Any advice is welcome

[EEL08]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I posted a few days ago about ECs but I have somewhat of an update. I was worried about not having enough ECs. I have 10 months volunteering in an Osteopathic hospital, a semester-long practice experience with troubled teens in a residential setting, 3 hours with Habitat, and this summer I will be doing a practicum for my MPH but I don't know where yet. This semester I'm taking two classes for my MPH as well as O Chem 2 and Physics 2. I haven't taken O Chem 1 in over 2 years and Physics 1 in 3 years so I really have to work hard this semester to keep up and do well. I'm also taking the MCAT in May. My husband and I will both be applying to med school and right now to avoid the costs of daycare we switch off taking care of the kids when the other is in class. I was planning on volunteering this semester also but I just don't see how I can do it with so much else going on. I really don't want my classes to suffer.

Should I just skip volunteering for now or will I be in bad shape to apply this summer if I don't? I thought about maybe volunteering with Habitat when they need me or volunteering at a wildlife habitat 1-2 hours a week which I know I would enjoy but it's not exactly serving people. I'm also planning on shadowing a DO this semester. The DO school here has a clinic and I have to create my CV and send it to them and hopefully one of their doctors will want to let me shadow. My husband asked one of his professors to shadow but he's so busy that I think it's a bit much if I asked to shadow him the month after my husband. I really need to do my CV but I don't know how to be creative when for the past two years I've been a stay at home mom (domestic engineer?) and before that I worked at Six Flags and Bath and Body Works. I did have 1 year of experience working in the mental health field but that's about it. Any suggestions for me?

 

[EEL08]

No one? Anyone? 30 people and no advice?

 

[jafri91]

I think that if its going to take away your time from studying for the MCAT to avoid the volunteering. EC's are great, the 3 majors points of your application are GPA, MCAT, and EC's, but GPA and MCAT have a much bigger role compared to your EC's.

My advice is to focus all of your energy on your MCAT prep. Study hard, do well, and submit those applications as soon as possible !! Don't do what I did and wait till the end of August to finish your primary, submit it by the end of June at the very latest, even if you don't have your MCAt score back yet.

best of luck

 

[bkpa2med]

I think you're fine with the EC's. Definitely find a DO to shadow and obtain a LOR. You haven't mentioned though what your grades are like. Although DO schools might not be as much as a number ***** as MD, they still want good grades.

Also, have you taken any practice MCAT's from e-mcat.com? I highly recommend you do that to gauge your position. I felt that my actual MCAT was an excellent representation of my practice tests.

On a side note, If you have a 3.3+ GPA and sGPA and came get a good balanced MCAT of 25+ you should have a good shot. But take it all with a grain of salt because no one knows what types of applicants will be coming the next cycle. Saying that I highly recommend you apply really early (like the first day) and get everything in ASAP including secondaries. I believe this makes a big difference.

Last but not least, attend Open Houses of the prospective schools in which you wish to apply. Showing your face and talking to some admissions directors can have a positive impact on your application and you will also learn things about the schools because you are asked Why that school?

Good luck!

 

[EEL08]

Thanks for the replies! I really needed some outside input. My GPA is not great. I think by the time I apply I can get my sgpa up to a 3.1 something. My grad GPA so far is a 3.68 I think. I am planning on applying right away or at least right after I hopefully get the fee waiver. I did take one of the Kaplan practice tests and didn't do so great. Bio 4 Physical 3 Verbal 10. I know I can bring it up. I took it not having Physics 2 or Organic 2 and not having my other science classes for at least 2 years prior and took the practice test without looking over any material first just to get a rough idea. I hope I can keep my verbal at least that high and obviously the sciences are where I need to focus almost all of my time. I find Physics extremely difficult and Organic close behind. I really don't know if I can attend any open houses. The DO school here is one that my husband and I are actually not even applying to and we have to save all our money for interviews. Plus we're probably applying to 16 or 17 schools so I guess I wouldn't know where to start although at this point LECOM is at the top of our list.

 

[EEL08]

Also that GPA does not include my Epidemiology courses which may or may not count under Science.

 

[bigdog8829]

oh my.
first of all you are a mother and have a family and a husband. d.o. schools especially take this into consideration.
in terms of your EC's... hell no. you have more than enough. take care of your grades and your family. there is a limit to how much you really need on your app. and i think you have more than enough experience.
the point of EC is to make sure that medicine is the right field for you. with exposure to it it shoudl just solidify your dream. thats all.
if you think you've got that you're good to go. JUST SHOW THAT AND PROVE THAT DESIRE TO THE MED SCHOOL!

 

[bigdog8829]

in terms of mcat you're in luck. there is one section you can't really study for. verbal. and you got a 10 the most ideal score.
physical science is alot of memorization and bio is just learning. you just need to put in the work and learn the material.
so many people would kill to have your verbal score!