Bronx graduate celebrates acceptance to 18 medical schools

Getting into medical school is an enormous accomplishment for anyone - but one Bronx student says she has been accepted into a whopping 18 programs.
Ashley Brown, 24, recently graduated from Fordham University and has been dreaming of becoming a doctor since she was a child.
"I went home to my parents and told them, 'I'm going to be a cardiothoracic surgeon one day,' and they're like, 'Uhh, OK!,'" Brown says.
With her 18 acceptances, she is one step closer to becoming the first doctor in her family. She recently completed Fordham's post-baccalaureate pre-med program, which specializes in students who are transitioning from a different career or area of study.
Andi Marais, an associate dean at Fordham, says that students coming into the program come from a variety of fields, ranging from people who were artists, business people or lawyers, who decide that want to go into medicine.
"It's a beautiful thing to see someone reinvent themselves this way," Marais says.
But not every story shares the success that Brown found.
The Association of American Medical Colleges says that almost 100,000 students applied to medical school for this upcoming school year, and less than half of applicants are accepted on average yearly.
For Brown, she found success thanks to her support system.
"You've got to ask for help, and be OK with asking for help," she says. "Between my mom, my sisters, my partner - has been huge in helping me out."
She documented her application process on YouTube in the hope that her story will help other Bronx medical school hopefuls.
"We're limited by what we've seen, and if you don't see people in medicine, you think maybe that's not in the cards for me. But it definitely is," she says.
Out of all of her acceptances, Brown decided to stay in the city and attend Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine