This 19-year-old double-major, already accepted into medical school, knows a little something about the pursuit of excellence.

John-Marc Austin ’17 of Chicopee may only be 19 years old, but he’s a biology and psychology double major, a bioethics minor, scored in the 92nd percentile on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and has a 3.96 GPA.

Oh, and he’s also been accepted to the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester – he starts in the fall of 2017 – and works at least 20 hours a week as an instructor with Kaplan Test Prep, helping other college students and graduate school students prepare for their MCATs.

“I’ve always recognized that education is a privilege,” John-Marc said of his academic focus at such an early age. “I always wanted to make the most out of education and learn as much as I possibly could.”

He credits his Elms experience for helping him get into his first choice, UMass Medical School, which accepts less than four percent of applicants.

“I think what really made the difference, at least in the interview at UMass, was the way Elms fostered my critical thinking skills,” John-Marc said. That meant he was prepared for the broad questions he got during the interviews, such as his opinion on national health care strategies.

His passion for helping the underserved is also something that he thinks UMass found attractive.

“I think the Catholic values of Elms really tied in well with their mission and made me stand out as an applicant,” he said.

John-Marc starts his medical school career on August 2 and receives his white coat in a ceremony in September.