MD 3.6/36 Junior

[BPM]

Hello everyo

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[Doug Underhill]

First, you double-checked to make sure that you are one of the Hispanic groups that is considered to be URM, right? Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans are, but many South Americans are not.

Otherwise, you look to be very competitive for mid to high tier MDs. Harvard is within reach.

 

[resiroth]

more clinical, more research (not absolutely necessary) and keep those grades up. I don't know if being an AA URM is different than hispanic, but URM is a huge boost (esp being first to go to college too) and honestly I would be surprised if you didn't get into a top 20 if you applied broadly this year.

 

[BPM]

First, you double-checked to make sure that you are one of the Hispanic groups that is considered to be URM, right? Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans are, but many South Americans are not.

Otherwise, you look to be very competitive for mid to high tier MDs. Harvard is within reach.

I am from a Hispanic group that is URM. I forgot to mention that I am from CA. My dream school is UCSD, so I'm really glad that you think I'm competitive for that! Thank you for your help! I'll try to keep my GPA up and EC's going and hopefully I can be competitive for next cycle.

more clinical, more research (not absolutely necessary) and keep those grades up. I don't know if being an AA URM is different than hispanic, but URM is a huge boost (esp being first to go to college too) and honestly I would be surprised if you didn't get into a top 20 if you applied broadly this year.

Hi, thanks for the advice. I forgot to mention that I have 4 poster presentations so far (2 at national conferences) and that will go up by the time I graduate. The possibility of a paper is there, but I won't be sure that I can do it until sometime at the end of summer. Unfortunately due to monetary constraint I won't be able to apply until next cycle. I will be applying broadly and early next cycle because I can only afford to go through this process once. Thank you for your advice though! I really appreciate it.

 

[Goro]

URM or no, you're a rock star. Aim high!

Suggest adding some other non-clinical EC. Actually, you might be able to taper back and relax a little. You're earned it.

Hello everyone,
I am currently a junior and will not be applying until next year. I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on how to improve my application for next year. Any advice is appreciated.

Stats:
3.67 cGPA, 3.62 sGPA, 36 MCAT (12/12/12)

URM , 1st to attend college, CA
Fluent in Spanish

EC's:

1) Hospital Volunteering: 400 hours from HS junior to college sophomore (Do I include all these hours or just the ones that happened during college?)

2) Hospital Volunteering: I'm at a new hospital now expected to have ~400 hours by graduation

3) Science Club: 3 years so far, will continue senior year. Various leadership positions. Events include teaching science to URM children from 3-12 grade, research talks, job fairs with various employers, and free tutoring across a wide range of STEM classes.

4) Lab Assistant: 1 year, did a lot of the grunt work in lab, no research

5) Student Researcher: 1 and a half years so far, will continue until graduation. (2.5 years total), awarded honors undergraduate research fellowship, 4 poster presentations, publication possible by graduation

6) Summer Research Program: Participated in a summer research program at a Top 5 Medical School.

7) Fitness: Completed multiple races (5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons, triathlons) Gym 6 times a week as training to stay in shape

8) Shadowing: Currently have about 15 hours with 2 doctors, aiming for around 100 with at least 5 doctors

9) Medical Internship: Had an internship at a local clinic where they serve a lot of minority populations without health insurance. (Not Clinical!)

10) Sustainability- A passion for sustainability/ eco-friendly practices. I have taken classes that have a main focus in this. Participated in an internship where we learned sustainable farming techniques and were responsible for taking care of an organic garden. About 150 hours of environmental EC's

11) STEM Diversity- I have about 200 hours volunteering at a program in my school that focuses on widening diversity in the STEM field and try to get more URM/Women interested in a STEM career. I've done everything from teach science to at-risk youth to present my research to STEM transfer students.

 

[BPM]

URM or no, you're a rock star. Aim high!

Suggest adding some other non-clinical EC. Actually, you might be able to taper back and relax a little. You're earned it.

Wow, thanks Goro!! Do you have any input on what to do with the hospital volunteering that went from high school to college? Should I include all the hours or just the ones completed while in college?

 

[Goro]

Ordinarily I consider that "what happened in high school stays in high school". Go ahead and list it, because I suspect that you'll have plenty of hours during college.

Wow, thanks Goro!! Do you have any input on what to do with the hospital volunteering that went from high school to college? Should I include all the hours or just the ones completed while in college?