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Tips for Applying to College

06.04.2020  •  8 min read

How to pick the right ones

Many of you might have heard about the “tier system” when applying for college. There are typically three tiers: safe school, fit school, and reach school. The definition of each tier can be different for everybody. For me, safe schools are schools that I’m 100% sure I can get in. Fit range schools are the ones that I think I can get in, but I’m not quite sure If I’m there yet. And reach schools are the ones I have to work a little harder to get in. 

To simplify this process, I made an excel sheet that had information like their SAT averages, their 25th percentile score, and 75th percentile score, their acceptance rate, and their tuition. I also noted the major they offer that I’m interested in. You can find all this information either from Google or on their official website. I would say when searching for majors, definitely look at the majors you want to apply for, but also don’t forget to explore some other majors you might be interested in, and see if the school has it or not. Therefore, when you want to add a minor or change your major in the future, you have more options. 

Last but not least, it is also useful to check the ranking of the school. I know ranking is not everything. But it’s nice to have that information so that you can make an informed decision. So how does ranking help you? For me, I first checked their national rankings. I also checked the ranking within only public schools or private schools. Also, check the ranking for the program you want to apply for. For example, I wanted to apply for an engineering major, so I checked their ranking in both undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. That gave me a ballpark of how well the program is treated at the school. It showed me how much time and resources the school is willing to put into that program. 

Why UF

After I got accepted to the University of Florida, I was really excited. And I wanted to come and see the school myself. So, my host family and I drove down from Kentucky and made a campus tour. That campus tour definitely showed me what the overall atmosphere of the school is like. Since we came in April, the school was still in session. We were able to see what student’s life is like. Seeing everyone running around on campus, I could feel that the school had energy in it. I also used that opportunity to visit their college of engineering undergraduate advising team and talked to some advisors as well as someone who was an engineering student himself. They were really kind and walked me through what the program is like. I would say if you have a chance to visit the campus, certainly tour the campus, but also don’t forget to use that opportunity to ask around, try to talk to the students, professors, and advisors. 

To be honest, I really emphasized on UF’s rank. When I applied, UF was the top 8 public universities in the U.S. and about the top 30 something of all schools in the U.S. I would say ranking is not everything, but it’s worth looking into. There are many different factors the school was ranked higher or lower. Maybe some factors are not as relevant to you, for example, if a school is not good at sports, their ranking might be lower, but if you don’t care about sports, the ranking result would be skewed for you. It is important to look at the ranking, but don’t use it as the decision-making factor for you. 

Also, Gainesville just has a lovely climate. I’ve never lived in the south. I was born in the northern part of China, and when I moved to the U.S., I lived in Kentucky. So I never lived in a place with palm trees and constantly warm weather, although it does rain a lot. 

Another factor is UF’s tuition is really on the cheaper side for international students. With limited financial aid and scholarship, tuition can be critical in your decision-making process. Definitely think about how much the school costs and how much assistance you are able to get. 

By the way, if you are an international student and are currently not in high school yet, do some research. If you go to high school in some states in America, such as Kentucky and Florida, for a certain amount of time, you are qualified for in-state tuition. This can be a huge money saver. If I knew I was going to come to UF, then coming to Florida for high school would be beneficial. 

So what is the secret?

I wish I could tell you all the deepest and darkest secrets of the mindset behind the college admission process, but I would probably get deported due to fraudulent activities. All I can tell you is what I did in high school that enhanced my chances. Know that your mileage may vary. Of courses, you need to have a competitive GPA and exams score to get a foot in the door. I’m mainly going to talk about some factors aside from academic abilities. 

For extracurricular activities, I’m going to talk about in-school and out-of-school activities. For in-school activities, I was in the student government in my junior and senior years. I was also in our school orchestra and beta club. I also tutor algebra for a really short while in junior year. For out-of-school activities, I volunteered at a local hospital for two summers. For the second summer, I got into a more selective program because schools want to see consistency. It shows your dedication, passion, and skills. 

Now let’s talk about AP, IB, and Dual Enrollment classes. Since my school only offered AP classes, I can only speak to how AP is pretty beneficial. My advice is, if you’re available, definitely take as many as you can, because they do count for college credit. Although taking the test is about $100, it would still be way cheaper compared to college tuition. If you are not paying any tuition due to scholarship and government subsidies, AP credits can still be a huge time saver. Those credits gave me a head start in college. Since I took AP Calculus AB and BC, when I came to UF, I could go straight into Calculus 2 or even Calculus 3. AP classes can be pretty time consuming and work-intensive, but I would say it’s worth it. 

One of the most important things people tend to overlook is recommendation letters. They can be extremely important. I picked people who I had a lot of interactions with. The more exposure you have to that teacher, the more they can know about you. That way, they can write not only about my academic achievement but also my work ethic, time management skills, and how I perform on a team. When you ask them to write you something, send a list of the schools that are interested in applying and a list of things that can remind them who you are. For example, what classes you did take with them, what did you do in that class, what did you learn from that class, and also your other accomplishments, your hobbies, your passion. Just put down something that can help them better learn who you are as a person. After they write it for you, make sure you send them a thank you note. A small gesture of kindness can go a long way.

Before you apply, try to gather as much information about your school as possible. It is nice to know things like academic performance, and student experience off-campus life. You are going to college to study, but you are also going to spend the rest four years of your life in that town. Make sure you like the climate and the location. Make sure you look at other things, not just the school. 

And another important factor they look at is your essay. I wrote about my experience as an international student living with my host family. I’m not going to go into too much detail here, but I will tell you that I opened the essay with: “My host family opened their door to me, and their lives have never been the same.” And I ended the essay with: “Open your door to me, and your campus will never be the same.” I know, it’s very cheesy. What I’m trying to say is I can make a positive change on your campus. So, a tip for writing the essay: tell a story. The admission officers would sit in a room, reading essays all day, and they want to see something interesting. If you show them a story, they tend to be more intrigued, and they want to learn more about you. Through those stories, make sure you show your traits, strengths, and personalities. All your achievements and activities can be demonstrated via other parts of the application. The essay is the part where you show who you are as a person, your personalities, and your story. 

A fun fact, the application said I could submit a resume. Back in high school had no idea what a resume is. So what I did was submitted a three pages long “resume” that had my entire life stories on it, including my favorite movies. Yeah, I know, I should’ve done some more research.  

Here are some nice bonus ones. Work with your community. Take actions, make some impact. It is nice to have a high academic achievement; universities also want to know what you can bring to not only their campus but also the greater area of the whole community. Now let’s talk about leadership roles. I know it sometimes can feel like a popularity contest to either run for something or apply for something. It would be a nice plus if you have an active leadership role on campus. But there are many ways you can do that. You can either start a club, or you can just do something you’re passionate about. You can be an advocate of something, or you can try to educate your peers about a particular topic, or you can also lead something in your community. A leadership role doesn’t have to be tied with school activities. Just think about something you can do to engage other people actively. 

Ultimately, the schools want to know what you can bring to their campus. Here is the last tip I have: your major does not equal to your career. Doing something like an exploratory or undecided major is ok. It even offers more flexibility and time to explore. It’s not fair to ask someone who is 17 or 18 to know what they want to do for the rest of their life.

What if I am an international student

There are some extra things you need to provide to the schools. They generally want a financial statement of some sort to either prove the source of funds for your tuition, or some kind of statement that shows the source of income or source of saving. I would say probably not all schools require it, but most of the schools I applied to did want that. Something else you might encounter is an international transcript. I did my 9th grade in China. The way the school structure worked in China is1st through 6th grade are elementary school, 7 through 9 are secondary or middle school, and 10, 11, 12 are high school. I came to the U.S. after I graduated from middle school, so I came in 10th grade. But in America, high school goes from 9th to 12th grade, so that’s why I need my 9th grade transcript. And you do need to translate that into English. Since I went to high school in the U.S., I would say I had fewer hoops to jump through. However, the schools I applied to still treated me as an international student applicant because there is certain paperwork they have to issue for us, such as the I-20. It’s a piece of paperwork that allows us to both enter and stay in the U.S. It’s extremely important. If you’re an international student, be sure to check with your school when you can get your I-20 because you need that to apply for U.S. Visa, and that can definitely take a while.

Conclusion

The one takeaway I want you to learn from this article is: ultimately, the school wants to know what you can bring to their university. And you can do that by showing your dedication, passion, and skills. Make sure you wrap those around in a beautiful story to make them intrigued and make them want you on their campus. 

I hope this article was helpful. Good luck with your college application journey!

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]]> Applying to US Med School as an International Student https://mykevinli.com/applying-to-us-med-school-as-an-international-student/ Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:27:29 +0000 https://mykevinli.com/?p=928 Applying to US Med School as an International Student Read More »

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Applying to US Med School as an International Student

08.14.2020  •  10 min read

Why doctor?

I’ve always wanted to be a doctor as I grew up. Of course, I’ve heard the stereotype that Asians want to be doctors because their family wants them to or because it makes you a lot of money.

My family did not demand me to be anything; I just want to help people when they are most vulnerable and need help the most. Everyone has a story. I feel like dedicating my time to make someone be the person they meant to be and keep writing their stories is the most beautiful and admirable thing, whether that person is a husband, a mother, a teacher, or a pilot. The profession is constantly challenging and pushes me to be a lifelong learner. It also offers a holistic approach to caring for individuals and provides the emotional reward of making someone feel better. 

If you are interested in studying medicine in America, you must have an answer to this question. Why do you want to study medicine? This is not just an interview question. You also need to use this question to remind yourself why you chose this path. That’s how you can have enough motivation to keep fighting. 

All right, in the article, I will talk about my background, things you need to apply for medical school, what have I done so far, things you need to know as an international student, and some of my thoughts. And just a disclaimer, this article will mainly focus on U.S. mainland M.D. programs. I have not done enough research for D.O. program or Caribbean schools. And when I say international students, I mean students with a student visa like F-1or J-1, not counting students with a green card or duo citizenship. 

What’s the process like?

When I was 15, I came to Kentucky to attend high school. Now, I’m a third-year biomedical engineering student at the University of Florida. Part of the reason I came to the U.S. so early was to get used to American culture and get familiarized with the language in order to help me get into a good college, therefore a good medical school. Before I came to America, I had some ideas about how complicated it is to apply for medical school, but little did I know I had just scratch the surface. 

In China, students can apply for medical school after high school. They graduate, then apply for residency. However, if you want to do a little more and advance your degree, you can get a master’s or doctoral degree. However, in America, when you finish high school, you generally need to get an undergraduate degree first, then go to medical school. And say that the process is complicated is an understatement. Let me try to unravel it a little bit.

First of all, the academic requirements. 

Most medical schools will require certain prerequisite courses during your undergraduate years. Each medical school may have slightly different requirements, but the majority of them are the same. Classes such as mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, humanities are generally required, but classes like microbiology or genetics can vary depending on the school. Some schools may recommend you to have them; other schools may not care if you have them or not. So make sure you double-check with the schools you are interested in. This information can be found on their official websites, normally under Admission, then Prerequisite Requirement.

A lot of students may be a little confused when it comes to picking a major. Are there any majors that medical schools prefer more than others? As far as I know, majors don’t matter. Medical schools tend to like diversity. They want a little bit of everything. Choosing majors like history, politics, finance is treated the same as majors like biology and chemistry. There is no difference. As long as you are taking all the required prerequisite courses, your major does not have a significant impact on your admission. What matters is picking a major you like. That’s how you can improve your GPA, which is very important when applying for med school. Some students may wonder, what are the GPA requirements. Med school tend not to tell you specific numbers. But sometimes they do announce the average or percentiles GPA from previous years. Definitely check it out if you are interested. 

There’s a very important exam called the MCAT. It’s an abbreviation for Medical College Admission Test. This is an essential exam for applying to medical school. Students usually prepare during their junior or senior year. It’s generally available from January to September, and there are at least 3 to 4 exams each month. After you finish the exam, it takes about a month to get your results. But please don’t go to the exam without preparing for it. It’s not the same as the SAT. I remember taking the SAT three times and ACT three times as well. But for MCAT, the fewer times you take it, the better. Generally, taking it once or twice is optimal. If you take it too many times, it’s going to work against you when you apply. 

In addition to the courses and grades, extracurricular activities are also important.

First, let’s talk about volunteering. Schools generally look at two types of volunteering. One is clinical volunteering, the other is non-clinical volunteering. Clinical volunteering includes running around in a hospital or helping out in your local clinics. In short, they are volunteering activities in a medical setting. Non-clinical volunteering is doing things in your community, for example, volunteer at the food pantry, Salvation Army, or animal shelter. These activities will count toward non-clinical volunteering. They are both very important. You should for sure do them both if you have time. 

Aside from volunteering, another very important activity is shadowing. Medical schools can see a lot from this activity. They can find out if you have a basic understanding of the medical setting and if you are truly interested in medicine. Your mission is to follow around an attending physician. Go wherever they go, like a shadow, hence shadowing. You get great opportunities to ask the doctor questions such as how did they get into medical school, their views about medicine, or what do they think about medicine as a career. At the same time, the medical school can also find out your interpersonal skills. Usually, only students with strong motivations can get a shadowing position. These students possess the drive to ask more people when they are turned down.

 

Another important aspect is scientific research. 

Although research is not critical, if you have such experience, it will definitely enhance your application, especially for students who are interested in MD/PhD programs. I will talk about it in-depth later on. If you can participate in research and even publish during your undergraduate years, then med schools would certainly be impressed. 

Leadership skill is also quite important. 

As a doctor, you usually need to lead a medical team. You need to master skills like organization, communication, and instruction. Of course, you’ll be able to cultivate these skills in med school. But if you are able to practice those during college, then it’s definitely good for your application.

Finally, let’s talk about work experience. 

This may not be difficult for American students. Many of them may have already worked a job during high school around their neighborhood. But for international students, it may be difficult due to our visa status. But, there are still many on-campus job opportunities for international students. You can develop your personal finance skills from working. It can also reflect your diligence. Another benefit for international students to find a job on campus is to get an SSN. This is quite important for living in the U.S. Because with an SSN, you can apply for a credit card and start building a credit history. Of course, this is a topic for another day.

Some helpful examples of what I did​

First of all, when it comes to major, I picked biomedical engineering. GPA for engineering majors tend to be lower on average. But med school will evaluate your GPA base on the difficulty of your coursework. I chose this major because I believe it is quite beneficial for clinicians to have a deeper understanding of how medical technologies works. With an engineering mindset, it is also helpful when designing a new instrument or technique whenever a need arises. Also, if I don’t get admitted to medical school, I can still continue to study engineering or find an engineering-related job. I have yet to take the MCAT, but I will start looking into it this summer and start preparing. Currently, I have taken most of the prerequisite courses. I just have biochemistry left, which I will take next semester. For volunteering, I have done some during my freshman and sophomore year. I did some volunteering at UF hospital and a local food bank. I will definitely spend more time volunteering in the future. Currently, I have not yet done anything related to shadowing. Originally, I planned to shadow a doctor this summer, but due to the pandemic, we had to postpone it to a later date. 

Regarding research, I was fortunate to be involved in a lab during my first year. I have for sure learned a lot. I would suggest looking for a research position as early as possible. During freshman year, schools generally have these research events, so you get the opportunity to chat with different professors and faculties. But before you attend, make sure you are prepared. Bring your resume, check out the list of people who are attending, research on people who you are interested in talking with, read some of their papers so that you have some talking points when you meet them. Also, don’t forget to ask for their contact information, so you can email them when you get home asking for a potential interview. Remember, don’t rush to a decision when you get an offer. At this time, you should contemplate even more thoroughly if you are truly interested in this research. This was the case for me. I was so excited when I got my first offer; I thought I needed to say yes before it was too late. I surely learned a lot, but since I later found out I didn’t enjoy what I was doing, I have not only wasted my own time but also my mentor’s time. So be sure to think carefully, then decide whether to participate. It’s time-consuming to do research during undergraduate. You have your own coursework, and other school activities, then there is this research. Generally speaking, it takes about one semester to get familiarized with the lab personnel and procedures; after that, you might be able to get results. And if you want to publish, it takes even longer. So you must be patient with doing research. 

Regarding leadership, I have had some experience. I had a position in UF Chinese Student Association. I have also led an engineering design team and did some projects. I have also spent some time in the College of Engineering, advising new students about their course schedules. Please remember, no matter what you do, make sure you can demonstrate your teamwork ability, organizational skills, and communication skills. Actually, I recommend you have a place to take notes. Write down all the activities you have participated in, also write down what kind of abilities you have cultivated in these activities. Therefore, at a later date, there’s a reference when writing a resume or preparing for an interview. 

Regarding work experience, I have done a short summer job called Preview Staffer. It is the orientation team of our school. We helped freshmen to become familiar with the campus and helped them develop their first-semester schedule. Last summer, my team and I welcomed about 8,000 students and 10,000 family members to the UF campus.

What if I’m an international student?

First of all, as an international student, applying to med school is extra difficult. Because not all medical schools in the U.S. will accept international students. For example my school, UF, would not accept international medical students. When I investigated last year, there were about 40 to 50 med schools in the U.S. that would accept international students. And even if they accept, it is for sure a small percentage who are international students. I can understand this since most schools have limited funding and availability. If you completed your bachelor’s in America, this process might ay be simpler. Because if you did your undergraduate in another country, med schools might have some additional requirements, and the transcript may also not meet the requirements. You can go to the AAMC website for more detailed information. This website can be very helpful. It has many useful resources for applying to med school. 

Also, the tuition for med school can be very expensive, and they rarely offer financial help to international students. But there are still some schools that will offer scholarships, so we still have a fighting chance. In addition to expensive tuition, some schools will even require you to have one or two years or even four years of proof of funds for your tuition. So make sure you check with the school before applying. 

But there is indeed a way to save tuition. It’s the M.D./Ph.D. program I mentioned earlier. This program is even more difficult than applying for M.D. directly. Fewer people are admitted. Generally, there are less than 20 people in a class. So there are maybe one or two international students. This program includes four years of M.D.; after that, there is an additional Ph.D degree for two to four years. You can choose your own research focus. This program requires a lot of research experience and a passion for scientific research. The advantage is that tuition fees for this program are entirely waived, and they will also offer you a stipend. But there is a catch, since some schools are funded by the federal government, they cannot give international students any financial assistance. But this program still shines a glimpse of hope to international students. So let’s work towards it. 

We only talked briefly today about some steps to apply for medical school. This is just a small step in the path of studying medicine. After you are admitted to medical school, there will be more challenges, for example, the USMLE Step 1, Clinical Skills, Step 3, and the matching process, as well as your residency. There are many many more challenges. Studying medicine in America is quite a long journey. But let’s focus on applying first. After all, being admitted is the first step towards all the future obstacles. 

Some heart-to-heart…

a Medicine is definitely a difficult profession to get into, especially for international students. But if you have enough perseverance and enthusiasm, it is completely attainable. Actually, when I was still in China, I often search for people who are similar to my situation and already are in medical school or are already physicians. Watching their stories, I felt a lot of motivation. Although we are doing what seems impossible, there are people who actually did it. Don’t forget to set goals for yourself, whether it is short-term or long-term, and be sure to find someone who can inspire you. On the path to studying medicine, there will be times when you want to give up because there are many other occupations that earn a lot of money and have a better lifestyle but don’t require you to dedicate this much to get in; however, if you don’t care about these difficulties and still are full of enthusiasm for studying medicine. Then you will definitely become a great doctor.

 

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]]> The Power of Boredom https://mykevinli.com/the-power-of-boredom/ Sun, 16 Aug 2020 23:20:14 +0000 https://mykevinli.com/?p=827 The Power of Boredom Read More »

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The Power of Boredom

08.14.2020  •  4 min read

Fun Fact

A study at Harvard and Virginia universities found students preferred physical pain over 15 minutes of boredom. To demonstrate this study a famous YouTuber Michal from Vsause conducted a similar experiment where he put people in an empty room with no stimulus and a device that will electrocute them if being touched. They were told to stay there for 30 minutes. It took one minute and fifty-seven seconds for one of the subjects to touch that device to alleviate boredom and five minutes later he touched it the second time. This shows how much our brain craves challenge, it needs to do stuff.

A little bit about me

I did nothing productive for 1 month, and I feel terrible. I wasn’t just being unproductive to make a video about it or do a social experiment. This has always been how I spent my vacations. Whenever there is a long vacation I convince myself that if I don’t use this time to relax and take a break, I will have no time once school starts. And as far as I remember, I have always felt like this at some point during the vacation.

At the beginning of the summer, I started a YouTube channel because I told myself that this is going to be a long summer and I don’t have that much to do so might as well explore something new. But as time goes by, towards the second half of the summer I started to realize how my time till school starts is getting closer and closer so I gave myself an excuse to take a break. And by that I meant do nothing. So I switched myself to the “vacation mode.”

But like the example at the beginning of the video, human brain is not designed to handle boredom. And I don’t want to electrocute myself so I needed to find a way to keep it occupied. But how would I rest and work at the same time? Let me explain. 

Let's talk about brain

If we reduce our brain to something simple, I would say the brain has three main components, input, output, and processing.  

As a student, normally there is a balance between the three. I go to lectures, attend meetings,  watch movies. I also do homework, presentations, participate in student organizations. I also study, learn new skills, and socialize. But for this entire one month, I’ve dialed input to max, output to minimum, and processing to none. All I have been doing is consuming information, not learning, not improving, not producing, just consuming. I watched YouTube day and night, and when I got board of that, I played video games nonstop. And when my neck hurts from playing games I lay down and watch a movie. If it was not for food delivery and dumping trash I probably wouldn’t even step outside. 

And this is why I felt terrible. 

I have always thought myself of being a healthy person. Of course I wish I had gone to the gym more often and eat more vegetables. But I was always happy with my physical and mental state. Yet, during this month, I felt way worse than usual. I feel the guilt of not being productive, I felt body aches and got tired and sleepy easily even when I have not done anything intensive physically or mentally.  

And this is when I realized something...

We need time to be bored, however hard that may be. Even when we’d rather be electrocuted, we still need to exercise to pause the input, pause the output, and that is when processing can be at its true potential. 

I feel so fortunate to live in such a technologically advanced age of human civilizations. We can have most of the knowledge in the world at our figure tips. Yet, that also means we receive plenty of information everyday whether we want it or not, whether it is helpful for us or not. There was a time when we had breakfast without checking the news, drove to work without listening to the latest podcasts, went to bed without scrolling through social media. Those were the time we used to use for processing but now are filled with inputs. For me, one of the most creative time of the day is right after I turn off my lights, put away my phone and get ready to go to bed. My brain starts to spin, I start to have ideas, which is not that helpful when I need to get some sleep. But if I let those thoughts slide, they may never come back. 

Although we live in a time when we have ever more information available to us, we have less time to actually think and process those information. I’m not saying input is not important, in fact from personally experience, I would say input may be more important than the other two, at least when you want to learn a new language. But often times, we emphasize on input too much that we neglected the other two.

How to be bored?

So how do we learn to be bored? The short answer is I don’t know. But I feel it might be like learning a musical instrument. The most important part is practice. You may learn all the techniques and all the music theories and even life story of the composer. But if you don’t practice the piece, you will never be able to play. I would try starting small. Maybe have breakfast without checking the news, commute to work without listening to podcasts, go to bed without the phone near me. I would probably still bring my phone with me when I go the the restroom, I really don’t want to go back to the days when I had to read the shampoo ingredient to pass time. Anyway, we should start to practice turning content consuming into digesting. I’m not saying watching YouTube or playing video game is bad. YouTube can be a great learning platform and games can have beautiful narratives that challenge our imaginations. But just know that in order to learn something, input is not enough. True knowledge and meaningful experience can only be acquired when combining input, processing, and output all together. 

 

All right, as a pseudo brain expert, here are my revelations: 

1. The brain needs to be stimulated. 

2. The brain has three components, input, output, and processing. 

3. Living in the age of information, our input component is being overly stimulated. 

4. We need to learn to be bored to practice the processing component. 

I know this can be a tough time for a lot of us. If you are also feeling something similar to how I felt after spend such a long time being unproductive, I hope this video can offer you a new perspective of the power of being bored. If you are staying productive and keeping your brain happy, kudos to you. Let’s practice together, and master the power of being bored. 

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