AURORA | Yasmine Dakhama didn’t have a lot of time to think about applying to medical school.
Last year, Dakhama was finishing up the first semester of her senior year at Overland High School. She’d already been accepted to the University of Colorado Denver when she found out about a combined degree program between the school’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the CU School of Medicine. A group of 10 students would be accepted on a straight track to medical school.
And Dakhama only had days to apply.
“From there, I worked every night. I edited my paper at least 15 times,” said Dakhama, who’s now finishing her first year at UCD as part of the prestigious BA/BS-MD program. “It was after this really difficult week of exams that were back-to-back.”
The short deadline didn’t end up derailing Dakhama’s chances. She was one of four Aurora high school students to be accepted into the 2012 cohort of bachelor’s/medical degree students in the young program. Now in its fourth year, the competitive joint degree program drew more than 100 applicants last year. Less than 50 made it to the interview stage, and only 10 were accepted.
The official deadline for students looking to make it into the freshman class of 2014 is Nov. 12, but the practical cutoff is closer to Oct. 21, according to university officials. Because applicants have to go through the standard CU application process, they need a three-week window.
But as the deadline nears for students to apply to be in the next group of fast-tracked medical students, Dakhama insists that all hope is not lost for prospective candidates. Dakhama’s own decision came at the last minute, but it ended up offering a sense of purpose and a lifelong direction.
“All hope is not lost, trust me,” Dakhama said. “I thought it was. I was contacting the school and I was actually having difficulties through the tech department.”
Those hurdles were temporary. Dakhama joined students from Smoky Hill and Aurora Central high schools in the program’s fourth group of students. Dakhama, 18, is now finishing up her first semester at college and dealing with a demanding class load that includes honors chemistry, biology and calculus classes. None of the students in the relatively young joint-degree program have moved on to the CU School of Medicine in Aurora (that will happen next fall), and the third- and fourth-year peers have offered important moral support.
“They are people to look up to,” Dakhama said. “If you’re ever having a bad day, they’re very motivational.”
Dakhama said she’s ready to play that role for the next group of future medical students next fall. For now, she’s content in encouraging prospective candidates to hurry up and turn in their applications.
“There are a billion resources,” she said of her new life as a college student. “You’ll never feel alone.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com