Lewis Associates e-Newsletter

Volume 2 Issue 9
September, 2003

Published by Lewis Associates. Dr. Cynthia Lewis, Phd., Editor
Email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com with your comments. Enjoy!

=> Welcome to Success Stories Newsletter!

=> Important News: AMCAS update, Baby is born—Mom starts medical school this month!

=> Useful Links: Find an Osteopathic physician near you

=>Dates and Reminders: Deadlines

=> Success Story of the Month: Surgeon In Training! Dr. Sam

=> Question of the Month – "How do I write an essay for my audience?"

=> Our Services

=> Contact

 

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Welcome to Lewis Associates!

Many of you are in the middle of the Class of 2004 application season. Requests for secondary/supplemental applications are arriving daily and now we have many requests for interviews from our Class 2004 applicants!

You may be doing research at NIH (two of my Advisees are currently here) or in other prestigious programs, completing coursework, studying for the DAT or GRE or traveling or working to earn the funds to pay for application. If you are serious about making your dreams to become a physician, dentist, PA, veterinarian, optometrist or pharmacist a reality --- Lewis Associates can help you. We have made the difference for hundreds of students over almost19 years. Here is an email quote from a Class of 2003 Lewis Advisee who was accepted to George Washington University Medical School and sent me photos of his White Coat ceremony (many of my Advisees send these to me):

Michael Manzano, "It's really exciting! Thanks for believing in me! I owe you so much, thank you for everything! Please feel free to call on me for anything. I would be glad to help if I can. I'll keep in close contact with you. Be on the lookout for more pics to come! DC is good so far. I'm still getting settled in my place. This orientation week has been jam packed with activities that have made the transition a bit easier. Thanks again."

For entering Class of 2004 students, this is your application year. I hope you survived the August MCAT. If you have not already done so, get your application submitted soon! You need to establish a well-thought out strategy to carry you through the difficult times coming up. This is the most intense time you will experience as a pre-health student. It is a roller coaster ride. Let us know how we can assist you.

Another long time Advisee sent a thank you card received 8/25/03: "Dear Dr. Lewis, Thank you for everything – for being a great Advisor and support over the years. I always appreciated your help and am grateful for your encouragement into finding out how I learn. That was an important discovery for me! I can’t believe I'll be starting at UC Irvine in less than 2 weeks. I'm very excited and looking forward to new experiences. I hope to complement my studying with relaxing on the beach too! I can’t thank you enough for all of your help. I hope you're well. Please take care and visit me when you’re in Irvine!"

Congratulations to the entering Class of 2003 advised by Dr. Lewis –100% of all applicants this year are accepted with one in the University of Hawaii Post-Bac program which is affiliated with their medical school.
See the Class of 2002 Final Report and the Class of 2003 Final Report

A class of 2004 applicant emailed to Dr. Lewis early in August after receiving an invitation to interview: “Thanks Dr. Lewis, for all of your diligent and faithful support through this process! I appreciate everything!”

What are your chances?
If you want to change your career or reach your career goal, but do not know how to begin or how to jump over all those hurdles, Lewis Associates will implement strategies to change your life. Read about it in our newsletter and website, then phone or email us directly to get started!!

You may be like our Lewis Associates Advisees---highly motivated and intelligent, but needing focus, guidance and specific technical expertise. She solves problems for her Advisees and finds opportunities for them. Dr. Lewis is a trained biologist, having taught and directed her own research programs for many years at two universities. She earned two postdoctoral fellowships (one at NIH) and received the 1990 NACADA Outstanding Institutional Advising Program in the U.S. She teaches Professionalism, Leadership, and Quality, and sets high standards for her Advisees.

Lewis Associates will save you money and heartache on your application process. Contact us for more information imaclewis@lewisassoc.com 805-226-9669.

 

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n e w s   &   l i n k s

N E W S : AMCAS update, Baby is Born

AMCAS releases biographic data to an applicant's designated medical schools when the application is submitted and before the academic record is verified. The timing of secondary applications however, is not an AMCAS decision. Each school determines their own process. More detailed information can be found at:

http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/schoolsend.htm

Baby is born—Mom starts medical school this month!
8/2/03 Hi Dr. Lewis, "I was just reading the success story for this month...very interesting and inspirational. My orientation at Touro starts on Wednesday. I'm really excited and a little nervous. I gave birth to a baby boy on June 14th. I'm including a picture with this e-mail. Sorry I didn't e-mail earlier. The first month was really tough since we don't have any family here and had to learn everything on our own. But I think I have finally recuperated and I'm ready to start school. I currently live about 75 miles away from Touro and will have to commute the first week. Afterwards, we will move closer. Congratulations on the 100% acceptance rate this year! I'm so happy to be part of this number! THANK YOU--I AM VERY HAPPY ABOUT YOUR SUCCESSES TOO!!!"

L I N K : Find an Osteopathic physician near you

http://www.aoa-net.org/Students/students.htm

http://www.ctsnet.org Has great photos and videos of various surgeries! Also includes a discussion forum, product forum, job links, and calendar of events.

 

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d a t e s   &   r e m i n d e r s

Deadlines
If you are a class of 2004 applicant, you MUST submit your primary (AMCAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS, VMCAS, CASPA, PHARMCAS) application ASAP to be competitive this year. You will be hitting the dreaded “deadlines” soon. Secondaries are due, as a rule of thumb, about 2 weeks after they are sent to you or you are directed (as most now do) to submit a web-based application. Get them in ASAP. Secondaries usually include an application sometimes with difficult and thought-provoking essays to complete, a fee, and those letters of recommendation that you have diligently collected over many months or years.

I advise that the word "deadline" is one my advisees should never use…because they are always "ahead" of the process. Hope you are in that group!

 

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s u c c e s s s t o r i e s

Surgeon In Training! Dr. Sam

I had the privilege of advising Sam between 1993 and 1996. Sam came to me often for guidance and to discuss problems that would arise, including financial ones as a post-baccalaureate student. Sam is the rare person who could be successful at pretty much anything they really want to do…including doctor, politician, priest, lawyer….you name it. I am so pleased that Sam’s medical career is fulfilling the personal goals he set for himself. I recall sitting at the 1996 “Quest for the Best” dinner (only 10 students in a university of 30,000 are selected for this honor) with Sam, listening to him talk about his future. I was honored that Sam selected me as his most significant faculty member.

8/18/03 Hi Dr. Lewis: "I considered several careers while in college ranging from law to the priesthood. After four years, I was still looking for something that would be challenging and personally satisfying. I became interested in medicine in my senior year of college. I was intrigued by the clinical application of science and the service aspect of the profession. I began looking into the prerequisites and decided it was best to complete graduation and decide if I wanted to go back to school to take the prerequisites. I sought advice from several sources including Dr. Lewis who was, by far, the most helpful. I met with Dr. Lewis for the first time in Fall 1992 and she provided me with a vast amount of information of the med school application process. She gave me candid advice about my chance for success based on my grades and told me what I would need to do in order to be a competitive. She also advised me to do some volunteer work to see if it was something I really liked. I volunteered at the UCSD ER and later in the intensive care unit for about the next year and a half. I loved it. I found the environment stimulating, challenging, and exciting. I enjoyed working in a team environment and interacting with physicians, nurses and other health care professionals. I decided early in my volunteer experience that I wanted to become a doctor.

I met with Dr. Lewis again in Spring 1993 and she provided me with a framework for my pre-med work. I didn't always like her advice - it usually meant working harder - but I followed it. Per her advice, I took the pre-requisite classes for medical school and a test prep course. I continued volunteering and did an externship at Paradise Valley Hospital. I took 2-3 classes per semester and most had labs. I also worked about 2-3 part-time jobs during my 2 years at SDSU. I made academics my first priority and never missed a class. Dr. Lewis helped me by giving me candid advice and creating an organized plan of attack. I remember having a pre-med calendar that covered 3 years. I had little experience with that kind of advanced planning at that point in my life and Dr. Lewis put me on the right track.

When I applied to medical school, Dr. Lewis was a tremendous help. Again, she helped me put together an organized, strong application. By that time, however, most of the application wrote itself. I already had several experiences recommended by Dr. Lewis that helped round out my application. In addition, I had been working on personal statement for 2 years. Dr. Lewis also put on mock interviews, which were tremendously helpful. I felt like a relaxed, polished candidate by the time I hit the interview trail. I applied to over 30 schools, received interviews at 20, actually interviewed at 10, was accepted to Georgetown, UCSF, UCSD, Northwestern, George Washington, and was wait-listed at Harvard, UCLA, and Case Western Reserve. Dr. Lewis' guidance was invaluable before and during the application process and I would not have done as well without her.

I chose UCSF because of its reputation and spent four years in San Francisco. The courses were challenging and the opportunities for extracurricular experiences plentiful. I spent a summer studying molecular biology and immunology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. I became interested in surgery my first year and later did several electives including trauma and liver transplantation. I loved the idea of fixing medical problems with my hands and a few instruments. While at UCSF, I worked as an anatomy lab instructor and served as medical school class president for 2 terms. I earned extra money by acting in local television commercials. (Note by Dr. Lewis: Sam is a George Clooney look-alike!)

I was interested in several surgical specialties when I graduated from medical school and chose to enter general surgery because it would give me the greatest flexibilty to choose a surgical career. I was fortunate to match at Oregon Health & Science University where I have been for the past 3 years. I have just started 2 years of research in plastic surgery and will return for an additional 2 years of general surgery training after my research concludes. I will then go into 2 years advanced training in plastic surgery. A long road, yes, but surgery is a challenging and demanding career that requires extensive training.

In all my years in academics, Dr. Lewis is by far the most effective and dedicated advisor I have ever had."

If you wish to communicate surgery or other issues, email to Dr. Lewis to contact Sam: imaclewis@lewisassoc.com

 

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q u e s t i o n o f t h e m o n t h

"How do I write an essay for my audience?"

We will address over this year many problems that can go wrong in application, but this month I want to address the problem of "How do I write an essay for my audience?"

This year, one of my advisees applied to a graduate program so that he would attend graduate school while he is applying to medical school. The required essay was read by graduate program faculty -- scientists with doctoral degrees. And, what, generally, is their goal? To generate more scientists with doctoral degrees!! (I can say this as I did two postdoctoral research fellowships, including one at NIH and taught as a biology faculty at two universities over 15 years).

The student in question wrote a strong essay about his current research, why it was valuable and fulfilling to him and how he wanted to continue it for his Master's degree at a prestigious university. However, the last 3 sentences almost cost him entry into this program: "I will apply to medical school and plan to become a physician specializing in spinal cord injury. Learning the skills that make an effective scientist will enhance my ability to care for my patients. I want to practice medicine and advance medical knowledge."

Why do you think these scientists almost voted no to his entry into their graduate program? Because he didn't say he was dedicating his life to research! He indicated he also wanted to become a physician! So, please be aware …and beware…of your audience! Know them well.

We will feature an important question each month. Please submit one that interests you for Dr. Lewis to answer. Send your questions to imaclewis@lewisassoc.com

Lewis Associates specializes in personal, effective and professional premedical advising and placement for traditional and non-traditional applicants. Often, non-traditional students are older than 21 years of age, career changers, international applicants or second-round applicants for admission to health professions school.

Lewis Associates' services meet the needs of all types of students from pre-applicants to applicants, including hourly advising support for specific needs. Click here.

"It's never too late to be who you might have been."

If this is how YOU feel, then, maybe Lewis Associates is the place for you. Lewis Associates provides Mentoring and Coaching through the rigorous and often circuitous pre-health preparation and application process. Other consultants may support programs like Law and Business or graduate school -- not Lewis Associates. We are the experts in Health Professions based on 23 years of a successful track record.

Call or email today to set your first appointment!

805.226.9669 imaclewis@lewisassoc.com

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