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- Thread starter DrZoster
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MCAT: Awesome, I am jealous. Definitely within top 20 material. I wish my CARS score was that "unbalanced" lol.
GPA and gap year: If I were in your position, I would get both you clinical shadowing and volunteer hours up to 50 and 100, respectively (which I see you plan to do before the gap year), and then do a clinically related post bacc to get your GPA up during the gap year. Your below average GPA would be the biggest hindrance to top MD schools. However, your new found dedication and upward trend is really inspiring and impressive. I am personally doing Americorps during my gap year, but I remember getting a ton of e-mails about 1 year masters programs that are affiliated with medical schools (I know Cornell and Rochester have some?). I would try to research into those and apply!
Obviously need LORs. Just ask past professors from classes you performed well in and they should be willing to write them. Ask both hard science and one humanities and your PI. That committee sounds weird, I am glad my undergrad doesn't have a committee lol!
Hope this helps!
GPA and gap year: If I were in your position, I would get both you clinical shadowing and volunteer hours up to 50 and 100, respectively (which I see you plan to do before the gap year), and then do a clinically related post bacc to get your GPA up during the gap year. Your below average GPA would be the biggest hindrance to top MD schools. However, your new found dedication and upward trend is really inspiring and impressive. I am personally doing Americorps during my gap year, but I remember getting a ton of e-mails about 1 year masters programs that are affiliated with medical schools (I know Cornell and Rochester have some?). I would try to research into those and apply!
Obviously need LORs. Just ask past professors from classes you performed well in and they should be willing to write them. Ask both hard science and one humanities and your PI. That committee sounds weird, I am glad my undergrad doesn't have a committee lol!
Hope this helps!
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Have you thought about delaying your application for another year? Your GPAs are well below average for MD- They are probably okay for DO especially with your great MCAT. Your ECs are really weak. You have lots to do to beef them up. It’s fine to say on your app you plan to do this, this and that during your gap year but ADCOMS know that life happens and sometimes some or even none of that doesn’t get done. So....
Don’t get clinical experience abroad. You need experience right here in the US. Many ADCOMS consider foreign trips as voluntourism. So focus your activities right in your community. This goes for clinical and nonclinical experience.
One thing to understand is that AMCAS only calculates your GPA one time. If you take courses to enhance your GPA after you apply your GPA won’t change and it will be up to you to notify the schools and I have no idea if they even recalculate your GPA.
You need to figure out what to do about your letters. If your school has a committee letter, many med schools want that and if you don’t have one,it may raise some questions as to why not. You will need 2 science letters and one non science letter for most schools. So start working on securing those right away. Sometimes professors are really busy and it might be hard to track them down and then actually get the letters written and submitted. This is another reason to delay applying.
Don’t get clinical experience abroad. You need experience right here in the US. Many ADCOMS consider foreign trips as voluntourism. So focus your activities right in your community. This goes for clinical and nonclinical experience.
One thing to understand is that AMCAS only calculates your GPA one time. If you take courses to enhance your GPA after you apply your GPA won’t change and it will be up to you to notify the schools and I have no idea if they even recalculate your GPA.
You need to figure out what to do about your letters. If your school has a committee letter, many med schools want that and if you don’t have one,it may raise some questions as to why not. You will need 2 science letters and one non science letter for most schools. So start working on securing those right away. Sometimes professors are really busy and it might be hard to track them down and then actually get the letters written and submitted. This is another reason to delay applying.
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