How am I looking? gpa/mcat

[Rolling_with_the_punches]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to get an idea of how competitive i'm looking with my scores.

Cumulative gpa : 3.7
Science gpa : 3.7

My gpa comes with a strong upward trend. The last 6 semesters of classes were all 4.0s.
I also graduated Summa cum laude at my university after transferring from CC.

Two mcat scores
First 8/15/14 = 26
10 PS / 6 VR / 10 BS

Second 1/15/15 = 31
10 PS / 9 VR / 12 BS

250 hours volunteered in the emergency department in a hospital.
Worked in a lab over summer, doing and observing experiments.
1 year working as EMT
Physics tutor - 1 semester
Worked 2 years at a grocery store being a bagger/stocker

I have 3 strong letters of rec stored on interfolio.

I am applying this upcoming cycle and I'm about to get a job as an ER tech at the hospital I volunteered at.

The main schools I would like to get into are Rush MC and UIC COM.
I think Loyola is out of the question because they average MCAT scores.

I'm also Hispanic if that matters at all.

thank you!

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[The Milkman]

I think you have a decent chance at getting an acceptance. Numbers are great, ECs could be better. Keep pursuing the clinical work you're doing, and try to find something non clinical that you enjoy, and do some shadowing ASAP!

 

[Holmwood]

Things are looking good so far, but there could be room for some improvement.
More community involvement would be nice. Wherever you can show the compassionate side of you.
Any opportunity where you can show some leadership would also be great.

It's all I got for now.

 

[Rolling_with_the_punches]

Thank you! I will definitely look into getting some shadowing hours in, as well as my ER tech job. I also plan to pursue more research in the summer and hopefully make it more meaningful.

I think you have a decent chance at getting an acceptance. Numbers are great, ECs could be better. Keep pursuing the clinical work you're doing, and try to find something non clinical that you enjoy, and do some shadowing ASAP!

Thank you! I was actually a Peer physics leader at my university. I would basically tutor a group of students on physics concepts. (I got an A in the class). Would this count as some leadership? Its not exactly a TA though. What kind of activities could show the compassionate side? I am a compassionate person, i'm just having a hard time finding it within activities.

Things are looking good so far, but there could be room for some improvement.
More community involvement would be nice. Wherever you can show the compassionate side of you.
Any opportunity where you can show some leadership would also be great.

It's all I got for now.

 

[Holmwood]

Thank you! I was actually a Peer physics leader at my university. I would basically tutor a group of students on physics concepts. (I got an A in the class). Would this count as some leadership? Its not exactly a TA though. What kind of activities could show the compassionate side? I am a compassionate person, i'm just having a hard time finding it within activities.

Hmm... well I did talk to my advisor about something similar a couple years ago. You can stretch it into a mentorship position depending on what you did and how you describe it. Don't be too hardpressed about squeezing a legitimate leadership position (ex. president of student council) out of anything. It's moreso showing that you can handle greater responsibilities, be active in guiding others, etc. Additionally, 1 semester of physics tutoring is just a bit short, and it would be nice to see if you can continue tutoring/mentoring through some opportunities, whether it be at the uni, a local high school, or a service organization. Since you have a knack for teaching others, you should capitalize on that.

You can show leadership in areas other than the tutoring as well. Since you worked as a bagger/stocker, didn't you have any experience showing newbies how to do things? As an ER volunteer, did you have any experience training new volunteers? These are all things that can help build the case that you are an effective leader and teacher.


Just any work with the community's underserved would show both compassion and culture competence. Some people do something generic like a soup kitchen, while others help out at a free clinic. I would just search some stuff online and see what interests you. http://www.volunteermatch.org/ was a good start for me as I found both clinical and volunteer work with the homeless there. Have a look around and see what may interest you. I personally tutored homeless kids as a way to bring my love of teaching to the underserved community (plus, it knocked 2 birds with 1 stone).

ALTHOUGH, you probably have a lot of stories working with the underserved as an ER volunteer, and probably will have more as an ER tech. You may not even need to start an entirely new community volunteerwork (although I encourage you to do as many as you can : ) ).

 

[gyngyn]

Which Hispanic community?
Where's the rest of your list?!

 

[Rolling_with_the_punches]

thank you! That definitely gives me some insight and ideas! Greatly appreciated. I did have to train many people at my grocery job as well as being responsible for closing and opening the store and all that jazz.

Hmm... well I did talk to my advisor about something similar a couple years ago. You can stretch it into a mentorship position depending on what you did and how you describe it. Don't be too hardpressed about squeezing a legitimate leadership position (ex. president of student council) out of anything. It's moreso showing that you can handle greater responsibilities, be active in guiding others, etc. Additionally, 1 semester of physics tutoring is just a bit short, and it would be nice to see if you can continue tutoring/mentoring through some opportunities, whether it be at the uni, a local high school, or a service organization. Since you have a knack for teaching others, you should capitalize on that.

You can show leadership in areas other than the tutoring as well. Since you worked as a bagger/stocker, didn't you have any experience showing newbies how to do things? As an ER volunteer, did you have any experience training new volunteers? These are all things that can help build the case that you are an effective leader and teacher.


Just any work with the community's underserved would show both compassion and culture competence. Some people do something generic like a soup kitchen, while others help out at a free clinic. I would just search some stuff online and see what interests you. http://www.volunteermatch.org/ was a good start for me as I found both clinical and volunteer work with the homeless there. Have a look around and see what may interest you. I personally tutored homeless kids as a way to bring my love of teaching to the underserved community (plus, it knocked 2 birds with 1 stone).

ALTHOUGH, you probably have a lot of stories working with the underserved as an ER volunteer, and probably will have more as an ER tech. You may not even need to start an entirely new community volunteerwork (although I encourage you to do as many as you can : ) ).

Mexican, I don't have a full list unfortunately. I plan to get the MSAR asap and start looking up schools. I just pointed out the two above as I am an Il resident who graduated from UIC and would really love to stick to UIC COM. I know its a shot in the dark and I'll go anywhere who offers me an acceptance. T

Which Hispanic community?
Where's the rest of your list?!

 

[gyngyn]

Language skills?

 

[Catalystik]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to get an idea of how competitive i'm looking with my scores.

Cumulative gpa : 3.7
Science gpa : 3.7

My gpa comes with a strong upward trend. The last 6 semesters of classes were all 4.0s.
I also graduated Summa cum laude at my university after transferring from CC.

Two mcat scores
First 8/15/14 = 26
10 PS / 6 VR / 10 BS

Second 1/15/15 = 31
10 PS / 9 VR / 12 BS

250 hours volunteered in the emergency department in a hospital.
Worked in a lab over summer, doing and observing experiments.
1 year working as EMT
Physics tutor - 1 semester
Worked 2 years at a grocery store being a bagger/stocker

I have 3 strong letters of rec stored on interfolio.

I am applying this upcoming cycle and I'm about to get a job as an ER tech at the hospital I volunteered at.

The main schools I would like to get into are Rush MC and UIC COM.
I think Loyola is out of the question because they average MCAT scores.

I'm also Hispanic if that matters at all.

thank you!

I think you are likely to have a very good chance at UIC. If scholarship money were offered, are you willing to relocate further away from your home state?

 

[Rolling_with_the_punches]

Unfortunately, I am not fluent in spanish. I do come from a spanish speaking household but I just never picked it up. I understand conversations, but when it comes to actually conversing in spanish, I have trouble.

Language skills?

Very good question! I guess it would depend on the circumstances and where I was accepted. I'm not one of those people who will not be happy if they don't go to a top 10 or 20 medical school. I'd prefer MD over DO, but I would most likely give DO a shot if I don't land an MD acceptance. However, I would move to any location provided I was accepted, a scholarship would be even sweeter.

I think you are likely to have a very good chance at UIC. If scholarship money were offered, are you willing to relocate further away from your home state?

 

[gyngyn]

Unfortunately, I am not fluent in spanish. I do come from a spanish speaking household but I just never picked it up. I understand conversations, but when it comes to actually conversing in spanish, I have trouble.

This is a common but sad situation. I would strongly recommend improving your ability to communicate with the community that would be the reason for any special consideration (other than economic, of course).

 

[musicswimlife]

Apply broadly to mid tier MD schools and DO schools and you will definitely get in somewhere.