and this really helped with my communication skills and my leadership skills!  Being an RA gave me a chance to really gain a lot of useful skills but also experiences with meeting new people and dealing with a lot of different situations. I was also an SI/ ExSEL leader, which helped me really understand and retain my science knowledge for the MCAT, but more importantly I got to meet a lot of amazing students who I hoped to help attain their dreams in the science field too. I volunteered at the New England Rehab Center in Sunderland, and this was one of my favorite experiences during undergrad. I got to work and gain a lot of experience caring for others.

I majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and this was a good fit for me because my two favorite subjects in high school were chemistry and biology so this was a really good mixture of both. I think that this major was also a good fit because it is so applicable in any of the science fields! My research experience was valuable for me because I was able to really experience both aspects of science and not just medicine. Research allows you to be open minded but also patient. I learned that research and medicine come hand-in-hand, and having experience in it allows you to gain respect for it and to be able to follow the current research studies because medicine is constantly evolving. Along with my Biochemistry degree, I also minored in Sociology and got a certificate in Asian American Studies.  For me, these were things that I enjoyed learning on the side and really shaped my perspective of who I am, and what type of doctor I wanted to become. Just bringing it back to my advice of be yourself and let your passion guide you and enjoy the process during undergrad!

I gained my patient care experience from the nursing home and from volunteering at a hospital. I thought these experiences were very meaningful to me and brought me joy thinking about them. What surprised me a lot about patient care is that the answer to helping with someone's health isn't always medicine. There are a lot of other factors that really influence someone's health. Having this perspective was important for me to learn because you are better able to understand your patients and learn from them more as people they aren't just someone seeking medicine.

My MCAT experience was a rollercoaster! It started off really poorly but ended really well. I did retake my MCAT and it was something that was hard for me to do but I am glad I did it. I wanted to really go straight to med school after I graduated so I rushed my MCAT and studied for it while I was also in school. This didn't go so well for me, and I ended up taking the summer off really studying and dedicating my time to it.  My advice is not to rush into it, and know yourself. If you need the summer off, then you need the summer off, do what you need to do to study for the exam well. My second time around I used NextStep and the AAMC MCAT practice tests, which gave a lot of good practice exams and they were pretty fair prices. I think that when you start, you will be overwhelmed with the content on the exam but the second time around I really focused on practice problems, especially the ones directly from AAMC.

The application cycle for me went pretty smoothly. I asked for the letters of recommendation pretty early in the year, and was really good at getting them all in on time. The application wasn't bad! The secondaries are really what is time consuming. I took my list of schools and the dates I received the secondaries and tried to submit them one to two weeks after. The earlier the better, but don't let that take away from the quality of your secondaries. I also want people to be aware of how much the applications cost! Secondaries add up to be a lot of money – so really talk to your family, save money, and sign up for the assistance program if you can!

I thought the admissions interviews were fun! At first I was nervous about them, but the school really wants to get to know you and for you to get to know their school. There are two different types of interviews and really know the difference and how to prepare for them. I personally really liked the MMIs because you get into your groove as you do the MMIs and you have many chances to really be your best!

Published October 2019