3.9 GPA, 42 MCAT with low clinical experience

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strongbones

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I'm hoping to apply this coming summer, by which time I will have the following qualifications.

white female math major, bio/Spanish minors
GPA - 3.9 (same sGPA I believe)
MCAT - 42 (15ps, 13vr, 14bs)
Research - 1 year, no publications
Volunteering - 2.5 years at 2 hours a week in the local community with an underserved population
Jobs - a lot of experience as a tutor and TA in both math and biochemistry
Other - pretty involved in my honors fraternity, held offices and all that
Honors - Dean's List each semester, special scholar program

For clinical experience, I did a little bit of volunteering with a hospice last summer, probably 10 hours max, but I want to continue that this coming summer. I'm trying to look for shadowing opportunities for Spring Break or after finals this semester (I don't have time during the school year with all my activities), but my calls have not yet borne fruit. I have had a lot of experience as a patient myself and during the summers I've mostly been doing academic catch-up from having to take a semester off for medical leave.

What are my chances/do you have any advice for getting more clinical experience?

Also, I'm trying to come up with a school list, and this is what I'm looking at so far (VA resident):

Boston University
Columbia University
Cornell University/Weill
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Georgetown University
Icahn/Mount Sinai
Mayo Medical School
New York University
Northwestern University/Feinberg
Stanford University
UCLA/Geffen
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Chicago
University of Miami/Miller
University of Pennsylvania/Perelman
University of Virginia
Unniversity of Cincinnati
USC/Keck
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein

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You really really need more clinical experience and shadowing..... I think most applicants have about 50-60 hours of shadowing alone by the time they apply.

Your stats are phenomenal (really), but schools need to be sure that you've spent a lot of time in a clinical setting and know what you're getting yourself into.

You probably don't want to hear it, but in my opinion, I think taking a gap year and applying summer 2015 would be very beneficial. I would recommend finding a hospital/hospice volunteer position AND shadowing in a few different specialties. You could also find a lab position and boost up your research, since several of the schools you listed are very research intensive, and your one year of research may be below average to them.

Have you spoken to a pre-med advisor at your school? They may be able to offer you some valuable advice! Good luck!
 
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You might be looking at such an unnecessary gap to get some clinical experience. You have half a year to shadow and volunteer and it's going to look bad cramming it in to the very last semester of your undergrad. It would make an otherwise superb application somewhat of a gamble without it.
 
I'm hoping to apply this coming summer, by which time I will have the following qualifications.

white female math major, bio/Spanish minors
GPA - 3.9 (same sGPA I believe)
MCAT - 42 (15ps, 13vr, 14bs)
Research - 1 year, no publications
Volunteering - 2.5 years at 2 hours a week in the local community with an underserved population
Jobs - a lot of experience as a tutor and TA in both math and biochemistry
Other - pretty involved in my honors fraternity, held offices and all that
Honors - Dean's List each semester, special scholar program

For clinical experience, I did a little bit of volunteering with a hospice last summer, probably 10 hours max, but I want to continue that this coming summer. I'm trying to look for shadowing opportunities for Spring Break or after finals this semester (I don't have time during the school year with all my activities), but my calls have not yet borne fruit. I have had a lot of experience as a patient myself and during the summers I've mostly been doing academic catch-up from having to take a semester off for medical leave.

What are my chances/do you have any advice for getting more clinical experience?

Also, I'm trying to come up with a school list, and this is what I'm looking at so far (VA resident):

Boston University
Columbia University
Cornell University/Weill
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Georgetown University
Icahn/Mount Sinai
Mayo Medical School
New York University
Northwestern University/Feinberg
Stanford University
UCLA/Geffen
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Chicago
University of Miami/Miller
University of Pennsylvania/Perelman
University of Virginia
Unniversity of Cincinnati
USC/Keck
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein

Apply to all of the top 20 programs unless you really hate one of them for some reason. Those stats are among the very best in the country.
 
I'm hoping to apply this coming summer, by which time I will have the following qualifications.

white female math major, bio/Spanish minors
GPA - 3.9 (same sGPA I believe)
MCAT - 42 (15ps, 13vr, 14bs)
Research - 1 year, no publications
Volunteering - 2.5 years at 2 hours a week in the local community with an underserved population
Jobs - a lot of experience as a tutor and TA in both math and biochemistry
Other - pretty involved in my honors fraternity, held offices and all that
Honors - Dean's List each semester, special scholar program

For clinical experience, I did a little bit of volunteering with a hospice last summer, probably 10 hours max, but I want to continue that this coming summer. I'm trying to look for shadowing opportunities for Spring Break or after finals this semester (I don't have time during the school year with all my activities), but my calls have not yet borne fruit. I have had a lot of experience as a patient myself and during the summers I've mostly been doing academic catch-up from having to take a semester off for medical leave.

What are my chances/do you have any advice for getting more clinical experience?

Also, I'm trying to come up with a school list, and this is what I'm looking at so far (VA resident):

Boston University
Columbia University
Cornell University/Weill
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Georgetown University
Icahn/Mount Sinai
Mayo Medical School
New York University
Northwestern University/Feinberg
Stanford University
UCLA/Geffen
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Chicago
University of Miami/Miller
University of Pennsylvania/Perelman
University of Virginia
Unniversity of Cincinnati
USC/Keck
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein

What, no Harvard?
get clinical experience and go wherever you want

Agreed. Just get what you can and then apply wherever. Definitely try to continue the hospice thing--the more long term work (rather that scattershot stuff) the better. You've got a super strong application outside of clinical experience, and while that may count against you, I think the rest will shine. I had similar stats as you, no shadowing, and limited clinical volunteering and it hasn't come up in any interviews and has generally gone well.
 
Thank you to everyone for your advice. I really want to apply this summer, so no gap year for me! I will just keep trying to get clinical opportunities.

What, no Harvard?

No offense, I just always thought Harvard seemed really pretentious and that's not my style.
 
Mirin those stats HARD
 
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Hey OP, great numbers! With such a strong GPA and MCAT I'm sure you would have success among top 20 schools, even though your extracurricular activities are a little thin. Since you seem to be very against doing a gap year the best thing seems to be just to apply this summer. However, I will say that if you took an extra year and gained more clinical and research experience you would be a 'shoe in' at all top schools.
 
It's a good list, but I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience. You need to show us that you'll like being around sick people for the next 40 years, and that you know what you're getting into.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, nursing homes, rehab facilities, camps for sick children, or clinics. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

What are my chances/do you have any advice for getting more clinical experience?

Also, I'm trying to come up with a school list, and this is what I'm looking at so far (VA resident):

Boston University
Columbia University
Cornell University/Weill
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Georgetown University
Icahn/Mount Sinai
Mayo Medical School
New York University
Northwestern University/Feinberg
Stanford University
UCLA/Geffen
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Chicago
University of Miami/Miller
University of Pennsylvania/Perelman
University of Virginia
Unniversity of Cincinnati
USC/Keck
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein[/quote]
 
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