Agriculture major - how am I doing?

[vanillasky123]

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[TriagePreMed]

Tell us how you'll bridge Agricultural Science with medicine and what goals you have in medicine. I can see how a doctor that would be interested in working in rural areas could benefit from understanding farming and native vegetation.

 

[dreamweaver1988]

Cool major!

 

[Soccer171983]

Well rounded and unique! Bump gpa lil higher and do well on Mcats. You will do fine!

 

[Catalystik]

I'm a junior at an ivy undergrad (I'm sure you can guess which one...) that's majoring in Agricultural Sciences. My stats are:

GPA: 3.5
BCPM: 3.4
MCAT: (not yet... will take it senior year.. I'm going to do a gap year before med school)
Major: Agricultural Sciences
Minors: Business, Biology
Non-URM

Research
Biomedical research with veterinarian - will be 2.5 yrs and hopefully publications
USDA agriculture research - every summer since high school

Shadowing
cardiothoracic surgeon, orthopedic surgeon, endocrinologist -> totaling 100 hrs

Clinical Volunteering
Hospital - 50 hrs (will have around 150 hrs when I apply)
Nursing home/rehabilitation center - 2.5 yrs

Nonclinical Volunteering
Tutor underprivileged youth - 30 hrs +

Leadership
Treasurer, writer, editor (not all at the same time) for school science publication
Publicity Chair for global health club

Hobbies
cooking, figure skating (non-competitive), working out... nothing significant

1) I am very worried about my chances because everyone keeps telling me that I'm stupid for doing Agricultural Sciences as a premed. However, I just received a very nice yearly scholarship from the USDA so I have to stay in the major and work for them every summer rather than doing some type of medical internship. By the time I graduate I will have worked at the USDA for 6 summers since high school. Will this significantly hurt my chances? Should I give up my scholarship to do medical internships instead? (not that its very feasible for me to do so... but I gotta do what I gotta do...)

2) I'm also hesitant about being so involved in agriculture because I'd like to work for the NIH IRTA during my gap year but I don't think they take agriculture majors...

3) I feel like I have a very cookie cutter application and can't participate in many "medically related" experiences so I'm not sure how else to prove my interest in medicine....

4) What else can I do to improve my application at this point in terms of ecs?

1) No. Do not give up your scholarship. Your major doesn't matter to adcomms. If I asked you why you chose that major, and you told me you thought it was interesting and had secured a scholarship related to continuing with that major, I would be completely satisfied with the answer. Are you from a rural area? Do you have an interest in rural medicine? Many med schools are looking for folks like that.

2) So long as your research is hypothesis driven and you can explain it (ideally with some enthusiasm and ability to communicate the information) it will be viewed as fine. Research need not even be in the sciences to be satisfactory for a med school application. I'd check a bit further into who the NIH will take on (because I think your concern is misplaced). You will have a good science background by the time you get to your gap year. I recall a recent application where the candidate had extracted DNA from soybeans resistant to rust, with the eventual goal of designing more soybeans resistant to rust (or somesuch). I thought it was pretty interesting, and certainly has implications across genus lines.

3) You have clinical experience of longer duration than the majority of applicants. Your shadowing is also above average. I think you've demonstrated an interest in medicine and have tested it as a career.

4) Add a primary care doc to the shadowing. Make it a rural doc, if your interests lie in that direction. Beef up the nonmedical community service with more hours. Tutoring is a great EC. Tutoring those who can't afford it is better. Overall, your ECs are coming along well. Get your GPAs higher for a better shot at MD schools, if you care about the letters after your name. I'm glad you plan an extra college year if it means some GPA boosting can be done.