Reapplicant Thread with a Twist

[Pembo23]

Hi everyone. I am looking for some advice. I am a reapplicant and I have an issue of only having 60 hours of hospital experience and 4 hours of shadowing. Here are my current stats.

Graduate student pursuing an MPH in Epidemiology and Behavioral Science, grad GPA about 3.9.
Completed a bachelors of science in Psychology with a GPA of 3.92.
Recently retook the MCAT and scored a 520.
Plenty of research experience in both undergrad and now with my research assistantship in grad school.
Plenty of volunteer experience: Undergraduate ministry, spring break habitat builds, and planning committee for a major public health service day this fall to name a few.
Neat tidbit: 6 semesters of choir including 3 national convention performances

So yes, I know that my medical volunteering and shadowing is lackluster. I am currently in the process of registering to volunteer with a hospital with my area. I will not be working this summer, so I can rack up the volunteer hours and they also have a shadowing program for the volunteers.

My question is this. Should I push back when I submit my primary application so that some of these hours can appear on the application or should I submit as soon as possible and send updates later with my accrued hours?

Thanks in advance.

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[wizkidviz]

Apply now. Don't wait. You have a great application right there, and as long as spin your essay to talk about how applicable your experiences are to the medical field you'll be more than good.

 

[italiancowgirl]

Your stats are very good. Some schools will still be concerned that you haven't adequately explored enough to really answer the "why medicine" question for yourself, but having said that I still think it might be smart to apply right away. You will certainly not get screened out of most secondaries. You should push hard to get a variety and as many hours shadowing and gaining clinical experience as possible asap so you can give strong answers on the secondaries and in interviews. I would apply a little more broadly since it adds a complication to your app. GL!

 

[Pembo23]

Here is my current list:

Virginia resident: UVA and VCU.
Georgetown (reach)
GW
Saint Louis (where I am doing my graduate work)
Wash U
University of Kentucky (undergrad)
UCSF (major reach, but I like the program)
Emory (reach, but potential for cross-talk between public health and medicine)

Any other recommendations would be welcome.

 

[GrapesofRath]

A reapplicant with stats this high brings about their own set of risks and will be perceived by some as a riskier candidate.

What was your first MCAT score?
Where all did you apply on your first cycle and will be a reapplicant at?

Your application will be judged mostly by what is on it when it is submitted. Update letters either will carry no to little value or at the very least are hardly things you should be relying upon.

 

[Goro]

I agree that I think it's worth a shot. You are going to need to explain why you waited until he very last minute to accrue patient contact experience, and, in fact, this is a weakness. if you can accrue these ECs between now and, say, Labor Day, update the schools you apply to ASAP.

Keep on volunteering through the year and update again in Dec.

Apply now. Don't wait. You have a great application right there, and as long as spin your essay to talk about how applicable your experiences are to the medical field you'll be more than good.

 

[Pembo23]

So my original MCAT score was a 31 with 10 on Chem/Phys, 11 on CARS, and 10 on Bio. I chose to retake the MCAT to improve my score and to make sure I had a good exam score in the new format should application round 2 not work out.

The schools I applied to previously were:
Saint Louis University
VCU
UVA
EVMS
GW
Georgetown
University of Kentucky
Mayo
Rush
Oakland
Colorado

Received interviews at Kentucky, VCU, and SLU

I appreciate your input GrapesofRath

A reapplicant with stats this high brings about their own set of risks and will be perceived by some as a riskier candidate.

What was your first MCAT score?
Where all did you apply on your first cycle and will be a reapplicant at?

Your application will be judged mostly by what is on it when it is submitted. Update letters either will carry no to little value or at the very least are hardly things you should be relying upon.

I pushed back my MCAT test date from January to April because I did not feel ready and did not want to end up with a lackluster score. I was also taking 5 classes this semester instead of 4 due to my dual concentration while also working as a Graduate Research Assistant, so I had no time and had to push back the volunteering. Goro, would you recommend that I still submit as soon as possible or wait a couple of weeks and accrue some hours for the application?

I agree that I think it's worth a shot. You are going to need to explain why you waited until he very last minute to accrue patient contact experience, and, in fact, this is a weakness. if you can accrue these ECs between now and, say, Labor Day, update the schools you apply to ASAP.

Keep on volunteering through the year and update again in Dec.

 

[Goro]

I always recommend applying with the best possible app. You can apply to a "throwaway school" to get the verifcation process started.

 

[Pembo23]

If I apply to a throwaway school, how long do I have before I can no longer add ECs to my AMCAS application?

 

[Pembo23]

Alright, thank you for all of the advice. It has been very helpful. One last thing. I have compiled a list of schools. I want to know if it is a good list or a bad list and which schools I should add or remove. I will go ahead and repost my stats here.

Bachelors of Science in Psychology, 1st year of MPH program concentrating in Behavioral Science and Health Education/Epidemiology
Undergrad at University of Kentucky, Graduate education at Saint Louis University
cGPA from Undergrad: 3.92, Science GPA = about 3.9, grad GPA = 3.89
MCAT scores: 31, retook and got a 520

Clinical Experience
Clinical Volunteering: 40 hours in VA Psych department, 20 hours in environmental management
Shadowing: 5 hours with a Psychiatrist (trying to fix these two glaring issues)

Research Experience
Undergraduate Psychology Research: 600 hours
Graduate Research Assistantship: 300 hours

Work Experience
Internship with a Federal Technology Contractor: 460 hours

Community Service:
Habitat for Humanity: 100 hours
Undergrad campus ministry: 500 hrs
International student outreach: 50 hrs

Artistic Pursuit/ Extracurricular
6 semesters in UK men's choir: 300 hrs

Honors/Awards:
Deans List all semester, Graduated with Honors in Psychology, Graduate Research Assistantship Scholarship Award

School List

Reapplying to...
VCU
UVA
GW
Georgetown
Saint Louis
Kentucky

New Applicant to...
Loma Linda
Loyola
Thomas Jefferson
Tulane
Miami
Wake Forest
Emory
UCSF
Brown
Missouri Kansas City