Hello, I apologize that I am posting about a topic that has been beaten to death already, but I am curious to know about my situation. I am a first-generation college student from a Hispanic background, and most of the activities that I have been involved in have been related to work in underrepresented Spanish-speaking communities.
I will not mention all of the activities in order to avoid identifying myself, but some of them include volunteering as a medical interpreter at various community clinics, visiting rural parts of Mexico to provide health care for the poor, among other community work. I am also in the process of establishing a nonprofit in order to serve the poor in certain parts of my city.
My only hesitation is the fact that I have 11 (yes, eleven) W's on my transcript, and I feel that it will severely impact my chance of having any interviews (especially at my top choice, UCSF). 6 of my W's were from freshman year due to a circumstance wherein I lost my job, got into a car accident, and fell into a mild depression due to relationship issues.
Furthermore, 2 more W's were related to a drop deadline that I missed (because I was taking the wrong physics course), and the 3 remaining W's were related to poor planning on my behalf and academic burnout this semester. (I was also recently involved in another car accident, for the second time.)
A professor (who will help me with my personal statement) had previously told me that the W's will have to be explained, but they should not hopefully affect my chances of being accepted. I know that I am at a severe disadvantage compared to students without any W's, but, given a good MCAT score, AMCAS GPA (3.84 currently), and my aforementioned activities, will I still be a competitive applicant for medical school (UCSF even)?
Thank you very much for your time and advice.
I will not mention all of the activities in order to avoid identifying myself, but some of them include volunteering as a medical interpreter at various community clinics, visiting rural parts of Mexico to provide health care for the poor, among other community work. I am also in the process of establishing a nonprofit in order to serve the poor in certain parts of my city.
My only hesitation is the fact that I have 11 (yes, eleven) W's on my transcript, and I feel that it will severely impact my chance of having any interviews (especially at my top choice, UCSF). 6 of my W's were from freshman year due to a circumstance wherein I lost my job, got into a car accident, and fell into a mild depression due to relationship issues.
Furthermore, 2 more W's were related to a drop deadline that I missed (because I was taking the wrong physics course), and the 3 remaining W's were related to poor planning on my behalf and academic burnout this semester. (I was also recently involved in another car accident, for the second time.)
A professor (who will help me with my personal statement) had previously told me that the W's will have to be explained, but they should not hopefully affect my chances of being accepted. I know that I am at a severe disadvantage compared to students without any W's, but, given a good MCAT score, AMCAS GPA (3.84 currently), and my aforementioned activities, will I still be a competitive applicant for medical school (UCSF even)?
Thank you very much for your time and advice.
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