“If you cannot explain it simply, then you do not know it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
Case Studies
We’ve helped hundreds of ambitious and talented applicants reach the next level in their education and training.
Every candidate has a special story to tell. What’s yours? The shear competition even among exceptional applicants means that great evaluations, Step scores and ECFMG certification are not enough to succeed. Are you aware of the criteria great programs look for in their applicants? Not surprisingly, there is both an “art and a science” to getting into your “top, best fit institution.” Since you’re likely not to reach your highest potential alone, why not work with an Physician Bound expert to increase your chances.
Read from the selected profiles below to see how we’ve helped real students like you reach their dream schools by assisting them present their best self to the college admissions committees.
Case Study 1: Victoria
General Surgery: NJMS
College: NYU
Situation:
Having spent some of her formative years in the “city that never sleeps,” Victoria attended New York University (NYU) to pursue her dream of attending medical school. With a penchant for service and blessed with gifted hands, Victoria currently is engaged in her surgical training at New Jersey Medical School. Perhaps unexpectedly, while assigned to a rotation, she found her calling in Pediatric Surgery.
Strategy:
Flaunt Your Talent: Gifted with intellectual vitality and social intelligence, Victoria follows her research interests in improving the lives of children with surgical problems
Results:
Harvard University
Case Study 2: Devendra
Rutgers: NJMJ + RWJ Medical School
Situation:
While educated in India, Devendra secured a medical residency in the New Jersey. After deciding that internal medicine did not offer the fulfilment he sought, Devendra transitioned to a Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at Rutgers – NJMS and a Gastroenterology Fellowship at Saint Peter’s University Hospital.
Strategy:
Master the Interview and secure strong letters of recommendation
Results:
Cornell – New York – Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital – Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship
Case Study 3: Sonmoon
GI: Rutgers – RWJ Medical School
Applying to an Advanced Endoscopic Fellowship
Situation:
Educated in Chennai, India imagined opportunities for specialty training in the US. Not surprising foreign medical graduates find it challenging to find elite residencies in the US. Undeterred, Sonmoon graciously accepted the offer at relatively unknown community hospital in New Jersey, USA. Always an opportunist, while her classmates went on vacation during their vacation, Sonmoon sought and secured away research elections at premier US institutions. As she currently concludes her second-year of a three-year Gastroenterology fellowship, she plans to transition to an advanced endoscopy fellowship next year in order to master procedures such as ERCP, EUS and Balloon Enteroscopy. As a byproduct of her efforts, Sonmoon has averaged four publications per year over the last 5 years, a superior feat.
Strategy:
Showcase your talent, work diligently and campaign to Win
Results:
Pending
Case Study 4: Dominick
College: Rutgers
Research: Columbia P & S
Masters: Georgetown
Situation:
After graduating with a degree in Genetics from Rutgers University, Dominick pursues a career in Medicine. Given his family history of heart disease, he strives to become a thoracic surgeon on day, treating patients with heart ailments. Using his connections, he secured a research position at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons Dermatology Center. There he was able to utilize his knowledge and background in genetics towards publications in Dermatologic Stem Cell research.
Strategy:
Perseverance: Keep Fighting On! Enhance Your Skills and Credentials! Get Expert Advice!
Results:
Pending: In cycle, Applying right now!
Case Study 5: Lee
Colleges: Lehigh/Cornell
Masters: Columbia/Harvard
Situation:
While always a premedical student, Lee decided that he wasn’t competitive enough to apply to the medical schools he aspired to. He subsequently proved that indeed he was capable of handling the rigor of elite medical schools by earning Deans’ List honors at Cornell’s and Thesis honors Columbia University’s Department of Human Nutrition. For Lee, attending medical school for the sake of becoming a physician was not the point; he clearly seeks to lower health care disparities in America, as well as finding new treatments and cures for brain cancer.
Strategy:
While academic excellence may be considered a strategy for entering medical school, since most everyone seriously applying to medical school is smart, other strategies must be incorporated in order to succeed. For Lee, his strategy was to highlight his passion & commitment to service and his uncommon proficiency for research, specifically finding cures and treatments for eliminating pain and suffering in patients with brain tumors.
Results:
Harvard Medical School
Case Study 6: Michelle
College: UCLA
Medical School: Drexel
Situation:
Articulate, competent and conscientious, Michelle excelled in her classes and earned a top spot in her class, as evidenced by her success at UCLA. With a major in Physiological Science, Michelle graduated cum laude. She left her native California and the “City of Angels” (Los Angeles), earning multiple research publications and poster presentations in virology, for the City of “Brotherly Love” to attend medical school in Philadelphia.
Strategy:
Write an outstanding personal statement highlighting her passion for anesthesiology
Results:
University of Washington Anesthesia Residency
Case Study 7: Jake
College: Washington Univ.
Medical School: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
Situation:
Raised in New Jersey, Jake left for Missouri for college to study biomedical engineering. Having spent a summer at Princeton University as an undergraduate researcher in the MIRTHE/PULSE Lab using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to design a quantum cascade mid-R laser-based detector of nitric oxide isotopes in the human breath. After graduating from Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School currently trains as an Emergency Medicine Resident.
Strategy:
Flaunt your talent and get recruited! A biomedical engineer pursuing a career in Medicine!
Results:
Harvard – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Emergency Medicine Resident
Case Study 8: Nihkil
College: Notre Dame
Medical School: Robert Wood Johnson
Residency: Boston University
Situation:
Born and raised in Mumbai, his family moved to Connecticut during his elementary school. From an early age his interest in tennis and robotics consumed most of his extracurricular activities. After attending college in South Bend, Indiana. Nikhil returned to the Northeast to study medicine at Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. On a surgery rotation, he noticed the anesthesiologist and inquired what the life of an anesthesiologist was like. Hence, his interest in the field began.
Strategy:
External Rotation in Anesthesia at a target institution
Results:
Boston University Anesthesiology Residency
Case Study 9: Precious
College: Rutgers
Medical School: Rutgers RWJ
Residency: University of Texas
Situation:
Though proficient in Chemistry, Tabansi majored in Biology at Rutgers as it seemed more practical for a premedical student. She tutored in a variety of subjects including chemistry, physics and genetics because the more she taught, the more she learned. Not only graduating summa cum laude, Tabansi was a leader among her peers, from parliamentarian, ambassador to vice-president in a number of organizations. With her superior grades, her linkage program offered Tabansi into Rutgers – Robert Wood Medical School
Strategy:
Impactful leadership & genuine service to others
Results:
University of Texas, Austin
Though the stories in the case studies above are true, for personal privacy, the images are stock images.