(00:00) — Welcome and Early Roots: Kelsey describes growing up in a family of healthcare professionals and how watching her father's relationships with patients shaped her interest in medicine.
(02:04) — Music vs. Medicine: Kelsey explains why she seriously considered a career in musical theater and how she decided she did not have to give up music to pursue medicine.
(07:28) — Planting the Premed Flag: When Kelsey started singing the national anthem at medical conferences in high school and realized she could combine both worlds.
(08:44) — The Hardest Part of Being Premed: Kelsey names information overload — not coursework — as the biggest challenge she faced as a premed student.
(11:01) — MCAT: A Big Beast: How a weak foundation in basic sciences and unclear study strategies made the MCAT especially difficult for Kelsey.
(15:25) — Taking the MCAT Twice: Kelsey's decision to retake after a 500, why she only gave herself a month to prepare, and what happened when her score went down instead of up.
(19:10) — Applying MD and DO: Her strategy for casting a wide net across both application systems and her father's perspective on the MD versus DO question.
(21:48) — Waiting for Interviews: What it felt like to wait months for a single invite and how she prepared for her first real medical school interview.
(25:06) — The Acceptance Call: Kelsey recounts exactly where she was and what she heard when she found out she got in.
(31:07) — DO and Dermatology: How Kelsey is thinking about pursuing a competitive specialty as a DO student and what mentorship from DO dermatologists has taught her.
(35:17) — What She Would Change: Kelsey's honest reflection on filtering noise, trusting her instincts, and following what actually resonates.
Kelsey is a current medical student who took the MCAT twice, watched her score drop on the retake after already submitting applications, and still got into medical school in that same cycle. In this conversation with Dr. Ryan Gray, she walks through what that experience actually felt like — the self-doubt, the tears, the waiting — and what kept her moving forward. She grew up in a family of healthcare professionals, spent years seriously considering a career in music and musical theater, and ultimately found a way to bring both into her life. That same instinct to follow what resonates, rather than what the internet says to do, runs through her advice on MCAT prep, application strategy, and choosing a specialty. Kelsey applied to both MD and DO programs, received two interview invites, and accepted her offer from a newer campus attached to an established DO program. She is now pursuing an interest in dermatology and has found mentorship from DO dermatologists who have helped her see that the MD versus DO distinction matters far less than board scores, clinical performance, and who you are as a person in the room.
What You'll Learn:
- Why resource overload — not the science content itself — is one of the biggest obstacles premed students face today
- How to approach MCAT prep by understanding your own learning style before choosing any resource or course
- What it looks like to stay in an application cycle after a retake makes your score worse, not better
- How to think strategically about applying to both MD and DO programs in the same cycle
- Why pursuing a competitive specialty as a DO student is possible, and what matters most when making that case