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[JDKVEGAS]

Hello everyone,

I am been on this for quite a while and well, I am wanting to see what you all think about my path so far and possibly what I can do to bolster my chances to get into medical school. I am a 21 year old Caucasian male.

B.S. in Religion with a 3.65 GPA

Anatomy 1 A
Anatomy 2 A
Gen Chemistry 1 A
Statistics A
Psychology A

I am enrolled to take Gen Chem 2, Microbiology, Physics 1, and Gen Bio in the spring with the eventual continuation of pre-req's into the summer and fall semesters.

I realize my path is quite abstract and I have not really seen others with my degree on here yet.
I have received 1 "C" in my undergraduate program in Archaeology. How does that affect my chances?

As for extra curricular activities, I am currently enlisted in the Air Force as a Medic and have experience in Healthcare Admin as well. I have been on numerous humanitarian/mission trips to help those underprivileged. I have been volunteering as a Sunday school teacher for 6 years, am on a Samaritans Purse Disaster relief team in the southwest United States, and am a sponsored advocate for Compassion International in getting children sponsored. I also serve as a small group leader for a organization that is like Big Brother Big Sister and have 5 kids I mentor ever Wednesday and volunteer at the local USO in the airport. Additionally, I have shadowed a Cardiologist, Pediatric Cardiologist and Family Practice physician so far aside from the flight physicians I work with. I have I know I could probably do more but I am a little out of idea's. Also, I am still trying to figure out what I can do better and what to focus on. I know research is becoming more important but Nevada does not have a ton of opportunities.

Anyways, thank you for your insights.

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[theseeker4]

Hello everyone,

I am been on this for quite a while and well, I am wanting to see what you all think about my path so far and possibly what I can do to bolster my chances to get into medical school. I am a 21 year old Caucasian male.

B.S. in Religion with a 3.65 GPA

Anatomy 1 A
Anatomy 2 A
Gen Chemistry 1 A
Statistics A
Psychology A

I am enrolled to take Gen Chem 2, Microbiology, Physics 1, and Gen Bio in the spring with the eventual continuation of pre-req's into the summer and fall semesters.

I realize my path is quite abstract and I have not really seen others with my degree on here yet.
I have received 1 "C" in my undergraduate program in Archaeology. How does that affect my chances?

As for extra curricular activities, I am currently enlisted in the Air Force as a Medic and have experience in Healthcare Admin as well. I have been on numerous humanitarian/mission trips to help those underprivileged. I have been volunteering as a Sunday school teacher for 6 years, am on a Samaritans Purse Disaster relief team in the southwest United States, and am a sponsored advocate for Compassion International in getting children sponsored. I also serve as a small group leader for a organization that is like Big Brother Big Sister and have 5 kids I mentor ever Wednesday and volunteer at the local USO in the airport. Additionally, I have shadowed a Cardiologist, Pediatric Cardiologist and Family Practice physician so far aside from the flight physicians I work with. I have I know I could probably do more but I am a little out of idea's. Also, I am still trying to figure out what I can do better and what to focus on. I know research is becoming more important but Nevada does not have a ton of opportunities.

Anyways, thank you for your insights.

Welcome to SDN! Don't spend too much time in the pre-allopathic forum or you will drive yourself nuts.

Your grades are fine, just keep getting A's in the pre reqs, and you will have no issues as far as your undergraduate record is concerned. Be careful, however, about over-loading. Taking 4 science courses, with at least 3 having labs, is no joke, especially if you have to work or do other things outside studying and attending classes to support yourself. Since you are active duty military, I assume you will have a full time job in addition to your courses, unless you are going to be discharged before you start the classes. If you will still be active duty, I strongly recommend limiting yourself to 2 courses at a time, and only then if you are sure you can handle it. Even if you will be out of active duty, make sure you can handle the load before you jump in that strongly. Better to take an extra year before you get into medical school, than have to take two extra years because you messed up your GPA.

MCAT will of course be a big factor, but worry about that once all the pre reqs are finished.

Your degree might be an interesting talking point at interviews, but I don't think it will significantly hurt or help your application. The uniqueness factor will likely help, as long as you have strong grades in the pre reqs.

Your ECs sound great, but make sure you give yourself enough free time to keep up weekly volunteering or other healthcare related work. Applying with what you have in ECs right now would look great, but if you don't do anything with your ECs between now and applying in a year and a half, adcoms might very well ask "why haven't you done anything recently?"

Research is a nice plus, but it is by no means required unless you want to go MD-PhD or to a top research school. If you cant' find it, don't sweat it, and if you can, great. Your military experience will probably be a bigger plus than having a few months of research assistant experience on your resume anyway.

Bottom line, focus on academics first, EC's second, and once your pre-reqs are out of the way, rock the MCAT. You are currently in great position to build a strong med school application.

 

[JDKVEGAS]

Welcome to SDN! Don't spend too much time in the pre-allopathic forum or you will drive yourself nuts.

Your grades are fine, just keep getting A's in the pre reqs, and you will have no issues as far as your undergraduate record is concerned. Be careful, however, about over-loading. Taking 4 science courses, with at least 3 having labs, is no joke, especially if you have to work or do other things outside studying and attending classes to support yourself. Since you are active duty military, I assume you will have a full time job in addition to your courses, unless you are going to be discharged before you start the classes. If you will still be active duty, I strongly recommend limiting yourself to 2 courses at a time, and only then if you are sure you can handle it. Even if you will be out of active duty, make sure you can handle the load before you jump in that strongly. Better to take an extra year before you get into medical school, than have to take two extra years because you messed up your GPA.

MCAT will of course be a big factor, but worry about that once all the pre reqs are finished.

Your degree might be an interesting talking point at interviews, but I don't think it will significantly hurt or help your application. The uniqueness factor will likely help, as long as you have strong grades in the pre reqs.

Your ECs sound great, but make sure you give yourself enough free time to keep up weekly volunteering or other healthcare related work. Applying with what you have in ECs right now would look great, but if you don't do anything with your ECs between now and applying in a year and a half, adcoms might very well ask "why haven't you done anything recently?"

Research is a nice plus, but it is by no means required unless you want to go MD-PhD or to a top research school. If you cant' find it, don't sweat it, and if you can, great. Your military experience will probably be a bigger plus than having a few months of research assistant experience on your resume anyway.

Bottom line, focus on academics first, EC's second, and once your pre-reqs are out of the way, rock the MCAT. You are currently in great position to build a strong med school application.

Thank you for all the advice!! I am actually qualified for a commissioning program in the Air Force so I am going to school almost full time without the need of working my butt completely off. So I have time for the classes thankfully and know the professors from previous courses with them. But I do agree I should perhaps really concentrate and put things in a certain order for focusing. Thank you!