I had the pleasure of interviewing Mahala Spalsbury, a first year medical student at the University of Toledo. Throughout the course of the interview she offered a lot of great insight about going through the medical school application process which I will soon go through myself within the next year or two. I have spoken to many people about applying to medical school, but Mahala was able to provide me with valuable advice due to her recent experiences applying and beginning medical school, offering a different perspective than other people I have spoken to.

In regards to what schools to apply to, she recommended that I apply to all Ohio schools because I have betters odds at an in-state school. I also need to do my research on any other schools outside of Ohio to check and see what percentages of out-of-state people that they actually admit. I also learned to gather information about what different schools look for in applicants, specifically in regards to research experience. I personally do not have a big interest in performing research and would rather focus my time and efforts on clinical experiences, so Mahala recommended that I not bother with Case Western and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine as those schools have a high focus on research. Also, in order to help sort out information from different schools, she suggested purchasing the MSAR to help search through what schools I qualify for and what I schools I should apply to.

We also talked a lot about MCAT preparation and while she didn’t really take a traditional route for studying, she recommended starting 6 months in advance. The goal is to learn all of the material and understand it by the end of spring semester next year and then focus on practice tests for 2 months before I take the MCAT at the end of June. After speaking with her I’m also planning on purchasing Kaplan books to study, but I believe I can set and stick with a strict schedule for covering the material instead of participating in an expensive course.

In the end she stressed that if I work hard and set my mind to it, I will succeed in whatever I do and it all will pay off. Mahala loves being in medical school and she encouraged me to stick with it and power through because it will all be worth it in the end. It was very inspiring and motivational to hear this from a student who has just gone through the process and speaking with her was definitely a great confidence booster to keep on working with everything that I am doing so that one day I can become an Emergency Medicine Physician.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]