Why most pre-med students blend in – and what top applicants do instead
Curious about what actually makes a pre-med profile stand out?
Join Dr. Jorge Avila, Assistant Director at UCLA’s Undergraduate Research Centers, on 14th May 2026 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET on Zoom. This session will break down what top colleges look for beyond GPA and volunteering, what distinguishes strong pre-med applicants, how students can begin engaging with scientific work even without prior experience, and how early research exposure can translate into more compelling college applications.
Join Dr. Jorge Avila, Assistant Director at UCLA’s Undergraduate Research Centers, on 14th May 2026 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET on Zoom. This session will break down what top colleges look for beyond GPA and volunteering, what distinguishes strong pre-med applicants, how students can begin engaging with scientific work even without prior experience, and how early research exposure can translate into more compelling college applications.
Register now
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Turn your pre-med interest into a college app that stands out!
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from a UCLA research leader and gain expert insight into how top colleges assess pre-med applicants.
You will learn:
01
Why most pre-med profiles look identical, and where they fall short
02
What meaningful scientific work actually looks like at the high school level
03
How to move from passive exposure (shadowing, volunteering) to active contribution
04
How strong applicants turn early academic work into a clear, credible narrative for college
Learn from
proven mentors
About the speaker:
Dr. Jorge Avila is the Assistant Director at UCLA’s Undergraduate Research Centers, where he leads programs that support underrepresented students in STEM research. With a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience/Psychology and postdoctoral work at Rutgers, he brings extensive experience in neuroscience, substance abuse research, and collaborative scientific projects. Dr. Avila has published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at major conferences, and specializes in developing innovative research methodologies in neuroscience.
About the speaker:
Chris Haley is a Harvard University graduate with over five years of experience as a professional college counsellor. He has guided students through hundreds of successful applications to top U.S. universities, including the Ivy League, MIT, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC. Chris also has a strong track record of helping students gain admission to elite summer and research programs such as USC SHINE, LaunchX, UCIxGATI BEAM, and COSMOS. In addition, he has mentored students preparing for prestigious STEM competitions like the AMC10 and the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO).
How Indigo Research works
Indigo Research mentors high school students to produce exceptional, publishable research. With a curriculum designed by Harvard and Oxford graduates, students work with top university faculty or PhD fellows, building intellectual depth and boosting their academic profile.
Our students achieve real outcomes – journal publications, competition wins, and admissions to the world’s leading universities. Indigo students have a 33% Ivy League acceptance rate – over three times the global average – and a 22% acceptance rate to Oxford and Cambridge.
