(00:00) — From physics to premed: Riley describes deciding to pursue medicine at the end of sophomore year after shadowing in medical physics.

(03:37) — Patient transport as a first clinical role: what it taught him about hospital environments and patient interaction.

(04:54) — Staying in the physics major: why switching wasn't necessary and how he fit in prerequisites.

(08:24) — Building the premed timeline late: summer courses, goal-setting by semester, and the gap year decision.

(16:02) — The hardest part of applying: managing secondaries, imposter syndrome, and the waiting game.

(22:23) — Three interviews, three acceptances: what Riley attributes his success to.

(25:46) — Interview prep without sounding scripted: the three-theme framework and how to make it feel like a conversation.

(31:27) — Choosing between schools: how to go beyond the marketing and talk to real students.

(35:47) — Advice for mid-college premeds: taking it one day at a time and celebrating smaller wins.

Riley didn't walk into college planning to become a physician. He was drawn to physics, considered medical physics, shadowed in that field, and only pivoted to medicine at the end of his sophomore year — after a mentor asked whether he'd thought about becoming the doctor in the department instead. What followed was a deliberate, practical process of building a premed application without abandoning the major he actually loved. He stayed in physics, added prerequisites alongside his existing coursework, and leaned into what made his background unusual rather than trying to blend in with the typical biology-major applicant. The result was three interviews and three acceptances. In this conversation, Riley and Dr. Gray cover the real mechanics of that process: how to find shadowing when you have no network, what patient transport actually teaches you, how to prepare for interviews without scripting yourself into a corner, and how to choose between schools once you have options. It's a practical, grounded conversation for any premed who feels behind or wonders whether their non-traditional path is a liability.

What You'll Learn:

- Why staying in a non-biology major can strengthen rather than hurt your application

- How to build a shadowing network from scratch using a referral approach

- What patient transport does and doesn't offer as a clinical experience

- How to prepare for medical school interviews without sounding rehearsed

- How to evaluate medical schools beyond rankings by talking to current students

(00:00) — Family in medicine: How a neurologist mom and a sister in pediatrics shaped Justin's early interest

(03:28) — The chemistry PhD question: Why lab research pushed Justin back toward medicine

(07:14) — Duke and the premed decision: Choosing a school and a major with med school in mind

(09:40) — Applying straight through during COVID: The stress of a compressed timeline and limited clinical access

(14:17) — 37 schools, 3 interviews, 2 waitlists: Breaking down the numbers and the emotional reality

(20:58) — Essay mistakes on reread: What Justin found wrong when he looked at his application months later

(25:56) — Reapplication in real time: Revising essays, lining up a gap year job, and submitting a second cycle

(33:45) — The June phone call: Coming off the University of Maryland waitlist weeks before orientation

(37:12) — Late housing scramble: What it looks like to find an apartment after a June acceptance

(39:57) — For students still waiting: Holding hope and planning for another cycle at the same time

Justin applied to 37 medical schools, earned three interviews, and landed on two waitlists before finally getting the call he had been hoping for — from University of Maryland — in the first week of June. In this conversation, he is candid about what held his application back: clinical and volunteering experiences that started too late because of COVID restrictions, and experience essays that tried to impress readers with technical organic chemistry detail instead of showing personal growth. He also walks through the parallel stress of watching his girlfriend navigate her own application cycle simultaneously, and the practical decisions they made to try to stay geographically close. Justin reflects honestly on the gap year question — he applied straight through from undergrad and now sees real value in what a year away from school can offer. If you are sitting on a waitlist right now or already thinking about a second cycle, his perspective on holding hope while still preparing a backup plan is exactly the kind of grounded, real-world guidance that is hard to find.

What You'll Learn:

- Why starting clinical experiences late can limit what you are able to write about, even if the experiences themselves are meaningful

- How experience essays go wrong when they try to educate the reader on a research topic instead of showing growth and reflection

- What a realistic reapplication process looks like — from rereading old essays to submitting a focused second cycle

- How to hold on to waitlist hope without letting it delay your preparation for another cycle

- What the logistics of a late waitlist acceptance actually involve, from housing to orientation timelines

(00:00) — Pre-k graduation and "I want to be a baby doctor": Where the idea of medicine first appeared for Riya.

(01:07) — Seventh-grade biology and Hashimoto's thyroiditis: The classroom moment that made medicine feel like a real possibility.

(02:24) — Hospital volunteering in high school: First clinical exposure, patient interaction, and what sparked genuine interest.

(04:57) — Discovering combined BSMD and BSDO programs: How Riya and her mom researched programs in eleventh grade and decided to pursue them.

(06:45) — Reflecting on the accelerated path: Whether finishing undergrad in three years meant missing out.

(07:15) — The MCAT decision: Why avoiding the MCAT was a meaningful factor in choosing a program.

(09:12) — Applying to 23 schools: The breakdown of combined versus traditional applications and getting into four programs.

(10:05) — Choosing between programs: Family proximity, location, and the DO philosophy as deciding factors.

(10:54) — Why DO over MD: What the osteopathic mind-body-spirit philosophy and hands-on technique meant to her personally.

(12:22) — Conditional acceptance pressure in undergrad: Carrying valedictorian stress into a three-year sprint.

(13:42) — The hardest semester: o-chem, biochem, and anatomy simultaneously with three concurrent labs.

(14:45) — Physical planners and time management: How Riya stayed on top of classes, tutoring, and two research projects.

(15:33) — Finding The Premed Years on a two-hour drive: How the podcast became part of her routine.

(17:10) — Medical school versus premed undergrad: Why the schedule now feels more manageable.

(19:14) — Finding your own study method: Why copying what works for others often backfires.

(24:19) — Menstrual health app, a thousand-dollar prize, and a TikTok research project: How curiosity led to unexpected opportunities.

(26:54) — Words for the stressed premed: Gratitude journals, getting back up, and holding on to small happy moments.

Riya knew she wanted to be a doctor before she could fully explain what that meant. By eleventh grade she was researching combined BSDO and BSMD programs with her mom, and she eventually applied to around fifteen of them alongside traditional schools. She got into four combined programs and chose a three-plus-four DO pathway that let her stay near family during undergrad before moving states for medical school. The cost was real: she finished prerequisites in three years, took organic chemistry, biochemistry, and anatomy in the same semester with three concurrent labs, tutored classmates, and ran two research projects simultaneously. She also drove two hours home most weekends and, on those drives, found this podcast. Now in medical school and studying for Step, Riya reflects on choosing DO over MD, what the osteopathic philosophy genuinely gave her, and why she has no regrets about any of it. She talks honestly about the stress of a conditional acceptance, the trial and error of finding a study method that actually works, and how keeping a gratitude journal got her through a brutal first semester away from family.

What You'll Learn:

- How combined BSMD and BSDO programs work and what it actually takes to stay in one through undergrad.

- Why one student chose a DO program over MD programs she was also accepted to, and what that decision has meant in practice.

- How to manage an overwhelming premed course load using intentional time planning rather than sheer willpower.

- Why finding your own study method matters more than copying the approaches that work for classmates.

- How following genuine curiosity across research, hackathons, and extracurriculars can open doors that a straight-line approach would miss.