16-03-2012 15:26 The Envelope Please: Match Day 2012, UC San Diego School of Medicine For thousands of medical students across the country, including 119 students from UC San Diego School of Medicine, the contents of an envelope opened Friday, March 16, 2012, revealed the hospital and city where they will pursue their next step toward becoming a doctor. On Match Day, medical students nationwide simultaneously learn the results of their applications to medical residency programs — a process that starts for most at the beginning of the final year of medical school. UC San Diego School of Medicine is ranked 16 in the nation among research-intensive schools of medicine in the 2013 edition of US News Media Group’s America’s Best Graduate Schools 119 future doctors, each with their own story. Here is one: Melanie Aiken is a 41-year-old, single mother of three daughters (ages 7, 12 and 14). “I think if I had applied 10 or 15 years ago to medical school, I might not have been so well-received. But the profession is changing. The doctors and professors at school are more appreciative these days of the life experience that older students can bring to the table.” Aiken has long dreamed of this moment. Born in Chula Vista, she grew up in Sacramento and graduated high school valedictorian at age 16. “I always wanted to go to medical school, but life was tough when I was young. My mother and I struggled. We were practically destitute.” So Aiken eventually pursued careers as a physical therapist and as …

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