MD 3.9+ GPA, 39-42 MCAT, Reapplicant

[rumlodlk]

Hey everyone. I made a thread here describing my situation in more detail, and bearded frog suggested that I create a thread in this sub forum, so I am. Here's a brief summary:

• I attended a small college in the deep south with essentially no resources or advice for aspiring medical students
• I submitted my application very late in the last cycle (in the middle of October)
• I was rejected pre-interview at the five schools I applied to

Works/Activities

• 1 summer of shadowing (I estimate 50 to 60 hours total)
• 3 years of tutoring for science courses 10 to 15 hours a week
• Weekly participation in an outreach experience for 1 year
• 1 semester of volunteer work in a nearby hospital
• 1 year of leadership as president of a college club
• A few scholastic awards
• 3 years of playing in an amateur summer baseball league

I don't have any "red flags" that I know of. What should I do to improve my application, and how many schools should I apply to? Thanks for all the help.

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[ChemEngMD]

IMO you need more clinical experience. Do you feel that you came off as mature and ready to become a physician in your personal statement?

You have the academic pedigree, despite the lack of research experience, and while your ECs aren't spectacular, they show some level of dedication. I would presume you would at least get an interview at your state school.

Besides the research, the biggest lacking thing I'm seeing is clinical. You need to really show the Adcoms you know what you're getting yourself into in becoming a physician and 50-60 hours of shadowing is unlikely enough. I'm sure they feel you have what it takes to make it through the pre-clinical years, it's a matter of showing them you're ready for the clinical side.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Congrats on such amazing stats! That's awesome. Bummer on no resources though! That's tough for sure.

Lack of clinical is hurting you.

A few q's:
Are you reapplying this cycle?
What were your schools before, and what are your current ones?
How is your PS? Did you get some objective people to read it (ie not just your friends)?
Do you have any other clinical experiences?

 

[lmn]

What was your school list last year? You applied late, and to only 5 schools, which really begs for failure... You have great gpa/mcat of course, but assuming your 5 schools were top schools, your lack of research is almost surely a huge shortfall. I would recommend expanding your school list and applying earlier.

 

[rumlodlk]

Besides the research, the biggest lacking thing I'm seeing is clinical. You need to really show the Adcoms you know what you're getting yourself into in becoming a physician and 50-60 hours of shadowing is unlikely enough.

Lack of clinical is hurting you.

It seems that the consensus is that I need more clinical experiences. I'm still not too sure which experiences count as clinical though. I assumed shadowing counted, but is that right? What about participating in a volunteering program at a hospital? I volunteered for about 80 hours at a nearby hospital for one semester, but the program was shut down after my freshman year so I wasn't able to continue. Does anyone have a good estimate as to how many more hours I would need to become competitive? I don't want to come across as trying to do the minimum amount required; I actually enjoy shadowing and volunteering but it's been extremely difficult finding hospitals that allow it.

Are you reapplying this cycle?

I was hoping to but if I'm not competitive enough I may wait through this cycle and reapply next year.

What were your schools before, and what are your current ones?

I haven't decided which schools to apply to, but here's my list from last season (don't laugh!)

• Stanford (okay you can laugh at this one, but it was my dream school)
• University of Alabama
• Mercer
• Quillen
• University of Tennessee

How is your PS? Did you get some objective people to read it (ie not just your friends)?

The people who read it thought it was well-written, but they were definitely not objective and didn't have much experience with medical school applications, so I don't think I can trust their opinions. I'm actually working on rewriting it right now!

I would recommend expanding your school list and applying earlier.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[shopsteward]

When did you take the MCAT? If you delay reapplying for a year, just make sure you will still be applying within the 3 year cut-off, so you don't have to retake it.

When you do apply, apply early, ie the first day or week applications open.

Clinical experience doesn't have to be in a hospital (although it is useful that you have had that exposure). Try hospices, care homes, free clinics, etc. - anywhere you can do something "where you can smell the patients". If you start now, you could have quite a few hours added to your application, and if you continue after putting in your application, you will have some solid months of experience to talk about by interview time.

Last time you applied very late, and to only a few schools. This time apply early, to more schools. The online MSAR will be your friend, and come back here with a tentative list for more advice.

 

[Catalystik]

It seems that the consensus is that I need more clinical experiences. I'm still not too sure which experiences count as clinical though. I assumed shadowing counted, but is that right? What about participating in a volunteering program at a hospital? I volunteered for about 80 hours at a nearby hospital for one semester, but the program was shut down after my freshman year so I wasn't able to continue. Does anyone have a good estimate as to how many more hours I would need to become competitive?

Shadowing is an observership, and is considered a passive clinical experience. A job or volunteer position where you interact with sick people is an active clinical experience. There are separate designations for these on the application. Some schools might look at the total hours together, but most assess the two types of experience separately and expect both. About 50 shadowing hours is the average listed. For volunteer clinical experience, about 150 hours over 1.5 years is pretty average. Personally, I'd consider 100 hours a bare minimum and prefer to see more, but YMMV.

 

[V5RED]

What about participating in a volunteering program at a hospital? I volunteered for about 80 hours at a nearby hospital for one semester, but the program was shut down after my freshman year so I wasn't able to continue.

I would guess this looks pretty bad on your application. You volunteered in a hospital for one semester freshman year and then never worked in a hospital again.

 

[Catalystik]

I would guess this looks pretty bad on your application. You volunteered in a hospital for one semester freshman year and then never worked in a hospital again.

OP, it would help if you included the explanation in the activity description.

 

[brotherin]

In my opinion, your problem isn't EC based, as 80 hours of clinical volunteering and 50 hours shadowing have gotten applicants with lower stats in. The biggest thing that jumped out to me in your application is that you applied really really late in the application process to only five schools. My guess is that had you applied in June-August to 10 schools or so, you would've gotten at least one acceptance. Obviously working on some more ECs in the meantime doesn't hurt, but my biggest recommendation to you would be to apply early and more than five schools.

 

[Goro]

ECs seem really anemic. Aim for >100 hrs of clinical volunteering, 10-50 hrs shadowing (you must show us you know what a doctor's day is like) and >100 non-clinical volunteering. Check with yoru local houses of worship for opprtunities for the latter. You need to demonstrate your altruism. Your GPA is perfect.

Hey everyone. I made a thread here describing my situation in more detail, and bearded frog suggested that I create a thread in this sub forum, so I am. Here's a brief summary:

• I attended a small college in the deep south with essentially no resources or advice for aspiring medical students
• I submitted my application very late in the last cycle (in the middle of October)
• I was rejected pre-interview at the five schools I applied to

Works/Activities

• 1 summer of shadowing (I estimate 50 to 60 hours total)
• 3 years of tutoring for science courses 10 to 15 hours a week
• Weekly participation in an outreach experience for 1 year
• 1 semester of volunteer work in a nearby hospital
• 1 year of leadership as president of a college club
• A few scholastic awards
• 3 years of playing in an amateur summer baseball league

I don't have any "red flags" that I know of. What should I do to improve my application, and how many schools should I apply to? Thanks for all the help.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Here is YOUR official 5 Step Program for getting into medical school:

1) Get some peeps on SDN to read your PS (pm it to me if you want).
2) For the love of god, apply to more schools!!!*
3) Keep getting meaningful clinical experiences so that you can update schools throughout the cycle.**
4) Don't be a total creeper when you go to interviews.
5) Get an acceptance and go to medical school.

Also, keep in mind that your MCAT is only good for 3 years so if you take a year off, make sure it falls within that time frame.

*Apply EARLY to more schools.
**Seriously put in a ton of effort into getting something awesome. Apply to a bunch of clinics and start volunteering at a few to find the best one for you. If you get something between now and an interview, you can really increase your chances of getting the A by explaining new experiences in the interview.

Good luck!

 

[rumlodlk]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I'll definitely post again later when I have more questions.

Two updates:

• I'm now volunteering at a local hospice, so hopefully I'll be able to put in at least 50 hours before I submit on June 3. I'm planning to continue after submitting as well of course.
• I've also just secured a spot at another university nearby on a research project! I'll probably be working on it in the lab 3 to 4 hours a day 5 days a week on average starting today, and will be continuing it through the next year up until medical school begins.