"Why would you do that?" "You're going to waste your money." "You should only do that if you have a bad GPA, and you don't, so you don't need to do this." "What would make you think to do that?" "Just go ahead and take the MCAT you're going to get in somewhere."
What you just read is a short and sweet example of the many opinions I came across when I made the executive decision to apply to grad school. Now, I'm going to be 100% honest. I had no intention on apply to anyone's grad school during my gap year (which I was reluctantly "sold" on by an advisor of mine). At one point in time, I imagined that I would be in Arizona saving money by staying at home and putting my phlebotomist certification to use. However, by the end of my senior year, it was as if I was outgrowing my environment. I was absolutely uncomfortable. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. It was like I had outgrown my shell and no matter how I tried to navigate Arizona State, I could feel that I needed to enter a new chapter of my life. A new chapter that would challenge me, strengthen my resume, and get me closer to my dreams.
So how did I end up from not thinking about graduate school to attending the University of Pittsburgh? Honestly, it was because of mother. When they say that a mother knows their child, there is too much truth behind that phrase. For the longest I knew that I wanted to be a doctor and with graduation coming up I could see the gap in between where I was and where I wanted to be. I had done well at ASU. I was graduating Summa Cum Laude and was very (almost too) involved balancing being the President of my collegiate chapter and other executive board positions, but I wasn't sold on my soon to be life after graduation. My mother could sense that. Like any mother, slowly but surely the idea of applying to a post-bacc program began to pop up into every conversation we had. It was inescapable. Even though I was listening, of course I had to come to the decision on my own to truly be sold so I did some introspection.
If senior year hadn't taught me anything at all, it taught me that I thrive in structured environments and like to be challenged academically. And I knew at that moment that not having the structure of a program would leave me more uncomfortable than staying at ASU. So in late February/early March is when the search began. During my part-time shifts, I began my search.
I started with considering the states that I wouldn't mind living in: North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Florida, Louisiana, Washington D.C., Kentucky, Virginia, New England, and somehow Pennsylvania. I knew it was late in the game to start applying for graduate school, so I didn't mind where I ended up I just knew I wanted to be somewhere doing something. And since I had got accustomed to living in different places, I didn't mind the geographically differences either. Next, I found schools that were intriguing and took notes on the programs they offered, admission requirements (GRE/MCAT scores), and the length of their program. However, I hit a road block. A lot of the programs that I liked had deadlines that had already passed or needed MCAT scores, which narrowed my list down from the original 25 programs to 8. Then I hit another decision, post-bacc certificate or Master's degree program (check out my post about the difference! Coming soon!)?
I ended up applying to 7 programs. Each program had its pros and cons, however, the two biggest questions were: 1. Did I want to walk away with a Master's degree or a certificate? and 2. Did I want a 12-month or 24-month program? I figured that if I was investing the time and money that I would pursue a Master's degree and if possible I wanted to complete it in 12-months. Originally, I was sold on USC Columbia's Biomedical Studies Certificate Program and you couldn't tell me anything else. But somehow or another, that door closed and was the only program where I was not accepted. Out of my 6 acceptances, I ended up going back and forth on 2 programs. It was then between the Biomedical Master's Program (BMP) at the University of Pittsburgh (12 months) and the Master's in Biology Medical Science at Georgia State University (24 months).
As you can tell, I decided to go to Biomedical Master's Program at the University of Pittsburgh and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. In another post I will get into why I chose Pitt, but for now I will say that God definitely had His hand over me and guided me to that very program. Since moving to Pittsburgh and beginning the BMP, God has placed special people strategically in my path. From a family I nanny-ed for during the week, the church I started going to, to the advisors and mentors that I met along the way. Everything was divinely put together.