- Joined
- Apr 12, 2016
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 1
Year in school: Junior/ 3rd year
Country/state of residence: Louisiana
Schools to which you are applying: N/A Cumulative
GPA: 3.18
Science GPA: 3.34 (I'm a biological engineering major hence the science GPA being higher and low overall gpa)
MCAT Scores: N/A
Research – include any abstracts/posters/publications and how you were credited (eg. First author, senior author, etc): ~250 hours in a biofuels lab, no publications but possibly by Spring 2019 Volunteering (clinical) – include hours/sites: just started volunteering at local hospital so hopefully ~4 hours a week
Physician shadowing – include hours/specialties: none so far
Non-clinical volunteering: -tutor for underprivileged youth (also just started ~2 hrs a week)
-volunteer as a mentor for homeless LGBT+ youth (also just started ~4 hrs a week)
Extracurricular activities: member of a club on campus encouraging students to vote/ get civically involved w their communities
member of engineering student organization
Employment history: Summer camp counselor- Summer 2016 and 2017, full time for the month of June
paid for research through scholarship - since Fall 2016, around 7 hours a week
barista at local coffeeshop- since January 2018, around 15-20 hours a week
TA for intro engineering class- since August 2018, 3 hrs a week
(my dad got laid off a few years back so I have to work to pay for food/gas/textbooks/etc, but qualify for minimal financial aid.)
Please include time span and weekly commitment for volunteering/research/shadowing/extracurriculars.: research job since Fall 2016, around 7 hours a week clubs ~1-3 hours a week volunteering ~6 hrs a week
Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n): no
Specialty of interest: primary care/pediatrics/EM, not quite sure within those but I definitely want to pursue public health with an emphasis on underserved populations
Shadowing experience: none right now
Graduate degrees: no
Interest in rural health (y/n): possibly
_______________________________________________________________________
I'm looking into SPM programs to hopefully make up for my lower GPA. I am doing much better in school now that I have addressed some mental health issues that really held me back the end of my freshman/ sophomore year(s). I will (hopefully) be graduating with a higher GPA, but I am concerned that it will not be enough to get me into any med schools. I am open to MD or DO as I will be able to focus on public health with either. I would also like to get a MPH at some point to help me achieve this goal.
Am I freaking out about all this too early/ am I on the right track? What programs should I be looking into? When should I be taking the MCAT?
I would be open to take a gap year or two to hike the Appalachian trail, study for the MCAT, get more clinical/volunteer experience. Should I take this gap year right after undergrad and then apply to SPM programs? or should I just apply right out of undergrad?
Sorry for my rambling it's just that this time last year I was really depressed and completely gave up on my dream of ever becoming a doctor and now I am more determined than ever to achieve this goal and help people.
Thanks so much and let me know if there's anything else I need to add!
Country/state of residence: Louisiana
Schools to which you are applying: N/A Cumulative
GPA: 3.18
Science GPA: 3.34 (I'm a biological engineering major hence the science GPA being higher and low overall gpa)
MCAT Scores: N/A
Research – include any abstracts/posters/publications and how you were credited (eg. First author, senior author, etc): ~250 hours in a biofuels lab, no publications but possibly by Spring 2019 Volunteering (clinical) – include hours/sites: just started volunteering at local hospital so hopefully ~4 hours a week
Physician shadowing – include hours/specialties: none so far
Non-clinical volunteering: -tutor for underprivileged youth (also just started ~2 hrs a week)
-volunteer as a mentor for homeless LGBT+ youth (also just started ~4 hrs a week)
Extracurricular activities: member of a club on campus encouraging students to vote/ get civically involved w their communities
member of engineering student organization
Employment history: Summer camp counselor- Summer 2016 and 2017, full time for the month of June
paid for research through scholarship - since Fall 2016, around 7 hours a week
barista at local coffeeshop- since January 2018, around 15-20 hours a week
TA for intro engineering class- since August 2018, 3 hrs a week
(my dad got laid off a few years back so I have to work to pay for food/gas/textbooks/etc, but qualify for minimal financial aid.)
Please include time span and weekly commitment for volunteering/research/shadowing/extracurriculars.: research job since Fall 2016, around 7 hours a week clubs ~1-3 hours a week volunteering ~6 hrs a week
Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n): no
Specialty of interest: primary care/pediatrics/EM, not quite sure within those but I definitely want to pursue public health with an emphasis on underserved populations
Shadowing experience: none right now
Graduate degrees: no
Interest in rural health (y/n): possibly
_______________________________________________________________________
I'm looking into SPM programs to hopefully make up for my lower GPA. I am doing much better in school now that I have addressed some mental health issues that really held me back the end of my freshman/ sophomore year(s). I will (hopefully) be graduating with a higher GPA, but I am concerned that it will not be enough to get me into any med schools. I am open to MD or DO as I will be able to focus on public health with either. I would also like to get a MPH at some point to help me achieve this goal.
Am I freaking out about all this too early/ am I on the right track? What programs should I be looking into? When should I be taking the MCAT?
I would be open to take a gap year or two to hike the Appalachian trail, study for the MCAT, get more clinical/volunteer experience. Should I take this gap year right after undergrad and then apply to SPM programs? or should I just apply right out of undergrad?
Sorry for my rambling it's just that this time last year I was really depressed and completely gave up on my dream of ever becoming a doctor and now I am more determined than ever to achieve this goal and help people.
Thanks so much and let me know if there's anything else I need to add!
