32 mcat 3.585 gpa

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Kaplar

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Louisiana resident looking to apply to LSU and Tulane of New Orleans (also applying to Shreveport, but that's a bit too far away from where I'd like).
What do you all think my chances are?
I think my MCAT score is mostly balanced with 11 in VR, 9 in PS, and 12 in BS. I know that my PS is a bit lower than the others, but will that affect my overall application as far as the MCAT score goes?
I have around 80 hours of volunteer experience in the Adult Psychiatric ward of a general hospital.
While volunteering in the adult ward, I was able to sit in on one-on-one interviews with patients and their assigned psychiatrists, discuss prognoses, and speak with patients on a one-on-one basis.
I am about to start working in the children's ward of a dedicated mental hospital.
Would my current work be good to mention in interviews?
And, as the section asks, what are my chances?

e: I'm planning on getting into child psychiatry.

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Sorry. I'm a bit new to posting on this site and I'm not quite sure how rude it is to bump your own post.


e: Again

I am a URM, but I listed myself as white since I'm half white and half Hispanic.

I didn't want to feel like I got into med school because of my race.
 
I can't really speak to what your chances are, but I do have some advice.

I can understand the sentiment that you don't want race to be a factor in admissions, but you have to ask yourself if that is really so important that you'd be willing to decrease your chances of acceptance. If I were you, I would classify as URM and never look back.

I think you should try to beef up your ECs if you can. At least try to get some shadowing hours in, and some more volunteering would definitely help. I'm not familiar with the schools you're applying to, but since you have no research experience you should try to focus on applying to schools whose mission is that of primary care, and not academic medicine.

Overall, as a (potentially) URM with a 32 and 3.6, you have fantastic chances if you can boost your ECs a bit.
 
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Thank you for your reply.

Do you think that me working in a mental hospital will help my chances?
 
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I can't really speak to what your chances are, but I do have some advice.

I can understand the sentiment that you don't want race to be a factor in admissions, but you have to ask yourself if that is really so important that you'd be willing to decrease your chances of acceptance. If I were you, I would classify as URM and never look back.

Agreed... there is too much on the line not to do so.
 
Tulane really likes locals and people who specifically fit their mission. Your stats are certainly on par with what they accept, but research their mission and make a big effort to tailor your application to them. Also be sure to send letters in order to let them know you are really interested in them.
 
Forgot to mention this in the original post, but I graduated with a degree in psychology.
 
Could you do some research this year so that at least you could mention it in an update letter at some point later on this cycle? I think that could definitely increase your chances later on if you don't get good news earlier in the cycle.
 
Could you do some research this year so that at least you could mention it in an update letter at some point later on this cycle? I think that could definitely increase your chances later on if you don't get good news earlier in the cycle.

I don't think so. The professors at the college from which I graduated require that you be in school full time to do any sort of research with them. I recently got a job that has me working from 11pm-7am full time and I don't think I could make that work with going to school full time and doing research.

This may be a stupid question, but is sending email updates to my choice schools an acceptable substitute for sending in written letters?
 
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