MD & DO Marginal Applicant, What Do You Think?

[Member 11]

cGPA: 3.7
sGPA: 3.7
MCAT: 32
Non science major
North Carolina resident
Applying next cycle

ECs:
100+ hours of hospital volunteering (patient transport, etc.)
~ 30 hours of shadowing, various specialties
Part time work
Anticipated: 1 year of volunteer tutoring (elementary age students)
From rural area, but no rural-related ECs

The List

MD:

ECU
UNC
Wake Forest
USC - Columbia (SC ties - family)
USC - Greenville
Med University of SC
King COM in VA
VCU
Virginia Tech
Eastern Virginia
George Washington

DO
VCOM - CC


Thanks

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[SkipJunior]

looks good though if you're applying next cycle, you have time to beef up those clinical experience hours. Also try to get a DO LOR if you can, helps with the DO schools. Also add a few more new low tier MD schools like Western Michigan, Jefferson, Hofstra-Northshore, Drexel etc.

Why don't you apply to Campbell-COM too?

Make sure you submit your AMCAS in early June 2015 and start pre-writing your secondaries from June. Submit all MD secondaries by July 31 2015 and all DO secondaries by Aug 31 2015.

 

[Goro]

ECU
UNC
Wake Forest
King COM in VA (I'm not familiar with this. Do you mean VCOM?)
VCU
Virginia Tech
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
All 3 VCOMs
ACOM
LMU
Drexel
PCOM
PCOM-GA
WVU
WVCOM
KYCOM
The Philly triplets
Penn State
TCMC

 

[Member 11]

ECU
UNC
Wake Forest
King COM in VA (I'm not familiar with this. Do you mean VCOM?)
VCU
Virginia Tech
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
All 3 VCOMs
ACOM
LMU
Drexel
PCOM
PCOM-GA
WVU
WVCOM
KYCOM
The Philly triplets
Penn State
TCMC

This is a new MD school in Abingdon VA (King University). It was supposed to be matriculating students by next year, but now I'm not so sure.

"King's vision is to create a research-based medical university and welcome the first students by 2013 or 2014."

Link to FAQs here: http://schoolofmedicine.king.edu/faqs

 

[Aerus]

You're a GOOD applicant, competitive for med school. I'd hardly call you a marginal applicant.

 

[Goro]

If it's not yet in MSAR, it's not real.

This is a new MD school in Abingdon VA (King University). It was supposed to be matriculating students by next year, but now I'm not so sure.

"King's vision is to create a research-based medical university and welcome the first students by 2013 or 2014."

Link to FAQs here: http://schoolofmedicine.king.edu/faqs

 

[Member 11]

You're a GOOD applicant, competitive for med school. I'd hardly call you a marginal applicant.

Thanks for the encouraging words. Specifically, I think that my ECs are marginal. I would consider my numbers competitive as well, but what you see under my ECs is essentially all there is. I have no research, and will probably end up with very generic LORs. I guess the ECs are really where my concern is.

 

[Member 11]

If it's not yet in MSAR, it's not real.

Point taken, I just placed it on the list in anticipation of it being up and running by next year. If it's not, no big deal; it's out of state anyway.

Also, Goro, I saw where you removed the South Carolina schools from my list. Do you think it's a waste of an application fee for those schools even with family ties?

And thanks for the WV and KY school suggestions, I've done a good bit of research on my list and somehow those slipped by me.

 

[Member 11]

Why don't you apply to Campbell-COM too?

Thanks for the advice. I'm avoiding Campbell simply because it's not a good fit for me.

 

[Member 11]

Shameless bump.

 

[Heplayer92]

Thanks for the encouraging words. Specifically, I think that my ECs are marginal. I would consider my numbers competitive as well, but what you see under my ECs is essentially all there is. I have no research, and will probably end up with very generic LORs. I guess the ECs are really where my concern is.

For LoRs, I'd suggest you get to know some of the people who will be writing you LoRs. Even if they're old professors, I e-mailed some of them up, and asked to sit down with them and talk about possibly writing me an LoR for medical school. We would chat over tea or something for an hour, or get brunch, and just talk. Get to know each other better...help them understand why you want to go to medical school. This is totally in your hands, and you have plenty of time for this.

Hopefully someone else has good EC advice for you! But yeah, hours are important, but more importantly, it's how you write about your experiences in the application. Good luck! Numbers-wise you're looking good. Keep it up.