Lily Bice
"As a first generation student with no relatives in a health profession, SHPEP taught me everything about being a pre-med."
Ms. Bice attended SHPEP in 2018 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She graduated from UAB with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a Master of Science in Graduate Biomedical Science. She is currently taking a gap year before applying to medical school.
Lily Bice
What path did you take when you first started college?
I went to a community college for one semester after high school and decided it wasn’t for me. I took a few years off to work and eventually chose to return to school. I studied at a community college part time for two years while I continued working full time. In 2018, I transferred to a university, and as of 2022, I have my associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, and master’s degree. I’m now taking a gap year before applying to medical school.
What led to your interest in a health profession?
I have always had my eye on medicine. Veterinary medicine was my dream up until I took human anatomy my junior year of high school. Taking that class sparked my interest in learning more about how the human body works. Now, I can’t imagine myself in any other career.
What obstacles did you overcome in your educational or career journey?
Failing my first semester of college torpedoed my GPA and made me have to work even harder to prove myself as an applicant. I persevered and ended up graduating with a 3.70 undergraduate GPA and a 4.00 graduate GPA!
What are some of your recent milestones?
Graduating in April 2022 with both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees and being awarded my associate’s degree in post.
How did SHPEP influence you?
I gained invaluable insight into the application process including how to study for the MCAT, how important volunteering, shadowing, and leadership hours are, how the application cycle opens a year before matriculation, etc. SHPEP also opened my eyes to health fields I had never known about and helped show me which fields I am or am not interested in. I have recommended SHPEP to every pre-med I know!
What advice do you have for students pursuing a health professional career.
Begin early! Your undergraduate years will be tough, but I can’t put enough emphasis on starting your volunteering, shadowing, and leadership experiences ASAP. Also, if you’re a pre-med, look into the AMCAS fee assistance program. I didn’t think I’d qualify, but I applied and was accepted! I now have tons of free MCAT study materials and will be able to apply to 20 schools for free!