Dr. Nelly Kokikian, Med School Admissions Consultant at Inspira Advantage

Dr. Kokikian earned an MD from the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. She is currently finishing a preliminary internal medicine year at Loma Linda University Medical Center before starting her dermatology residency at New York Medical College. With four years of mentorship experience, Dr. Kokikian is passionate about coaching, education, and helping students navigate the medical school admissions process.

Before medical school, Dr. Kokikian graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned a BS in psychobiology with a minor in entrepreneurship and multiple Dean’s List recognitions. During her undergraduate years, she served as a Department Coordinator Lead for the UCLA Health Care Extender Clinical Internship, a competitive hospital volunteer program that deepened her commitment to clinical medicine and patient care. In this role, she served on the program’s admissions committee for three years, evaluating over 1,000 applicants and interviewing hundreds of candidates.

In medical school, Dr. Kokikian pursued a wide range of opportunities in research, teaching, and mentorship. She was awarded the National Institutes of Health Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) Scholarship, a nationally competitive research training program. As a dermatology research fellow at UCLA, she studied reflectance confocal microscopy and artificial intelligence to develop noninvasive approaches to diagnosing melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers. Her work involved developing novel imaging protocols, collaborating with engineers, and contributing to multiple first- and second-author research projects.

Dr. Kokikian's scholarly contributions include publications in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, JAAD Case Reports, Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, Cutis, and SAGE Open Medical Case Reports, among others. She received the Best Poster Award from the Pacific Dermatologic Association for her work on noninvasive virtual histology to distinguish malignant from benign cutaneous squamous neoplasms.

Dr. Kokikian's greatest strength as a coach is her ability to see the person behind the application. Her coaching approach is individualized, collaborative, and centered on honesty, encouragement, and attention to detail. Whether helping an applicant work through their personal statement, activity descriptions, interview preparation, or overall application strategy, she helps students uncover the experiences that make their stories unique. Dr. Kokikian is passionate about coaching because she genuinely enjoys teaching and mentoring others, and she finds it especially rewarding to help students gain confidence in their stories and navigate the admissions process with greater clarity.

Get Started With a Free Consultation

Your first conversation will be with an Enrollment Specialist who will take the time to understand your background, goals, and timeline. They’ll help assess where you are in the prep process, answer initial questions, and determine which type of support and which expert would be the best fit for your personal needs.