Have received advice in the past, looking to check in before apps are due :D

[Juicec]

Hello folks, I've written the community a few times specifically in terms of asking what my chances were. I feel like having a group of like minded individuals check out your overall application is the best way to find holes and see where you mesh into the M.D. crowd -- so if you've helped me out before, I apologize about the repetitiveness and thank you again for your input!

I am currently a junior at a SUNY (NY state) school, my wife recently was awarded a job in NYC and as such I will be applying specifically to city schools -- I've got my eye on Downstate at the moment, seems like the perfect fit. This brings me to my first question, how heavy does this weigh on a school like down state -- we're looking to start a life together there, she in her career and myself the medical road. I would think Downstate would look favorably on this?

Some quick calculations suggest:
cGPA: 3.86
sGPA: 3.76
MCAT: To be decided -- will be taking early July. Have yet to start studying significantly but have 1.5 months laid out with nothing to do prior to the exam date -- I hope that to be sufficient -- any comments on that?

2 years prior to my matriculation here at SUNY I attended a CC due to reasons beyond my control -- specifically my required transferring due to my wife moving locations several times, 3 in total. I am a little older than usual, 24, this due to the fact I am Canadian and I had been waiting on my citizenship to begin school -- another motivating factor to start my business as I could not work at the time. Since arriving in my 4 year school I've maintained B's in Orgo I & II, and 2 upper level bios. Primary reason for not achieving A's was due to large outside commitments ~3.5 GPA each semester so far however.

A few comments on the below, I believe my business is what really sets me apart. Do you have any input on how I should talk this up? Its really a defining part of who I am/what I do on a daily basis. Its nothing medically related but its been a ton of work to get it where it is today, has paid for my education, etc.. Am also continuing with most of the events below, such actively being EMT-B trained.

With applications coming up, I am trying to get a feel for my chances and just in general where I should be applying. Again, need a close proximity to the city as a major decision factor. All the major ones in the city, my wife attended Cornell law so I am thinking there might be some legacy there, depends how they word the secondary I suppose, siani, einstein, etc. Stony brook and even out into neighboring states if a commute is realistic (i.e. home for weekends).

Any and all help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

As a side note, I am actively trying to write my personal statement. Any suggestions would be welcomed, have yet to really get going yet -- I know I'm late! -_- Been thinking a lot, not much writing! I'm toying with the "journey" I've been on to end up here. Living in Canada, moving down south and getting married at a young age, against my parents wishes, blah blah, having to start a business from the ground up to support us, working 50+ hours during year 1 of my studies + running a business, transferring 3 times... I am just not sure if thats a personal statement or if thats a secondary? Personal statements to me is why I want to be a doctor, but this "journey" and the experiences I've come across over the past few years is what's solidified my choice towards a career of medicine. To boring perhaps?

Some additional information:

Honors:
Phi Theta Kappa
Deans List
Presidents List
Service Tradition Scholar
Binghamton Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholar

Volunteering:
2009 - 2010: Children's Aid Society. Mentoring children (similar to big brother). Organizing donation events. ~150 hours.
Summer 2011: Habitat for Humanity. Construction for the under served. In the blistering heat! (that has to count for something!) ~50 hours.
2010-Present: Hospital Volunteering. Worked initially as surgical intake helping in the massive amounts of paper work some poor RN's had to take care of. Graduated into the ER doing the typical, changing beds, transportation, stocking supplies, interacting with patients via general conversation and basic assistance when needed. ~150 hours.
2011-Present: Serving as a mentor to high school students in the local area. ~110 hours.
2011-Present: Volunteering with a local EMS agency acting as an aid and training for EMT-B. ~75 hours.

Study Abroad:
Summer 2010: Studied abroad at the University of Shanghai exploring inter cultural relations and global effects on and by China.

Research:
Summer 2011: Studied the effects voltage and calcium sensitive dyes have on neurological processes via multi electrode array stimulation (MEA) and analyzing through high speed and 2-photon laser imaging. ~400 hours.

Shadowing:
Summer 2011: Shadowed an orthopedic surgeon. ~75 hours.

Work:
2006-2007: Worked as a life guard and swimming instructor. ~10 hours a week.
2008-2010: Collections specialist. ~50 hours a week for 1.5 years.
2010-Present: I tutor Math/Science related topics in local collage as an adjunct professional faculty tutor and also through tutor.com ~20 hours a week.
2008-Present: Owned/operated my own business designed to fund my undergraduate education. ~40 hours a week. Successful to date!

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[catzzz88]

2008-2010: Collections specialist. ~50 hours a week for 1.5 years.
2010-Present: I tutor Math/Science related topics in local collage as an adjunct professional faculty tutor and also through tutor.com ~20 hours a week.
2008-Present: Owned/operated my own business designed to fund my undergraduate education. ~40 hours a week. Successful to date!

Be careful. Absolutely no-one will believe that you worked 90 hours a week for 1.5 years while simultaneously in school maintaining a 3.8 GPA...

Just a suggestion to make this more realistic.

Overall, I would say that your app looks pretty good. Just kill the MCAT and you should be good. Are you getting citizenship? That will help.

Best of luck!

Best,
C

 

[Juicec]

Well, to be fair since its been a relatively long standing EC of mine, its been between 30-80hrs/wk (my business that is), so I averaged it off :S -- On the lower end while working full time, but given I knew my eminent transfer was coming up soon, I took general course work to facilitate an easy transfer so the GPA wasn't that difficult to maintain.

The fact of the matter is, is that I did nothing but eat, breath and sleep work. Such is the case when food and a roof are motivating factors :S

Citizenship will be finalized next week actually, haha, only took ~5 years :S Just in time!

Thanks for the input!

 

[Alejandro]

On your personal statement, try to think of meaningful reflections of how your experiences helped you "mature you" for a career in medicine, rather than simply "qualify you" for a career in medicine. If you're a nontrad, you have that ace in the hole-use it wisely.

 

[Juicec]

On your personal statement, try to think of meaningful reflections of how your experiences helped you "mature you" for a career in medicine, rather than simply "qualify you" for a career in medicine. If you're a nontrad, you have that ace in the hole-use it wisely.

Hm, interesting. Hardest part for me is actually getting ideas on paper. Every time I try to formulate something I'm looking at like 15 pages. I'm thinking of sitting down with someone, shooting them my life and asking them to tell me what hit them the hardest. My life seems like a blur at this point, not really sure what stands out. It's the sum of the experiences that got me where I am today, it is hard to put a finger on just one primary factor -- this of course is the dilemma with all personal statements I'm sure.

sigh...

To what you said above, my goals as an 18 year old vs. a 24 year old are worlds apart. I will need to think of a clever way to summarize my move and the issues/experiences associated with it. That will lead me nicely into how I've matured, etc. Still at a loss for words though.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello folks, I've written the community a few times specifically in terms of asking what my chances were. I feel like having a group of like minded individuals check out your overall application is the best way to find holes and see where you mesh into the M.D. crowd -- so if you've helped me out before, I apologize about the repetitiveness and thank you again for your input!

I am currently a junior at a SUNY (NY state) school, my wife recently was awarded a job in NYC and as such I will be applying specifically to city schools -- I've got my eye on Downstate at the moment, seems like the perfect fit. This brings me to my first question, how heavy does this weigh on a school like down state -- we're looking to start a life together there, she in her career and myself the medical road. I would think Downstate would look favorably on this?

Some quick calculations suggest:
cGPA: 3.86
sGPA: 3.76
MCAT: To be decided -- will be taking early July. Have yet to start studying significantly but have 1.5 months laid out with nothing to do prior to the exam date -- I hope that to be sufficient -- any comments on that?

2 years prior to my matriculation here at SUNY I attended a CC due to reasons beyond my control -- specifically my required transferring due to my wife moving locations several times, 3 in total. I am a little older than usual, 24, this due to the fact I am Canadian and I had been waiting on my citizenship to begin school -- another motivating factor to start my business as I could not work at the time. Since arriving in my 4 year school I've maintained B's in Orgo I & II, and 2 upper level bios. Primary reason for not achieving A's was due to large outside commitments ~3.5 GPA each semester so far however.

A few comments on the below, I believe my business is what really sets me apart. Do you have any input on how I should talk this up? Its really a defining part of who I am/what I do on a daily basis. Its nothing medically related but its been a ton of work to get it where it is today, has paid for my education, etc.. Am also continuing with most of the events below, such actively being EMT-B trained.

With applications coming up, I am trying to get a feel for my chances and just in general where I should be applying. Again, need a close proximity to the city as a major decision factor. All the major ones in the city, my wife attended Cornell law so I am thinking there might be some legacy there, depends how they word the secondary I suppose, siani, einstein, etc. Stony brook and even out into neighboring states if a commute is realistic (i.e. home for weekends).

Any and all help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

As a side note, I am actively trying to write my personal statement. Any suggestions would be welcomed, have yet to really get going yet -- I know I'm late! -_- Been thinking a lot, not much writing! I'm toying with the "journey" I've been on to end up here. Living in Canada, moving down south and getting married at a young age, against my parents wishes, blah blah, having to start a business from the ground up to support us, working 50+ hours during year 1 of my studies + running a business, transferring 3 times... I am just not sure if thats a personal statement or if thats a secondary? Personal statements to me is why I want to be a doctor, but this "journey" and the experiences I've come across over the past few years is what's solidified my choice towards a career of medicine. To boring perhaps?

Some additional information:

Honors:
Phi Theta Kappa
Deans List
Presidents List
Service Tradition Scholar
Binghamton Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholar

Volunteering:
2009 - 2010: Children's Aid Society. Mentoring children (similar to big brother). Organizing donation events. ~150 hours.
Summer 2011: Habitat for Humanity. Construction for the under served. In the blistering heat! (that has to count for something!) ~50 hours.
2010-Present: Hospital Volunteering. Worked initially as surgical intake helping in the massive amounts of paper work some poor RN's had to take care of. Graduated into the ER doing the typical, changing beds, transportation, stocking supplies, interacting with patients via general conversation and basic assistance when needed. ~150 hours.
2011-Present: Serving as a mentor to high school students in the local area. ~110 hours.
2011-Present: Volunteering with a local EMS agency acting as an aid and training for EMT-B. ~75 hours.

Study Abroad:
Summer 2010: Studied abroad at the University of Shanghai exploring inter cultural relations and global effects on and by China.

Research:
Summer 2011: Studied the effects voltage and calcium sensitive dyes have on neurological processes via multi electrode array stimulation (MEA) and analyzing through high speed and 2-photon laser imaging. ~400 hours.

Shadowing:
Summer 2011: Shadowed an orthopedic surgeon. ~75 hours.

Work:
2006-2007: Worked as a life guard and swimming instructor. ~10 hours a week.
2008-2010: Collections specialist. ~50 hours a week for 1.5 years.
2010-Present: I tutor Math/Science related topics in local collage as an adjunct professional faculty tutor and also through tutor.com ~20 hours a week.
2008-Present: Owned/operated my own business designed to fund my undergraduate education. ~40 hours a week. Successful to date!

If there is any chance you could spend 4-8 hours shadowing a primary care physician, try to add that.

 

[Juicec]

Thanks Cat, I've actually tried quite a bit but scheduling issues and the fact I'm in a fairly small town there is not that much to choose from.

I'm going to put another effort into it over the next few days, we will see how it pans out

But at the end of the day, with just the above and maintaining what I'm maintaining, what is your 2 cents? -- Keeping in mind of course that Cat's 2 cents >>>>>>>>>>>>>> us common folks' 2 cents.

Any school suggestions?

Thanks again.

 

[Catalystik]

As to overall chances based on historical information for various cGPA/MCAT combos and population group, see: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=888650

When you have an MCAT score, schools can be suggested, but in the meantime download this google.doc spreadsheet data (an SDN collaborative effort from 5/11), so you can fill in your own (projected) stats, and it will tell you for which US med schools you're competitive with different MCAT outcome scenarios. Next look at the in-state matriculation data before you do further research on each school for "fit," removing any from your list that take more than 85% in-state students (my personal cutpoint): https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmKVGWwobG5GdEx2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0

Finally, cross-correlate with the mission statements in the MSAR to be sure you "fit.'

 

[Juicec]

Thanks, yeah I've been through those a few times -- was just trying to get some perspective on my EC's. Boring stats are boring :S

Looking forward to the June 1st application opening, verified shortly after and getting complete ~mid August at the latest.

 

[Catalystik]

Your ECs are comprehensive and should satisfy many adcomms. If you plan to confine yourself to NYC, more research would have been nice to see in order to appeal to more of their schools, in case your MCAT comes out high. [That isn't a criticism, merely a comment.] As a nontrad, I think you did well to get the experiences you did.

 

[yankeefan18]

With respect to your query about DS showing preference for NYC ties: there is a place on their secondary where you can speak to connections to the city and specifically why you want to begin your medical studies there. So yes...they should look favorably on your marital situation.

 

[Juicec]

With respect to your query about DS showing preference for NYC ties: there is a place on their secondary where you can speak to connections to the city and specifically why you want to begin your medical studies there. So yes...they should look favorably on your marital situation.

I figured they would appreciate it, it is good to know there is a specific section for it though, thanks.

...and thanks Cat, yeah I would have loved to get some more research in myself. The way the cookie crumbled as they say is that because of the large amount of transfers I underwent I wasn't at any one place long enough to really facilitate any meaningful research during the semesters. I was lucky to find what I did over the summer and although I did enjoy it, I think it is has unexpectedly become a vital part of my decision towards my path in medicine as I have now entirely ruled out the research side of it :S

But yes, if I get a high MCAT (which I'm not sure a 35+ is really realistic with only 6 weeks of study time, at least for me) I would find myself scraping at some of the higher tiered schools doors. I would however still be thrilled to be an even better candidate at downstate.