Meet your awesome MedLife Mastery Mentors

Hi, I am Sydney and I am an M2 student at ECU's Brody School of Medicine. I can remember the anxiety and frustration I felt while trying to navigate the application process alone--they sure don't make it easy! As someone who has successfully walked through the application process, I hope to guide you and provide the advice and insight I wish I had access to when I applied. I strongly believe if you've made it this far in the pre-med journey that you truly belong here. Together we can weave together all the parts of your application to present your unique story in a compelling way. I have experience with editing personal statements, secondary essays, and activities writeups. Additionally, I can help you prepare for traditional interviews and the CASPer. Best of luck on your application journey!”

“Hey my name is Hanes Grafe and I am excited for the opportunity to work with you on preparing the best medical school application with the background that you have. I personally was accepted to all the in-state medical schools I applied to and I believe that my strengths lie in my background in writing and interpersonal skills for my interviews. During my undergraduate years I was a writing center tutor and specialized in helping students craft graduate school essays. I am well versed in the minutiae of style, voice, and grammar and hope to help you craft essays that best present who you are as an applicant and future physician. As for interviewing I have experienced the different types of interviews including one-on-one, group, and MMI’s. I hope to help students grow in their self-confidence and comfort in their interviews as this is often the last hurdle to jump over before being accepted.”

“Hello! My name is Alisha. I decided to go into medical school near the end of my freshman year of college when I started volunteering in various hospitals and clinics and shadowing different specialties. After exploring more about what a field in medicine entails, I became very committed to applying as soon as I could. I fulfilled all my pre-med requirements as well as a fulfilling list of extracurricular activities and research experiences that I believed would make me a strong candidate for medical school. I think my candidacy was made further unique by the various remote and virtual opportunities I pursued in light of the pandemic rather than the more traditional experiences applicants usually have. I studied for and took the MCAT in the summer of my sophomore year. Throughout my junior year I started to get my application materials ready including securing letters of recommendations, writing short paragraphs for each of my extracurriculars, and drafting my personal statement. By spending time during the school year, I was able to have multiple of my peers and medical students read over my work. I was able to submit my primary application on the first day it opened at the end of May. I also studied for and took the CASPr in May. After submitting my Primary application, I started pre-writing my secondary essays for the schools I applied to. By mid-August I had completed all my secondaries and remaining application materials. Throughout my senior year, I completed my interviews! I ultimately matriculated into the Sidney Kimmel Medical College.”

"Hello! My name is Grace Olson and I am a current M1 at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. I applied to medical school throughout my senior year as an undergraduate student and have learned a lot throughout my journey that I would love to pass on to future applicants. I believe that one of the most important aspects of the medical school application is finding a cohesive way to present your personal journey to medicine and to deliver that in a way that is both articulate and genuine. This comes up again and again throughout your primary, secondaries, and interview and it is something that I can help you with every step of the way. As your mentor, I can help you set up schedules and personal deadlines, reflect on personal experiences, edit primaries/secondaries, prepare for interviews, and be your MedLife cheerleader!"

“Hi I’m Pooja and I’m excited to be your mentor! After my second year, I applied to UofT, McMaster, Queens, UOttawa, Dalhousie, Memorial, Manitoba, and UBC. The applications were tough and different from each other. I worked to not tell medical schools what I did but show them, even in 150 characters. It took me months to perfect the art of showing them my personality so my reviewers could connect with me on the page.

My strategy landed me interviews in my third year at McMaster, Queens, UOttawa, Memoria, Manitoba, and UBC. My interview prep started in October and didn’t end until March. I prepared an hour every day and more on the weekends to prepare for all the different interviews. Some were MMI, some were traditional, some were synchronous, and some were asynchronous. I was using different timing, different styles of questions, and different styles of answers. It was hard work to do this while studying, volunteering, and working. I practised by myself, practised with friends, and practised with strangers. Eventually, I learned my style of interviewing. On the other hand, I also questioned my self-esteem, my place in medicine, and whether they would accept me over all the other incredible applicants. In the end, my hard work and self-reflection paid off - I was accepted to Manitoba, UBC, McMaster, and Memorial.”

“Hello, my name is Jack and I am a medical student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. I chose not to take a gap year and was accepted during my first application cycle. Of note, I initially applied to another school Early Decision and did not get in, forcing me to submit general applications much later in the cycle than is normally recommended. Some of the major elements of my application included 3 years of NCAA collegiate athletics (only 3 bc screw you COVID), 3 years of undergraduate research, participation in 2 medical mission trips and work on my college friend's Cattle Ranch out in South Dakota. I would describe my mentoring style as light hearted and fun but also direct. I have no intention in blowing smoke up your butt and lulling you into a false sense of security. I can't wait to work with you, when do we begin?”

Hi! My name is Srikar and I am currently an incoming medical student who just went through the 2022-2023 application cycle. I graduated from Brown this past May, and have been spending my gap year in NYC working in healthcare consulting and tutoring. For me, applying to medical school was a long and complicated process, and I was fortunate to have friends and mentors who helped guide me along the way!

Overall, I ended up applying to almost 30 schools, received interviews from about half, and got acceptances from 5 of my top choice programs. Although I'm really happy with the results of my cycle, I definitely struggled a lot throughout the process in keeping what seemed like a million moving parts and deadlines organized. In particular, I would be happy to help with navigating the complexities of the application process that don't have a lot of formal resources, such as choosing your medical school list, advice for writing secondaries and your personal statement, and helping with interview prep. I would love to share all the things I learned throughout the process to help ensure you succeed!

"Before entering my medical school application cycle, I was extremely overwhelmed by differing advice I found online on writing the application essays, creating a reasonable school list, and tackling impending deadlines. I spent most of the year before applying comparing myself to others and worrying that I hadn't done enough to stand out to those who would be reviewing my application. However, I realized that at the end of the day the most important goal for me was to authentically share who I was and my passion for medicine with the admissions committees. This meant months of difficult self-reflecting on the experiences that had led me toward a career in medicine and how they shaped the person I am. Since most pre-medical students tend to do very similar activities to one another, I believe one key to a successful cycle - and what I hope to work on with you - is finding your narrative and helping you write about your experiences and goals in a unique way that is both personally compelling and professionally oriented to the missions of the schools you have an interest in. The other key aspect of successful admission is creating a well-balanced school list, and I can help you ensure you are targeting schools that align well with the various parts of your application. By focusing on these tips I have received 2 acceptances thus far this cycle and can help tailor the lessons I've learned throughout writing application essays and interviewing to your upcoming application process, working to ensure your character shines through and you feel confident and proud of the work you've done so far on your pre-med journey!"

“Hey there! My name is Sarah Beel and I took the MCAT in August of 2022 and scored a 526 (132/130/132/132), however, this score did not come without many struggles during my prep time. When starting my MCAT prep, I felt completely overwhelmed by the importance of this exam and didn’t know where to start on my studying and I had no one close to me who I could ask for advice.

This caused me to make many mistakes during my prep time, such as spending too much time on content review, not doing enough practice problems and not properly reviewing my full-length exams. I found myself a month away from my exam over 10 points away from my goal score. 

I realized that I needed to change my habits and reflected on what was working and what wasn’t and was able to pull my score up and I surpassed my goal score. I have been through the experience of prepping for the MCAT myself and I know how difficult it can be to navigate this process alone.

I think that having someone who has been through this process and has made the mistakes themselves would have saved me a lot of time and stress. I also have a degree in neuroscience where I took many classes on the topics tested on the MCAT so I believe I have a good content background to help you in your journey to doing well on the MCAT.”

"Hey, I’m Abraar! I began my medical school application journey a bit later than most, as I finished the MCAT without having touched my personal statement. I was anxious, overwhelmed, and unsure where to begin. But rather than panic, I chose to study the process first, scouring medical school advising websites, videos, and guidebooks to understand what made a compelling personal statement.

After a week of research, I began outlining my narrative. The first draft wasn’t perfect, but with feedback from friends and my medical mentor, I refined it through multiple revisions. During the verification period, I pre-wrote responses to commonly asked secondary prompts, again seeking feedback to polish my essays. I tailored my pre-written secondaries to each school’s unique prompts, which was by far the most time-consuming and demanding phase.

The interview process was probably my strongest part of the cycle. For MMIs, I prepped a significant amount for the ethical portion—learning about the five values of medicine, end-of-life care, consent, transplants, and more. I also practiced behavioral questions like leadership, adversity, and teamwork. I worked through scenarios with my admissions committee mentor and prepared in person and virtually, depending on the format. I made sure to act natural but confident, demonstrating cadence and a conversational feel, which helped me build rapport with interviewers.

My journey wasn’t conventional or perfectly timed, but I learned that persistence, strategic preparation, and honest self-reflection matter more than a perfect timeline. I'm proud of how I navigated the process and grateful for the people who supported me along the way."

"Hey, I’m Meghan! I have worked as a science journalist and narrative writing for 3.5 years at Penn Memory Center, so one strength area of mine would be essay editing and helping a student outline/be intentional about their story. I was consistent and clear about my 'why' in medicine and applied strategically, focusing on East Coast schools and using FAP. I had group, MMI, and traditional interviews and got into programs with all of these formats. I took 2 gap years, worked full-time, and took the MCAT 3 times to get a 520. I love incorporating mindfulness into tutoring and think I work well with students who have anxiety or need a confidence boost. I'm very confident with essay writing and would be happy to coach students through the process."

"I've had quite a journey so far! I submitted my primary application to AMCAS in June 2024 after my undergrad graduation. I prewrote some critical secondaries during the month of July but ended up taking a last-minute job that usurped a lot of my time, so while I received most secondaries in mid-July, I submitted most in mid-August due to how much time writing secondaries for 30 schools took on top of my day job and tutoring. To be honest, I was pretty terrified that this delay would jeopardize my chances at my top choice programs, but the additional time and effort I put into polishing my essays paid off, as I now have had 8 interviews and one acceptance (from UNC!) during this cycle so far at some top-tier programs. I've had experience with pretty much everything surrounding this process -- taking both Caspr and preview, strategically writing a wide variety of secondaries, sending update letters/LOIs, and interviewing in all styles including MMI, traditional, and group interviews. With months of hard work and preparation (emphasis on LOTS - I wanted to make sure I did this right!), I've felt good about every interview I've done so far and felt like I put out exceptional applications everywhere I applied. I now have so much wisdom to share from my experiences -- including things I wish I would have done differently -- that I would love to share with students to help them excel in this process!"

“I came into my cycle with virtually no help from outside sources as I am the first person in my family to go to college let alone medical school. I struggled heavily through a lot of the process, and I often felt lost without a clear path forward. I can speak to those applicants who are in a similar position and need a hand to get them started on any sort of initial trajectory. Students who may feel ‘imposter syndrome’ or uncertainty about their unique narrative could find my support especially grounding.

In my process of writing and revising, I developed a strong sense of how to craft authentic narratives, structure essays clearly, and align experiences with main motivations. When reviewing my essays (and now what I’ll look for in others), I focused on maintaining my own voice, enhancing reflection over description (‘show not tell’), and ensuring responses were tailored to the prompt or school.

I feel very confident advising others on medical school interviews. I completed 12 interviews overall… I practiced extensively for interviews with written and verbal prep for commonly asked questions and directed questions pulled from SDN’s interview feedback pages. I’ve conducted mock interviews as well with targeted feedback. I can help students not only prepare answers but also approach interviews with authenticity and clarity.”

“Hey, I’m Maariyah! To me, being able to tell a compelling story and demonstrate passion through your personal statement, activities, and interviews is essential in having your application stand out. In other words, having a strong sense of self and being able to convey it in a meaningful way is very important. I am confident that I can coach others through the application and interview process. I have worked for a high school college counseling company since 2021, so I have prior experience with admissions counseling. I also felt very prepared for my application cycle and spent extensive time researching the application process, so I am hoping to use that experience to help others. I am very confident with interviews, especially traditional interviews, and would be happy to coach students through interviewing!”

“Hi, I’m Smrithi! I believe that the key to a great med school application tells a story: it demonstrates, through academic and extracurricular evidence, a specific passion that the student is pursuing through medicine beyond the generic 'I like science and want to help others'. I’m looking forward to helping students who maybe have all the pieces of their application (story, volunteering, research, work, and academics) but need help putting it into writing, building confidence for interviews, and crafting a school list that gives them the best chances of admission. ”