- Joined
- Jun 25, 2013
- Messages
- 37
- Reaction score
- 9
Hey everyone! I'm hoping someone can help me figure out my next step. I applied this past summer and have had 2 interviews with 1 more coming up next month. I still don't know about my status at one of the schools, but I've been waitlisted at the other one, so I'm just trying to figure out ways to strengthen my application in the event that I have to reapply next cycle. (Forgive me if this isn't the right thread to post this in.)
Stats:
3.47 AMCAS cGPA
3.23 AMCAS sGPA
Strong upward trend throughout my last 3 years of undergraduate (last 3 years GPA = 3.74; first year alone GPA = 2.74)
MCAT = 30 (8PS/10VR/12BS)
ECs:
- 9 months of research but no presentations, papers, recommendation letters, etc.
- 2 summers volunteering as a nurses' assistant in a family practice clinic (check patients in, take their vitals, ask about their symptoms, trained on how to interview patients to get medical histories, performed EKGs, urinalyses, and shots with supervision from the nurses)
- 4 months as a medical screener at a plasma donation facility (check donors' vitals, counsel them if their vitals are not within a healthy range for donation)
- leadership and internship positions in work related to increasing the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
- honors: dean's list for 4 semesters, graduated cum laude, received a grant from my university to conduct my research
- planned/currently: in training to become a volunteer with my city's medical reserve corps (respond to public health emergencies and provide public health education to the general population); looking for a job, preferably in the medical sector; planning to talk to my former pediatrician about shadowing him; planning a new personal statement centering around my experiences working with people of lower socioeconomic standing and educating them about their health at the plasma donation center
LORs:
I think most of them are fairly to pretty strong (1 committee letter packet written by a science prof and composed of letters from 2 other science profs, 1 psych prof, and 1 MD). The MD one is weak because it's short, not printed on letterhead, and not glowingly positive (it's not negative either, however).
Basically, I'm wondering whether I should 1) do an SMP, 2) retake the MCAT, and/or 3) do all of the things that I have listed in planned/currently to become a stronger applicant for next cycle if I'll have to reapply. Thanks so much for your help!
Stats:
3.47 AMCAS cGPA
3.23 AMCAS sGPA
Strong upward trend throughout my last 3 years of undergraduate (last 3 years GPA = 3.74; first year alone GPA = 2.74)
MCAT = 30 (8PS/10VR/12BS)
ECs:
- 9 months of research but no presentations, papers, recommendation letters, etc.
- 2 summers volunteering as a nurses' assistant in a family practice clinic (check patients in, take their vitals, ask about their symptoms, trained on how to interview patients to get medical histories, performed EKGs, urinalyses, and shots with supervision from the nurses)
- 4 months as a medical screener at a plasma donation facility (check donors' vitals, counsel them if their vitals are not within a healthy range for donation)
- leadership and internship positions in work related to increasing the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
- honors: dean's list for 4 semesters, graduated cum laude, received a grant from my university to conduct my research
- planned/currently: in training to become a volunteer with my city's medical reserve corps (respond to public health emergencies and provide public health education to the general population); looking for a job, preferably in the medical sector; planning to talk to my former pediatrician about shadowing him; planning a new personal statement centering around my experiences working with people of lower socioeconomic standing and educating them about their health at the plasma donation center
LORs:
I think most of them are fairly to pretty strong (1 committee letter packet written by a science prof and composed of letters from 2 other science profs, 1 psych prof, and 1 MD). The MD one is weak because it's short, not printed on letterhead, and not glowingly positive (it's not negative either, however).
Basically, I'm wondering whether I should 1) do an SMP, 2) retake the MCAT, and/or 3) do all of the things that I have listed in planned/currently to become a stronger applicant for next cycle if I'll have to reapply. Thanks so much for your help!
Last edited: