Missionary Orthopod in the Making

So, I’m making some progress as you can see from the table below. I submitted the secondary applications for Cincinnati, Maryland, and Loma Linda. To be honest, I’m hesitating submitting to the black med schools because I’ve had my black school experience since kindergarten. High school was the first time I had ever been in a school with a white person, but the school was still mostly black, and then I ended up going to a historically black college. I wouldn’t mind going to a black medical school, but I kind of like the idea of trying something different. Anyway, I’m still going to apply, but what I’ve done is I’ve made sure that I have an alternative medical school for every state that contains a black medical school. For Howard, I have University of Maryland (not the same state but close enough, lol), for Morehouse I have Emory, and for Meharry, I just decided to add Vanderbilt. Now if Meharry gave me a full ride and Vanderbilt gave me nothing, then I’d be headed to Meharry, but it just feels good to have options. Now I don’t want to get flamed about me being anti-black. I’ve just had my HBCU experience…since kindergarten, and it would be nice to actually study with people of other races. So yeah, below is the final list of all the schools I’m applying to:

School	App Fee	2º App Received	2º App Complete	2º App Mailed out	LORs sent	Interview	Accepted?	Total 1st Year Costs
Howard University	$45							$18,498
University of Maryland	$70	X	X	X	X			$31, 765
Morehouse University	$50	X	X		X			$51,645
University of Cincinnati	$25	X	X	X	X			$65, 117
Vanderbilt University	$50							$51,050
Emory University	$90							$60,222
Loma Linda University	$75	X	X	X	X			$49, 465
Meharry Medical College	$60	X	X		X			$30, 660
SECONDARY TOTAL:	$ 465	Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Pro. 3:5,6 (NIV)

I’ve called Cincinnati and Maryland and I’m complete at both schools, so now all I have to do is wait for the interview call. Howard hasn’t even attempted to post a secondary yet, and Vanderbilt only gives out secondary applications to those whom they actually plan to interview. I like that method because if I get rejected, at least they would have had the chance to interview me first. I added the column of total 1st year total costs because that is important to me. Like I said before, my goal is to get out of medical school with little to no debt, so its good to see how much I’ll probably be paying in addition to tuition.

Like I said in the previous post, I truly want you all to feel the same pain I felt while I was filling out these secondary applications, so here are the questions on the secondary app I filled out for the Loma Linda University School of Medicine:

1. Describe the extent and source of your knowledge of Loma Linda University (LLU) School of Medicine. (750 characters max)
(2) What makes LLU School of Medicine particularly attractive to you? (750 characters max)
(3) What traits make you a desirable candidate for admission to LLU School of Medicine? (750 characters max)
(4) Loma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution. The curriculum integrates ethical and relational issues from a Christian perspective into the practice of medicine. Weekly chapel services are part of this program. How would this relate to your personal educational and career goals? (750 characters max)
(5) As a Seventh-day Adventist institution, LLU has lifestyle expectations which include abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs/substances in all forms while enrolled. During the past year, have you used any of these substances? If so, which ones? (250 characters max)
(6) If you are accepted to LLU School of Medicine, are you willing to abide by the lifestyle policies of the university while enrolled? (250 characters max)
(7) Describe your involvement with your religious group (750 characters max)

Here are the answers that I settled with:

1. I began to learn about the LLU SOM in high school when I was accepted in the MITHS program. For 3 weeks I toured the campus, met medical students, took medical school classes, and generally got the chance to experience life on Loma Linda’s campus. Also at Oakwood College, I’ve been present at least 6 times when Dr. Hadley and Dr. Nyirady have presented information about the LLU SOM. From those presentations I’ve learned about LLU’s dedication to service for others, their deferred mission appointment program, their missions trips that are taken during the school year, SIMS, and many other aspects of the school. Most importantly I’ve learned of LLU’s dedication to produce physicians that are witnesses for Christ.
2. The LLU SOM is attractive to me primarily because of the vast amount of opportunities it gives me to go on medical missions. I want to be a medical missionary one day and with the combination of the many medical mission trips taken during the school year and the deferred mission appointment program, LLU provides the most opportunity for me accomplish my goal. Other attractive aspects of the LLU SOM include the Adventist atmosphere, the camaraderie of Oakwood graduates who are currently students there, LLU’s USMLE Step 1 board passing rates, and their success in beating all the other southern California medical schools in clinical skills for the past 12 years.
3. I believe I am a desirable candidate for the Loma Linda University School of Medicine because of my humility, my passion for helping others, my dedication to excellence in academics, and my desire to serve Christ in everything that I do.
4.
The curriculum and chapel services would only enhance my personal educational and career goals. As a future Christian physician, it is very important to understand my patients not just on a medical level but on a spiritual and cultural level also, all of which I know the LLU SOM teaches. Also, as with any Christian, I desire to have a closer relationship with Christ, so the weekly chapel services would hopefully only make that more possible.
5. No.
6. Yes.
7. I am a junior deacon at my church in Ashton, Maryland. Also I have been a member of many different choirs at different Adventist churches. And finally I have traveled the world baptizing people into the Adventist church with the National Association for the Prevention of Starvation, which is a missionary group based at Oakwood College.

I must admit that it was a little easier to answer the LLU questions became I am Adventist, but overall it was an alright secondary to fill out.

I have completely finished by research poster, but now I have to make a slide presentation to present in lab on Wednesday. I actually should be working on that right now, so I’ll write some time in the future.