Hello! I'm looking to get some guidance for how I can improve my application over the next few months. I already know I have some gaps (physican shadowing being the biggest), but I want to ensure my application is as solid as can be before I apply in June.
1. cGPA/GPA- 3.98 (A- in o-chems 1 and 2, physics 1, and a world religions class)
2. MCAT (Aug. 2019)- 519: 131/127/131/130 (that cars score makes my heart hurt)
3. US-Utah residency
4. White
5. Clinical experience- I have been volunteering at hospitals for the last 2.5 years. For my first year though, I was working primarily in a gift shop, and would do rounds in the maternal ward, delivering newborn kits to mothers. For the last year and a half, I have volunteered in the Emergency Department of a larger local hospital. I will continue volunteering at this hospital until med school. Current hours ~200 (excluding gift shop time).
I also spent around 15 hours volunteering at a mental hospital. I participated in music therapy with resident teenage girls.
6. Research experience- I've been involved in research for the last year and a half. I perform electrophysiology experiments in a lab that investigates neural plasticity in PTSD and ketogenic models. I have probably spent 50 hours doing actual lab work, but have since transitioned to doing more administrative and presentation work. I have spent an additional 150-200 hours helping to organize the lab, writing our paper, giving poster and oral presentations, and attending neuroscience research conferences. I will be a listed author on the next paper we publish, however it probably will not be out by the time I apply in June.
7. Shadowing- I spent 45 hours shadowing surgeons in the Dominican Republic. While I was there, I was able to shadow pediatric orthopedic, trauma, and neurosurgeries. I also think having that experience abroad was helpful because I was able to witness some of the disparities present in global and public healthcare. That said, I've heard med schools don't love international experiences.
I've currently only shadowed one physician in the US (~4 hrs)- another orthopedic surgeon. I already have other doctors lined up to shadow (an ophthalmologist and pediatrician), and I'm looking to expand my list to include more specialties. My goal is to get my shadowing numbers up to around 40 hours by June.
8. Non-clinical volunteering- This is another area of my application that I'm a little nervous about. I see people posting about having several hundred or thousands of volunteering hours and I don't have that. By the time I apply, I'll probably have around ~250 hours of non-clinical volunteering. Throughout my undergrad, I've consistently volunteered as a peer mentor to 6th graders in my community. On top of that, I've volunteered with youth in different events around my school, and have coached middle school girls volleyball.
I'm an active member of my local church and have held different volunteer positions such as working on activities committees and working with the women's organization. I hardly think of this as non-clinical volunteer work, but should I add it to my application?
9. Leadership- I am the Co-President of my universitiy's Medical Humanities Club. While I didn't start the club 2.5 years ago, I have been helping run the club for the last 2 years. We are a club that connects the divide between medicine and the humanities, and tries to help all pre-health students develop into more compassionate and people-centered leaders. I assist in this process by organizing meetings, finding guest speakers to present, keeping track of funds, and advertising our group.
10. Work- My first major job on-campus was working as a student consultant for all admissions, financial aid, scholarships, and registration issues. After that, I worked as a Teaching Assistant (Humanities/Art History) for 2 yrs. Following my own MCAT, I began tutoring with the prep company that help me. This is my current job and is one I will keep throughout my gap year.
11. Extra info- I am an untraditional major- Art History- and will graduate in April. My plan right now is to spend my gap year working part-time as a MCAT tutor and part time as a medical scribe. I have applied for a summer research internship that might take me outside of Utah for the summer, and there is some potential that that internship turns into a year long job. I am the first member of my family to pursue medicine. Also, my family has spent the last ten years living outside of the country. I was living with them in Germany for the first five years, and they have spent the last five living in Saudi Arabia.
** School List **
This school list is very tentative. I have only just begun making a list, but since I don't claim any state as my home, I am very flexible on where I end up. I'm also applying to all the free tuition schools (because I'm okay to take a chance even though they are super competitive).
| 1 | Baylor |
| 2 | Duke |
| 3 | University of Michigan |
| 4 | University of Utah |
| 5 | University of California San Diego |
| 6 | Boston University |
| 7 | Cornell *free tuition* |
| 8 | Icahn |
| 9 | NYU-Long Island *free tuition* |
| 10 | Kaiser-Permanente *free tuition* |
| 11 | Emory |
| 12 | Case Western |
| 13 | University of Rochester |
| 14 | Northwestern |
| 15 | UCLA |
| 15 | UC Irvine |
| 16 | UT Southwestern |
| 17 | Texas A&M |
| 18 | UT Med |
| 19 | McGovern |
Thank you so much for your help!
