Applying soon...comments?

Sounds like you have all the makings of an excellent application. Of course, everyone can always use more volunteer hours, so keep going into the hospital. Getting published in the next semester or so isn't really THAT important; as long as you're able to talk in great detail about your project in an interview (seriously, you'd be surprised at how many people don't really know much about their project beyond just doing what the prof told them to do), a year of experience will look good.

All that you need now is the MCAT. A 34+ would make you competitive at essentially any school in the country, so study hard, get that awesome score, and submit early (June/July), and I think you could wind up with some nice choices next year.

 

Good stats, but out of curiosity why r u taking your mcats in june? Application period falls around that time and getting your scores back in july could hurt you maybe. Unless you are dead set on june, I woudl consider taking it in April or May. Remember you have to do your personal statement, study for finals...and a bunch of other stuff. Its beter to get it out of the way. I would recommend a 32+ for decent schools and 34+ for top 20's.

 

Yeah I didn't notice you were planning on June on my first read-through; April or May would be really good because your scores would be available early on and help guide you with where to send your app.

Also, to clarify, my comment of get a 34+... yeah, that was really just so that you would have a shot at pretty much anywhere; a 30 with the rest of your app will almost certainly get you in SOMEWHERE.

 

Your GPA is great. Your clinical experience is outstanding. Some more shadowing experience might be good to list (and with your contacts a variety of specialists should be possible). A year of research will be perfect. Your teaching experience shows excellent (and health-related) leadership. The tutoring adds to that. The volunteerism also shows your altruistic side. I see a few possibilities on your list that might be preceived as demonstrating teamwork, depending on how you spin it in the narrative description of the activity.

With a decent MCAT score and all the above, you're good to go. You're definitely on top of things.

 

Good strategy, as by July it will take longer to get your transcripts certified, and you'll have all that done, so your Primary will go out to your schools the day the MCAT is available.

 

Excellent on the job, you've really got your clinical ECs covered, which is the most important aspect of the app aside maybe from stats.

As to your research question, sure, a research experience where you're working on a solo/independent project will look more impressive than simply helping with a grad student, but what you're describing is still good. Just make sure at some point you actually take some time to sit down with the grad student and figure out exactly what the long-term purpose of the project is; research is always a good EC, but you won't gain nearly as many points with an adcom for saying "I did whatever the grad student needed" as you would for saying "I assisted with a project looking at _______, our hypothesis was _________, and what we found through the experiments I ran was _______." Be prepared to general questions about the project in general and the specific assays you ran, and you will have a meaningful experience to talk about.

 

This is a reasonable strategy. It has backfired on people in the past who applied mostly to higher-end schools based on their GPA only to find that they didn't score as well on the MCAT as they'd hoped and then they had to add more schools. But you'll probably be alright; your GPA says that if you stay on top of your studying, an excellent MCAT score should be well within your reach.

 

20-25 is a high number, but well within reason, especially if you're sending your app out blindly without your MCAT scores.

 

Another strategy, is to apply to only one school when you submit. Add the others after the MCAT score is out, depending on your score, and the degree of school selectivity that is appropriate for your stats. The Primary will still go out to any added schools within one business day. I applied in three waves to schools, and this worked out well.

I think 15-20 schools total, after you know your stats, is a reasonable number.