Non-traditional chances

[Benedictus123]

I'm curious to see what sort of response I get to this. I'm in the process of picking schools for my primary app:

So here are the stats:
cGPA - 3.95 (undergrad at Notre Dame)
sGPA - 3.90
Graduate GPA - 3.57 - how much will this be held against me? My GPA for my masters degree was a 3.0 (Princeton), but it was a 4.0 for my PhD (Michigan), so I guess that shows improvement?
MCAT - Taking on May 30th, got a 31 on the practice (AAMC 3) and feel pretty good about it (I'm taking three more). I know SDN doesn't like to answer these threads until you get a real score, but pretend I'm going to get around a 31. I have to submit my primary before I get my scores anyways, so this is a real thread for real advice! I got a 29R back in 2005 - will this be held against me?

ECs:
80 hours volunteering at the University of Michigan Health System
~30 hours volunteering at Arbor Hospice
~15 hours shadowing
I know this isn't very much by SDN standards, but by actual life standards it doesn't seem too bad right? It's hard to do lots of volunteering when you're teaching and finishing a PhD.

I'm about to finish a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. I have multiple publications including a first author with one figure as the journal cover (actually two but it's complicated), and I'll have a lot more by the time I graduate. I'm defending before September, so I'll be finished this year. Will this help at all as an EC? I've mentored multiple undergraduates through year-long projects (hundreds of hours), I've taught two classes at the university, and I do all the lab stuff that graduate students do. My research is completely biomedical, and I had a fellowship/training grant through the NIH. I managed a common use cell culture facility too, and I'm my lab's safety officer.

I'm a student in Michigan but I think my official residency is still Indiana (even though I live here and pay taxes and am a resident for voting purposes). So with all this in mind, is a school like Wayne State or Michigan State out of the question? What other places should I look at? I'm going to have to send it all out soon!

Other problem - I never got to take an organic chemistry II lab. I've had the lecture, but with the way courses were set up for chemical engineering you couldn't take the lab. How much will this be held against me? I mean, I've worked in a real laboratory for over 6 years now (no canned experiments like undergrad labs), that has to count for something right? I also have AP credit for English comp and English Lit - am I screwed here too? I did take a Medieval History class I had to write a lot for, and a technical writing class, but I don't know if that counts as a "writing" class like English would.

Thanks for any responses!

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[Goro]

IF you can score >30 on MCAT your chances are quite good. Don't worry about the low MS GPA, and the PhD GPA won't help, because they aren't considered rigorous enough depending upon what the coursework is.



I know SDN doesn't like to answer these threads until you get a real score, but pretend I'm going to get around a 31. I have to submit my primary before I get my scores anyways, so this is a real thread for real advice!

Too far back...it won't count! Be prepared for someone asking you why take MCAT then but apply now?

I got a 29R back in 2005 - will this be held against me?


I'd prefer to see more volunteering, but, not shabby.

ECs:
80 hours volunteering at the University of Michigan Health System
~30 hours volunteering at Arbor Hospice
~15 hours shadowing
I know this isn't very much by SDN standards, but by actual life standards it doesn't seem too bad right? It's hard to do lots of volunteering when you're teaching and finishing a PhD.

Academic work is NOT an extracurricular. Feeding homeless people; organizing Relays for Cancer; reading to poor children...those are ECs!


I'm about to finish a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. I have multiple publications including a first author with one figure as the journal cover (actually two but it's complicated), and I'll have a lot more by the time I graduate. I'm defending before September, so I'll be finished this year. Will this help at all as an EC?

Doesn't count. We want to see displays of altruism and humanism, not that you were a TA. We could fill our seats with 4.0 automatons, but we want to fill them with people who will be good doctors, not merely good students.

I've mentored multiple undergraduates through year-long projects (hundreds of hours), I've taught two classes at the university, and I do all the lab stuff that graduate students do. My research is completely biomedical, and I had a fellowship/training grant through the NIH. I managed a common use cell culture facility too, and I'm my lab's safety officer.


All depends on MCAT.

I'm a student in Michigan but I think my official residency is still Indiana (even though I live here and pay taxes and am a resident for voting purposes). So with all this in mind, is a school like Wayne State or Michigan State out of the question? What other places should I look at? I'm going to have to send it all out soon!


Some schools might give you a bye on this, but to make sure, call the Admissions offices and see how this stacks up. Some people can be real sticklers for "two years of chemistry plus labs"


Other problem - I never got to take an organic chemistry II lab. I've had the lecture, but with the way courses were set up for chemical engineering you couldn't take the lab. How much will this be held against me? I mean, I've worked in a real laboratory for over 6 years now (no canned experiments like undergrad labs), that has to count for something right?


Sounds like your basic English requirement to me.

I also have AP credit for English comp and English Lit - am I screwed here too?


No.

I did take a Medieval History class I had to write a lot for, and a technical writing class, but I don't know if that counts as a "writing" class like English would.

 

[Benedictus123]

Thanks! I've read some places that teaching experience is good to promote as something one has done, but I suppose it's not as useful as I thought!

The PhD is in chemical engineering and the material is pretty tough/rigorous, but I know PhDs aren't worth much in the medical admissions game and I certainly didn't earn one as a way to 'get in.' I decided to try to go into medicine after already finishing my quals and well on my way to a good academic career.

I took the MCAT randomly when I was a senior in college and applied to precisely two medical schools. I somehow got interviews at both despite having zero volunteer experience and a really crappy PS. I was flighty about the whole thing and not at all really considering being a doctor then. Eight years of better consideration along with actual clinical exposure has lead to this far more (and practically independent) mature decision.

Oh oh! I was an RA at a dorm when I was an undergrad. Is that an EC? Or is that still too academic? Does that count towards leadership? I completely forgot about that (I mean, that was back in 2004, nearly 10 years ago).

Thanks for the response! I guess if I don't do well on the MCAT I can just go back to being a scientist.