32Q, 3.9 GPA, 3.8 science, not much shadowing, no research/clinical exp.

[denner]

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I feel confident in all of my scores but I keep reading all of these posts and it seems like everyone and their brother has 100 hours of volunteering in some clinic or hospital or at least work experience in a medical field.

I have shadowed 4 or 5 doctors that I want to put down but they have only been for a short time - 1 day to a couple of days but I feel it has given me a taste of what it is really like as they are all in different fields (plastic surgery, radiology, neurology, pediatrician, ortho).

(I'm not going to write it down but I have had many long, personal conversations with doctors about their practices and the ins and outs of life as a doctor and feel sufficiently prepared)

I have no experience of working or volunteering in any clinics or hospitals, just shadowing.

I have played hockey for my university for all 4 years, which takes up anywhere from 20-30+ hours a week not including travel time (we often travel upwards of 5-10 hours just to get there, and if anyone has ever been on a team bus, there is no studying allowed )

I also have coached youth hockey starting my sophomore year in high school (most volunteer and some paid hockey camps).

I was a Missouri resident but I should now qualify as a Texas resident, as I now live in Dallas, and will have been there for over a year by the time my med school career would begin.

I am applying to
- UT Southwestern
- UT Galveston
- Baylor
- Saint Louis University
- University of Missouri - Columbia
- University of Southern Illinois - Edwardsville

and gotta figure out a lot more (any suggestions welcome)

How will I be affected by the lack of experience? Will they look at my EC's as a valid reason for not having the time to put in the same amount of hours as other applicants during the school year or will they really not give a ____ and just look at me as a person who has a lack of experience and drive, work ethic, etc.

And a follow up, how should I approach the situation if questioned about it during interviews. I don't know if saying "I didn't have the time because I was playing hockey" would be a good answer for "why don't you have more experience?"

Overall, what do you think my chances are for those schools? and what are my chances for those texas schools if I am not accepted as an in-state resident.

for those of you who made it through that entire post 🙂claps🙂 and reply.... thanks!!!

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I feel confident in all of my scores but I keep reading all of these posts and it seems like everyone and their brother has 100 hours of volunteering in some clinic or hospital or at least work experience in a medical field.

I have shadowed 4 or 5 doctors that I want to put down but they have only been for a short time - 1 day to a couple of days but I feel it has given me a taste of what it is really like as they are all in different fields (plastic surgery, radiology, neurology, pediatrician, ortho).

(I'm not going to write it down but I have had many long, personal conversations with doctors about their practices and the ins and outs of life as a doctor and feel sufficiently prepared)

I have no experience of working or volunteering in any clinics or hospitals, just shadowing.

I have played hockey for my university for all 4 years, which takes up anywhere from 20-30+ hours a week not including travel time (we often travel upwards of 5-10 hours just to get there, and if anyone has ever been on a team bus, there is no studying allowed )

I also have coached youth hockey starting my sophomore year in high school (most volunteer and some paid hockey camps).

I was a Missouri resident but I should now qualify as a Texas resident, as I now live in Dallas, and will have been there for over a year by the time my med school career would begin.

I am applying to
- UT Southwestern
- UT Galveston
- Baylor
- Saint Louis University
- University of Missouri - Columbia
- University of Southern Illinois - Edwardsville

and gotta figure out a lot more (any suggestions welcome)

How will I be affected by the lack of experience? Will they look at my EC's as a valid reason for not having the time to put in the same amount of hours as other applicants during the school year or will they really not give a ____ and just look at me as a person who has a lack of experience and drive, work ethic, etc.

And a follow up, how should I approach the situation if questioned about it during interviews. I don't know if saying "I didn't have the time because I was playing hockey" would be a good answer for "why don't you have more experience?"

Overall, what do you think my chances are for those schools? and what are my chances for those texas schools if I am not accepted as an in-state resident.

for those of you who made it through that entire post 🙂claps🙂 and reply.... thanks!!!

apply to all the texas schools, and I think youll have a good shot of getting in.

 

[denner]

apply to all the texas schools, and I think youll have a good shot of getting in.

thanks for the quick response

but just for clarification, do you mean a good shot of getting in even if I'm OOS, or only a good shot of getting in if I am in-state

 

[Mobius1985]

SIU medical school is in Carbondale, not Edwardsville (though the dental school is there). The Med School takes no out-of-staters, unless there is a reciprocity agreement with an adjacent county in Missouri I don't know about. Undergrad and med school applicants may be handled differently if such an agreement exists.

Start getting more clinical experience ASAP so you have something to talk about at interviews and update letters. You need to be around sick people more so adcomms will get the impression you know what being a doc is all about. The shadowing helps, but not enough. Excusing yourself because your sport kept you too busy, is not adequate. It would be better to take a year and get your application totally together with all expected components, but if it's too late, you can always reapply with an improved application next year if you don't get in anywhere.

Your numbers are great though. With luck, a school will show interest.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

thanks for the quick response

but just for clarification, do you mean a good shot of getting in even if I'm OOS, or only a good shot of getting in if I am in-state

IS....OOS students to texas have to be pretty spectacular.

 

[sixpence]

yeah if you have texas residency it wouldn't make sense just to apply to those few tx schools. you have a very good shot at uthsc-sa and probably a&m, texas tech, ut houston. good luck

 

[denner]

SIU medical school is in Carbondale, not Edwardsville (though the dental school is there). The Med School takes no out-of-staters, unless there is a reciprocity agreement with an adjacent county in Missouri I don't know about. Undergrad and med school applicants may be handled differently if such an agreement exists.

Ya, I'm an idiot, I meant Carbondale, and I had heard conflicting things on out of staters, specifically from Missouri, so I'll look into it some more

the other thing about the in-state/out of state texas thing is, I have read and gone through the entire texas application process while filling it out, and I am still confused on whether or not I will be accepted as a Texas resident. I believe I will qualify, but my fear is that they won't accept me as an instate resident during my application process, does anyone know what they will do? just ask for the OOS fees or will I have to reapply? any info would be great if anyone knows

 

[EdCLS]

Unless I'm mistaken, SIUMED is in Springfield, IL. SIU's physician assistant program is in Carbondale. SIUMED does have a family practice residency at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, though.

You should definitely talk to SIU-I've heard they do make occasional exceptions, particularly if you've spent time in the St. Louis metropolitan area. You might also want to apply to University of Illinois.

I had similar feelings to you when I started reading the stats on SDN. I think SDN tends to attract the best of the best, though, so I think average numbers here are probably still very good when compared to the average medical school applicant. I do second the recommendation to get some more clinical experience, in any case. Hospitals (at least in this area) are begging for volunteers, so I think you should find plenty of opportunities in that area.

Good luck!

 

[Mobius1985]

Unless I'm mistaken, SIUMED is in Springfield, IL. SIU's physician assistant program is in Carbondale. SIUMED does have a family practice residency at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, though.

SIU School of Medicine is based in Carbondale, as is the PA program. For years 2-4, all med students move to Springfield. PA students move to various clinical sites in the state the second year (Quincy, Decatur, Olney, Mattoon, Springfield, Carbondale)).

 

[EdCLS]

I stand corrected. Thanks for the info.

 

[denner]

Unless I'm mistaken, SIUMED is in Springfield, IL. SIU's physician assistant program is in Carbondale. SIUMED does have a family practice residency at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, though.

You should definitely talk to SIU-I've heard they do make occasional exceptions, particularly if you've spent time in the St. Louis metropolitan area. You might also want to apply to University of Illinois.

I had similar feelings to you when I started reading the stats on SDN. I think SDN tends to attract the best of the best, though, so I think average numbers here are probably still very good when compared to the average medical school applicant. I do second the recommendation to get some more clinical experience, in any case. Hospitals (at least in this area) are begging for volunteers, so I think you should find plenty of opportunities in that area.

Good luck!

Thanks, and I have lived in st. louis county for most of my life and have some connections across the river so I was looking at some of the schools in Illinois if I can't find any other schools that I would like to apply to.

I was thinking that I should volunteer at some hospital or clinic around here but I didn't know if it would make any difference in my application because by the time I had volunteered for any significant amount of time my apps will already be in and probably my secondaries as well.

If I were to update the schools with my volunteering experience after my apps are in, would they take them into consideration or is it too late by then?

 

[EdCLS]

I imagine they would take anything into consideration, though I can't speak with authority on the matter. I'd advise you to contact SIUMED admissions ([email protected]) and see what they have to say. I've e-mailed them to ask questions from time to time and they are extremely helpful.

Good luck!

 

[denner]

I imagine they would take anything into consideration, though I can't speak with authority on the matter. I'd advise you to contact SIUMED admissions ([email protected]) and see what they have to say. I've e-mailed them to ask questions from time to time and they are extremely helpful.

Good luck!

appreciate the link, and I will send them an email to ask them.
Thanks