3.8 cGPA, 3.8 sGPA, 38 MCAT, limited ECs

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kpittma

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Brief rundown:

At time of application I will have:
3.8 cGPA
3.8 sGPA
38 MCAT
Decent LORs (Not the type to make friends with profs...:eek:)
9 months volunteering at ER in local hospital 4 hrs/week
Leadership training from a top company in the chemicals industry
Teaching experience working at a test prep company teaching MCAT courses (8 months, 6 hours classroom time/week)
Shadowing Experience: 2 full days shadowing Ortho surg, both in office and in surgery. Have time to broaden and increase this, as I know it is severely lacking. Are certain specialties better to shadow than others?
None of what I call research. I have participated in a "research project" for 3 years, gotten credit for it once (class is even called "undergraduate research"), and was the leader of the project for a year, but the project consisted of designing a miniature vehicle (with possibility of scale-up, "green?") and competing against other schools' designs. We competed at the national level. Can this count?
Will have 1 yr work experience after graduating college before matriculation.
Work full-time one summer during college, part-time on and off while attending school.
Chemical Engineering BS degree.
Other:
Completed 30% of the AT. Not phenomenal as far as %age goes, but it was a good experience.
Will be married at time of matriculation.
Hobbies are backpacking, sports, running, etc. (anything outdoors)

I don't want to go in-state, don't have the need to go to a research-heavy institution, just want somewhere middle-of-the-road or better that is a good fit. Not talking top 25 or anything.

Thoughts?

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I see your application as being a sucessful one. Why no state schools?

The "research project" you described sounds more like an interesting EC than actual research. Definetely include it, sounds fun. Also include the outdoors hobbies. I'm assumming by AT you mean "Appalatian trail?" If so, also a fun EC.

If I were you I would shadow another physician as well before putting in your application. A primary care physician would be best.

Overall, as long as you avoid research powerhouses I see a strong and sucessful application. Perhaps target less urban schools which would have more interest in your outdoors hobbies.
 
Your stats are terrific, especially for a Chem Eng major.

Your big project is intriguing and certainly should be listed. If you invented some new, publishable technology, i'd say it's reasearchy. If you utilized existing technology in new ways, then I'd list it as a project under "Other". Or you could put it under Leadership. Leadership training won't get you much, unless you used the skills gained to exhibit your ability to lead peers.

Teaching is valued. That's a good activity to have .

You're right about the clinical stuff being sparse. The average applicant seems to have about 1.5 years and 150 hours of clinical experience. Your shadowing at least can be boosted significantly before you submit. I'd suggest a total of 60-80 hours, including 3 specialists, of which one is in primary care. You caould maybe hit on one of the ER docs for specialty #2, then use your contacts to find a family doc, pediatrician, or internal med doc with an office-based practice for #3. In your shoes, my strategy would be to continue gaining clinical volunteering experience 4 hours per week through the application cycle, telling your schools about additional acquired hours in periodic update letters, hoping to sway adcomms positively.

What kind of job are you plannning to get? If you wait to submit until after you start, you can include it on your application.

The other area in which you are lacking (or didn't mention yet), is nonmedical/noncampus volunteerism. If you could do something for just 2 hours per week, that would be helpful, again, continuing through the application year.

Be sure to list all your employment as it helps explain why your ECs are scanty.. Was anything medically related or requiring people skills?

Is AT the Appalachian Trail? Then 30% is pretty good, and it's an interesting enough experience to include under maybe Hobbies.
 
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"why no state schools?"
You answered your own question when you mentioned "less urban". I reside in TN so my in-state choices are UT (Memphis), Vandy (Private anyways, and urban), and Quillen (non-urban, but maybe not quite "middle-of-the-road" enough. I am from the area and like it around there, but if I wanted to leave the area for residency, it might be more difficult).

And yes, AT meaning Appalachian Trail.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Catalystik,

Thanks for the advice. My research project would definitely be "other" the way you described.

My job would not be medical. I will probably be doing process control/quality control under supervision of a senior engineer.

Most of my employment required people skills (working at a country club & my teaching job already described)

Is there any specific non-medical volunteering that you suggest? I've read lots of tutoring of younger ages, but I'm not sure that would be the path to go since I already have some teaching experience. Should I look for another way to "branch out"?

And... for my final and greatest question, what do you mean by "especially for a Chem Eng major"? Are you just ragging on engineers, or is there substance in that comment? Engineers don't pick up on internet sarcasm very well...
 
Is there any specific non-medical volunteering that you suggest?

And... for my final and greatest question, what do you mean by "especially for a Chem Eng major"? Are you just ragging on engineers, or is there substance in that comment?
What about places like soup kitchen, Humane Society, homeless shelter, crisis hotline, womens shelter, habitat for humanity for nonmedical volunteerism? Or any cause that catches your fancy that you find personally meaningful.

It is known on SDN that Engineering majors are required to take a higher density of the toughest classes and are held to the same GPA standards by adcomms as those with majors like underwater basketweaving, etc. My comment was meant to convey my honest admiration.
 
What about places like soup kitchen, Humane Society, homeless shelter, crisis hotline, womens shelter, habitat for humanity for nonmedical volunteerism? Or any cause that catches your fancy that you find personally meaningful.

It is known on SDN that Engineering majors are required to take a higher density of the toughest classes and are held to the same GPA standards by adcomms as those with majors like underwater basketweaving, etc. My comment was meant to convey my honest admiration.

Aha. Well thank you very much. And thanks for the nonmedical volunteer ideas. I had thought about Habitat for Humanity before, but had since forgotten about it. I will try to get started on that ASAP.

BTW, I like the cat.:thumbup:
 
I'm from TN too and I'd encourage you to apply to at least UT-Memphis and Quillen. Not only are your chances of being accepted higher, but tuition is lower and you could get some scholarships. Also, you may interview at one of the schools and find you really like it. With your stats, you will probably be accepted several places, but it never hurts to have options.
 
I'm from TN too and I'd encourage you to apply to at least UT-Memphis and Quillen. Not only are your chances of being accepted higher, but tuition is lower and you could get some scholarships. Also, you may interview at one of the schools and find you really like it. With your stats, you will probably be accepted several places, but it never hurts to have options.

AH3, I intend on putting in an application at Quillen. While it's not my top choice, I would go there if it made more sense than my other options (I'm not the type to not go somewhere because I think I'm "too good" or whatever, but I am the type to not go somewhere if it clashes with my personality. Quillen wouldn't be a bad fit, I would just enjoy the opportunity to get out and see new places/broaden my horizons. While med school is a lot of work, it should be enjoyable also). I won't be applying to UT-Memphis though. Way too big of a city for a country boy like me.
 
Any chance I could get a link or pointed to where I could find a list of middle-tier, less urban schools (preferably less research-intensive)? If I search "rural", I get schools that specialize in rural medicine. I'm not really looking for rural medicine, just a school with a less urban setting.

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all the help so far. Deciding on where to go is like having a full-time job!
 
Any chance I could get a link or pointed to where I could find a list of middle-tier, less urban schools (preferably less research-intensive)?
I've never seen such a list or link on SDN of nonurban schools. You will probably have to go through the MSAR and google the population for location of various schools. You'd also have to research where the clinical sites are that you rotate through 3d and 4th year.

As an example, Rosalind Franklin in Illinois is about 45 minutes north of Chicago in a rural-ish area, but their rotations are mainly in the city of Chicago the last two years. It is not a research strong institution.
 
Any chance I could get a link or pointed to where I could find a list of middle-tier, less urban schools (preferably less research-intensive)? If I search "rural", I get schools that specialize in rural medicine. I'm not really looking for rural medicine, just a school with a less urban setting.

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all the help so far. Deciding on where to go is like having a full-time job!

As far as rural schools go, it is difficult to find many. Probably what you will have to do is find a school in a smaller city or with rural/outdoor areas nearby. One you may consider is University of Iowa. It is a middle tier school in a more rural environment (as far as I have heard). You would be kind of SOL for doing too much outdoor stuff though since there aren't mountains or oceans anywhere near there (which is one reason I am shying away from the midwest myself). Another school is Michigan. It is top tier, yes, but it is in a smaller city...more like a college town. Same with UNC, Dartmouth and University of Vermont (as far as I know, don't hold me to any of these). Those are some ideas.
 
Oh, also, I would say you have some solid EC's. I think everyone is a little unsure about their EC's, but as long as you can speak about them passionately and show that you were interested you should be fine. I would take the advise of the others, though, and find some more clinical and non-clinical volunteer stuff. You can never go wrong having more.
 
Thanks mgUCD. I have looked pretty extensively at UNC and UVM. UNC, although in Chapel Hill, feels like a big city to me with all the traffic since it's so close to Raleigh and Durham. I visited there a while back because I know someone who is graduating with her MD from there tomorrow. I took a trip to Vermont last summer and checked out the school while I was there. I pretty much thought it was awesome. I have looked somewhat into Dartmouth, but since it is such a small town and not near anything I don't know if my fiancee would be able to find work around there. She is a civil engineer (usually not many jobs in small towns). And you are pretty much right about the flat land thing. I like to go hiking, skiing, etc so flat land and I don't get along too well.
 
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