(00:00) — Welcome and Early Roots: Kelsey describes growing up in a family of healthcare professionals and how watching her father's relationships with patients shaped her interest in medicine.

(02:04) — Music vs. Medicine: Kelsey explains why she seriously considered a career in musical theater and how she decided she did not have to give up music to pursue medicine.

(07:28) — Planting the Premed Flag: When Kelsey started singing the national anthem at medical conferences in high school and realized she could combine both worlds.

(08:44) — The Hardest Part of Being Premed: Kelsey names information overload — not coursework — as the biggest challenge she faced as a premed student.

(11:01) — MCAT: A Big Beast: How a weak foundation in basic sciences and unclear study strategies made the MCAT especially difficult for Kelsey.

(15:25) — Taking the MCAT Twice: Kelsey's decision to retake after a 500, why she only gave herself a month to prepare, and what happened when her score went down instead of up.

(19:10) — Applying MD and DO: Her strategy for casting a wide net across both application systems and her father's perspective on the MD versus DO question.

(21:48) — Waiting for Interviews: What it felt like to wait months for a single invite and how she prepared for her first real medical school interview.

(25:06) — The Acceptance Call: Kelsey recounts exactly where she was and what she heard when she found out she got in.

(31:07) — DO and Dermatology: How Kelsey is thinking about pursuing a competitive specialty as a DO student and what mentorship from DO dermatologists has taught her.

(35:17) — What She Would Change: Kelsey's honest reflection on filtering noise, trusting her instincts, and following what actually resonates.

Kelsey is a current medical student who took the MCAT twice, watched her score drop on the retake after already submitting applications, and still got into medical school in that same cycle. In this conversation with Dr. Ryan Gray, she walks through what that experience actually felt like — the self-doubt, the tears, the waiting — and what kept her moving forward. She grew up in a family of healthcare professionals, spent years seriously considering a career in music and musical theater, and ultimately found a way to bring both into her life. That same instinct to follow what resonates, rather than what the internet says to do, runs through her advice on MCAT prep, application strategy, and choosing a specialty. Kelsey applied to both MD and DO programs, received two interview invites, and accepted her offer from a newer campus attached to an established DO program. She is now pursuing an interest in dermatology and has found mentorship from DO dermatologists who have helped her see that the MD versus DO distinction matters far less than board scores, clinical performance, and who you are as a person in the room.

What You'll Learn:

- Why resource overload — not the science content itself — is one of the biggest obstacles premed students face today

- How to approach MCAT prep by understanding your own learning style before choosing any resource or course

- What it looks like to stay in an application cycle after a retake makes your score worse, not better

- How to think strategically about applying to both MD and DO programs in the same cycle

- Why pursuing a competitive specialty as a DO student is possible, and what matters most when making that case

(00:00) — Growing Up Around Medicine: Hallie describes having two surgical physician associate parents and knowing from childhood that medical school was her path.

(04:24) — Division I Fencing Meets Premed: How training at 5:45 a.m., attending class, and working overnight ER shifts defined her undergraduate years.

(07:52) — Deciding to Delay, Not Quit: Why Hallie chose two gap years over dropping fencing, and what the full college experience cost her timeline.

(09:03) — The MCAT Sucker Punch: Three attempts, one void, 28 full-length practice exams, and a score that moved less than one point.

(12:17) — What She Got Wrong About MCAT Prep: The difference between checking off practice tests and actually diagnosing your mistakes.

(17:00) — Applying Broadly and Going DO: How she decided to apply to over 40 schools, what happened on the MD side, and why she ultimately found the right fit.

(22:43) — DO vs. MD and Orthopedic Surgery: What she knew early about the match landscape for competitive specialties, and how she processed the disappointment.

(25:29) — Building a Research and Networking Foundation: Starting research at 19, scrubbing into ORs outside her rotation, and why genuine interest beats strategic positioning.

(35:39) — Rewinding to the Application Mindset: Reflecting on what the MD rejections really meant and how her perspective shifted once she was inside medical school.

(38:56) — Final Words for the Premed Who Is Stuck: What Hallie would say to any student on their 27th practice exam who is questioning whether to keep going.

Hallie took the MCAT three times, voided it once, and logged 28 full-length practice exams before applying to medical school — and her score barely moved a single point. In this episode of The Premed Years, she talks honestly about what went wrong in her prep, what she eventually understood about quality versus quantity in studying, and how that same lesson came back around when she hit Step 1 in medical school. A Division I fencer who worked overnight ER shifts between tournaments, Hallie built a strong application in every dimension except the one score that gatekeeps the process. She applied broadly to both MD and DO programs, processed real disappointment on the MD side, and found her footing at a DO school where she is now in her clinical years with orthopedic surgery in her sights. She also gets specific about what she is doing right now — walking into orthopedic ORs on her own time, introducing herself to every member of the surgical team, and building relationships with genuine interest rather than calculated positioning. This episode is for any premed who is putting in the hours and not seeing the results, and who needs an honest conversation about what it actually takes to get to the other side.

What You'll Learn:

- Why taking more practice tests without deep review is one of the most common and costly MCAT prep mistakes

- How to honestly assess whether you understand a concept versus whether you have simply seen it before

- What pursuing a competitive surgical specialty as a DO student actually looks like in terms of preparation and match strategy

- How to build meaningful relationships with attendings and residents before your official surgical rotations begin

- Why the reasons you choose medicine matter as much as the credentials you build to get there

(00:00) — First Spark: How a hospital shadowing program in high school shifted Justin's view of medicine from negative to hopeful.

(00:27) — Immigrant Family Expectations: The doctor-lawyer-accountant conversation that narrowed Justin's focus and why he's grateful for it.

(04:34) — Choosing Seton Hall: Why staying close to home and picking a smaller school turned out to be the right call for staying focused.

(10:22) — Collaboration Over Competition: How studying alongside classmates pursuing PT, PA, and med school kept Justin on track without the cutthroat dynamic.

(16:20) — MCAT Rescheduling Spiral: The honest account of pushing back the MCAT four or five times and what finally made Justin ready to sit for it.

(21:52) — Checking Boxes vs. Meaning: Why running around doing every premed activity left Justin with experiences he could barely remember by application time.

(23:39) — Applying Late and What It Cost: Submitting two months after applications opened, what that felt like in real time, and how it still worked out.

(32:50) — TikTok Origin Story: The mall conversation about Washington, DC that accidentally launched a multi-million-follower social media presence.

(35:19) — Social Media vs. Medicine: The pressure to quit one or the other, and how Justin reframed content creation as a hobby rather than a competing identity.

(38:52) — Dad's Long-Term Question: The family conversation that settled the debate between full-time content creation and medical school.

(42:23) — Closing Advice: What Justin would tell any premed trying to balance a public platform with the demands of the path to medicine.

Justin was a freshman in college when a friend's embarrassing geography gap turned into a TikTok video that got 100,000 views overnight. By the time he applied to medical school, he had millions of followers across platforms. He also submitted his application two months late, rescheduled his MCAT four or five times, and took a gap year he never planned on taking. In this conversation, Justin walks through the full arc of his premed path — from a hospital shadowing program in high school that flipped his negative view of medicine, to navigating an immigrant family's expectations, to figuring out that checking off every premed activity was producing experiences he could barely recall when it came time to write about them. He talks honestly about imposter syndrome in his first year of medical school, the time management shift that made studying feel less like punishment, and how he handled the very real pressure from people on both sides — doctors warning him that social media would hurt his career, and followers telling him to drop medicine entirely. His answer to both was the same: stay true to what you actually want.

What You'll Learn:

- Why rescheduling the MCAT repeatedly is not a strategy, and what finally made Justin commit to a test date

- How a smaller undergraduate institution can sharpen focus rather than limit opportunity

- Why submitting a medical school application late has real consequences, even when things ultimately work out

- How to hold a social media presence and a premed identity at the same time without letting either one define you completely

- Why a gap year you did not plan for can become one of the most valuable parts of the path to medical school