MD & DO 3.58 uGPA and 508 MCAT; Tx resident; 3rd time reapplicant

[TenaciousX]

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Hello everyone,

I just want some opinions on how I should proceed or what are my chances at the moment of getting into a Texas MD/DO school.

3rd time reapplying to texas next year. Here are my stats:

Texas resident, Asian male
Chemistry: without grade replacement: 3.58 cGPA, 3.49 sGPA. last 60 hours: 3.8
with grade replacement: 3.766 cGPA (not sure about sGPA, maybe 3.6 or 3.7)
Currently in UNTHSC Med Sci post bac program 3.9 gpa (one semester); still have spring semester to complete
MCAT 1st 22 (8,4,10), 2nd 26 (9,8,9), 3rd 508 (128,124,128,128). received the 508 this august. my app this cycle was completed late in September.

Extracurriculars:

-For 3 months, jan-mar 2016: 150 hours, Volunteered/shadowed at a family medicine practice. I received a strong LOR from an MD here
-Aug 2015-Dec 2015: part-time job 240 hours (15hrs/week) Individual Science/Math tutor for my university
-Jan 2014-Dec 2014: part-time 500+ hours (15-20 hrs/week) SI Chemistry Group tutor at my university
-Hospital volunteer: 50 hrs 2013 (pediatrics, wound center, radiation therapy)
-Shadowed multiple physicians: ICU pulmonologist 10 hrs, orthopedic surgeon 5 hrs, Cardiologist 20 hrs
-Aug 2013-Dec 2015: 500+ hours treasurer and libero (defensive leader) of Men's club Volleyball team
-Aug 2012-Dec 2014: 300+ hours member of Mens soccer club, also formed multiple intramural soccer teams
-others: AMSA member for 2 years, lift weights consistently for past 5-6 years
-No research: should i pursue research or take a few classes to increase my uGPA?

LOR:

-MD letter from the family medicine practice experience
-Commitee letter from college a year ago (I think it's average, but I'm not sure; the professor who wrote it said I should apply to med school)

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and for your input.

 

[Catalystik]

I just want some opinions on how I should proceed or what are my chances at the moment of getting into a Texas MD/DO school.

3rd time reapplying to texas next year. Here are my stats:

Texas resident, Asian male
Chemistry: without grade replacement: 3.58 cGPA, 3.49 sGPA. last 60 hours: 3.8
with grade replacement: 3.766 cGPA (not sure about sGPA, maybe 3.6 or 3.7)
Currently in UNTHSC Med Sci post bac program 3.9 gpa (one semester); still have spring semester to complete
MCAT 1st 22 (8,4,10), 2nd 26 (9,8,9), 3rd 508 (128,124,128,128). received the 508 this august. my app this cycle was completed late in September.

Extracurriculars:

-For 3 months, jan-mar 2016: 150 hours, Volunteered/shadowed at a family medicine practice. I received a strong LOR from an MD here
-Aug 2015-Dec 2015: part-time job 240 hours (15hrs/week) Individual Science/Math tutor for my university
-Jan 2014-Dec 2014: part-time 500+ hours (15-20 hrs/week) SI Chemistry Group tutor at my university
-Hospital volunteer: 50 hrs 2013 (pediatrics, wound center, radiation therapy)
-Shadowed multiple physicians: ICU pulmonologist 10 hrs, orthopedic surgeon 5 hrs, Cardiologist 20 hrs
-Aug 2013-Dec 2015: 500+ hours treasurer and libero (defensive leader) of Men's club Volleyball team
-Aug 2012-Dec 2014: 300+ hours member of Mens soccer club, also formed multiple intramural soccer teams
-others: AMSA member for 2 years, lift weights consistently for past 5-6 years
-No research: should i pursue research or take a few classes to increase my uGPA?

LOR:

-MD letter from the family medicine practice experience
-Commitee letter from college a year ago (I think it's average, but I'm not sure; the professor who wrote it said I should apply to med school)

I have a concern on looking over your profile that your active involvement with current patients is from two relatively brief-duration time spans. The hourly total is fine, but many programs will be looking more for longevity.

Also, did you break down the %time of shadowing vs volunteering in your Family Medicine experience? What was it?

And, you seem kinda sparse in the nonmedical community service category, which Texas schools particularly seem to value.

Your teaching looks particularly strong though. I don't think that a semester's research experience will do much to enhance your application. The hobbies/extracurriculars look good.

 

[TenaciousX]

I have a concern on looking over your profile that your active involvement with current patients is from two relatively brief-duration time spans. The hourly total is fine, but many programs will be looking more for longevity.

Also, did you break down the %time of shadowing vs volunteering in your Family Medicine experience? What was it?

And, you seem kinda sparse in the nonmedical community service category, which Texas schools particularly seem to value.

Your teaching looks particularly strong though. I don't think that a semester's research experience will do much to enhance your application. The hobbies/extracurriculars look good.

Thank you for evaluating my post and for your input. I spent the summer of 2013 volunteering at a hospital, and I agree that it is relatively small period of time. I'll have to look into another opportunity to volunteer/work with patients for a longer duration.

At the family practice, I volunteered as a medical assistant and was able to triage patients, take down medical history, and even give a few injections with the help of the nurses. I mostly shadowed when the physician was in. To be realistic, it was 100 hours shadowing and 50 hours volunteering as a medical assistant.

Concerning the non-medical volunteering, I have been volunteering at habitat for humanity for the past 3 months and have accumulated about 35 hours. I like volunteering there and plan to continue that. What I'm concerned about is what I should do now and during my gap year. My current plan this semester is to finish my post bac, keep volunteering at habitat, and reapply. I'm not sure what to do during my gap year. I could search for a medical volunteering job, and I agree that a semester of research may not be time well spent.

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you for evaluating my post and for your input. I spent the summer of 2013 volunteering at a hospital, and I agree that it is relatively small period of time. I'll have to look into another opportunity to volunteer/work with patients for a longer duration.

At the family practice, I volunteered as a medical assistant and was able to triage patients, take down medical history, and even give a few injections with the help of the nurses. I mostly shadowed when the physician was in. To be realistic, it was 100 hours shadowing and 50 hours volunteering as a medical assistant.

Concerning the non-medical volunteering, I have been volunteering at habitat for humanity for the past 3 months and have accumulated about 35 hours. I like volunteering there and plan to continue that. What I'm concerned about is what I should do now and during my gap year. My current plan this semester is to finish my post bac, keep volunteering at habitat, and reapply. I'm not sure what to do during my gap year. I could search for a medical volunteering job, and I agree that a semester of research may not be time well spent.

I suggest: 1) finish post-bac with high GPA, 2) Continue with H for H, 3) ASAP start 3-4 hours per week volunteering at a medical facility where you have patient contact, like hospital, skilled-level nursing home, hospice, free-, family-planning, or VA- clinic, 4) plan to continue with both 2) & 3) through (at least a portion of) your 2017 application year for the sake of updates, interview conversations, and if things don't go as hoped, so that your next application in summer 2018 will have more substance. Also, if you come from a rural area, be sure to have some rural shadowing to mention. The shadowing you have already otherwise should be fine so long as you split out the two components of the Family Med opportunity.