High School

Senior Accepted into medical school

Clarissa Chen (Class of 2024) was accepted into the highly competitive and prestigious Guaranteed Professional Program Admissions (aka GPPA) for medical students, a program with a 5-10% acceptance rate. As a GPPA student, Clarissa not only secured admission to the pre-med undergraduate program, but also guaranteed a spot in medical school at UIC! The graduate application for med school is so rigorous that many pre-med students take a gap year to reach the qualifications. GPPA eliminates this process for Clarissa; she’s already in!

Clarissa took advantage of every opportunity that Timothy Christian High School offered — from taking AP classes to getting involved in clubs and sports, and playing in the orchestra. But perhaps one of the most important moments during her high school career was her internship at Northwestern Hospital in Winfield. She had the opportunity to shadow in different departments, including pediatrics, cardiology, and post-surgery recovery. But it was in the emergency room where she felt a spark. The internship had a profound and lasting impact on her. She knew she had to commit to medicine. 

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