Erin Traxler '15

Erin Traxler '15

Name: Erin Traxler                                      

Graduating Class: 2015

Major: Biology

Your Story:

I am from Mankato, MN and I was drawn to Gustavus because of its strong science programs. I’ve known from a young age that I wanted to go in to medicine, so I immediately immersed myself in classes and activities that would set me on the right track and make me a good applicant. I began the application process during the spring of my junior year. This process takes time and effort comparable to another extracurricular activity, so I tried my best to balance it with the other things I had going on. Despite my best efforts, I was not accepted into school upon my first round of applications. This was very discouraging. During my time off, I worked the two part-time jobs that I had started during college, as a pharmacy technician and winery server. I also committed myself to new volunteer opportunities as a reading tutor and hospice volunteer with the local hospital. My time off of school gave me a chance to reassess what I wanted to do with my life. I spent more time looking into Osteopathic medical programs, which I hadn’t done before, and decided to only apply to D.O. schools the second time around. Because of new experiences I had, I rewrote my personal statement and added new items to my list of activities. I felt stronger in my convictions to pursue a medical career and, without school, I was able to invest more thought and effort into my applications than I had before. This round of applications went much more smoothly. I heard back from one of my top choice schools right away and was accepted for admission a few months later.

 

Top Five Activities/Experiences: (in no particular order)

  1. Mayo Innovation Scholars Program
  2. Delta Phi Omega Sorority
  3. Pre-Health Club
  4. Pre-health January Interim Career Exploration at Mankato Clinic
  5. Learning to Serve Trip to Petatlán, Mexico

 

Advice:

  1. Find meaningful service experiences that you particularly care about. Quality is more important than quantity. These are very useful when writing essays and interviewing.
  2. Keep track of (roughly) how my hours you invest in your activities. You will probably be asked to provide the total number of hours you spent in each activity/experience on your application.
  3. Consider taking an intentional gap year.

 

Future Plans:  Attending Des Moines University, start Fall 2016 

                                                                                                                                                                      Updated: 5/18/2016 HB