Crafting the Perfect Secondary Application

Jessica is a student at the USC Keck School of Medicine MD program. She will be pursuing her residency training in Psychiatry. Jessica is originally from a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Neuroscience with Honors. While at USC for her undergraduate degree, Jessica completed three years of research which culminated in an Honors Thesis titled, “Effects of Hormonal Contraception on Hippocampal Volume: A Neuroimaging Study.” After graduating, she obtained a position at the Stanford VA as the Clinical Study Coordinator for two Alzheimer’s disease-related neuroimaging studies. It was here that she discovered her love for clinical medicine and her desire to work with patients.

Elle is an MD candidate at Duke University School of Medicine. After high school, Elle received the IBM Watson Scholarship and attended Johns Hopkins University as a varsity basketball player. She then transferred to UNC Chapel Hill and graduated summa cum laude, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. During her undergraduate years, Elle held leadership positions in various organizations and received the President's Volunteer Service Award for her home healthcare work in Durham, NC. Elle assisted with global health, psychology, and cancer biology research throughout her undergraduate studies. Before matriculating to medical school, Elle was a college advisor at a rural NC high school and coached their basketball and volleyball teams.