Chances with few Ecs

[galapagosbeetle]

Hi all,

So, I've been accepted already, so I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place for me to be posting this, but I've been talking to a few of my friends who are applying this coming cycle. One of them is worrying me a little and I just wanted to get an idea of what others think about their chances and maybe help them choose appropriate schools to apply to.

His stats are fairly good. Mid 30s MCAT, 3.8+ gpa. He doesn't have many volunteering ECs, but does have a very research heavy background in biology related research. Lots of cell stuff, and I think he has papers published or something from his research.

I'm worried that his lack of volunteering/shadowing will work against him because nowadays med school is getting more and more competitive. Any suggestions as to schools that he might consider applying to with those sort of stats and ecs? Do you guys think that not having a lot of volunteering/shadowing is going to be a huge red flag in applications?

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[Catalystik]

Hi all,

So, I've been accepted already, so I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place for me to be posting this, but I've been talking to a few of my friends who are applying this coming cycle. One of them is worrying me a little and I just wanted to get an idea of what others think about their chances and maybe help them choose appropriate schools to apply to.

His stats are fairly good. Mid 30s MCAT, 3.8+ gpa. He doesn't have many volunteering ECs, but does have a very research heavy background in biology related research. Lots of cell stuff, and I think he has papers published or something from his research.

I'm worried that his lack of volunteering/shadowing will work against him because nowadays med school is getting more and more competitive. Any suggestions as to schools that he might consider applying to with those sort of stats and ecs? Do you guys think that not having a lot of volunteering/shadowing is going to be a huge red flag in applications?

Maybe you could be more specific about what you mean about "not having a lot"? Do you know #hours, and also leadership, teaching, nonmedical community service specifics?

 

[galapagosbeetle]

Maybe you could be more specific about what you mean about "not having a lot"? Do you know #hours, and also leadership, teaching, nonmedical community service specifics?

I don't believe he has taken any leadership roles...he may have some hospital volunteering (less than 50 hrs, I think). I think the extent of his ECs is several years of research.

 

[aspirantmed]

Any other patient contact experience other than sub-50 hours of volunteering?

 

[Catalystik]

As this person is heavily research oriented, his best bet might be to apply to mid-selective and lower MD-PhD programs if he is inclined toward continuing this focus, where ECs other than research are of less importance. If MD-only programs are the goal, then waiting a year to apply while beefing up all his ECs is the best plan.

 

[galapagosbeetle]

Any other patient contact experience other than sub-50 hours of volunteering?

Nope. I've tried to help him get involved with volunteering with some of the clinics/organizations I've been involved with since we attend the same college, but he's been kind of resistant. Maybe he had a bad experience with the previous experience volunteering at a hospital :/

As this person is heavily research oriented, his best bet might be to apply to mid-selective and lower MD-PhD programs if he is inclined toward continuing this focus, where ECs other than research are of less importance. If MD-only programs are the goal, then waiting a year to apply while beefing up all his ECs is the best plan.

I think he doesn't want to do anymore research, so he wants to do just MD. However, it's been a few years since he's taken teh MCAT, so taking another year would mean he would have to retake the MCAT as well, which is obviously something that requires a lot of time and effort to study for again. Plus the MCAT is changing, so he's worried about having to deal with not only relearning a lot of stuff, but also navigating the new MCAT

 

[Catalystik]

Well, it sounds like he's set on applying no matter what you say. Maybe he has some other activities that will come to mind when he's faced with 15 Experiences' spaces.

 

[galapagosbeetle]

Well, it sounds like he's set on applying no matter what you say. Maybe he has some other activities that will come to mind when he's faced with 15 Experiences' spaces.

Hopefully! Thanks for the advice! Do you think he'd have a better chance with DO schools? So far he wants to apply mostly to MDs, but given his situation and not wanting to retake the MCAT, I want to try and suggest that he at least apply to one or two. Would it be worth it to try to apply to some higher tier DO schools? His stats are probably higher than most DO averages, but I don't know if the lack of EC's will still make a significant impact on his application in DO schools.

 

[Catalystik]

Hopefully! Thanks for the advice! Do you think he'd have a better chance with DO schools? So far he wants to apply mostly to MDs, but given his situation and not wanting to retake the MCAT, I want to try and suggest that he at least apply to one or two. Would it be worth it to try to apply to some higher tier DO schools? His stats are probably higher than most DO averages, but I don't know if the lack of EC's will still make a significant impact on his application in DO schools.

I find it hard to believe DO schools will want someone with such sparse experiences personally, but snatching up someone with such good stats might appeal somewhere. @Goro would have a more informed perspective.

 

[Goro]

We have interviewed MD-school competitive, high GPA+ high MCAT candidates and rejected them precisely because they didn't have ECs. I can't speak for other schools, but I'm fond of quoting a DO colleague of mine: "would you buy a new car without test-driving it? Buy a new suit without trying it on?"

I find it hard to believe DO schools will want someone with such sparse experiences personally, but snatching up someone with such good stats might appeal somewhere.


Your friend is just asking to be rejected. People simply say to him "why not get a PhD"? He needs to show that he really wants to be around sick people for the next 30-40 years, and know what he's getting into. A career in Medicine is NOT a reward for being smart or a good student, it's a priviledge, and it has to be earned.

His stats are fairly good. Mid 30s MCAT, 3.8+ gpa. He doesn't have many volunteering ECs, but does have a very research heavy background in biology related research. Lots of cell stuff, and I think he has papers published or something from his research.
I'm worried that his lack of volunteering/shadowing will work against him because nowadays med school is getting more and more competitive. Any suggestions as to schools that he might consider applying to with those sort of stats and ecs? Do you guys think that not having a lot of volunteering/shadowing is going to be a huge red flag in applications?

 

[galapagosbeetle]

Your friend is just asking to be rejected. People simply say to him "why not get a PhD"? He needs to show that he really wants to be around sick people for the next 30-40 years, and know what he's getting into. A career in Medicine is NOT a reward for being smart or a good student, it's a priviledge, and it has to be earned.

His stats are fairly good. Mid 30s MCAT, 3.8+ gpa. He doesn't have many volunteering ECs, but does have a very research heavy background in biology related research. Lots of cell stuff, and I think he has papers published or something from his research.
I'm worried that his lack of volunteering/shadowing will work against him because nowadays med school is getting more and more competitive. Any suggestions as to schools that he might consider applying to with those sort of stats and ecs? Do you guys think that not having a lot of volunteering/shadowing is going to be a huge red flag in applications?

Thanks for the input! I agree with what you said wholeheartedly. I even suggested he do grad school given his strong research background, but he seems like he's just set on medicine. I'd really hate for him to spend a year applying when it seems like he's going to have trouble getting in with his application. I'll pass along the information and maybe it'll help him reconsider applying with so little ECs.

Edit: Extra question I just thought of...is it likely that he would even get interviews with few ECs? The schools I interviewed at all stressed that they pre-screened fairly heavily before interviews, but I've only been to a few, so I just wanted to see if that was the norm.

 

[Goro]

He might very well get some interviews, because not all schools pre-screen (like mine). So, he'll interview, and then he'll get rejected.

Thanks for the input! I agree with what you said wholeheartedly. I even suggested he do grad school given his strong research background, but he seems like he's just set on medicine. I'd really hate for him to spend a year applying when it seems like he's going to have trouble getting in with his application. I'll pass along the information and maybe it'll help him reconsider applying with so little ECs.

Edit: Extra question I just thought of...is it likely that he would even get interviews with few ECs? The schools I interviewed at all stressed that they pre-screened fairly heavily before interviews, but I've only been to a few, so I just wanted to see if that was the norm.

 

[galapagosbeetle]

Thanks everyone for the input!