Advice On my Stats/Experience for Upcoming Cycle

[viciouz]

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Hey guys, I could use some constructive criticism and some good feedback. Please be honest, even if its brutal.

Here's a brief history of me:
Current Junior @ University of California Irvine
Overall GPA: ~ 3.40
Science GPA: ~ 3.25

Freshmen Year I partied a lot and had to work full time because of family problems [dad went to jail and mom didn't work and mom's mom passed away], and I had no intention of becoming a doctor then. I messed up in taking a bunch of economics classes. Mainly the reason why I have a low non-science GPA.

Summer I started a website business and failed... lost a few thousand but gained a ton of knowledge.

Sophomore Year I quit work and focused on school getting good grades, started volunteering at a hospital switching departments periodically. I switched into the Biology Major from Bio-Medical Engineering.

Summer I started research and took the last paper MCAT and got a 29N (PS 13, V 7, BS 9 N). I think I rushed it and was scared of the new format.

Junior Year I am still currently volunteering and now tutoring for UCI in OChem and GChem Department. I also started private tutoring business for high school and college chem classes. I am also taking a lot of non-science classes to explore what else my university has to offer. I will hopefully have 1 publication by start of Senior year from my research lab.

In the Summer and during Senior year I plan on taking more classes in different fields, continuing work, continuing research, and continuing volunteering.

I will have 3 SOLID Letters of Recommendation (1 Research, 1 Ochem Professor, 1 Business Professor) and probably one from the volunteer coordinator and another Dr. from my lab.

I have a scheduled retake for the MCAT on the 11th of May, and I plan on scoring a solid 32P or higher.

I still need to write my personal statement, and plan on incorporating my experiences, as long with the problems I had freshmen year and my interests in medicine and business.

I plan on submitting my AMCAS roughly around June 3rd to about 30+ schools, particularly those with MD/MBA programs.

 

[viciouz]

What can I do to strengthen my app?

Do I even have a chance at getting into a medical school?

What schools am I realistically looking at? I really want to go to UCI Med School, because I am from around here and comfortable here.

Should I apply to more schools or less schools?

What should and should I not put in my personal statement? Like can I put how I am raising a Siberian Husky since Sophmore year, literally one of my best friends. Is that relevant? I don't know....

If I don't get into any medical schools, where can I find out more information on SMP that help you prepare for the next upcoming cycle or accept you into their medical school?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

What can I do to strengthen my app?

Do I even have a chance at getting into a medical school?

What schools am I realistically looking at? I really want to go to UCI Med School, because I am from around here and comfortable here.

Should I apply to more schools or less schools?

What should and should I not put in my personal statement? Like can I put how I am raising a Siberian Husky since Sophmore year, literally one of my best friends. Is that relevant? I don't know....

If I don't get into any medical schools, where can I find out more information on SMP that help you prepare for the next upcoming cycle or accept you into their medical school?

 

[viciouz]

But what can I do to better my chances of staying within California, and more specifically, UCI?

 

[thejonqproject]

But what can I do to better my chances of staying within California, and more specifically, UCI?

Bump up your GPA alot (3.5 ) . raise your mcat to about 35+ . Possibly consider taking a year off to strengthen that stuff and then APPLY after that year.

with those stats, most UC's realistically won't give you a 2ndary. Sorry bro.

 

[Cirrus83]

Study your butt off like there's no tommorrow and get straight A's from here on out. I'll be honest with you, that's about the only real way to salvage this. Then retake the MCATs when you have time to focus on them, and bat those out of the park too.

I think I had a 3.4ish GPA too at the end of my Sophomore year, and it took the next 2 years with 3.7, 3.8 and 3.9 semesters (two 3.9x semesters) to get my GPA up to 3.53, and even then it was because I was overloading like a madman (22 credits for several of those semesters).

If I were you I'd work like mad on the harder courses, and then pad out my schedule with somewhat easier ones that you can get A's in without quite as much effort. Just to get the credit counts up for the semesters you have left.

Even then it's not easy, but it's doable.

 

[Foghorn]

That's a funny flow chart. I'm gonna borrow it for reference

 

[viciouz]

What schools should I realisitcally look at then? Instead of UC's? Any in california?

 

[Darksmurf]

What does STFU mean? Seek the Future Undaunted? Stop the Foreign Usurpation? Steal the Free Unicycle? Still Time for Undergrad? Saint Thomas Free University? Stick The Fork Underneath?

 

[Anastasis]

What does STFU mean? Seek the Future Undaunted? Stop the Foreign Usurpation? Steal the Free Unicycle? Still Time for Undergrad? Saint Thomas Free University? Stick The Fork Underneath?

"Shut the **** up"

 

[Darksmurf]

"Shut the **** up"

That was my next guess. But I can't find **** in my Chinese-English dictionary.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

That was my next guess. But I can't find **** in my Chinese-English dictionary.

Try "fook"