I knew from the beginning of my undergraduate career that I wanted to attend medical school and tried to meet the stringent standards set for admissions. During my first two semesters, I successfully completed the majority of the pre-med course requirements, with mostly straight As. I have shown that I have the ability to handle over 18 science credit hours a semester and do very well.
I started having academic difficulties during my third semester as an undergraduate as I started to realize that residency plays a big role in entrance to medical school. I have been classified as an international student since the beginning of my undergraduate career in Utah; I learned in fall 2003 that very few international students have any chance at a medical school in the United States. In addition, after leaving Canada and declaring the United States as my permanent home, I also lost my residency in the already competitive Canadian medical school system. I showed less dedication to my coursework, believing that medical school would not be an option given my visa status.
In addition, being an international student on an H4-B visa, I did not have work-authorization. Because of this, I lost jobs I had found as research assistants with professors impressed by my work ethic in their classes. This contributed to my sense of futilely trying to achieve something that was beyond my reach.
Believing that medicine was not a viable option, I chose to instead study Chemical Engineering, a field in which I had no interest and which I only pursued because I thought it would be the quickest way to a good job. This lack of interest translated to terrible study habits in Chemical Engineering, and my transcripts show clearly that my Chemical Engineering grades are far lower than my grades in Chemistry. Because of this failure at Chemical Engineering, I understood how much of a difference it makes to have interest in a subject and thus, decided to complete my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry instead.
I took General Chemistry I and II, and Organic Chemistry I in my final semester at Utah State University to try to maintain my legal status, scoring straight Ds in all these classes. In contrast, I had taken the same classes in 2003, with heavier course loads and did well in them. This difference can be attributed to troubles with my status in the United States. I lost my passport and my visa in fall 2006 and a large portion of my time and concentration was spent trying to resolve the situation.
My visa as an F1 student in the United States lapsed in early 2007 and I was classified as an illegal immigrant in the United States. Because of this, I did not attend school for the next two semesters. However, being forced to sit out of school for two semesters was a blessing in disguise. During this time, I began volunteering at Jackson South Community Hospital; I realized that a career as a physician would be most fulfilling. I started researching foreign medical schools and realized that Caribbean schools were an excellent option for students in my situation. I was reinstated as an F1 student in early 2008 and currently I am in the process of completing my Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and improving my GPA.
During my undergraduate career, I studied basic sciences and learnt critical thinking skills. But more importantly, I learnt the value of tenacity and enthusiasm for whatever goal I might be trying to achieve. I am better prepared to face the demands of medical school having overcome the obstacles along my undergraduate career.

also, if anyone has any comments to give about how to improve the writing itself, it'd be REALLY appreciated - I got an M on the writing section of my MCAT so I know I'm really terrible @ it ... spent long time on my personal statement (not this essay) & hopefully that'll make up a little bit for the weaknesses here

the writing sample score doesn't mean much

__________________
AUC 5th Semester
Undergrad: UC Riverside

If I was on an admissions committee reading your essay, I'd be a no. A couple of things stood out to me:

-You claimed you did your worst when you were uninterested in the subject matter and stressed from your immigration situation. While those are some good reasons for bad grades, they don't present a good picture of someone who will do well at medicine. Med school is about learning reams of boring information and is really, really stressful. Your record is a good indication that you can't handle med school.

-You used the words "illegal immigrant." So basically, you are proclaiming your willingness to live outside of the law. Not such a good thing for a physician, who must hold themself to the highest ethical and legal standards.

-It sounds like you've had a rough time of it, but your essay comes across a bit "poor me." An essay should take the reader on a journey and tell a story. Right now, the story you are telling is the story of a slacker who let circumstances get him down. You might consider telling the story of your growing passion for medicine, while facing and overcoming obstacles.

-You've got a difficult task ahead of you, and you know that.

Good luck.

__________________
Suffering is optional.

tenordoc, thanks for your honest opinion - the whiny thing is what I REALLY afraid of & just totally wanted to avoid - I just want to express that "I stopped caring 'cus I thought I didn't really have much of a shot & I thought there were other things out there that would be just as good - but it turns out that medicine is really important to me!"

Yeah - I was illegal for a while - but I reapplied for reinstatement as soon as I became illegal and I was waiting for the approval to go through between 2007 & 2008. So I wasn't really willing to live outside the law - just waiting for reinstatement...

Why didn't you reapply for reinstatement before you became illegal? You sound intelligent but incredibly irresponsible. That's just my first impression...who knows, maybe an admissions committee would disagree with me...but I doubt it.

__________________
AUC 4th-ish (?) Semester

How about a post-bach program after your undergrad? You'll be able to extend your student visa (like myself) and I think it'll help with the 'flaky' image. During this time get a good immigration lawyer or marry an american (I kid but... seriously a green card as early as half a year to 2 years?!). Get ready for a painful loan process, being an international student is going to be hard to get multiple loans

-edit-
Have you considered other caribbean schools as well> I had a friend with similiar GPA and MUCH lower GPA get into SMU (and he loves being a student there).. Granted caribbean schools also wanted to know your resident status, I remember checking the student demographics and most caribbean schools consist of less than 3% students who don't have citizenship/permanent resident status

__________________
"Me fail english? That's unpossible" -R. Wiggum

Starting @ AUC
May 2008

I agree with Tenordoc....if I were on the admissions committee, it would be a "no" from me too. I suggest you try some of the less competitive schools, such as SMU or AUA. They don't have CA approval, but they're decent schools.

__________________
AUC 2nd Semester
Rectouterine pouch!!
http://slevit1.blogspot.com

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish. --Unknown

DO schools, and third tier MD schools, what are you doing on this forum. I know people with scores less than you at Temple and Drexel. 30+ is the magic score, gpa's are not good predictors cuz they can vary, and any school worth anything knows this.

__________________
There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent, or hinder, or control a firm resolve of a determined soul.

"I've got a degree in Homeopathic Medicine!....You've got a degree in baloney" -Futurama

"...you should take some echinacea, or St. John's Wort...Or a big fat placebo. It's all the same crap" -Futurama