Hey SDN,
I am going to be a 3rd time reapplicant this year for the 2016 Entry Cycle and I wanted some advice on how to continue to improve my application. Below is a list of all my credentials and a brief history of how I fared in previous application cycles.
Ethnicity: Asian
GPA/cGPA(without +/-)/sGPA: 3.54/3.57/3.50
MCAT (B/P/V/Essay): 10/12/10/R - taken once in 2012 (this will be the last year I can apply with this score)
Work Experiences:
(11/13 to 02/14): Full-time work as a medical assistant at the Capitol Pain Institute
(05/14 to Present): Part-time work as a teacher at Kumon Learning Center
(06/14 to Present): Part-time work as a SAT instructor with Catalyst Prep
Clinical Experiences:
100 hours of volunteering experience with University Medical Center Brackenridge (On-going)
30 hours of volunteering experience with Christus St. John's Hospital
20 hours of shadowing experience with a cytopathologist in Christus St. John's Hospital
120 hours of shadowing within the Seton Network (University Medical Center Brackenridge, Dell's Children's Medical Center; On-going)
500 hours of full-time work as a medical assistant at the Capitol Pain Institute (received strong recommendation letter from supervising physician)
Research Experiences:
Over a year's experience as an undergraduate research assistant at UT (~400 cumulative hours, no publications)
Academic Research Project in ALS as an undergraduate at UT (~100 cumulative hours, no publications)
Research Assistant at Dell's Children's Medical Center (Epilepsy Unit, currently working on 2 separate projects; 1 pending publication; ~200 hours; on-going)
Other Experiences:
Voice Performance (4 years professional training, various performances; 1 award from competition)
A Cappella Group (2 years; 1 award from competition)
Small-Group and Worship Leader of UT Campus Ministry (~2000 hours over 4 years)
Austin Stone Missional Community Leader (~600 hours; participated in various city-improvement and outreach volunteer projects; on-going)
High School and Middle School Assistant Basketball Coach (~100 hours; on-going)
Letters of Recommendation:
Strong letters of recommendation from 2 physicians (1 being the supervising physician of my medical assistant position, another one being a physician I had mentored under), 2 professors (strong academic performance in their classes and a strong personal relationship), 1 voice coach.
Red Flags:
No behavioral flags and no academic probation.
3 C's and poor Sophomore performance (2 in O-Chem, 1 in Sociology; attributable to a sudden loss of drive and doubt as to my personal future in medicine as a profession)
Not a U.S. Citizen, applied as a Permanent Resident
Past Application History:
2014 Entry Class:
I submitted the TMDSAS application somewhat late in June and secondaries submitted in July. The personal statement I wrote focused on relating my passion for singing to my passion for medicine.
List of Schools: (No D.O. Schools)
UTSW, UTMB, UTHouston, UTHSCSA, A&M HSC, Texas Tech PLFSOM, Texas Tech HSC, Baylor, Eastern Virginia MS, Albany Medical School
No Interviews
2015 Entry Class:
I believed that my main reason for failing the first time around was because of a lack of clinical experience and because I submitted my application late. During the gap year, I gained much clinical experience working as a medical experience and shadowing within the Seton Network of hospitals. In addition to the clinical experience I gained, I took up a volunteer coaching position and continued to serve as a missional leader. This cycle around, I submitted my TMDSAS application in late May (was waiting on letters of recommendation) and finished all my secondaries by mid to late June. All applications were submitted by early August for AMCAS. My personal statement this time around focused on how my experience at the Capitol Pain Institute and as an observer with the Seton Network really helped to grow my desire to pursue a career in medicine and how the two sides served to provide a more complete look at the medical profession (behind the scenes at the clinic, sitting in on patient visits at the clinic, and seeing a wide variety of operations). I wrote a unique experiences essay regarding my coaching experience with KIPP high school and KIPP middle school.
List of Schools (No D.O. Schools)
UTSW, UTMB, UTHouston, UTHSCSA, A&M HSC, Texas Tech PLFSOM, Texas Tech HSC, Baylor, Easter Virginia MS, Albany Medical School, UC Davis, LSU SOM, FSU SOM, USC SOM, Chicago Loyola Stritch, Tulane University SOM, University of Alabama SOM, University of Arkansas SOM, UC Davis SOM
No Interviews
Entering into the 2016 application cycle, I plan to have at least 1 publication in July or August accepted, I will continue shadowing and volunteering (hopefully reaching around 200 hours by the time the application rolls around), I'll have accumulated around 300-400 research hours as a part of the Epilepsy Unit at Dell's Children's Medical Center. I'll also be applying this time around as a U.S. Citizen and not a Permanent Resident. I'm also applying to a much wider range of schools and D.O. schools as well. I think the most frustrating aspect of this whole process is the fact that I've been absolutely shut out from getting any interviews at all.
I would appreciate if anyone could help address the following questions:
1. What schools should I look into or apply to this time around? (Both M.D. and D.O.)
2. For this next year, should I pursue a SMP? I'm looking at the University of North Texas Masters of Medical Sciences year long program. I'm not sure whether I really need one and I don't want to pursue one if it's not an absolute necessity (mainly due to finances).
3. Any general direction as to how to continue to improve my application and raise my chances of even getting an interview. I'm currently looking into full-time research positions or working as a medical scribe somewhere in Texas.
Thanks for your time! I really appreciate any help I can get from this!
I am going to be a 3rd time reapplicant this year for the 2016 Entry Cycle and I wanted some advice on how to continue to improve my application. Below is a list of all my credentials and a brief history of how I fared in previous application cycles.
Ethnicity: Asian
GPA/cGPA(without +/-)/sGPA: 3.54/3.57/3.50
MCAT (B/P/V/Essay): 10/12/10/R - taken once in 2012 (this will be the last year I can apply with this score)
Work Experiences:
(11/13 to 02/14): Full-time work as a medical assistant at the Capitol Pain Institute
(05/14 to Present): Part-time work as a teacher at Kumon Learning Center
(06/14 to Present): Part-time work as a SAT instructor with Catalyst Prep
Clinical Experiences:
100 hours of volunteering experience with University Medical Center Brackenridge (On-going)
30 hours of volunteering experience with Christus St. John's Hospital
20 hours of shadowing experience with a cytopathologist in Christus St. John's Hospital
120 hours of shadowing within the Seton Network (University Medical Center Brackenridge, Dell's Children's Medical Center; On-going)
500 hours of full-time work as a medical assistant at the Capitol Pain Institute (received strong recommendation letter from supervising physician)
Research Experiences:
Over a year's experience as an undergraduate research assistant at UT (~400 cumulative hours, no publications)
Academic Research Project in ALS as an undergraduate at UT (~100 cumulative hours, no publications)
Research Assistant at Dell's Children's Medical Center (Epilepsy Unit, currently working on 2 separate projects; 1 pending publication; ~200 hours; on-going)
Other Experiences:
Voice Performance (4 years professional training, various performances; 1 award from competition)
A Cappella Group (2 years; 1 award from competition)
Small-Group and Worship Leader of UT Campus Ministry (~2000 hours over 4 years)
Austin Stone Missional Community Leader (~600 hours; participated in various city-improvement and outreach volunteer projects; on-going)
High School and Middle School Assistant Basketball Coach (~100 hours; on-going)
Letters of Recommendation:
Strong letters of recommendation from 2 physicians (1 being the supervising physician of my medical assistant position, another one being a physician I had mentored under), 2 professors (strong academic performance in their classes and a strong personal relationship), 1 voice coach.
Red Flags:
No behavioral flags and no academic probation.
3 C's and poor Sophomore performance (2 in O-Chem, 1 in Sociology; attributable to a sudden loss of drive and doubt as to my personal future in medicine as a profession)
Not a U.S. Citizen, applied as a Permanent Resident
Past Application History:
2014 Entry Class:
I submitted the TMDSAS application somewhat late in June and secondaries submitted in July. The personal statement I wrote focused on relating my passion for singing to my passion for medicine.
List of Schools: (No D.O. Schools)
UTSW, UTMB, UTHouston, UTHSCSA, A&M HSC, Texas Tech PLFSOM, Texas Tech HSC, Baylor, Eastern Virginia MS, Albany Medical School
No Interviews
2015 Entry Class:
I believed that my main reason for failing the first time around was because of a lack of clinical experience and because I submitted my application late. During the gap year, I gained much clinical experience working as a medical experience and shadowing within the Seton Network of hospitals. In addition to the clinical experience I gained, I took up a volunteer coaching position and continued to serve as a missional leader. This cycle around, I submitted my TMDSAS application in late May (was waiting on letters of recommendation) and finished all my secondaries by mid to late June. All applications were submitted by early August for AMCAS. My personal statement this time around focused on how my experience at the Capitol Pain Institute and as an observer with the Seton Network really helped to grow my desire to pursue a career in medicine and how the two sides served to provide a more complete look at the medical profession (behind the scenes at the clinic, sitting in on patient visits at the clinic, and seeing a wide variety of operations). I wrote a unique experiences essay regarding my coaching experience with KIPP high school and KIPP middle school.
List of Schools (No D.O. Schools)
UTSW, UTMB, UTHouston, UTHSCSA, A&M HSC, Texas Tech PLFSOM, Texas Tech HSC, Baylor, Easter Virginia MS, Albany Medical School, UC Davis, LSU SOM, FSU SOM, USC SOM, Chicago Loyola Stritch, Tulane University SOM, University of Alabama SOM, University of Arkansas SOM, UC Davis SOM
No Interviews
Entering into the 2016 application cycle, I plan to have at least 1 publication in July or August accepted, I will continue shadowing and volunteering (hopefully reaching around 200 hours by the time the application rolls around), I'll have accumulated around 300-400 research hours as a part of the Epilepsy Unit at Dell's Children's Medical Center. I'll also be applying this time around as a U.S. Citizen and not a Permanent Resident. I'm also applying to a much wider range of schools and D.O. schools as well. I think the most frustrating aspect of this whole process is the fact that I've been absolutely shut out from getting any interviews at all.
I would appreciate if anyone could help address the following questions:
1. What schools should I look into or apply to this time around? (Both M.D. and D.O.)
2. For this next year, should I pursue a SMP? I'm looking at the University of North Texas Masters of Medical Sciences year long program. I'm not sure whether I really need one and I don't want to pursue one if it's not an absolute necessity (mainly due to finances).
3. Any general direction as to how to continue to improve my application and raise my chances of even getting an interview. I'm currently looking into full-time research positions or working as a medical scribe somewhere in Texas.
Thanks for your time! I really appreciate any help I can get from this!
