MD & DO Feeling hopeful... warranted?

[baxt1412]

Bold = just to highlight info for you guys, red = what i want to highlight in my app

MCAT next saturday

Demographics:
White
Middle Class
City (omaha) born and raised (same city whole life)
Went to a very small school in rural Kansas
No doctors in my family

Academics:
Freshman: 3.567, 3.753
Sophomore: 3.347, 4.0 (study abroad in spain)
Junior: 3.914, 3.876
Senior: 3.323, 3.850
Cumulative: 3.705
Science GPA: 3.60 (including gen psych and a "wellness for life" PE class that we were required to take... would i include both of those?)


Lowest grade on transcript = B- in Biochem first semester senior year
8 Bs (include - and +) in sciences

Not sure on science GPA.. I can calculate it if you guys want it

Majors: BA Biology, BA Spanish (proficient in conversation, reading and writing)
Minor: Chemistry

EC in no particular order.. just how i thought of them:

• American Cancer Society - Relay for Life - Overall 2004-Current - Participant from 2004 to 2007, Committee member from 2007-2009, Participant again until current (discontinued committee to focus on senior year of high school and then i was out of state for school)
• Two Mission trips to El Salvador over spring break (junior/senior year) - 2013/2014
  
• Volunteer at hospital back home summer of 2012 (discontinued because i returned to school and then research job listed below during summer 2013 - volunteered in the ER and radiation oncology
• Resident Assistant (RA) at school in freshman dorm (2 years) and a freshman/sophomore dorm (1 year)
• "Spooky Science Fun Bash" 2012, 2013 - "haunted" house in our science building for the community (city of 10k), sponsored by the Hunger Coalition
• Chemistry Club Treasurer 2013-2014 (Senior year)
• Vacation Bible School at my church 2009-2012 (stopped once i got a real summer job = research job)
• Organic synthesis research for one year - we were working on synthesizing a potential antibiotic based on squalamine (a fascinating molecule by the way) (did a poster presentation at my school)
• Powerlifting - was a way to stay active after quitting football (more later). This has become a very large part of my life and I have grown to be very close with my team. Have only had one competition, but won my weight class - have another in a month

Work

• Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) - University of Nebraska Medical Center - Paid research - Pancreatic cancer research - studied synergism between a novel chemotherapeutic developed by that lab in conjunction with clinically used chemo drugs. Did a poster presentation on UNMC campus (whole program did poster presentations)
• Currently a certified allergy technician - I allergy test patients and referrals from my providers and then make their immunotherapy medicine (allergy shots) and then train them on how to administer their own injections at home (it's kind of new to the field... we make the medicine less concentrated so its safer for them to bring it home. there was research done and it is actually 17 times safer than traditional allergy shots)

Shadowing

• Extensive shadowing with an oral maxillofacial surgeon and dentist (same person lol.. MD DDS) - in clinic wisdom teeth extractions and a few operating room jaw surgeries. He sings praises about me to everyone we run into when I'm with him and he lets me know regularly about upcoming surgeries, etc
• Somewhat less extensive w/ a long time family friend (circa 2004 or so) - transplant surgeon, director of pediatric transplantation, director of living donor liver transplant program, surgery clerkship direction, assistant dean of student affairs for UNMC. mostly OR shadowing (most influential shadowing experience was with her - pediatric small bowel transplant) but some rounds as well
• Orthopedic surgeon - in clinic consults and OR hip replacement/hardware removal/replacing an infected hip replacement with an antibiotic spacer

What I'm unsure about if to include and/or how:

• I played football for freshman and sophomore years. I just didn't have the time for it anymore and I didn't have the same passion for it anymore.
• two semesters of a 3.3 GPA
• kind of strange and erratic GPA

Overall the sports/health/anatomy part is what I am most interested in which is why I've been loving powerlifting as well.

LOR:

• The transplant surgeon (assistant dean of student affairs for the college of medicine)
• The oral surgeon
• biology department chair/my 4 year advisor
• potentially my developmental biology/molec and cell professor (only *really* knew him second semester senior year.. would that be a "red flag" for a letter? he really likes me and i think he would write a really good letter
• My school research professor/who I TA'd for
• PI from my pancreatic cancer research lab

What I think is setting me apart:

• I think a 3.7 cumulative is within the realm of good
• Two mission trips
• paid cancer research
• I think my letters are going to be really good.
• 3 year RA
• Spanish/Study Abroad
• really enthusiastic about my powerlifting

obviously a lot of people have a 3.7 and good letters, but i really think the other things make me unique.. but maybe i'm wrong lol
Any questions - I will try to answer as best as I can

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[Goro]

Looks like a good app. Unless you can document it with a good LOR from a preceptor, the mission trips will be ignored. Too many people palm off vacations as "medical missions".

 

[zzxxzz]

really enthusiastic about my powerlifting

. Completely off-topic, but I think powerlifting is a good metaphor for preparing for the MCAT because of the ridiculous mental fortitude you develop.
A normal person struggles to get a few good reps in and thinks "wow, that was heavy!" before taking some plates off.
A powerlifter struggles to get a few good reps in and thinks "wow, that was heavy!" before adding more plates.

MCAT next saturday

A lot rides on this, obviously.

Think of taking the MCAT as maxing your deadlift. If you're thinking about your toe position, hand width, whatever, when you actually start pulling, you'll never get the weight up. If you think "holy #!@* this is heavy" you'll never get the weight up. If you clear your mind and just pull, you'll get the weight up. You know what I mean. Focus your mind in the same way when you sit down at the computer, and the 3 hours will fly by.

 

[gyngyn]

You might want to calculate your gpa using the AMCAS calculator. You'll need to do that anyway before coming up with a list. Neither of the two classes you questioned are BCPM.

 

[baxt1412]

thank you very much guys. i'm applying early decision to unmc which is where my shadowing has been, where i had my paid cancer research, where i volunteered, and where the assistant dean for the med school for one of my LORs is going to be from. i'm thinking all of that combined will get me good results there. it's my #1 pick as well.

 

[gyngyn]

thank you very much guys. i'm applying early decision to unmc which is where my shadowing has been, where i had my paid cancer research, where i volunteered, and where the assistant dean for the med school for one of my LORs is going to be from. i'm thinking all of that combined will get me good results there. it's my #1 pick as well.

Be sure to contact them prior to committing to EDP. You are at a significant timing disadvantage at other schools if you are not accepted.