Analyze Me/Make me feel better :)

[FRESCA12]

Hi. 🙂
Not sure if I am posting in the right spot. I am a regular reader/not poster here. but here goes.

Where do I stand/What are my chances to most schools. My out of state school of choice is San Antonio (about 10% of out of state students accepted)

I am a Junior, Bio major, Spanish Minor. Enrolled in a Kaplan course, taking the MCAT in late May. Having a panic attack.

cGPA 3.69
Kaplan Diagnostic for mcat 20!! P5 V8 B7, hoping for 30+,
I realize this is very average, but I am more worried about my EC's

ECs
1. SMDEP 8 weeks
2. Summer Undergraduate Research - 1 summer. poster and a submitted manuscript for a publication. Also got offered to work at the same lab this summer until medical school
3. Around 50 shadowing hours with 4/5 different doctors
4. About 40-50 volunteering hrs in the medical field.
5. Around 40+ hours of non-medical volunteering
6. Premed Society/Spanish Club executive/Muslim Student Association executive
7. 20-30 hours a week of non-medical employment throughout college, including 6 months as a pharmacy technician


Extra perks - Female minority, moved to US about 8 years ago, fluent in five languages, first generation in college, sibling in the medical school of choice..Strong PS, strong rec letter from pi, campus letter

Negatives - I am not as motivated for the MCAT as i should be, maybe because I spend my time worrying. BUT that worries me. Also I have no clinical experience.

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[Frazier]

Hi. 🙂
Not sure if I am posting in the right spot. I am a regular reader/not poster here. but here goes.

I am a Junior, Bio major, Spanish Minor. Enrolled in a Kaplan course, taking the MCAT in late May. Having a panic attack.

cGPA 3.69
Kaplan Diagnostic for mcat 20!! P5 V8 B7, hoping for 30+,
I realize this is very average, but I am more worried about my EC's

ECs
1. SMDEP 8 weeks
2. Summer Undergraduate Research - 1 summer. poster and a submitted manuscript for a publication. Also got offered to work at the same lab this summer until medical school
3. Around 50 shadowing hours with 4/5 different doctors
4. About 40-50 volunteering hrs in the medical field.
5. Around 30 hours of non-medical volunteering
6. Premed Society/Spanish Club executive/Muslim Student Association executive
7. 20-30 hours a week of non-medical employment throughout college, including 6 months as a pharmacy technician


Extra perks - Female minority, moved to US about 8 years ago, fluent in five languages, first generation in college, sibling in the medical school of choice..Strong PS, strong rec letter from pi, campus letter

Negatives - I am not as motivated for the MCAT as i should be, maybe because I spend my time worrying. BUT that worries me. Also I have no clinical experience.

If you volunteered in an ER, doctor's office, ("About 40-50 volunteering hrs in the medical field") that would be "clinical" experience.

GPA is no problem. Shadowing looks good. Being a minority will help. Fluency in 5 languages makes you interesting. With the rest of your app in mind, I imagine you would be able to gain acceptance somewhere if you can pull out an MCAT over 25. Hope you feel better. 😉

 

[Geekchick921]

Moving to What Are My Chances forum.

 

[LEUNIT]

Doesn't "volunteering in the medical field" count as clinical experience? 😕

 

[Techmed07]

Hi. 🙂
Not sure if I am posting in the right spot. I am a regular reader/not poster here. but here goes.

I am a Junior, Bio major, Spanish Minor. Enrolled in a Kaplan course, taking the MCAT in late May. Having a panic attack.

cGPA 3.69
Kaplan Diagnostic for mcat 20!! P5 V8 B7, hoping for 30+,
I realize this is very average, but I am more worried about my EC's

ECs
1. SMDEP 8 weeks
2. Summer Undergraduate Research - 1 summer. poster and a submitted manuscript for a publication. Also got offered to work at the same lab this summer until medical school
3. Around 50 shadowing hours with 4/5 different doctors
4. About 40-50 volunteering hrs in the medical field.
5. Around 30 hours of non-medical volunteering
6. Premed Society/Spanish Club executive/Muslim Student Association executive
7. 20-30 hours a week of non-medical employment throughout college, including 6 months as a pharmacy technician


Extra perks - Female minority, moved to US about 8 years ago, fluent in five languages, first generation in college, sibling in the medical school of choice..Strong PS, strong rec letter from pi, campus letter

Negatives - I am not as motivated for the MCAT as i should be, maybe because I spend my time worrying. BUT that worries me. Also I have no clinical experience.

Well it looks good. You should have a shot at some top programs. Just a few notes below

SMDEP- is clinical experience but it isnt a eight week progam, its six week program.

What kind of minority are you?

I have been doing doing some research and the average MCAT accepted for

African Americans is: 26.6
Native Americans: 27.7
Hispanic: 28ish

The higher you get above the average of your minority group the better your chances will be for sure! But, what will be more impressive is just getting above the average MCAT of matriculates regardless of color which is a 31.1 That will put you in contention for some of the higher up schools. I got a 25 (9 9 8) on my diagonostic but I actually studied for it a little. You should have no problem breaking 30 with some hard work. Verbal maybe your biggest obstacle so practice practice practice. I think with your Ecs you should be a shoe in at the top schools. But remember the MCAT will determine if some doors close or if they are opened for you. Work hard you're not finished yet. Good luck

 

[FRESCA12]

Doesn't "volunteering in the medical field" count as clinical experience? 😕

i don't know! People talk about having direct patient interaction..
I volunteered in the ER, and the pediatrics section. If that counts, that makes me happy! 🙂

 

[FRESCA12]

I am originally from Afghanistan, and I grew up in Russia. So REALLY a minority.
I guess I better get to studying. I am not as worried about verbal (It was my highest diagnostic score, and languages/comprehension comes easy to me) Physics is definitely my biggest obstacle.

But thanks for the EC's comment, I was really worried about that, but that makes me feel a lot better!


What would be my chances for out of state schools? Especially San Antonio?

 

[Frazier]

nice ec's

 

[Perrotfish]

Good News: The first diagnostic offered by any test prep program is probably not actually diagnostic of your abilities. They grade those things way harder than the real test so that at the end of the course you feel you've improved more than you actually have. If you really can't stop having a panic attack buy a book of MCAT diagnostic tests and take one on your own time. I bet your score is at least 5 points higher than the one they just gave you. The tests at the end of a prep course are much more honest. Which is not to say you don't still have some studying to do to break a 30.

Bad News: Unfortunately being from Afghanistan is not a minority in the sense that helps in medical school admissions, so for the sake of your application you'll be evaluated just like a 5th generation white American. Under Represented in Medicine means Black, Native American, and some but not all kinds of Hispanic.

Advice: study hard for the MCAT, and start hoping to get into the state school of the state you actually live in.

 

[Techmed07]

Good news is that your clinical experience counts -- you should try for more though.

Bad news: you aren't a URM by med school standards unless you are specifically black, hispanic, native american, or pacific islander (perhaps another).... Afghani and/or russian (i.e. middle eastern or European) don't work.

Yeah you are considered white by AAMC standards. You need to shoot for a 33+ MCAT score to get a shot in at UTSA. Texas has a 90% rule. 90% of the seats go to those with in-state residency.

 

[FRESCA12]

Whoa!

So even when my personal statement mentions that I've been in the US for 8 years, that still won't make a difference?
How is that even fair?

 

[Techmed07]

Whoa!

So even when my personal statement mentions that I've been in the US for 8 years, that still won't make a difference?
How is that even fair?

its not.

 

[FRESCA12]

Good news is that your clinical experience counts -- you should try for more though.

Bad news: you aren't a URM by med school standards unless you are specifically black, hispanic, native american, or pacific islander (perhaps another).... Afghani and/or russian (i.e. middle eastern or European) don't work.

If this is the case, forget the 25 MCAT minimum and bump it up to 30.

Do you think that's something that's considered during the interview? or on a more personal level outside of the AMCAS?

Of course I am not expecting my minority status to get me into medical school, but if preference is given to minorities, than I'd like to be considered

 

[Frazier]

You can't mark the URM box on your application without the risk of looking deceptive.

However, you can write up your best life story that highlights your uniqueness and personal struggles with being a URM in general society.

Your race/ethnicity will not help you at all with your app (unless black, Hispanic, etc). Your story (assuming you have one that is interesting) potentially can.

true

 

[Techmed07]

you can't mark the urm box on your application without the risk of looking deceptive.

However, you can write up your best life story that highlights your uniqueness and personal struggles with being a urm in general society.

Your race/ethnicity will not help you at all with your app (unless black, hispanic, etc). You're story (assuming you have one that is interesting) potentially can.

qft

 

[FRESCA12]

You can't mark the URM box on your application without the risk of looking deceptive.

However, you can write up your best life story that highlights your uniqueness and personal struggles with being a URM in general society.

Your race/ethnicity will not help you at all with your app (unless black, Hispanic, etc). You're story (assuming you have one that is interesting) potentially can.

Thanks. I'm gonna really focus on the personal statement.
That's a bummer. But HEY, when I do start medical school, at least I'll know I got in because of my qualities and not my ethnicity.
As an Afghan female I'm setting records by getting to this point as it is. 🙂

While, I have your attention.

What do you think of highlighting in a personal statement/interview the idea that I hope to practice in Afghanistan one day?

 

[FRESCA12]

BTW there is no 'URM' box, only a 'race' box. They don't give you the opportunity to argue you should be a minority, they just give you a chance to announce what race you are and then they decide if you're a minority based on what you declared.

Afghans are considered "Caucasian".

I am definitely not white, but go figure.

I postponed my April MCAT to late May, which means I technically have one shot (could retake in August). I struggle with Physics in general, so I am worried about the section, but Im gonna give it my all of course.

Thank you so much for the feedback guys, I feel so welcome 🙂

 

[SOcash]

What do you think of highlighting in a personal statement/interview the idea that I hope to practice in Afghanistan one day?

I would avoid playing that up at state schools that might have a regional bias.

 

[FRESCA12]

If it's sincere I think a cool and unique reason like that would appeal most ADCOMs, particularly at private schools that aren't tasked with generating rural GPs for their state.

That being said if you want to practice in Afghanistan as a Middle Eastern woman I highly recommend taking a military scholarship, because I wouldn't recommend you set foot in that country with less than a batallion of Marines.

haha Are you serious?
I am originally from Afghanistan. I am planning on visiting this summer for the first time since i was a little kid. However, I know people that spend every summer there and come back alive, believe it or not.

I am totally against the idea of doing ANYTHING with the military, because I come from a country that has gone through 35+ years of war and I have seen what war/military/army/politics can do to a country, to its people and to a family (like mine).

I am serious about working there through an American hospital/program. I speak the languages, I know the culture and I am willing to risk my life for the people. It's something that's really difficult to bring up with doctors that I've spoken to, who consider the idea "impractical and idealistic". That's why I don't wanna come off as a "I wanna help people with doctors without borders" stereotype to the medical schools

 

[FRESCA12]

I would avoid mentioning that.

Why do you think that? Just wondering if our reasons are the same

 

[Techmed07]

Why do you think that? Just wondering if our reasons are the same

Because especially Texas schools want to train doctors that will practice in Texas.

 

[LEUNIT]

Because especially Texas schools want to train doctors that will practice in Texas.

👍

 

[bucks2010]

My advice re: URM is to not worry about the advantage, or lack thereof, in your situation and do well enough on the MCAT (think 32+) that your status really isn't a factor in an admissions decision.

 

[FRESCA12]

My advice re: URM is to not worry about the advantage, or lack thereof, in your situation and do well enough on the MCAT (think 32+) that your status really isn't a factor in an admissions decision.

EEEEK. no pressure. as you can see, not much self confidence here. but HEY, i've done pretty well so far. and i like standardized tests.
ACT 32.. is that any indication of anything? haha

Thanks!

 

[sunday249]

Not to discourage you but these posts are very generous compared to other posts I have seen.
I have more experiences than you, both clinical and non-clinical, and many people suggested me to have more clinical exposure.
So based on the impression, I believe you need to have more clinical experience.
And definitely, 30+ MCAT score. I am a first generation Asian immigrant with 33R, and have been in America for 10 years. I still have to compete against other American born Asians and my MCAT score is not high compared to other asians. Bummer.

One hopeful news: I hate physics. Physics never interested me. But if you memorize all the equations, which is not so hard to do, physics is the easiest section. I scored highest on physics and lowest on verbal although I got an R on writing, which is definitely higher than the national average of P. lol. Just memorize the equations first, then do the problems. They only test at the freshmen physics level so if you know the equtions, it is easy to see the pattern. Don't be afraid of physics, they are not asking you to understand it but be able to reasonably apply equations you know.
Good luck!