Medical School Admissions Consulting Services

Carleen

In the five years that she has been a consultant for Kaplan, she has assisted applicants who have received acceptances to top optometry, medical and dental schools. While many applicants apply upon, or soon after, receiving their undergraduate degrees, others have worked in another profession for some time and are pursuing their deferred dreams of becoming a dentist or physician. As a successful applicant to medical school, Dr. Carleen Eaton understands the concerns that applicants have at the primary, secondary and interview phases of the school application process. As a consultant, Carleen assists applicants in highlighting their strengths and developing a list of schools that fit their backgrounds and interests. Receiving news about acceptances from clients with whom she has worked with is greatly rewarding, and she looks forward to assisting future applicants in achieving their goals.

Carleen has been an instructor at Kaplan since 1999, and specializes in teaching courses for premedical students preparing for the MCAT, pre-dental students preparing for the DAT, and nursing graduates studying for the R.N. licensure exam. In both 2004 and 2005, she received the "Teacher of the Year" Award at the Pasadena, California Kaplan Center and continues to teach extensively in the Los Angeles area. In addition, she trains newly hired instructors and conducts information seminars for pre-medical and nursing students at colleges and universities.

Carleen received her B.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from UCLA and her medical degree from The UCLA School of Medicine. As an undergraduate, she received departmental honors for her senior honors thesis investigating virulence genes in Y. enterocolitica. She was also awarded a competitive President's Undergraduate Fellowship to support this thesis project. Prior to entering medical school, Carleen worked as a research assistant at the Los Angeles VA Medical Center in a laboratory conducting studies in the area of infectious diseases. In addition to her acceptance at UCLA, she was offered admission at numerous medical schools including Stanford, USC and Creighton University. While at The UCLA School of Medicine, she was awarded a Letter of Distinction in biochemistry. After completing her medical degree, Carleen received training in pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles from 1998 through 1999.

Read Carleen's blog.

Houman

While earning his MD/PhD degree Houman researched the role of stem cells in human brain tumors. He holds a degree in biological sciences from Stanford University, where he worked on bone marrow stem cells. Houman is a reviewing editor of the medical school admissions guidebook entitled Get Into Medical School: A Strategic Approach, and has been a regular speaker at schools across the country regarding medical school admissions.

Vairavan

Vairavan received his M.D. with honors from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where he was a full voting member on the admissions committee for three years; he screened hundreds of applications, conducted numerous student interviews, and participated in selection committee meetings with faculty members.

Vairavan is especially experienced at helping non-traditional applicants who are making a career change or have been out of school for a while. Vairavan also has assisted students with applications and interviews for Canadian medical schools, public health schools, and osteopathic schools.

His clients have been accepted by top medical schools such as Johns Hopkins, Washington University in St. Louis, Baylor, UT-Southwestern, Columbia, Cornell, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Ohio State, Dartmouth, and numerous other private and public schools.

In addition to consulting for Kaplan, Vairavan is a surgical resident at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Claudia

Claudia completed residency training in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health at University Hospital, State University of New York at Stony Brook, School of Medicine and was awarded her M.P.H. degree concurrently from Columbia University. She completed a subspecialty NIH fellowship in Medical Genetics at UCLA, where she trained in clinical genetics (prenatal, pediatric, and adult) and researched the genetic epidemiology of chronic diseases.

A diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, a member of the American College of Medical Genetics, and author of the textbook "Public Health Genomics: The Essentials", she is an instructor at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine and at UCLA Extension, where she also provides career counseling to her pre -health professions students (including those interested in medicine, public health, dentistry, pharmacy, and optometry). She also practices clinically.

At Kaplan, Claudia has enabled college students and non-traditional applicants to gain admission to their top choice schools. As a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton University, with experience as a Princeton Regional Alumni Interviewer, Claudia offers expert insights into the admissions process of highly selective schools, from what makes a powerful personal essay to how to shine at your interview.

Ellen

With ten years of experience directing the admissions program at the School of Dental Medicine at Harvard, Ellen gained tremendous insight into the application process as well as the ability to identify desirable applicants for admission. Her work in this role included reviewing applications, screening candidates for interview, conducting welcome sessions and interviews, and managing and directing the entire admissions committee process. As a result, Ellen has an insider's understanding of specific attributes that admissions committee members are seeking in their selection of a medical or dental student.

At Harvard, Ellen also had the chance to view the application process from the student's perspective. As Associate Dean for Students, she was responsible for advising students on program selection and helping them with the creation of essays and resumes for their postdoctoral program applications. The vast majority of her students were admitted to specialty programs or general practice residencies, and the vast majority of these students were accepted to the program of their first choice. Ellen can provide this level of expertise in the medical or dental school application process as well.

After college, Ellen attended Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where she earned a DMD, magna cum laude, graduating at the top of her class. Remaining at Harvard for specialty training, she was awarded certification in Periodontology, as well as an NIH Research Training Grant that culminated in an MMSc in Oral Biology.

In addition to consulting for Kaplan, Ellen teaches a required course at Harvard Medical School, called "Patient Doctor Relationships," in which first year students learn how to interview patients and take a medical history.

Jack

After 36 years as a professor of Biology at York College of CUNY, Jack retired in January 2007. For about 30 of those years, he had been the chief pre-med advisor, and is continuing in that role on a P/T basis. In that capacity Professor Schlein: advises students on their courses; works with students on their applications; does interview preparation; coordinates a committee letter of recommendation and runs a premed group with guest speakers and other activities. He has also nominated over a dozen successful applicants for the prestigious Salk Scholarship given to CUNY students accepted to medical school who have shown exceptional promise in research. Working as a Kaplan Admissions Consultant, he has perfected the "wisdom" he has accumulated over these many years.

Jack has had a great deal of experience with a very diverse population of students and have seen them go on to the finest medical schools in the country including Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Albert Einstein and many others.

Heather — 2007 Medical Consultant of the Year

Heather's clients have been accepted to top-tier US News and World Report clinical and research schools including Harvard, Duke, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Vermont. Since joining Kaplan, Heather has helped traditional and nontraditional medical school applicants develop personalized strategic plans for admission. Her professional consulting advice has been sought by reapplicants that can vouch for the difference she makes. Having graduated from an AMCAS school and then having interviewed students for admissions at a TMDSAS school, Heather is able to provide counsel for applying to all US medical schools. She has also helped students gain acceptance to premedical postbaccalaureate programs and to osteopathic schools. Heather's experience as a published creative writer has helped many a client to conquer writer's block. She has given seminars throughout the United States on writing personal statements and interviewing.

Prior to coming to Kaplan, Heather practiced surgical pathology at the world's largest medical center in Houston, Texas. Heather not only interviewed for medical admissions, she was the director of her residency program and selected residents from the match for her program. Subsequently, she knows how important the medical school experience is for gaining acceptance to an elite residency training program. Heather was one of twelve pathology residents in the country selected for a competitive fellowship in diagnostic surgical pathology at the number one ranked M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Tom

Tom is one of the most experienced admissions experts in the country. Prior to his retirement from full time admissions work Tom served as the chief admissions officer at four different medical schools. He began his admissions career in 1968 the first admissions officer at the brand new University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He stayed at UCONN for five years and then moved to Philadelphia where he served as Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at the Hahnemann Medical College (Now part of Drexel University). Tom was recruited to The University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1975 where he was Director of Admissions and Assistant Director of Student Affairs and Curriculum. Tom left Iowa in 1998 to join Kaplan as Director of Academic Services, Prehealth Sciences and for the next two years he toured the country presenting the popular seminar series "The Inside Scoop on Medical School Admissions" to student groups on over 85 college campuses located in 29 states and Canada. While visiting these locations he held office hours to help individual Kaplan students with questions on the application process. Tom is a co-author of Kaplan's "Medical School Admissions Advisor" and its successor, "Get Into Medical School — A Strategic Approach". Tom returned to the academic world in 2000 when he was named Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, now part of the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

During his long career, Tom estimates that he has reviewed over 60,000 medical school applications and has read at least 200,000 letters of recommendation. He has interviewed more applicants than he can count and has trained hundreds of admissions committee members and interviewers.

Tom was a national leader in the area of medical school admissions. He served as Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges National Committee on Admissions where he helped oversee the national admissions process. He was elected to leadership positions in professional admissions and student affairs organizations, has been a consultant to medical and graduate school admissions offices, and has been called on as an expert witness in legal cases involving admission to medical school. He served on the faculty of several training workshops for medical school admissions officers and helped develop the curriculum for those workshops. Tom has been an invited speaker for national and regional medical education groups such as the Association of American Medical Colleges, The National Association of Advisors to the Health Professions, Alpha Epsilon Delta, and others.

Janani

At the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Janani was named a Dean's Scholar and received a four-year, full-tuition merit scholarship. In 2008, she was accepted into her #1 residency program in internal medicine/preventive medicine, located in San Francisco, California.

At University of Michigan, she served for multiple years as an involved member of the medical school admissions committee. Based on her dedication to admissions work, she was selected to act as a voting member on the executive admissions committee. Janani has carefully evaluated the applications of and personally interviewed over 100 candidates from a variety of undergraduate schools, gaining specific insight into the winning components of medical school applications. She has also served as a mentor and adviser to high school and college students, serving as a speaker at various pre-medical forums and open houses.

Janani completed her undergraduate training in economics, public policy and international studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX and the London School of Economics, where her education was fully funded by the merit-based President's Scholarship. Before entering medical school, she worked as an investment banker and analyst in New York City. She was accepted to several top-tier medical schools with over $200,000 in scholarship funding. Janani is an avid writer and has worked as a Kaplan MCAT teacher and tutor, with over 9 years' experience reviewing essays, tutoring and mentoring students of a variety of backgrounds.

Yama

Yama completed a combined dual-degree (MD and PhD) program known as the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of California in Irvine in 2006, and is currently a resident physician at UCLA Medical Center. He received acceptance to many medical schools, including the top ranked medical school in his region, the University of California at San Francisco. He chose to pursue the combined MD and PhD program at the University of California at Irvine, where he received a National Institutes of Health fully-funded fellowship and stipend for the duration of the dual-degree program. He traveled and presented his research at national and international scientific conferences, and achieved various publications in scientific journals.

Kris

Kris is an expert in the field of health care administration, often advising individuals who are interested in the management and policy aspects of health care, either in addition to medical school or as a stand-alone professional interest. Kris serves on the Gateway Council, an affiliate of the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP). Kris also is an Advisory Board Member for the Center for International Medical Activities, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University. She is a member of the Northeast Association of Advisors to the Health Professions (NEAAHP) and the Northeast Association of PreLaw Advisors (NAPLA). Kris is a board-certified Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE), and is a past member of ACHE's Empire Regent's Advisory Council.

Kris earned a graduate degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, concentrating in health care policy and administration. Kris spent her "first career" as a hospital and health care executive, holding senior posts in academic medical centers, and teaching hospitals/academic affiliates. Her most recent health care executive position was senior vice-president of an academic teaching hospital. In 2000, Kris accepted her first full-time position in academia. At Cornell University, she was the program administrator for the Sloan Graduate Program in Health Administration, where, among other things, she chaired its admissions committee, and frequently advised premedical students. Kris also served as a member of Cornell's Cooperative Extension Work Team for Rural Health, and was a member of Cornell's Policy Institute in Washington, DC. Additionally, she served as a member of Cornell's Board on University Health. Since 2005, Kris's full time work has focused on advising students interested in careers in medicine and related health careers.