Aaleya Koreishi, a Medical student from Buffalo, N.Y., has always dreamt of being a doctor. This fall, Koreishi began her first year at the University's Medical School, bringing her one step closer to that dream.
Koreishi, who graduated from the University in May with a bachelor's degree in biology, was accepted to a medical school in Buffalo during the early months of her senior year, easing the pressures that many of her friends faced as they approached graduation.
"I knew I wanted to go to med school. I didn't want to take off a year," Koreishi said. As a result she was quick to find a school. With Buffalo as a safety, Koreishi applied to almost a dozen other schools, but staying in Ann Arbor wasn't something she'd really considered until late in the year.
"I knew I was going somewhere. I interviewed here on the last day," Koreishi said.
The application process itself began in the summer before senior year, Koreishi said.
"Of course you start thinking of med school when you're taking the MCAT," Koreishi said.
Many medical schools go through a collective application service, to which prospective students send a single application with technical details such as scores and grades along with a personal statement. The schools then consider the applications and send students a secondary application that is specific to the school, Koreishi said.
"(Applying) wasn't too bad - it was exciting," Koreishi said, adding that she was exhausted by the end of the process.
In the end, Koreishi was faced with choosing the University of Michigan or SUNY-Buffalo.
"A big factor was reputations of schools," Koreishi said. While she said Michigan is a better school, Koreishi has family in New York, which she cited as an important factor in her decision.
Koreishi then talked to friends, family and people who were already in medical school.
"It was hard," Koreishi said, but "talking to a lot of people helps."
Koreishi has never looked back.
"I do like (the University's Medical School) a lot, actually. I was pleasantly surprised," Koreishi said. "I thought it would be much harder than it was."
Although Koreishi still has three years to go, she's already planning ahead.
"I was always thinking pediatrics but I'm leaning towards family practice now," Koreishi said. "But then you never know."
