Your Expert, Guide, Cheerleader, Friend

Aaron is an MD/PhD candidate at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, pursuing research projects in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology. He graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and has worked as a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. Aaron discovered his passion for mentorship at SBU when he ran and supervised a college admissions mentorship program for high school students in New York City. 

While at Stony Brook, Aaron served as a writing mentor and was elected President of the university’s undergraduate research journal. In this position, he supervised and trained incoming editors and writers. Aaron’s writing led to publications in high-impact journals, a research grant from the American Heart Association as a principal investigator, and multiple essay-based scholarship awards.

Aaron’s passion for mentorship stems from his background as a non-traditional applicant. Aaron worked hard on his application and was accepted into several top-20 medical schools (MD/PhD). Because of these experiences, Aaron encourages his mentees to embrace and nurture their strengths to pave their path to achieving their goals.

Aaron understands the challenges students face when navigating the MD and MD/PhD admissions processes. As a coach, he gives Advantage students the tools to develop strong writing, interviewing, and planning skills–helping countless students overcome a low GPA to succeed in the competitive MD/PhD admissions process. In addition, Aaron places a strong emphasis on interview skills and ensures students are equipped for success when it comes to their medical school interviews. Aaron was accepted into every medical school he interviewed at and continues to pay these skills forward to students by conducting mock interviews and providing constructive feedback.

Ajay is a resident physician in Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco. Previously, he attained his MD degree from the University of Michigan and his MPH from Harvard University. Given the geographic diversity of the institutions he has attended, Ajay is well equipped to assist applicants interested in schools in any region of the country.

At the University of Michigan Medical School, Ajay achieved 100th percentile scores on the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 board exams, received the Charles and Phyllis Lowe Merit Scholarship (awarded to fourth year medical student of highest academic standing), was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honors Society, and Graduated with Distinction in Research Honors. At Michigan and Harvard, he has conducted a wide array of research, with numerous publications and academic conference presentations in the fields of ophthalmology, epidemiology, and health economics, amongst others. Ajay has also worked as a consultant in the biotechnology industry, helping move new drugs towards FDA approval. He also co-founded The Lens, a widely used educational resource for medical students interested in ophthalmology. Given these experiences, Ajay is well versed in helping applicants with a broad array of academic interests and backgrounds. He is passionate about helping applicants tell their personal story by weaving a cohesive narrative about all of their prior experiences.

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Alex was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended UC Davis as an undergrad where she got her Bachelors of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology. After college, she spent three gap years as a research coordinator at a community hospital.

Throughout medical school, Alex has developed an interest in plastic surgery and has been involved in various leadership positions and research projects within numerous specialties. She decided to additionally pursue an MBA while in medical school after witnessing the evolving responsibilities in the role of a physician.

As the daughter of immigrants and the first person in her family to go to college, she found the medical school application process challenging and convoluted. She is passionate about making the process more accessible to students, and brought this passion into her role on the admissions committee at her medical school.

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Amita Ghuman did a 6 year combined Bachelors/MD program at Howard University in Washington D.C and graduated with a Bachelor's in Biology and Doctorate in Medicine. She then went on to complete a 3 year pediatrics residency at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Amita's first job after residency was an oncology/bone marrow transplant hospitalist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. From there, she worked at a community hospital pediatric emergency room in Columbia, Maryland. Currently, she is employed at a pediatric urgent care in Northern Virginia where she has been. Throughout these work experiences, she has enjoyed teaching and mentoring medical students and residents. Amita has a few publications which include case reports, posters, and qualitative research on topics that range from colon cancer research, Alzheimer's and pediatric oncology. She has also won scholarship awards in medical school and residency and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha society in her fourth year of medical school.

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Andrew is a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai pursuing a career in Anesthesiology. He has a startup valued at $12 million which focuses on providing affordable vision care across the US, has >20 peer-reviewed publications, and is looking to continue to help others in their medical careers. Originally from the greater Pittsburgh area, Andrew went to public school all his life and attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in computational chemistry with a focus in biology. He conducted research through the Department of Biomedical Informatics, where he published a paper in Scientific Reports on long non-coding RNA SNHG7 and its impact on breast cancer. He graduated in three years from Pitt and went straight to medical school at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. During his first year there, he joined multiple research labs focusing on large-data analysis and machine learning. He also co-founded Retina Technologies Inc., a company aimed to disrupt vision care by leveraging virtual reality, retinal imaging, and machine learning onto a portable platform to provide affordable, accessible, and accurate vision screening across the country. He served as the CTO of the company, spearheading four clinical trials, submitting three provisional patents and one non-provisional PCT patent, and built both the hardware and software from the ground up. He has continued his involvement in both his research and the company throughout all four years of medical school and is applying to residency programs for Anesthesiology. 

Austin Johnson graduated from the University of Denver Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and minors in Leadership Studies, Medical Physics, Chemistry, and Psychology. He scored in the 99.9th percentile on the MCAT and utilized similar study strategies to achieve a 260+ USMLE Step 1 score. Austin is currently a medical student at the Stanford University School of Medicine pursuing a research year investigating novel topical treatments for Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex (EBS) and validating clinical severity scoring tools for future EBS interventional studies. His professional interests extend into health disparities and medical education both on campus and in the community.

Austin’s passion for mentorship has culminated in a diverse set of experiences ranging from intensive one-on-one sessions with prospective professional students to leading large group events designed to level the playing field in test-taking, research, and the admissions process as a member of the Leadership in Health Disparities and Stanford Clinical Summer Internship programs. As a future Dermatologist from a rural Colorado town with zero immediate or extended family members in healthcare, he is excited to guide the next generation of physician leaders in achieving their goals no matter their background. Outside of being a medical student, Austin loves partaking in athletics, lifting weights, becoming immersed in movies, and exploring new food spots with his future wife.

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Ayush is an MD candidate at Harvard Medical School interested in a career as an ophthalmologist and healthcare disparities researcher. He graduated summa cum laude from Drexel University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and minors in Art History and Business Administration. 

Ayush has been directly involved in undergraduate and medical school admissions and tutoring and has gained recognition as a top tutor. With several years of professional experience in pre-medical tutoring and advising, he has helped applicants receive impressive scores on the MCAT and gain admission into top medical schools in the country. Personally, Ayush has scored in the 99th percentile on the MCAT and in the 96th percentile on the USMLE Step 1. 

At Drexel and Harvard Medical School, Ayush has conducted a wide array of research leading to numerous publications and academic conference presentations in molecular biology, ophthalmology, ENT, telemedicine, and AI. He also co-founded the New Jersey chapter of a COVID-19 response organization that fills gaps in healthcare infrastructure with healthcare student volunteers. 

Given these experiences, Ayush has a proven track record of success in helping various applicants achieve high test scores and medical school admission. In addition to MCAT tutoring, Ayush is passionate about mentoring Advantage students in crafting a cohesive and personal story to achieve their dreams of becoming a physician.

Becky is currently pursuing a PhD at Texas A&M University, researching mRNA-based therapeutics for equine infectious diseases. She had always wanted to be a veterinarian and graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Biomedical Engineering, focusing on bioelectrics and biosignals. While at WPI, work in Tanzania and at a NICU in Worcester drove her passion to design medical devices for infants, and she went into industry but after a year, was drawn back to veterinary medicine. She left for west Texas and attended Sul Ross State University, initially with the goal of finishing out pre-requisites, but ultimately developing a passion for horses, helping run the equine science program, and earning a MS in equine science. This was only made possible through the help of some fine teachers and mentors along the way.

She found her place at Kansas State Veterinary School. There, she fell in love with equine internal medicine by working in the hospital, with clinical pathology through the passion of a remarkable professor, and practical boots-on-the-ground research with a few hot summers with cattle. After weighing the decision to pursue a PhD in veterinary education and teaching simulators, she elected to follow her love of internal medicine and foals to a private practice internship, followed by internal medicine residency at Auburn University. It was there that she really dug into her passion for medicine and teaching, and found interesting cases, caring mentors, and family. Again, she was lucky to be taught by some of the very best and she wants to pay it forward. Following residency, she was lucky to find an opportunity to combine her favorite things-- biomedical research, internal medicine, and foals—into an exciting PhD program.

Becky has taken a winding path and has made connections throughout many different levels of veterinary medicine and the biomedical field. Through this journey, she has mentored pre-veterinary students for the past 15 years and been a teacher even longer. She is excited to help you develop a plan for success and work with you to achieve your dreams of becoming a veterinarian.

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Brandon earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Charleston in West Virginia, where he played Division 1 Men's Volleyball and was selected as the President's Outstanding Senior of the Year. He went on to obtain a Dual Master's degree in Business Administration and Healthcare Administration from the University of Houston before starting the MD program at the Texas Tech Health Science Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. 

Brandon is a highly motivated medical student with years of experience successfully guiding students from traditional, non-traditional, and reapplication backgrounds through the medical school application process. As a coach, his greatest strength is building customized success plans based on a student's individual goals. He has a wide range of expertise, including personal statement and secondary essay brainstorming and editing, running activities writing workshops, navigating school selection processes, traditional and MMI mock interview prep for MD and DO medical schools, and CASPer success techniques.

Brandon uses a highly motivated spirit, resilient attitude, and constant communication to afford other students the opportunity of medical school acceptance. He is excited to work with students from all backgrounds and experiences to make medical school acceptance a reality.

Bryan Luu is a medical student at Baylor College of Medicine currently pursuing a residency in Internal Medicine. Bryan grew up in Fremont, California before moving to Austin, Texas in high school. He attended The University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with High Honors. At the University of Texas, Bryan was heavily involved in biomedical engineering research focused on improving delivery and bioavailability of chemotherapeutics through the development of nano-polymer systems. He was inducted into the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society during his junior year. During his gap year before medical school, Bryan worked as an editor and content developer for ExamKrackers, serving as a major contributor to MCAT question banks and prep books, as well as providing high-quality one-on-one MCAT tutoring.In medical school, Bryan has been extensively involved with all facets of the medical school admission process. He has served as an admissions ambassador at Baylor, and has guided dozens of premedical students through the medical school admissions process as an officer of several student-led mentorship organizations. He has also continued his passion for research, with a specific interest in the development of novel machine learning models that can be applied to the field of medicine. In recognition of academic excellence in medical school, Bryan was elected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha honor society.

Carmel Mercado is a board-certified ophthalmologist in the Seattle area with expertise in pediatric ophthalmology and comprehensive ophthalmology.

She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was awarded as 1 of 25 Burchard Scholars in her year for academic excellence in the arts, humanities, social sciences as well as in science and engineering. She was also inducted as an MIT Class of 2009 Community Catalyst Leader for her extensive involvement with mentoring, teaching, and developing advising workshops for freshmen.

Carmel obtained her medical degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. During her time in medical school, she completed a research year as an international fellow at the Keio University School of Medicine. Her research project looked at the history of traditional medicine in Japan and its integration into the modern Japanese medical system. This project was funded in part by the Johns’ Hopkins University School of Medicine Dean’s Grant and through scholarship from the International Chamber of Innovation, Commerce & Enterprise in Japan.

Carmel then completed her ophthalmology residency at Stanford University’s Byers Eye Institute in Palo Alto, California, where she was elected into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society for the Stanford Chapter. She completed her sub-specialty fellowship training in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at the Casey Eye Institute of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. Carmel has held roles such as Clinical Instructor for Ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Head of the Diversity Committee for the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington. She has had experience with medical school admissions as well as ophthalmology residency and fellowship interviews in these roles.

Outside of the clinic, Carmel has traveled to multiple countries around the world, including Myanmar, the Philippines, and Belize, to help with vision screenings and to teach eye surgery and the basics of pediatric eye care as invited faculty. She is also an accomplished artist and uses her art as a medium for health literacy education and empowerment.

Carmel is excited to share her expertise and experience with medical school and residency admissions with you!

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