drnateandy
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2020
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Hello everyone,
Wanted to gauge where I stand as I just received my MCAT score today and plan to apply this upcoming cycle. All feedback is appreciated:
Wanted to gauge where I stand as I just received my MCAT score today and plan to apply this upcoming cycle. All feedback is appreciated:
- State/Country of Residence: CA
- Ties to other States/Regions: Born in MA and lived there until I was 13
- URM?: Yes, Black Male
- Year in School: 1st gap year (Class of 2020)
- Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Biology
- Graduate Degrees (if applicable): B.S in Bio
- Cumulative GPA: 3.76 with relatively strong upward trend (3.5>3.7>3.8>3.9)
- Science GPA: 3.69
- MCAT Score(s): 504
(126/125/127/126)... pondering a retake but currently on waitlist for 05/28 test - Letters of Rec: 4 (at the moment) but looking to add 2 others from MD's. Applying for a committee letter from my undergrad
- Research Experience: 200+ hours primate behavioral research in small Amazonian village in eastern Brazil (lived there for 2 months) with my professor and host family, 160 hrs dermatopathology research that was virtual with an MD
- Publications/Abstracts/Posters (include how you were credited e.g. First author, second author, etc.): Abstract publication in ASP journal and 2 posters for that squirrel monkey research, 1 poster presentation for derm research
- Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer): ~120 hrs hospital volunteering during undergrad, ~900 hrs as an optometric tech (doing prelim eye exams for patients, insurance/billing, teaching how to wear contacts) during undergrad, starting new job as an ophthalmic tech next week but no hours yet
- Physician Shadowing: 10 hrs with orthopedic surgeon and anesthesiologist, 30+hrs with ophthalmologist (I love eyes!), some virtual shadowing here and there (15 hrs?)
- Non-Clinical Volunteering: Mental health mentor/blog & grant writer for a little over 4 months (80 hrs?). The group is registered as an official charity group and geared toward mentoring teenagers struggling during these times
- Other Extracurricular Activities: Run a small advocacy ig page/group. We're planning on running a small mission trip to my home country to help school age kids get access to glasses and basic eye exams (post covid hopefully), Model UN for 2 years in college (attended Harvard MUN & a few other conferences), JV soccer team in college (3 years), Black Student Union, stock mentoring (learned the in's and out's of options trading during pandemic so we teach others in a discord of about 310 members), spearfishing in my free time for about 2 years (highly recommend if you live near water)
- Other Employment History: 400 hrs+ (full time) at a biotech company during my gap year as a manufacturing associate (QC), employed all throughout undergrad in food service then in events planning/set-up for campus events (did the optometric tech job at the same time)
- Immediate family members in medicine? (Y/N): N
- Specialty of Interest (if applicable): OPHTHALMOLOGY ftw lol but very much still open to other specialties
- Interest in Primary Care (Y/N): Y
- Interest in Rural Health (Y/N): N
- Medical School List (please help if you have any input):
- UC's (really community health oriented so aiming for PRIME programs at the UC schools)
- Are there any I should not even apply to with my MCAT score?
- HBCU's (Howard, Morehouse, Meharry, Charles R. Drew)
- Loma Linda
- USC Keck
- DO's (Western and Touro CA)
- U of Miami
- California University of Science and Medicine
- Tufts
- UC's (really community health oriented so aiming for PRIME programs at the UC schools)
