Am I missing anything? Feedback on EC's, etc.

[CaffeineJunkie]

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Hey all, rising senior here. Hoping to get some constructive criticism on my app so far so I can use next year and my gap year to address any deficiencies I may have.

cGPA: 3.74, sGPA: 3.71, MCAT: currently studying, will take when I'm absolutely ready
Am first-gen college student, but also Asian 🙁
State: WA

EC's:
1) 2 years as Residential Advisor (RA) for freshmen plus 1 more year working in Res Life (most meaningful)
2) 3 years volunteer SAT tutor for economically disadvantaged high schools (most meaningful), ~400 hours
3) Clinical volunteering at 3 hospitals with lots of patient interaction (most meaningful), ~140 hours
*Side note, been volunteering in hospitals since high school. Can I include that?
4) 3 semesters + 1 summer of research in Neuro (with a research fellowship), will culminate in honors thesis and likely presentation at a major conference, publication uncertain
5) Section leader in school orchestra, 3 years (been playing this instrument for 9 years in various groups)
6) Shadowing 4 different physicians, will have more by end of summer, 30 hours
7) Summer fellowship research (2013) at a Top 20 med school, presented in front of faculty but no pubs
8) Work Study in the IT department for 3 years, also held 2 other part-time jobs at school (will condense into one activity)
9) Mentored freshmen academically and in lab research techniques for a full year
10) Couple hobbies: another instrument for 10 years, an IM sport, a cultural organization (scattered but long-term attendance for all)
11) The usual academic honors (Dean's List, couple undergrad research fellowships, etc.)...probably no PBK
12) Co-founder/president of a community service group on campus

Would love any feedback or advice on what to do during gap year (research or clinical). I'm thinking my clinical experience is a bit low and my GPA is only okay. Would love to go to U of Wash for med school. Thanks!

 

[Planes2Doc]

Definitely include the hospital volunteering you've been doing since high school. This should boost up your 140 current hours, and will also help you use the whole "helping the disadvantaged" angle, especially since you're been SAT tutoring to disadvantaged youth.

You want to raise your shadowing hours to 50 hours, and at that point you can finish shadowing.

You're fine with clinical experience especially with the amount of clinical volunteering you have. There's no need for entry-level clinical jobs, especially since you're taking the MCAT and it sounds like you're still in school.

Otherwise everything looks great. Just keep chugging along with the MCAT studying! Good luck!

 

[DielsAlder]

Everything looks great and you have a number of different experiences. Just continue doing what you like and rock the MCAT.

 

[baxt1412]

yup, more physician shadowing hours.


you have your LORs decided?



yes include high school volunteering if relevant.


i had a member of an ADCOM tell me to not include Dean's list, etc because it's obvious if your cumulative is good. she made it clear she didn't want any scholarships/academic honors unless out of the normal honors .

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

Thanks a lot for all the replies! I'll definitely keep volunteering in the hospital and shadow a bit more this summer.

yup, more physician shadowing hours.


you have your LORs decided?



yes include high school volunteering if relevant.


i had a member of an ADCOM tell me to not include Dean's list, etc because it's obvious if your cumulative is good. she made it clear she didn't want any scholarships/academic honors unless out of the normal honors .

That's too bad they didn't want any academic honors. I guess I'll just pray for PBK then lol. And I think I do have a good set of recommendation writers in mind:

1) My PI, major adviser, and got an A in his class
2) My Gen Chem professor, knows me in a leadership capacity and did well in both his classes
3) My English prof? I know I need a non-science. I did well in her class and we get along very well.
4) Probably one of my Res Life Directors. I know them all quite well and I'm very dedicated to the group

Should I include another LOR from my EC's?

 

[lmn]

Your application looks very solid all around, like others have said, try to bump the shadowing up a bit if possible (make sure to have PCP shadowing in there), but other than that, just keep up your current EC's and really focus on knocking the MCAT out of the park. A good mcat score and a smart school list should give you a good chance at an acceptance.

 

[Radon XP]

I don't see why including your honors would hurt you. You can just include all honors, awards, etc, in one entry

 

[baxt1412]

I was just including what I was told from one school. She told me that everyone who is applying to medical school has dean's list at least once usually so it's basically like saying "i really like medicine" in a PS.. it's a no brainer to them.

that's how one member of one school's ADCOM phrased it... that is not necessarily indicative of all school's opinions.

I would rather put in a leadership role, research, etc before putting in Dean's list and she agreed.

 

[Radon XP]

I was just including what I was told from one school. She told me that everyone who is applying to medical school has dean's list at least once usually so it's basically like saying "i really like medicine" in a PS.. it's a no brainer to them.

that's how one member of one school's ADCOM phrased it... that is not necessarily indicative of all school's opinions.

I would rather put in a leadership role, research, etc before putting in Dean's list and she agreed.

It's definitely not very meaningful, and I would put it in near the bottom of the list. Still, I don't see why it would hurt to include it, so you might as well

 

[lmn]

I was just including what I was told from one school. She told me that everyone who is applying to medical school has dean's list at least once usually so it's basically like saying "i really like medicine" in a PS.. it's a no brainer to them.

that's how one member of one school's ADCOM phrased it... that is not necessarily indicative of all school's opinions.

I would rather put in a leadership role, research, etc before putting in Dean's list and she agreed.

If you're maxing out with other strong activities then ya maybe I wouldn't include it, but if you have space I would definitely include it along with all your other awards.

 

[baxt1412]

fair enough