Advice/Chances for college athlete?

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jbru4311

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So this is my first time posting and basically I'm just kinda looking for some advice about what I should do and what my chances are of getting into an MD program. I will be graduating this may with my undergrad in Spanish, and i plan on taking the MCAT this July.
cGPA - 3.82 and sGPA - 3.78
A in both semesters (1 year) of Gen Chem/Lab, both semesters of Physics/Lab, and both semesters of Ochem/Lab
B+ in both semesters of Gen Bio/Lab
-Never retaken any classes
AP Calc, AP Statistics and AP Psychology in high school and scored a 5 on all tests (the highest score)
Tutor/TA Calc/Precalc for the University for the last year
Took a break after the first year of college to go on a 2-year voluntary LDS mission to Central America (where I was Assistant to the mission president for 6 months)
Also done some volunteer work for business translating in Belize
Leadership/Volunteer positions in the church
Division I Scholarship Wrestler (3 years) - Member of PAC-10 Championship Team
Also have done a lot of Coaching, some being volunteer coaching
Due to the fact that I was a college athlete I realize that it has taken away a lot from my experience/resume because of the time/dedication it requires (especially with wrestling and having to cut weight all of the time!). This is why I have decided to take a leap year after I graduate in may and take the MCAT, to work on improving my resume/experience (Volunteering, shadowing, clinical hours, research, ect). My question is which of these should I focus on the most, obviously I need quite a bit of shadowing and clinical exposure so the school know I'm serious about medicine, but would these be the ones I should focus on the most.
Also after a year of exposure and hopefully an MCAT of at least a 30, how would my chances look?
Thanks for any advice!

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So I have similar GPA and sGPA as you do, and a similar EC sheet as well, minus the abroad work.
I was sorta an athlete as well (cheerleading only sorta counts haha I got a varisty letter all 3 years though!) and had a bunch of AP credits and a non-science degree.

I think taking a gap year to get some clinical experience is a great idea. I also did the same! Haha I'm currently in a gap year working in an ER, and it has been an awesome, exciting, and humbling experience. Definitely something great to talk about during interviews.

I would say throw all your focus on working on studying for the MCAT right now. A great score can really make a difference in the number of looks to get from schools. And if by May you arent happy with the practice scores you are getting, for sure push the test back! I had to retake the MCAT because I foolishly thought my test day performance would be just as good as my practice tests. I was getting practice test at the 32-33 range, and got a 28 on the actual test. Then for my retake, I practiced to the point of getting 38-40 on my practice tests, and ended up with a 36 on the actual. So over-prepare, is what I'm saying!

Since our applications seem to be fairly similar, I would say that you have good chances to get accepted with an average number of schools across the range. You can take a look at my MdApps to see where I applied and how I have faired so far. In retrospect, I applied pretty top-heavy, but I do have an acceptence and a fair number of interviews. So take it for what you will!

Best of luck to you man! Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions!
 
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