Globizen
06-08-2008, 10:21 PM
Alright, I'm very new to these forums, and quite new to being a pre-med, so I'm just going to start with some basic info about myself.
I'm a rising senior at UNC, chemistry and german double major and started considering med school about a year ago. This decision has since been solidified since I've poured my savings into an MCAT prep course, and poured my time into bolstering my application to make up for lost time.
I've only been living in the US for two years, despite being a citizen. When I was 3, my parents moved to France which was to become my home. I spent 15 years in France, and graduated from an international high school there which, fortunately, offered the IB. I started school in England at Imperial College London the next year, studying chemistry, and only chemistry. The liberal arts concept of a diverse diploma doesn't extend to the UK, and the topic you choose to study consumes your entire time at university. In my case, that meant 9-12 hours a week in a lab, and about 20 hours a week of chemistry lectures.
As passionate as I had been about the sciences, I realized that it was the mixture of science and the humanities that I found the most satisfying, and couldn't stomach spending another year in England. With great anxiety, I applied to Duke and UNC as a transfer student, and ended up opting for UNC.
Without a doubt, this is the best decision I could have made. Being able to double major in chemistry and german made me appreciate chemistry all over again, but transferring from England was costly: no credit was awarded from Imperial College.
This meant I had to take an accelerated track to finish my chemistry major at UNC. The result is that almost all of my premed requirements are by examination, and have no grade associated with them. By appealing to the chem department, I was even allowed to sit an examination for first semester organic and place out of the course.
The result of THAT is that my science GPA is based only on upper level chem classes and anatomy. Gen chem, biology, physics, and orgo all have "by examination" instead of a grade. My science GPA suffered from this, and is only a 3.5.
My regular GPA is a more comfortable 3.8, and I expect that I will score in the 32-34 range on the MCAT.
While at UNC, my future gradually shifted from pure chemical research, which Imperial turned me off of considerably, to pharmacy (a middle ground of sorts) and finally to medicine.
I worked part time (15 hours a week) as a "cancer administrator" (no joke, was my title) in the cancer and palliative care department at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London for 6 months, doing a lot of admin work. This summer I've been volunteering 6 hours a week in the ED, and am an unpaid intern with a center for pediatric quality improvement at UNC hospitals, working with nurses, doctors and faculty to spread quality improvement through the peds department. I've also had the opportunity to attend rounds in the PICU a few times. These are the only direct medical experiences I've had. Other extracurriculars are pretty standard: I've been a coordinator for a student group, an RA, volunteered at a homeless shelter and tutored reading at local elementary schools.
I'm confident I want to be a doctor. Ultimately, I hope to work somewhere in Francophone Africa as a physician as a way of rejoining two parts of who I am (don't know if adcoms will want to hear the part where I leave the US after I'm done with my residency...)
All this to say that a turbulent background has robbed me of a competitive science GPA, and of much direct contact with medicine.
If you've made it this far, I have a few questions for you.
1) What caliber of school is best suited to an applicant like me?
2) How can I explain the science GPA circumstances on the AMCAS?
3) Is an explanation of any kind a bad idea?
4) Will some allowance be made for my transfer from a secondary institution abroad?
5) Can my work in quality improvement be spun as research?
6) And finally, in keeping with the name of the forum, what are my chances of getting into a medical school?
Any other comments you have about my case, and how I can strengthen my application would be very appreciated.
I'm a rising senior at UNC, chemistry and german double major and started considering med school about a year ago. This decision has since been solidified since I've poured my savings into an MCAT prep course, and poured my time into bolstering my application to make up for lost time.
I've only been living in the US for two years, despite being a citizen. When I was 3, my parents moved to France which was to become my home. I spent 15 years in France, and graduated from an international high school there which, fortunately, offered the IB. I started school in England at Imperial College London the next year, studying chemistry, and only chemistry. The liberal arts concept of a diverse diploma doesn't extend to the UK, and the topic you choose to study consumes your entire time at university. In my case, that meant 9-12 hours a week in a lab, and about 20 hours a week of chemistry lectures.
As passionate as I had been about the sciences, I realized that it was the mixture of science and the humanities that I found the most satisfying, and couldn't stomach spending another year in England. With great anxiety, I applied to Duke and UNC as a transfer student, and ended up opting for UNC.
Without a doubt, this is the best decision I could have made. Being able to double major in chemistry and german made me appreciate chemistry all over again, but transferring from England was costly: no credit was awarded from Imperial College.
This meant I had to take an accelerated track to finish my chemistry major at UNC. The result is that almost all of my premed requirements are by examination, and have no grade associated with them. By appealing to the chem department, I was even allowed to sit an examination for first semester organic and place out of the course.
The result of THAT is that my science GPA is based only on upper level chem classes and anatomy. Gen chem, biology, physics, and orgo all have "by examination" instead of a grade. My science GPA suffered from this, and is only a 3.5.
My regular GPA is a more comfortable 3.8, and I expect that I will score in the 32-34 range on the MCAT.
While at UNC, my future gradually shifted from pure chemical research, which Imperial turned me off of considerably, to pharmacy (a middle ground of sorts) and finally to medicine.
I worked part time (15 hours a week) as a "cancer administrator" (no joke, was my title) in the cancer and palliative care department at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London for 6 months, doing a lot of admin work. This summer I've been volunteering 6 hours a week in the ED, and am an unpaid intern with a center for pediatric quality improvement at UNC hospitals, working with nurses, doctors and faculty to spread quality improvement through the peds department. I've also had the opportunity to attend rounds in the PICU a few times. These are the only direct medical experiences I've had. Other extracurriculars are pretty standard: I've been a coordinator for a student group, an RA, volunteered at a homeless shelter and tutored reading at local elementary schools.
I'm confident I want to be a doctor. Ultimately, I hope to work somewhere in Francophone Africa as a physician as a way of rejoining two parts of who I am (don't know if adcoms will want to hear the part where I leave the US after I'm done with my residency...)
All this to say that a turbulent background has robbed me of a competitive science GPA, and of much direct contact with medicine.
If you've made it this far, I have a few questions for you.
1) What caliber of school is best suited to an applicant like me?
2) How can I explain the science GPA circumstances on the AMCAS?
3) Is an explanation of any kind a bad idea?
4) Will some allowance be made for my transfer from a secondary institution abroad?
5) Can my work in quality improvement be spun as research?
6) And finally, in keeping with the name of the forum, what are my chances of getting into a medical school?
Any other comments you have about my case, and how I can strengthen my application would be very appreciated.