… And then there were two

Posted by
April 28, 2010

Along with the revival of MedHopeful, there’s going to be some fresh blood posting here.

I’d like you to give a nice warm welcome to a good friend of mine from class, Shelly Luu.

Having skipped two grades growing up, Shelly studied biochemistry for three years at the University of Ottawa before being accepted into medical school at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and the University of Calgary.

She decided to attend UofT, being the youngest student to enter our class at 19 years old last year (sick!).

She is insanely smart (though she won’t admit it) and a really good friend, and I think she’ll bring a lot of fresh, interesting, and different insight to MedHopeful.

I think you guys will be impressed. =)

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  • Sonja

    Welcome Shelly :) I look forward to reading your posts!!

    • Shelly

      Thanks Sonja! I'm hoping to get my first post out in the next few days.

      If there are any specific things that you want to read about, feel free to suggest!

  • Khalil

    Medhopeful keeps getting better =]

    Welcome Shelly!!! I'm looking forward to your posts =D

    Just wondering how'd ya get into medschool at the age of 19? I'm actually a year ahead right now and even if i apply in my third year and get in, im going to be 20 :|

    So did you skip 2 years?

  • Shelly

    Thanks Khalil!

    You are right, I skipped 2 years. I'm thinking of posting about that – it should be interesting!

  • Khalil

    Hey Shelly! I just read your "About me" portion! Would you also be able to talk about how you ended up getting the exec positions at those awesome organizations lol. I'm having a really hard time finding EC's that are different from other premeds and would stand out in my medschool application. Thanks!

  • Shelly

    Hi Khalil,

    I know what you mean – I remember being worried about not being able to distinguish myself as an applicant.

    I've started a list of topics that I'd want to explore further with MedHopeful, and I'll make sure to remember to talk about my ECs! I apologize in advance though if my posts are few and far between from now till the end of May. We have a lot of exams coming up!

  • Khalil

    Not a prob! Good luck on your exams!!!

  • Sportfreak

    Hey Shelly, I was just wondering how in the world you skipped two grades?? Also, did you apply for any scholarships for uni?

    • Shelly

      Hey Sportfreak,

      The first grade I skipped was senior kindergarden and that was more of a "technical" skip than anything. I had done junior kindergarden under the public English school system, and also learned French that year. My mom decided that I should pursue French further and enrolled me in a public French school. However, one of the differences between these two school systems is that in French, there is only one year of kindergarden (not two). Everyone in the French system is one year younger than students in the English. After talking to me, the principal decided that I didn't need to repeat kindergarden, so I went straight from JK to grade 1.

      The second grade that I skipped was grade 7, and that was done under the French system again (I was still in a french language school at that time). My grade 6 teacher had made a request that I be "tested" by the Ministry of Education for skipping a grade because he felt that I was getting bored in class. In grade 7, someone came and gave me some standardized tests in French, Science, and Math to assess my skill levels in those areas. As long as I was able to place in grade 9 level or higher, I was allowed to skip. That happened, so I moved into grade 8 in the middle of the school year.

    • Shelly

      The main scholarship that I applied for (and got) was the University of Ottawa Undergraduate Research Scholarship. I'm a research junkie!

  • Sportfreak

    Wow, you're so lucky! I wish I was able to do that? I know this may be a little personal, but are your parents doctors?! Also, did you participate in any programs in high school? What were some of your extra cirricular activities? Honestly, you are my inspiration! Both you and Joshua!