Advice?

[worryworm]

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[Lost in Translation]

Take your MCAT.

You need clinical experience or you'll get no looks even with a 99%tile MCAT.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Keep in mind that anything you did in high school doesn't count. I would keep up with shadowing periodically and also try to get some patient interaction. You could do this through volunteering at a hospital, free clinic, private practice, hospice, etc. The point is to demonstrate to med schools that you've taken the time to explore medicine--what doctors do and what being around sick people entails so that you know what you're getting yourself into. You should absolutely try to continue non-medical stuff that matters to you (mentoring kids, dancing). But the key is to find some balance. If you need to drop a few things to maintain a good GPA, do it! It should be about quality, not quantity. And give yourself PLENTY of time for MCAT prep.

 

[mpsu2014]

To start you're sitting pretty close to my GPAs (graduated with a cGPA 3.69 and sGPA 3.53).
Keep focusing on this grades… get help if needed and be smart when it comes to scheduling your courses. If you struggle in any particular topics (ie. biochem, physics, calc/math, genetics, cell bio, micro, anatomy) try to break up these courses as much as possible so you don't crash and burn with all the hardest topics for you in 1 semester.
I'm not sure how your school works with tutoring/office hours but utilize these to help also (I didn't use them my freshman year and also got a C+ in a chem class, grade significantly changed when I got help when I needed it)
As for ECs… if you are taking a gap year prepare to use that to your advantage with ECs. I also took a gap year because I needed time to study for the MCAT and get clinical experience. I became a medical scribe in the ER which I can't tell you how great of an experience it has been. Talking about this during interviews has definitely gotten me some true intrigue from the interviewers. But you could also take a quick 4-5 week class to became an ER tech (if you want to learn IVs, vitals, et.) - scribing will get you more 1-on-1 with physicians and dive deeper into understanding medical concepts.
Maybe try to get some more leadership positions at school in ECs there too! Or tutor/teaching assistant?
MCAT… this one sucks. I took it twice because I wasn't ready the first time and took it anyways. DONT DO THIS. Study in a way that works for you. This test is a b. Whether its months of self studying, online guided studying, or in person class (which I did my second time and highly recommend)… you're going to need a decent amount of time for this test where you are going most or all of your attention/brain to the material (working and studying is okay, but school +MCAT studying… very difficult).


I think you are sitting pretty for DO school with the stats for now and even low-mid tier MDs (depending on MCAT and gaining more clinical)
I mean we have similar stories and I have gotten DO II and acceptances, and multiple MD interviews as well 🙂
Best of luck! Don't stress out! 🙂

 

[OSUkid]

To start you're sitting pretty close to my GPAs (graduated with a cGPA 3.69 and sGPA 3.53).
Keep focusing on this grades… get help if needed and be smart when it comes to scheduling your courses. If you struggle in any particular topics (ie. biochem, physics, calc/math, genetics, cell bio, micro, anatomy) try to break up these courses as much as possible so you don't crash and burn with all the hardest topics for you in 1 semester.
I'm not sure how your school works with tutoring/office hours but utilize these to help also (I didn't use them my freshman year and also got a C+ in a chem class, grade significantly changed when I got help when I needed it)
As for ECs… if you are taking a gap year prepare to use that to your advantage with ECs. I also took a gap year because I needed time to study for the MCAT and get clinical experience. I became a medical scribe in the ER which I can't tell you how great of an experience it has been. Talking about this during interviews has definitely gotten me some true intrigue from the interviewers. But you could also take a quick 4-5 week class to became an ER tech (if you want to learn IVs, vitals, et.) - scribing will get you more 1-on-1 with physicians and dive deeper into understanding medical concepts.
Maybe try to get some more leadership positions at school in ECs there too! Or tutor/teaching assistant?
MCAT… this one sucks. I took it twice because I wasn't ready the first time and took it anyways. DONT DO THIS. Study in a way that works for you. This test is a b. Whether its months of self studying, online guided studying, or in person class (which I did my second time and highly recommend)… you're going to need a decent amount of time for this test where you are going most or all of your attention/brain to the material (working and studying is okay, but school +MCAT studying… very difficult).


I think you are sitting pretty for DO school with the stats for now and even low-mid tier MDs (depending on MCAT and gaining more clinical)
I mean we have similar stories and I have gotten DO II and acceptances, and multiple MD interviews as well 🙂
Best of luck! Don't stress out! 🙂

I mean you have a 3.69 GPA thats suitable for top MD schools as well. Also OP is only a junior so he/she can graduate with maybe a 3.6-3.7 GPA, thats not bad at all for MD schools. A 3.6 GPA with good MCAT and doing more clinical work OP has a pretty good chance along with her research and non clinical volunteering. I recommend taking a gap year though and not applying junior year, otherwise your putting yourself at a disadvantage.

 

[worryworm]

Take your MCAT.

You need clinical experience or you'll get no looks even with a 99%tile MCAT.

Any suggestions on how to get more clinical experience? (also, does shadowing not count?)

Keep in mind that anything you did in high school doesn't count. I would keep up with shadowing periodically and also try to get some patient interaction. You could do this through volunteering at a hospital, free clinic, private practice, hospice, etc. The point is to demonstrate to med schools that you've taken the time to explore medicine--what doctors do and what being around sick people entails so that you know what you're getting yourself into. You should absolutely try to continue non-medical stuff that matters to you (mentoring kids, dancing). But the key is to find some balance. If you need to drop a few things to maintain a good GPA, do it! It should be about quality, not quantity. And give yourself PLENTY of time for MCAT prep.

Thanks for your input! Is there a need to fuss over how many hours I have? Because especially with shadowing, I don't know that more hours equates to better insight? Or do I need to play the numbers game anyway?

To start you're sitting pretty close to my GPAs (graduated with a cGPA 3.69 and sGPA 3.53).
Keep focusing on this grades… get help if needed and be smart when it comes to scheduling your courses. If you struggle in any particular topics (ie. biochem, physics, calc/math, genetics, cell bio, micro, anatomy) try to break up these courses as much as possible so you don't crash and burn with all the hardest topics for you in 1 semester.
I'm not sure how your school works with tutoring/office hours but utilize these to help also (I didn't use them my freshman year and also got a C+ in a chem class, grade significantly changed when I got help when I needed it)
As for ECs… if you are taking a gap year prepare to use that to your advantage with ECs. I also took a gap year because I needed time to study for the MCAT and get clinical experience. I became a medical scribe in the ER which I can't tell you how great of an experience it has been. Talking about this during interviews has definitely gotten me some true intrigue from the interviewers. But you could also take a quick 4-5 week class to became an ER tech (if you want to learn IVs, vitals, et.) - scribing will get you more 1-on-1 with physicians and dive deeper into understanding medical concepts.
Maybe try to get some more leadership positions at school in ECs there too! Or tutor/teaching assistant?
MCAT… this one sucks. I took it twice because I wasn't ready the first time and took it anyways. DONT DO THIS. Study in a way that works for you. This test is a b. Whether its months of self studying, online guided studying, or in person class (which I did my second time and highly recommend)… you're going to need a decent amount of time for this test where you are going most or all of your attention/brain to the material (working and studying is okay, but school +MCAT studying… very difficult).


I think you are sitting pretty for DO school with the stats for now and even low-mid tier MDs (depending on MCAT and gaining more clinical)
I mean we have similar stories and I have gotten DO II and acceptances, and multiple MD interviews as well 🙂
Best of luck! Don't stress out! 🙂

Thanks! My upper divs are all Microbio classes so spacing them out will be a little tough but I have been trying to pick out the "better" professors, so hopefully that helps a bit. My concern with classes (EMT, CNA, etc.) is the cost. I'm not the most well off and I'm trying to keep myself out of debt as much as possible. I haven't yet looked into funding sources for but I guess I'll start seriously considering it. And yeah, a big reason why I decided on the gap year was because I didn't want to rush the MCAT! Congrats to you and thanks for the encouragement 🙂

I mean you have a 3.69 GPA thats suitable for top MD schools as well. Also OP is only a junior so he/she can graduate with maybe a 3.6-3.7 GPA, thats not bad at all for MD schools. A 3.6 GPA with good MCAT and doing more clinical work OP has a pretty good chance along with her research and non clinical volunteering. I recommend taking a gap year though and not applying junior year, otherwise your putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Fingers crossed that I can raise it to a 3.7!

 

[bwc]

C range grades may raise flags, but if it is only for this semester, this does not mean it should be the end of pre-med for you. I would aim to get no more of those from here on out.

In terms of shadowing, you should have at least roughly 40 hours. You are encouraged to go beyond that. It doesn't have to all be the same doctor or within the same specialty. It is true that once you go beyond a certain number of hours, it no longer makes a difference, but shadowing is still important. Whatever happened in high school doesn't really count.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Thanks for your input! Is there a need to fuss over how many hours I have? Because especially with shadowing, I don't know that more hours equates to better insight? Or do I need to play the numbers game anyway?

If there's an ideal number of shadowing hours, I have no clue what it would be. I wouldn't stress out about numbers and would instead try to shadow docs in a couple different specialties. No need to go crazy. But if you've already shadowed in the ED and you're interested in Peds, for example, you might try to find a pediatrician in private practice or something like that. Think about areas of medicine that interest you and start there!