Darlene draws on her medical research background and admissions success to mentor students during the admissions process, encouraging them to frame their academic passions and professional goals into compelling essays and applications that stand out. She believes that students are more than just their scores and specializes in framing applications that holistically represents her students.

Location:
Fresno, California

Education:
Resident, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)- Fresno
DO, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
BS, Human Biology, University of California, San Diego

Bio:
A counselor with Moon Prep, Darlene partners with students to strengthen their overall academic profile, encouraging them to frame their passions and experiences into original essays that convince and inspire. Throughout her college career, Darlene has participated in circadian rhythms research at UCSD, dermatology immunology research at The Scripps Research Institute, radiology clinical research at the UCSD Medical Center, and biotechnology entrepreneurship. During her gap years, she spent time working as a medical assistant and helped start up a telehealth platform that was one of the first existing platforms prior to COVID-19. In medical school, she mentored underrepresented premedical students through several programs. She has led and published several studies and is active in her research endeavors.

Alongside her mentoring at Moon Prep, Darlene completed her medical degree at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is currently completing her training as a family medicine resident physician at UCSF- Fresno. With her first-hand experience and years of successful guidance for medical school admissions, Darlene understands the journey to medical school can be confusing and often overwhelming. As a result, she looks forward to advising aspiring physicians on the helpful tips and proven techniques she learned to make the process less stressful and more rewarding. With an extensive background in research, she also guides prospective medical students in selecting the right opportunities to allow their resumes to truly stand out. Darlene has experience guiding students applying to not only BS/MD programs and allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, but also traditional four-year colleges. She has worked with students with special needs, such as developmental delay and ADHD, who have garnered BS/MD acceptances.

Darlene is particularly passionate about helping students stand out from the pack through extracurricular activities, hands-on learning, meaningful internships, and research opportunities. She is specialized in brainstorming, personal statement and secondary essay editing, and medical school reapplications. As an BS/MD and medical school interview expert, she enjoys training students crafting their answers through effective answer structures and personalized feedback.

Student Placements:

Darlene has helped countless students secure admission at some of the most competitive medical schools, BS/MD and BS/DO Programs. A few of her recent acceptances include: 

Traditional Schools:

1. Boston University 
2. Brown University
3. Duke University
4. Vanderbilt University
5. Cornell University
6. University of Georgia (scholarship)
7. Georgia Tech University
8. University of Arizona (with scholarship)
9. University of Pittsburgh- Honors 
10. Drexel University- STAR Program
11. University of California, Irvine 
12. University of California, San Diego
13. University of California, Los Angeles
14. University of California, Berkeley
15. Case Western

BS/MD Programs: 

1. Case Western Reserve University
2. University of Pittsburgh 
3. University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) 
4. University of Connecticut
5. University of Tulsa
6. University of Alabama Birmingham 
7. University of Oklahoma Medical Humanities Scholars Program
8. New Jersey Medical School partnered programs: TCNJ, NJIT, Stevens, Drew
9. University of Rochester REMS Program
10. Boston University
11. Tulane University
12. The University of Illinois at Chicago GPPA
13. University of Central Florida
14. Colorado University – Denver
15. Virginia Commonwealth University (BS/MD and BS/DDS)
16. Drexel University 
17. University of Cincinnati 
18. Albany Medical College Partnered Schools: Siena College, Union College, Renesslaer Institute of Technology
19. St. Louis University 
20. Penn State
21. University of Toledo 
22. Rutgers-Camden 
23. Creighton Pathway 
24. Seton Hall University
25. Albion University (Interview Invite) 
26. ACPHS/ SUNY Upstate University (Interview Invite) 
27. W&J/Temple (Interview Invite) 
28. UC Merced/ UCSF (Interview Invite) 

BS/DO Programs:

1. Nova Southeastern University
2. New York Institute of Technology
3. Lake Erie College Osteopathic Medicine
4. Missouri Southern State University 

Medical School:

1. Dartmouth College- Geisel School of Medicine
2. Tufts University
3. University of Southern California
4. University of Houston
5. Iowa Carver School of Medicine
6. Albany Medical College
7. California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine
8. LECOM
9. Georgetown (Interview Invite)
10. Rush Medical College (Interview)
11. University of Texas Medical Branch (Interview Invite)
12. University California of San Diego (UCSD) (Interview Invite)
13. AT Still University- SOMA (Interview Invite)
14. Western University (Interview Invite)
15. Touro University- California (Interview Invite)
16. Rowan University (MD) (Interview Invite)
17. California University of Science and Medicine School of Medicine (CUSM-SOM) (Interview Invite)
18. Wayne State University (Interview Invite)
19. Kansas City University- College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM) (Interview Invite)
20. Western Michigan University (Interview Invite)