A B?? Also, how to record Research?

[thefallqueen]

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Hi,

I am planning on double majoring in biology/biotechnology and Humanities degree with a concentration in Writing in Science and Technology. I also want to do a Chemistry minor.

However, I feel like I may be getting a B+ in my biotech class and Im really worried, because its supposed to be very simple and general biology ideas. Would this affect my admission chances? (But I had a 3.8 GPA overall)

Also, I have a B- in history (but a 4 on AP US history exam), and a B+ in statistics from a community college... would those look bad? I was in high school at the time (dual enrollment)

SECOND QUESTION
I am going to be volunteering for about 8 hours a week, and doing research for about 6. Do I need to record those anywhere for proof for medical schools.

AND anything else to up my chances? Thanks

 

[aSagacious]

1) You'll be fine with a 3.8 and a handful of B's.
2) No you don't need to record your volunteer hours. AMCAS now has you list contact information for each activity on your application for verification purposes. However if you're volunteering in a high-traffic hospital you might want to record your hours for the person who will (potentially) be receiving the verification call (which will be unlikely, but not impossible).
3) I don't think there's a person on this planet who can estimate your chances with nothing but a GPA. We'd need items like your tentative school list, MCAT, ballpark ECs, etc.

 

[flodhi1]

Hi,

I am planning on double majoring in biology/biotechnology and Humanities degree with a concentration in Writing in Science and Technology. I also want to do a Chemistry minor.

However, I feel like I may be getting a B+ in my biotech class and Im really worried, because its supposed to be very simple and general biology ideas. Would this affect my admission chances? (But I had a 3.8 GPA overall)

Also, I have a B- in history (but a 4 on AP US history exam), and a B+ in statistics from a community college... would those look bad? I was in high school at the time (dual enrollment)

SECOND QUESTION
I am going to be volunteering for about 8 hours a week, and doing research for about 6. Do I need to record those anywhere for proof for medical schools.

AND anything else to up my chances? Thanks

Well you will be most likely requesting a letter of recommendation from the MD that you volunteer or shadow with. Most medical schools wants to see recommendations from a health professional. With that being said the health professional will most likely list how long he has known or worked with you. So that will pretty much be proof. When it comes to your grades as long as you don't have a downward trend you're fine. Just bring your grades up the following semesters and a 3.8 is an extremely decent GPA.

 

[thefallqueen]

Thanks guys!
Also, any way to somehow shadow a doctor? My volunteer work is not around doctor, but more patients.
How would I be able to ask a doctor if I can shadow?

Also, would physical education that counts as credit count also as an EC?

AND i really wann get into umass medical school (im a MA resident)

 

[thefallqueen]

oh and the 3.8 I was referring to was when I was at the community college

 

[aSagacious]

How would I be able to ask a doctor if I can shadow?

If you search 'shadow' or 'shadowing' you'll see a good number of useful threads on how to obtain a shadowing position.

Also, would physical education that counts as credit count also as an EC?

I'm not really sure what you mean by 'physical education' but to make an analogy I know many applicants list research done for credit as an extra-curricular activity.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Oh spare me. B+ isn't going to ruin anything unless you are gunning for the tops.

 

[thefallqueen]

Thank you
also any way I can increase my chances of getting into umass medical?

 

[orthomyxo]

Thank you
also any way I can increase my chances of getting into umass medical?

Live in Massachusetts?

In other news, annoying thread is annoying.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

Is that a biotechnology/biology double major? Make sure you manage your time accordingly. Biotech B.S. was one of my majors at a state school and it was and still currently is the most credit-intensive major on that campus. If I could do it all over again....I'd pick something that didn't require so much effort so I could focus more on MCAT junior year.

 

[blahdoc]

Well you will be most likely requesting a letter of recommendation from the MD that you volunteer or shadow with. Most medical schools wants to see recommendations from a health professional. With that being said the health professional will most likely list how long he has known or worked with you. So that will pretty much be proof. When it comes to your grades as long as you don't have a downward trend you're fine. Just bring your grades up the following semesters and a 3.8 is an extremely decent GPA.

I thought the opposite was true. A doctor or health professional isn't going to be able to say much about you unless they're your research mentor or something, in which case they would be writing in a different capacity.

 

[Doctor246853]

Hi,

I am planning on double majoring in biology/biotechnology and Humanities degree with a concentration in Writing in Science and Technology. I also want to do a Chemistry minor.

However, I feel like I may be getting a B+ in my biotech class and Im really worried, because its supposed to be very simple and general biology ideas. Would this affect my admission chances? (But I had a 3.8 GPA overall)

Also, I have a B- in history (but a 4 on AP US history exam), and a B+ in statistics from a community college... would those look bad? I was in high school at the time (dual enrollment)

SECOND QUESTION
I am going to be volunteering for about 8 hours a week, and doing research for about 6. Do I need to record those anywhere for proof for medical schools.

AND anything else to up my chances? Thanks

6hrs per week? What type of work are you getting done?

 

[thefallqueen]

6hrs per week? What type of work are you getting done?

is that too little?

 

[BilalL]

is that too little?

Its usually at least 20 hrs minimum a week. I work about 40 and I feel thats normal otherwise you can't get anything done and are mostly just a nuisance to a research lab.

 

[thefallqueen]

woahh
Well I'm assisting and part of the work would actually be done at home.

 

[Doctor246853]

is that too little?

Maybe someone else could chime in??? Im doing 15hrs a week (minimum) and thats about average. Especially if you are doing your own project. With 6hrs I wouldnt get anything done, maybe a pcr perhaps? Maybe other people are doing about 6hrs a week but I personally, wouldnt make any progress...😳

 

[sector9]

I thought the opposite was true. A doctor or health professional isn't going to be able to say much about you unless they're your research mentor or something, in which case they would be writing in a different capacity.

Sometimes people get confused, thinking that the letter requirements for their school's premed committee are the same as med schools expectations

 

[sector9]

Maybe someone else could chime in??? Im doing 15hrs a week (minimum) and thats about average. Especially if you are doing your own project. With 6hrs I wouldnt get anything done, maybe a pcr perhaps? Maybe other people are doing about 6hrs a week but I personally, wouldnt make any progress...😳

I did 10 hours a week during most school semesters.

 

[thefallqueen]

Maybe someone else could chime in??? Im doing 15hrs a week (minimum) and thats about average. Especially if you are doing your own project. With 6hrs I wouldnt get anything done, maybe a pcr perhaps? Maybe other people are doing about 6hrs a week but I personally, wouldnt make any progress...😳

Ohh. It isn't my own project. I'm a freshman (not counting my two years at community college) and this was my first research opportunity c: I'll be doing it with like 6 other people.. though on dif days

 

[Doctor246853]

I did 10 hours a week during most school semesters.

I wanted to do 10 so bad but my PI has a 15hr minimum requirement. I can do alot still with 10hr but 6? Some experiments take nearly that long, I would be done for the week after one assay.

 

[Doctor246853]

Ohh. It isn't my own project. I'm a freshman (not counting my two years at community college) and this was my first research opportunity c: I'll be doing it with like 6 other people.. though on dif days

That sounds petty sweet actually. I mean you have more time for other things (if you're not interested in pubs or anything). Oh, and you're not a freshman if you did two years at a comunity college, you should be classified as a soph/jr.

 

[Morsetlis]

6 hours per week = 24 hours per month = ~250 hours per year.

It's not that bad honestly... Sure it's probably not gonna get anything published but he might get a poster or a better lab job offer out of it.

 

[thefallqueen]

I know alot of people came saying that one or two B's isnt bad, however, im struggling with ym first semester at a four year college.. its looking like i might get a B+ for my biotechnology class and my cell bioloy class... would this look bad? It's taking me a while to acclimate and im really worried

 

[thefallqueen]

*BUMB*
any answers??

 

[Doctor246853]

6 hours per week = 24 hours per month = ~250 hours per year.

It's not that bad honestly... Sure it's probably not gonna get anything published but he might get a poster or a better lab job offer out of it.

Well if you break it down like that, it looks fine. OP your hours are fine as long as you dont plan on applying to top schools. As I stated earlier, those are some sweet hours and you can use them to study or get other things done.👍

 

[LuciusVorenus]

Maybe someone else could chime in??? Im doing 15hrs a week (minimum) and thats about average. Especially if you are doing your own project. With 6hrs I wouldnt get anything done, maybe a pcr perhaps? Maybe other people are doing about 6hrs a week but I personally, wouldnt make any progress...😳

It depends on the kind of research. For someone running gels, yes you probably need way more than 6 hours in the actual lab. However, research in things like public health, psychology, etc doesn't really require "lab time." You can easily take your data home with you and mess with the numbers on SPSS/SAS without having to actually come in.

I've been doing my own project in public health and I usually spend around 10 hours in the lab collecting and inputting data, and then maybe 20 hours at home messing with the data in SPSS and doing analysis and background research.