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Hi everyone! I would be very grateful for advice on my application. I am a non-traditional applicant - I graduated from a top-UC in 2012 and am a California resident, white female.
My GPA is my weakspot: 3.42 cGPA, 3.31 sGPA. I took the old MCAT in January of 2015 and received a 28, took the new MCAT in April of 2015 and received a 509 (well balanced, psych a little lower). I was working full-time doing clinical research at UCSF while studying for both exams and it was very difficult to balance. Furthermore, I only had a few months in between exams to study for the new psych section, so I definitely think with more time I could improve.
I wish I would have waited another year to apply, but instead I rushed to apply since I've already been out of school for so long. I didn't apply broadly at all and only to MD schools, and received 0 interviews. I'm on pre-interview hold at one school. I also made the mistake of applying to way too many OOS public schools.
Besides my GPA, there were other weak spots in my application. I submitted it late – early July. My PS could have been more focused towards my future career goals, and I feel like my application as a whole could have been way more fine-tuned if I had more time to work on it. I was focused on studying for the MCAT until I took it in April, and with working full-time I didn't have enough time to put together a stellar application. If I was to apply this cycle, I believe I could improve upon all of my weak points, with the exception of my GPA. I also believe my secondaries could have been improved.
Changes from previous application:
A paper I submitted with the PI I work for has been accepted in a top-tier genetics journal (Impact Factor: 11.202) and is currently in press, expected publication in May. The paper is a clinical research paper describing a new gene/syndrome, and is completely in line with my career goals (neurogenetics). Since joining the lab, I have been in a leadership role and manage a team of undergraduate RAs. I also was promoted to lead-CRC of my lab at the end of 2015 when our project manager left, so I now manage other CRCs as well. Teaching/mentorship is one of my passions, and I plan to highlight this more when applying again.
Clinical Experience:
-While studying abroad in Italy, volunteered in a pediatric clinic for rare genetic diseases
-Interned for two years UCSF while still an undergrad
-2012-present, have been working full-time as a clinical research coordinator at UCSF. I have extensive clinical experience, working directly with patients/clinicians, etc.
Nonclinical Service:
Past:
-Volunteered as a mentor for middle school students for 1 year.
-Was then promoted to program coordinator of the mentorship program, so I was responsible for managing a team of other undergraduate mentors, creating lesson plans, and running the after-school program with a class of middle school students. This was a part-time job where I worked 20-25 hr/week.
-Also worked as a note-taker for a science course at my school.
Current:
-Tutoring children in reading (2hr/wk for the last 1.5 yr)
Shadowing:
-I have ample experience shadowing but only in the field of neurology/psychology/genetics
-Shadowing my PI (a LOT of hours, I do this pretty often because I enroll patients directly into our studies in clinic)
-Shadowing other clinicians at UCSF I have gotten to know since working here.
Research:
Past:
-Interned in a clinical neuroscience lab at my undergraduate school, 2 years.
-Volunteered at UCSF in a clinical research lab while in undergraduate.
Current:
As mentioned, I work full-time doing research – has led to one first-author (see above) and one middle-author publication. One more publication I am a middle-author is under review. There is great potential for a few more publications in the next year.
LOR:
-Great, UCSF colleagues/mentors and undergraduate employer. I don't have any from my science professors, mainly because it has been awhile since I've been in contact with them.
ADVICE NEEDED!
That being said, I’m unsure if I should apply again now or wait and apply again next cycle. Are my improvements (first author pub and job promotion) enough for medical schools, or do I need to do more?
Although I am extremely anxious to go back to school, I also a open to taking another year to really improve my application and aim for even higher-tier schools. Next time I apply I will add DO schools, although I would rather attend an allopathic school. If I were to apply again next cycle, that would give me time to take the MCAT again and aim for a really great score which I think I can achieve with more time to study the new sections. I also would be able to re-take some science courses at a local college or do a post-bacc at UCBx (although I have heard bad things from this program so am learning towards taking informal classes to raise my GPA). Would you recommend a formal post-bacc or SMP for my situation?
If I was to wait another year to apply – which parts of my application could be improved? Although I have a lot of clinical exposure in my current job, I’m considering looking into clinical volunteering positions at a free clinic or something of that nature. Should I gain more non-clinical volunteer experience besides working as reading tutor? Although I already have a lot of shadowing hours, would it be helpful to shadow physicians outside my field of interest?
If I was to apply again in June, I would aim to get my application in right on time and wouldn't be as rushed as I was last cycle. With my research experience, do you think I should focus heavily on research-based schools? Particularly, I've been eyeing programs with MD/MS clinical research since I hope to continue this path once in school (will highlight this in my PS).
Thank you for all your help and suggestions!
My GPA is my weakspot: 3.42 cGPA, 3.31 sGPA. I took the old MCAT in January of 2015 and received a 28, took the new MCAT in April of 2015 and received a 509 (well balanced, psych a little lower). I was working full-time doing clinical research at UCSF while studying for both exams and it was very difficult to balance. Furthermore, I only had a few months in between exams to study for the new psych section, so I definitely think with more time I could improve.
I wish I would have waited another year to apply, but instead I rushed to apply since I've already been out of school for so long. I didn't apply broadly at all and only to MD schools, and received 0 interviews. I'm on pre-interview hold at one school. I also made the mistake of applying to way too many OOS public schools.
Besides my GPA, there were other weak spots in my application. I submitted it late – early July. My PS could have been more focused towards my future career goals, and I feel like my application as a whole could have been way more fine-tuned if I had more time to work on it. I was focused on studying for the MCAT until I took it in April, and with working full-time I didn't have enough time to put together a stellar application. If I was to apply this cycle, I believe I could improve upon all of my weak points, with the exception of my GPA. I also believe my secondaries could have been improved.
Changes from previous application:
A paper I submitted with the PI I work for has been accepted in a top-tier genetics journal (Impact Factor: 11.202) and is currently in press, expected publication in May. The paper is a clinical research paper describing a new gene/syndrome, and is completely in line with my career goals (neurogenetics). Since joining the lab, I have been in a leadership role and manage a team of undergraduate RAs. I also was promoted to lead-CRC of my lab at the end of 2015 when our project manager left, so I now manage other CRCs as well. Teaching/mentorship is one of my passions, and I plan to highlight this more when applying again.
Clinical Experience:
-While studying abroad in Italy, volunteered in a pediatric clinic for rare genetic diseases
-Interned for two years UCSF while still an undergrad
-2012-present, have been working full-time as a clinical research coordinator at UCSF. I have extensive clinical experience, working directly with patients/clinicians, etc.
Nonclinical Service:
Past:
-Volunteered as a mentor for middle school students for 1 year.
-Was then promoted to program coordinator of the mentorship program, so I was responsible for managing a team of other undergraduate mentors, creating lesson plans, and running the after-school program with a class of middle school students. This was a part-time job where I worked 20-25 hr/week.
-Also worked as a note-taker for a science course at my school.
Current:
-Tutoring children in reading (2hr/wk for the last 1.5 yr)
Shadowing:
-I have ample experience shadowing but only in the field of neurology/psychology/genetics
-Shadowing my PI (a LOT of hours, I do this pretty often because I enroll patients directly into our studies in clinic)
-Shadowing other clinicians at UCSF I have gotten to know since working here.
Research:
Past:
-Interned in a clinical neuroscience lab at my undergraduate school, 2 years.
-Volunteered at UCSF in a clinical research lab while in undergraduate.
Current:
As mentioned, I work full-time doing research – has led to one first-author (see above) and one middle-author publication. One more publication I am a middle-author is under review. There is great potential for a few more publications in the next year.
LOR:
-Great, UCSF colleagues/mentors and undergraduate employer. I don't have any from my science professors, mainly because it has been awhile since I've been in contact with them.
ADVICE NEEDED!
That being said, I’m unsure if I should apply again now or wait and apply again next cycle. Are my improvements (first author pub and job promotion) enough for medical schools, or do I need to do more?
Although I am extremely anxious to go back to school, I also a open to taking another year to really improve my application and aim for even higher-tier schools. Next time I apply I will add DO schools, although I would rather attend an allopathic school. If I were to apply again next cycle, that would give me time to take the MCAT again and aim for a really great score which I think I can achieve with more time to study the new sections. I also would be able to re-take some science courses at a local college or do a post-bacc at UCBx (although I have heard bad things from this program so am learning towards taking informal classes to raise my GPA). Would you recommend a formal post-bacc or SMP for my situation?
If I was to wait another year to apply – which parts of my application could be improved? Although I have a lot of clinical exposure in my current job, I’m considering looking into clinical volunteering positions at a free clinic or something of that nature. Should I gain more non-clinical volunteer experience besides working as reading tutor? Although I already have a lot of shadowing hours, would it be helpful to shadow physicians outside my field of interest?
If I was to apply again in June, I would aim to get my application in right on time and wouldn't be as rushed as I was last cycle. With my research experience, do you think I should focus heavily on research-based schools? Particularly, I've been eyeing programs with MD/MS clinical research since I hope to continue this path once in school (will highlight this in my PS).
Thank you for all your help and suggestions!
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