August Culbert was born and raised in New York City. He graduated with honors from the University of Chicago with a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry. While in college, he conducted research in cancer immunotherapy and nanoscale metal-organic frameworks. He was also captain of his collegiate rowing team and served as a teaching assistant and peer tutor for organic chemistry and biology, igniting his passion for education and mentorship.
After graduating, August completed a year of service with City Year AmeriCorps, where he taught sixth grade science and math in New Orleans at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this year, he further developed his teaching expertise as an MCAT instructor with Kaplan Test Prep and as a private tutor specializing in SAT, ACT, and medical school preparation. His students have gone on to prestigious institutions such as the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Case Western Reserve University.
Currently, August is a fourth-year medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine on a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has excelled academically in his pre-clinical studies and achieved honors on all his core clinical clerkships. He scored a 264 on USMLE Step 2 CK. As a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, he is conducting computational modeling research to assess infection risk and severity in pediatric leukemia patients treated with CAR T-cell therapy while completing a master of science degree in clinical research.
August has over 12 years of teaching experience, including mentoring medical students for USMLE exams and guiding pre-medical students through their application process. He strongly believes that with hard work, resilience, and personalized guidance, each student can reach their highest potential. August's teaching philosophy is rooted in evidence-based adult learning approaches, including problem-based learning (PBL), teach-back methods, and spaced repetition.
In his free time, August enjoys rowing, endurance sports like biking and swimming, and film photography.
USMLE Step 2 CK
264
August is currently training to complete a half-Ironman in the spring!