beat down a non trad's chances

[ConcretEIT]

I wont be applying until next summer (2012) but here's where i'm at so far, and where im headed. any opinions/critiques/advice would be greatly appreciated, be brutal i can take it.

school: graduated with a BS in civil engineering and tech. specialization in civil-environmental engineering in '08 with a ~3.65 gpa from a solid university.

my remaining pre-reqs are bio 1 & 2, chem 2 and orgos. taking bio 1 & chem 2 right now nights at a local community college. for sure i will be taking bio 2 and orgo 1 will be in the fall, and orgo 2 in the spring. i will not let myself get less than an A in any of these.

will be taking mcat next spring so i know a lot will hinge on that score and prepared to bust my tail for it. lets just call it a 30 for arguments sake, i usually do well on tests.

work: lived in Haiti for about a year after i graduated doing construction management/well drilling/community development work at a non profit based there. only got paid $500/month so it was almost volunteering. also volunteered with that organization while in school for about 2 years designing a water distribution system for a town thats now almost done with construction.

came back got married and now workin as a structural engineer doing precast concrete full time. had another engineering internship while was in school at a wastewater design co.

pennsylvania resident.

volunteer/research: will be starting volunteering at local children's hospital late april/early may and continue there for at least a year probably longer. not all that sure what ill be doing yet. will be trying to do around 6-10 hours a week i think.

no shadowing experience yet.

no medical related research either, does research/design/construction for a rural water system design count? we gave a lot of presentations/fundraising events on it. raised ~$250k in cash/materials

schools to apply to: still pretty general and no school ruled out other than ny/new england/ohio. some i know im applying to: pitt, chicago schools, big 10, arizona, new mexico (family there but not from), mobile, anywhere but far east coast really. not averse to DO.

advice: so my big questions are, what more should i be doing between now and application time? what are my glaring weaknesses? what should i be doing differently? how do my chances for allopathic look?

how many hours a week should i be volunteering? is 6-10 enough? how much shadowing time should i shoot for?

would it be worth it to take another course (ie biochemistry or a&p) during next spring semester, when i'll only have 1 course (orgo 2) or should i just use that extra time for mcat?

i have too many more questions for one post so i'll just leave it at that for now. thanks and again i appreciate any and all brutal honesty. i need it.

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[Catalystik]

With editing for conciseness:

-applying next summer (2012) pennsylvania resident.

~3.65 gpa from a solid university.
-my remaining pre-reqs are bio 1 & 2, chem 2 and orgos. taking bio 1 & chem 2 right now nights at a local community college. for sure i will be taking bio 2 and orgo 1 will be in the fall, and orgo 2 in the spring. i will not let myself get less than an A in any of these.
-taking mcat next spring


-lived in Haiti for about a year/ volunteered with that organization while in school for about 2 years designing a water distribution system for a town thats now almost done with construction.
-raised ~$250k in cash/materials
-working as a structural engineer

-starting volunteering at local children's hospital late april/early may and continue there for at least a year probably longer. around 6-10 hours a week

-no shadowing
-no medical related research either

advice:
1) what more should i be doing between now and application time? what are my glaring weaknesses? what should i be doing differently?

2) how many hours a week should i be volunteering? is 6-10 enough? how much shadowing time should i shoot for?

3) would it be worth it to take another course (ie biochemistry or a&p) during next spring semester, when i'll only have 1 course (orgo 2) or should i just use that extra time for mcat?

4) does research/design/construction for a rural water system design count?

1) Get in sufficient shadowing and clinical experience. Consider whether you have anything to list for teaching and leadership. Decide what hobbies, sports, and artistic endeavors you might list.

2) Yes, 4-6 hours a week is enough for clinical volunteering. Aim for at least the average of 50 hours of shadowing, split among a few types of doc, including primary care. Some other altruistic activity (1-2 hours per week)that is nonmedical and serves the poor would be nice, but if you don't have the time, I think that you have a very significant (and unique) altruistic activity already.

3) More and more schools require or recommend Biochem. I'd highly recommend you take it, though you could do this after you apply.

4) One purpose of research is to demonstrate your scientific curiosity. Personally, I think that describing a problem, figuring out how to solve it, and instituting the plan to be sure it works (as your big project did) satisfies that expectation. Hopefully a number of med school adcomms will agree with me, though I can not be confident that the top twenty research schools would be among them.

I think you're heading in the right direction and that your application shows promise. It's premature to discuss your chances.

 

[ConcretEIT]

thanks a ton for the advice. i will start focusing more on the shadowing for sure.

when you say hobbies/sports/artistic endeavors, is that something as minor as say playing/coaching volleyball twice a week? does stuff like that really turn up on an application?

 

[zebalong]

thanks a ton for the advice. i will start focusing more on the shadowing for sure.

when you say hobbies/sports/artistic endeavors, is that something as minor as say playing/coaching volleyball twice a week? does stuff like that really turn up on an application?

You could write that you are a coach - but how much it will really help is probably minimal at best to nill at worst.

Playing a sport is fun to add to interviews for the "what do you do for fun?" question but besides that doesn't add anything to your application - in other words do it if you like it but don't do it expecting to get anything out of it for med school apps. Of course unless it is like your a D1 athlete or professional sports player.

 

[Catalystik]

when you say hobbies/sports/artistic endeavors, is that something as minor as say playing/coaching volleyball twice a week? does stuff like that really turn up on an application?

IMO, adcomms like to know that you have leisuretime activities that give an outlet to help you control stress. Further, coaching, akin to teaching, demonstrates that you can effectively communicate and educate others, a skill most physicians need. Including such information as hobbies/arts involvement/sport interest helps demonstrate that you are an interesting, well-rounded person that might make an adcomm reviewing your application say, "Gee, I'd like to meet that person."

 

[NewEngland21]

my remaining pre-reqs are bio 1 & 2, chem 2 and orgos. taking bio 1 & chem 2 right now nights at a local community college. for sure i will be taking bio 2 and orgo 1 will be in the fall, and orgo 2 in the spring. i will not let myself get less than an A in any of these.

I do not know about DO schools, but for admission to MD schools, the pre-reqs will not be accepted from a community college. I would recommend taking a post-bacc to do any remaining pre-reqs that have not been taken from a 4-year institution.

 

[Catalystik]

for admission to MD schools, the pre-reqs will not be accepted from a community college. I would recommend taking a post-bacc to do any remaining pre-reqs that have not been taken from a 4-year institution.

My experience has been completely different from this. While there are MD schools that specifically warn against CC credits, and at least one that won't accept them, I disagree that in general prereq CC credits would not be accepted. It may not be the best choice to take less rigorous coursework than a four-year school usually provides, but no one will toss out your application if you have it and your MCAT proves you mastered the required material. An SDNer got into Harvard last year with two years of CC credits, BTW. You will find that many, many SDNers have been successful with prereqs from a CC if you read these forums widely.

 

[ConcretEIT]

My experience has been completely different from this. While there are MD schools that specifically warn against CC credits, and at least one that won't accept them, I disagree that in general prereq CC credits would not be accepted. It may not be the best choice to take less rigorous coursework than a four-year school usually provides, but no one will toss out your application if you have it and your MCAT proves you mastered the required material. An SDNer got into Harvard last year with two years of CC credits, BTW. You will find that many, many SDNers have been successful with prereqs from a CC if you read these forums widely.

wow thats pretty ballin gettin into harvard with two years of $100/credit hour education.

but like you said, each MD school ive contacted so far has said theyll accept CC prereqs. some require an upper level science of some sort at a 4 year which i have plenty of, others biochem, which i don't. DO schools i have no idea as i havent contacted any. CC is really the only thing i can work out with my schedule and location without quitting.

 

[Catalystik]

I've never read of any DO schools being discriminatory against CC credits, but my experience isn't as wide with them.

 

[element50]

A friend of mine got accepted to Midwestern University (DO school) with a good deal of CC credits.