Phuong Tran

By Dorthy Le

 

Name: Phuong Tran

 

University: Bachelor’s degree at Stanford University and Medical doctorate at University of California at Irvine

 

College majors: Anthropology and Human Biology

 

Requirements:

College:

• Application and personal statement

• SATs

• the more AP classes the better

• most colleges on the west coast don’t require an interview (optional for Stanford now), but Ivy League schools usually want to interview you

• highest possible GPA with honors and AP classes

• Show interest in activities outside of school

Medical school:

• MCAT test

• Application

• personal essay

• must do interviews to get in

 

What made you choose that career/pathway?

 I’ve always been interested in science, and I’ve always wanted to help people on a daily basis. My family and I had a bad experience in the emergency room when my sister in law had a miscarriage. I was a freshman in high school and served as the interpreter for my family. There was a lot of delay and a lack of care. The nurses would say that the OBGYN doctor was coming (he was driving in from a house that was supposedly 10 minutes away), but hours would go by and we would not see the doctor. My sister in law was finally seen by a physician five hours later. I was upset at how my family was being treated. I wanted to learn more about the medical system and how hospitals are run to not only protect my family but everyone who needs medical care.

 

What is one thing that made Stanford choose you over somebody else?

 I think that Stanford looks for people who have a passion for something, people who have their own ideas and have an idea of what they want to achieve. Stanford is especially looking for people who are motivated both inside and outside the classroom. They value entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators who are proactively involved in the field they will go into whether it is starting a company, building new technologies, doing cutting edge research in a lab, etc. I think I stood out and showed dedication to the field of medicine by doing research in delivery of anticancer medications at the Scripps Research Institute and volunteering over a thousand hours in the local intensive care unit as a nurse’s aide in high school.    

 

Anthropology pros

It is very broad, encompassing the study of social theories and philosophies as well as genetics, cultural norms, ethnographies, archeology, etc. It made me think on a more global scale and gain appreciation of people with different perspectives than me. There was a lot of writing involved, so I was able to develop my writing skills and style which has helped tremendously with personal statements as well as publications in scientific journals. People in anthropology go into a wide variety of careers: law, medicine, education, research, artists, philosophers, you name it. Anthropology develops your critical thinking skills and gets you to question/ think about why people behave the way they do across cultures and millennia. It’s a great major if you’re planning to go onto other degrees like J.D, M.D., PhD, etc.

 

Human biology pros

I got to learn more about the scientific side of human nature.  There is a lot of problem solving and putting puzzle pieces together in biology. The lessons I learned have been invaluable for medical school and shape the way I think about disease not only within cells, tissues, bodies but on the macro level as well in terms of villages, communities, cities, countries, and globally.   

 

Cons of both majors

 Anthropology is not very practical in terms of giving you specific skills to get a job right after getting a bachelor’s degree. You don’t for example get programming skills to work on computers right after college.  The ideas are philosophical and intellectual. It's hard to apply for a job in the business world or the tech world on a daily basis. Human Biology majors tend to go into medicine, lab research or public health or policy. Human Biology is also not a ‘skills’ based major.