Kayla Hall’s Last Stand

Undergraduate: Pepperdine University 
Major: Sports Medicine 
Track: Health Equity Track
Future Health Profession: M.D. 
Health Profession School: UC Davis School of Medicine 

For Kayla Hall, the UC Davis Health Professions Post-Baccalaureate Program was her final attempt at overcoming past academic struggles and confirming her dreams of becoming a doctor. 

“Because I struggled with my classes in undergrad, I lacked confidence in my abilities to become a doctor. I felt like I just wasn’t smart enough or able to get the concepts because it wasn’t supposed to be my path in life,” said Kayla. “The UC Davis Post-Bac was my last chance to prove to myself that I can handle a high science workload and be successful in medical school.” 

Today, Kayla is a medical student at the UC Davis School of Medicine. 

Looking back at how she got here, Kayla said that not knowing how to study efficiently and effectively for the MCAT led her to consider a post-bac program in her senior year of undergrad. 

“I tried a do-it-yourself post-bac but because of the lack of advising and structure it was really hard to be successful,” she said. “I was really excited when I learned about UC Davis Health Professions Post-Bac because I felt like I finally had someone to guide me on how to apply to medical school.” 

Here, Kayla reflects on her experience in the program and how it helped her get to where she is today. 

What were your goals going into the Health Professions Post-Bac at UC Davis and how did the program help you achieve them? 

My number one goal was to prove to myself that I can be successful in medical school. The program helped me accomplish this with all the individual personalized advising. They also had a lot of sessions on how to study using different techniques that I still use today in medical school. 

What did you find most valuable about the program? 

I think the most valuable thing I got out of the program was just the guidance. Having a team of knowledgeable people who 100% support you and your goal was beneficial and helped me regain my confidence. 

How did you find the advising and test preparation? Can you provide a specific example of the value they provided? 

Another one of my goals was to pass the MCAT. Before this program, I had taken the MCAT three times, and it just was a hot mess. I would get so stressed out that I had anxiety attacks before my MCAT day. One of the best things I learned from the post-bac program was how I was studying, just doing the eight hours a day for three months, was not working for me. Having Doug [the test prep specialist] help create a calendar that helped organize small pieces of studying every single day for a whole year really gave me the confidence I needed to go in and crush the test. 

What was your cohort experience like, and how did you benefit from your classmates? 

I loved my cohort. Everyone was so awesome. Coming from a pre-med background, people can be very competitive and cutthroat. That is not what I experienced in this program. Everyone was super supportive and encouraging, and we all wanted each other to be successful. 

How did your school application process go? 

My application cycle went really well. It’s a very intense process but it was made a lot easier being able to lean on advisors throughout that whole year for general advice, corrections on my applications, interviewing pointers and encouragement. 

What track did you choose and why? And how did the experience help you? 

I chose the community service track, where I was able to volunteer at La Familia. That was such a great experience, not only because it was something I got to talk about for my extracurriculars on my application but also because I had never worked with a population that was different than mine. Being in a predominantly Spanish-speaking community helped me grow and become a more culturally aware person. 

What advice do you have for others considering a post-bac program? 

Do the post-bac program at UC Davis. You get advising, access to college classes taught by medical school professors, MCAT preparation and application help. And the advising goes beyond your one year in the program.