MD & DO Advice on building my application

[simpleusername]

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Let me preface with that I am willing to work hard and be persistent to get into medschool doing almost what ever it takes to do it and I did not really come to the reality of how hard it is until this semester and that is why I am reaching out for advice on how to make it. My school doesn't have the best advisers so I'm reaching out to SDN for help.

I appreciate the DO approach to medicine so I don't mind going that route. I understand I won't being going to med school right out of undergrad. I really want to go in to primary care.

I am a junior atm
cGPA 3.13
sGPA 3.13
I hadn't taken college seriously until recently and my grades reflect that
this semester projected
cGPA 4
sGPA 3.5

I haven't taken the MCAT yet and plan to study during the summer to take it either in the fall or next spring.

As for EC's I haven't been very active
10 hours of official shadowing (father is a doctor so a lot of informal)will do more for sure in multiple fields
15 hours for various pre-health club events.
Assistant scout master for home troop, 25 hours since I am normally at school
no medical volunteer hours
I am a TA for biology this semester
No research

So I have a fairly bad resume.

Things I'm going to do:
Get those grades up
Figure out when to take the MCAT and do well on it
30+ hours more shadowing
I'm in contact now with a local hospital for volunteering

What else should I do?

I understand that I will need to take a masters post bacc or smp is there anything else? which of these should I consider the most as I am constantly hearing conflicting advice, I have strong ties to the mid west so I REALLY don't want to leave the Wisconsin Michigan Minnesota Iowa Indiana Illinois area to go to a post undergrad program or for med school but if I must, I will. In other words what are my options for these things in the midwest

 

[BrawnsNBrain]

For primary care and your stats, go DO and you'll get in. Here's the minor things you need to do to guarantee at least 1 acceptance:

1. Grades up (as you said) - with 3 semesters left you might only be able to get up to a ~3.4-3.5GPA.
2. You desperately need more clinical experience, and I mean not with Dad. Dad's LOR isn't as powerful.
3. Volunteer ~100hours (few weeks in the summer)
4. Shadow ~50hours+


You'll see what I listed is basically what you had listed as things you are going to do. It's not going to be easy being a junior, but you're persistent so you'll get there. You might need to take a year off depending on where your mcat/gpa is.

Also, school advisers are useless unless they're an MD/DO. Good choice coming here, but take things here with a grain of salt as well.

 

[simpleusername]

maybe more than a grain of salt. I have a few professor who I was thinking to ask for LOR, is it okay to have just professors? how many LOR should I get. how do I know which letters to send?

 

[BrawnsNBrain]

You don't know which letters to send. Typically you give up your rights to see the letter & then it's sent.

Here's my advice for LOR:
Get 2 science, 1 non-science LOR from your best professors.

Definition of best: professors who know more than just your name and can speak to your intelligence, interest, and desire to learn science. Professors whom you feel know you beyond 'the student who sits in the first row'. These professors will write meaningful letters. Get a physician letter or two as well.

 

[gyngyn]

Get a physician letter or two as well.

Physician letters are not particularly useful for MD applications, though apparently they are expected for DO.

 

[BrawnsNBrain]

Physician letters are not particularly useful for MD applications, though apparently they are expected for DO.

Thanks for that- I only went off what I did for my app cycle 🙂

 

[Goro]

To elaborate, they are indeed required for DO apps, and some schools require a letter from a DO specifically. An MD LOR is fine for my school, but a DO LOR always helps

Physician letters are not particularly useful for MD applications, though apparently they are expected for DO.

 

[HinduHammer]

@gyngyn
May I ask why physician letters are not as useful for MD? I have two letters from physicians I scribe for which I believe are quite strong and was looking forward to using for both MD and DO...

 

[gyngyn]

May I ask why physician letters are not as useful? I have two letters from physicians I scribe for which I believe are quite strong and was looking forward to using...

They are always positive, no matter how weak the candidate.
Sadly, this is also because they are often the result of familial connections (even if undeclared).

 

[Catalystik]

Let me preface with that I am willing to work hard and be persistent to get into medschool doing almost what ever it takes to do it and I did not really come to the reality of how hard it is until this semester and that is why I am reaching out for advice on how to make it. My school doesn't have the best advisers so I'm reaching out to SDN for help.

I appreciate the DO approach to medicine so I don't mind going that route. I understand I won't being going to med school right out of undergrad. I really want to go in to primary care.

I am a junior atm
cGPA 3.13
sGPA 3.13
I hadn't taken college seriously until recently and my grades reflect that
this semester projected
cGPA 4
sGPA 3.5

I haven't taken the MCAT yet and plan to study during the summer to take it either in the fall or next spring.

As for EC's I haven't been very active
10 hours of official shadowing (father is a doctor so a lot of informal)will do more for sure in multiple fields
15 hours for various pre-health club events.
Assistant scout master for home troop, 25 hours since I am normally at school
no medical volunteer hours
I am a TA for biology this semester
No research

So I have a fairly bad resume.

Things I'm going to do:
Get those grades up
Figure out when to take the MCAT and do well on it
30+ hours more shadowing
I'm in contact now with a local hospital for volunteering

What else should I do?

I understand that I will need to take a masters post bacc or smp is there anything else? which of these should I consider the most as I am constantly hearing conflicting advice, I have strong ties to the mid west so I REALLY don't want to leave the Wisconsin Michigan Minnesota Iowa Indiana Illinois area to go to a post undergrad program or for med school but if I must, I will. In other words what are my options for these things in the midwest

Post-Baccalaureate Programs Forum: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71

SMPs, searchable database: http://services.aamc.org/postbac/

Dr Midlife List: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=640302

 

[HinduHammer]

They are always positive, no matter how weak the candidate.
Sadly, this is also because they are often the result of familial connections (even if undeclared).

That's a shame. I don't have family connections and was hoping my strong physician recommendations from scribing during complicated or hectic cases like level 1 gunshots and arrests would help differentiate me.

Anyway, thank you for the reply!

 

[Aerus]

That's a shame. I don't have family connections and was hoping my strong physician recommendations from scribing during complicated or hectic cases like level 1 gunshots and arrests would help differentiate me.

Anyway, thank you for the reply!

How strong can a physician letter be though? "This person was able to watch patiently as I attended to the patient and only asked questions after I was done! Therefore, they will be a good doctor!"

 

[simpleusername]

Thanks everyone.