MD Am I on the right track for T20? Second year student

[tigerrose07]

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[paradoxic_toxic]

Beef up your clinical experience hours, get a 520, and you'll have a decent shot.

 

[Saturday’s Child]

Hi everyone! I'm a second-year undergrad and I was wondering if I'm on the right track for acceptance into a T20 school. I'm hoping to get a merit scholarship to medical school and thus want to apply to a lot of top tier schools. I'm aiming for a competitive specialty as well so school prestige will be a big factor.
I plan on taking the MCAT this summer and will be aiming for a 520+ (I have a strong background in both science and psych, so hopefully that will help!). I know it's difficult to know what schools to aim for without an MCAT but I would appreciate a review of my ECs as well!

cGPA/sGPA: 3.98

MCAT: will take this summer (aiming for a 520+, although I know it's really up to chance/my study habits)

Undergrad institution: relatively unknown, small state school. I'm a female, not URM

Clinical experience: Pre-op department hospital volunteering (~70 hours so far, will get at least 100 more by application time)

Shadowing: ~40 hours shadowing various surgeons (Neuro, plastic, general), will get primary physician shadowing before application

Research: ~700 hours in a lab at a medical university; will continue working there over the summer and next year, which will add at least 600 more hours.
Hoping to get a few presentations/publications with my name on them in the next year. I will be doing a Bachelor's essay as well. I know T20s love research so I hope this is advantageous.

Non-clinical volunteering: ~25 hours tutoring children in a poor area, just started volunteering in a homeless kitchen (will accumulate at least 100-150 hours before application time)

Other extracurriculars: Crew Team rower/coxswain, have been on the exec board since freshman year (secretary, treasurer), will most likely become president by junior year
Vice president of a campus religious organization (nothing really to show for it, but hoping to increase the organization's involvement with the community)

Are there things I should focus on in these next few years to make me as competitive as possible? Thank you, I appreciate your time!

Hello! Firstly, keep in mind that not all top 20 schools offer merit scholarships. Also, I have found that merit scholarships can be heavily influenced by personality characteristics (as demonstrated by interviews and rec letters), maybe even more so than actual accomplishments. Take my friend for example, who got a full ride to UCLA with “just” solid stats and EC’s but a wonderful and genuine personality. There is no guarantee with these things, no matter how great you are on paper 🙂

Secondly, I would say your volunteering hours need some beefing up to be even competitive for getting in to a top 20, let alone receiving a scholarship. A couple hundred hours each of clinical and non clinical is closer to “standard” than “superb” at pretty much any school, and top schools have an even higher bar (i.e. several hundred, if not thousands of hours—many successful applicants took gap years or were uber-involved throughout college).

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Ideally, if you are aiming to be a strong candidate for top-20 schools you would have at least 500 hours each of clinical and nonclinical volunteering. You might have thousands of hours in either or maybe both; you might have publications to boot. There's no guarantees, but a lot of those stellar top-20 applicants have things like Peace Corps, Teach for America, Americorps, or even military service. The higher you want to climb the slipperier it gets.

On the other hand, if you just want to be competitive for top-20 schools, a 520+ MCAT, 300+ hours of clinical and nonclinical volunteering, and the research you're doing should do it if your GPA remains where it is.

 

[Hzreio]

Ideally, if you are aiming to be a strong candidate for top-20 schools you would have at least 500 hours each of clinical and nonclinical volunteering. You might have thousands of hours in either or maybe both; you might have publications to boot. There's no guarantees, but a lot of those stellar top-20 applicants have things like Peace Corps, Teach for America, Americorps, or even military service. The higher you want to climb the slipperier it gets.

On the other hand, if you just want to be competitive for top-20 schools, a 520+ MCAT, 300+ hours of clinical and nonclinical volunteering, and the research you're doing should do it if your GPA remains where it is.

What's your source on the numbers you quoted?

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

What's your source on the numbers you quoted?

SDN consensus

 

[candbgirl]

What's your source on the numbers you quoted?

You’re rather new to posting. Spend some time reading WAMC threads and see what applicants have now a days. You’ll be surprised at what applicants have in the way of activities.

 

[tigerrose07]

Thanks, everyone, I appreciate your input!
I'll increase my projected volunteering hours in these next few years and take a gap year if needed!

 

[Goro]

Beef up your clinical experience hours, get a 520, and you'll have a decent shot.

/thread

BTW, saying "aiming for 520" is like a college player saying "aiming to play for the Washington Nationals".

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

And 523 is the Yankees!

 

[ciestar]

And 523 is the Yankees!

529 for the Astros 😉
/s