Lydia Payton scores among top 1 percent on MCAT

2017 Nov 15

University of Dayton student Lydia Payton of Prospect, KY, was one of the roughly 70,000 students who took the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) in 2017. But scoring in the 99th percentile, this Flyer stands out among medical school student hopefuls.

In preparation for the exam, she took Kaplan courses, invented her own study methods and relied heavily on notes from the classroom.

"I think the most beneficial thing I did was take the hardest classes and teachers available. By doing this, I learned the material best in the moment rather than having to teach myself important concepts later on," Payton said.

Kathleen Scheltens, director of the pre-med program, said the score makes Payton attractive to the most competitive medical school programs. Of course, schools focus on "holistic" applications, so students also need a strong GPA, excellent co-curricular experiences and a good orientation to medicine/healthcare, Scheltens said.

Payton always thought she would major in art. Her grandfather taught visual art and art history at the University of Louisville and his paintings were always on display in her childhood home. It wasn't until she had hands on experience volunteering that she had known she found her calling.

"After I started shadowing and volunteering at a hospital, I realized I could make a more physical and daily impact in the lives of others through medicine rather than art," Payton said.

Payton is unsure of where she will attend medical school as the interview process is still moving forward, but being a part of the top 1 percent doesn't hurt her chances of landing the school of her choice.