Meet Our Medical School Admissions Team!

An MD herself - Dr. Paschall deeply understands the “pre health journey” having successfully navigated the process herself as well as the dual MD/PhD pathway . She holds an MD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and two PhDs from Wake Forest University—one in Physiology, the other in Pharmacology - as well as a master’s degree in education.

Proven Success:

Additionally, as the Director of Healthcare Admissions at a R1/D1 university, Anita more than doubled their students’ acceptance rates - taking the program from sub 40% acceptance rates to over 85%!!!

She has counseled more than 20,000 applicants - helping them achieve their own acceptance goals - and is highly regarded and well known by the medical school and healthcare communities. At The Princeton Review - in addition to serving as the National Director of Medical and Healthcare Admissions Counseling - as our most highly regarded admissions expert - over the past four years - she maintained a 100% acceptance rate among her clients who followed her guidance and received interviews - acceptances across all healthcare disciplines, international and MD/PhD applicants - including top tier schools across the country such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, Hopkins and more!

Personal & Professional Background:

As a second-generation Sicilian/Cherokee Indian, first-generation college student and former D1 college athlete who worked throughout her own collegiate career as burn tech/MA to support herself financially - Anita has a strong understanding of the hurdles and barriers today’s applicant’s often face and how to maximize these! She is well versed in creating and cultivating each applicant’s unique “Brand”- to achieve that most coveted “A” for Acceptance.

With her background in primary care and reproductive health, Dr. Paschall has also spent a large portion of her medical career engaged in healthcare research initiatives. With the USAID and Family Health International she leveraged her medical background to help develop contraceptive and STD prevention initiatives around the world including her involvement in designing the first HPV vaccine trials that led to the development of the Gardasil vaccine. She also spent 8 years conducting sports medicine research for NASCAR.

In addition to her excellence in mentoring the next generations of healthcare providers, Dr. Paschall has also successfully launched and run startup ventures including - a prehealth software mentoring program, was a partner in a successful custom home building company, an exotic pet store, and a MadScience franchise. Also, in addition to English, Dr. Paschall speaks six other languages.

 

Family/Interests/Hobbies:

Anita and her husband, who teaches school on base at Camp Lejeune, live on the water in a tiny fishing community on the NC coast. Anita spends most of her free time saltwater fishing (spin and fly) with her husband and their two Shetland Sheepdogs - Sadie Jo and Whiskey Charlie. She starts her mornings with 4–5-mile runs, meditation, and yoga. She is also a huge sports fan including football, baseball, college basketball and premier league soccer. Her adult children are also healthcare providers in NC.

After earning his PhD in Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Morano became a medical school counselor at an MD program in NC. In this role, he supported current medical students and guided prospective medical students toward admission. He later became a director and then Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at one of the most competitive dental schools in the nation. This role required extensive admissions work, student counseling, recruiting, teaching, and curricular design, guiding faculty and students in their respective endeavors. By the time Dr. Morano joined us at The Princeton Review, he had worked with, taught, recruited, directed, and inspired students for more than 20 years.

Now, with over 26 years’ experience in admissions and student affairs at Research I/Division I schools, Dr. Morano has been and remains dedicated to student success. As a college football player and Division I football coach, he uses his thorough knowledge of higher education and wide experience on the field to coach students through honest, accurate, and timely feedback. “My goal is to help applicants achieve their dreams!” Dr. Morano said in a recent interview.

Working with over 12,000 students in his career, Dr. Morano has led, organized, and executed admissions programs, orientations, skill building, and writing workshops. An excellent public speaker, Dr. Morano has spoken at national conferences on unconscious bias, improving interpersonal interactions, and developing interview skills. He has been able to bring these skills to The Princeton Review where his students have reported feeling incredibly well prepared for their medical school and dental school interviews.

In his free time, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife of 26 years and two college-age sons, visiting the beach and the mountains of North Carolina, and loves to cook.

Throughout her career, Joy has demonstrated exceptional skills in program management, admissions, student advisement, and community outreach for both allopathic and osteopathic schools. Her ability to create and implement effective processes, manage data, and build relationships with students, faculty, and partners has been key to her success.

With expertise working in admissions for both allopathic and osteopathic programs, she has advised over 9,000 traditional and non-traditional students for a variety of health-related programs. Many continue to seek advice through professional school and beyond. She has organized and implemented admissions processes for medical school and post-baccalaureate programs as well as chaired and administered admissions and recommendation letter writing committees.

Joy’s dedication to health professions advising and her passion for helping traditional and non-traditional students achieve their goals make her a valuable asset to The Princeton Review. Her extensive experience, combined with her commitment to excellence, ensures that she will continue to make a positive impact as a Medical School Admissions Expert.

In her free time, Joy enjoys volunteering, the visual arts, dance, and spending time with her family, friends, and dogs.

While completing a master’s in student affairs in higher education at Texas State University, Amanda worked in both that school’s admissions counseling center and in the Health Professions Office at The University of Texas at Austin. The child of a military family, she grew up in New Jersey and Virginia, majoring in health sciences at James Madison University.

In her free time, Amanda enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, friends, and two dogs.