(00:00) — Family in medicine: How a neurologist mom and a sister in pediatrics shaped Justin's early interest
(03:28) — The chemistry PhD question: Why lab research pushed Justin back toward medicine
(07:14) — Duke and the premed decision: Choosing a school and a major with med school in mind
(09:40) — Applying straight through during COVID: The stress of a compressed timeline and limited clinical access
(14:17) — 37 schools, 3 interviews, 2 waitlists: Breaking down the numbers and the emotional reality
(20:58) — Essay mistakes on reread: What Justin found wrong when he looked at his application months later
(25:56) — Reapplication in real time: Revising essays, lining up a gap year job, and submitting a second cycle
(33:45) — The June phone call: Coming off the University of Maryland waitlist weeks before orientation
(37:12) — Late housing scramble: What it looks like to find an apartment after a June acceptance
(39:57) — For students still waiting: Holding hope and planning for another cycle at the same time
Justin applied to 37 medical schools, earned three interviews, and landed on two waitlists before finally getting the call he had been hoping for — from University of Maryland — in the first week of June. In this conversation, he is candid about what held his application back: clinical and volunteering experiences that started too late because of COVID restrictions, and experience essays that tried to impress readers with technical organic chemistry detail instead of showing personal growth. He also walks through the parallel stress of watching his girlfriend navigate her own application cycle simultaneously, and the practical decisions they made to try to stay geographically close. Justin reflects honestly on the gap year question — he applied straight through from undergrad and now sees real value in what a year away from school can offer. If you are sitting on a waitlist right now or already thinking about a second cycle, his perspective on holding hope while still preparing a backup plan is exactly the kind of grounded, real-world guidance that is hard to find.
What You'll Learn:
- Why starting clinical experiences late can limit what you are able to write about, even if the experiences themselves are meaningful
- How experience essays go wrong when they try to educate the reader on a research topic instead of showing growth and reflection
- What a realistic reapplication process looks like — from rereading old essays to submitting a focused second cycle
- How to hold on to waitlist hope without letting it delay your preparation for another cycle
- What the logistics of a late waitlist acceptance actually involve, from housing to orientation timelines