Best way to improve my application for next year?

[qwertysdn]

Hi all,

Thank you for your help in advance.
I applied this past year and had 3 interviews (one was for a waitlist spot), 1 rejection, 2 waitlists. I think my selection of schools to apply to was not such a good list in retrospect (matched by MCAT/GPA but forgot to consider my weaker ECs and probably so-so interview skills).

MCAT 34 (pretty balanced)
sGPA ~3.6, cGPA ~3.75, went to a good school
CA Resident
ORM

At the time of my application last year I had:
-<10 hrs shadowing completed
-220 hours planned shadowing to be completed during the summer (but couldn't write much about it on the application since only started for a few days when I submitted my primary) *any thoughts on this?
-1 summer of research
-60 hr volunteering in hospital in HS (I know.. HS)
-12 hr volunteering tutoring (had started only a few months before Jun)
-Involved in a undergrad organization (~80 hrs)

Over the past year:
-completed shadowing, great experience! I think i can write about this in PS next year actually shadowed more hours than I had predicted >250 hrs
+~80 more hr of tutoring
+ 2 quarters research in lab
+ Undergrad counselor
-graduated woohoo!

Looking to the future:
Have been looking/applying for jobs, probably in a research lab since that's what I can probably best due given my skill set. Planning to volunteer a lot in a hospice or hospital over the next year. Trying to learn Spanish on my own

I feel like I did not succeed because:
-Had not completed enough clinical shadowing at the time of primaries, what do you guys think? How would an adcom consider shadowing done post-primary, would it count for anything?
-Not enough volunteering
-I'm not that good at sounding confident/smooth in interviews though I usually don't have problems holding a conversation.
-Probably should have polished secondaries more.

Thoughts? Advice on which jobs are viewed more favorably by adcoms?

Thank you~

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[Plecopotamus]

Hi all,

Thank you for your help in advance.
I applied this past year and had 3 interviews (one was for a waitlist spot), 1 rejection, 2 waitlists. I think my selection of schools to apply to was not such a good list in retrospect (matched by MCAT/GPA but forgot to consider my weaker ECs and probably so-so interview skills).

MCAT 34 (pretty balanced)
sGPA ~3.6, cGPA ~3.75, went to a good school
CA Resident
ORM

At the time of my application last year I had:
-<10 hrs shadowing completed
-220 hours planned shadowing to be completed during the summer (but couldn't write much about it on the application since only started for a few days when I submitted my primary) *any thoughts on this?
-1 summer of research
-60 hr volunteering in hospital in HS (I know.. HS)
-12 hr volunteering tutoring (had started only a few months before Jun)
-Involved in a undergrad organization (~80 hrs)

Over the past year:
-completed shadowing, great experience! I think i can write about this in PS next year actually shadowed more hours than I had predicted >250 hrs
+~80 more hr of tutoring
+ 2 quarters research in lab
+ Undergrad counselor
-graduated woohoo!

Looking to the future:
Have been looking/applying for jobs, probably in a research lab since that's what I can probably best due given my skill set. Planning to volunteer a lot in a hospice or hospital over the next year. Trying to learn Spanish on my own

I feel like I did not succeed because:
-Had not completed enough clinical shadowing at the time of primaries, what do you guys think? How would an adcom consider shadowing done post-primary, would it count for anything?
-Not enough volunteering
-I'm not that good at sounding confident/smooth in interviews though I usually don't have problems holding a conversation.
-Probably should have polished secondaries more.

Thoughts? Advice on which jobs are viewed more favorably by adcoms?

Thank you~

Are you asking about applying again for the cycle that's about to open?
You really need to do clinical volunteering or clinical employment before you reapply.

 

[qwertysdn]

No, for the cycle one year from now (2015 cycle). Just graduated, looking for jobs now.

 

[BeancheBlanco]

Spend a year doing both clinical volunteering and community service. You don't have any of either and it would be foolish to waste those beautiful stats for such a simple remedy. Apply the following cycle.

 

[qwertysdn]

Thanks for the responses!

Spend a year doing both clinical volunteering and community service. You don't have any of either and it would be foolish to waste those beautiful stats for such a simple remedy. Apply the following cycle.

'beautiful stats', thanks for the compliment!

How much clinical volunteering and community service would be considered as a 'significant' change (from my last application) for a reapplicant? Would maybe 3hrs a week of each be okay you think?
(I would like to work full-time, but was also thinking about potentially working part-time, any thoughts?)

 

[BeancheBlanco]

I think you should get a full-time clinical job. You could kill two birds with one stone and knock out community service as well by doing a clinical service job like something in Americorps. Applications for next year are coming to an end though. You make some money but many people classify it as community service since it is a living stipend instead of employment. At the very least, you should do some clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering on a weekly basis, even if part-time.

 

[LongTimeLurk]

CA is tough. Apply early and broadly, paying attention to out of state vs. in state schools.

work on those interview skills. find somebody that is painfully blunt to critique you. like you said, its a skill, practice it often before your next round of apps. if you got 3 interviews you are doing something right to begin with.

Hi all,

Thank you for your help in advance.
I applied this past year and had 3 interviews (one was for a waitlist spot), 1 rejection, 2 waitlists. I think my selection of schools to apply to was not such a good list in retrospect (matched by MCAT/GPA but forgot to consider my weaker ECs and probably so-so interview skills).

MCAT 34 (pretty balanced)
sGPA ~3.6, cGPA ~3.75, went to a good school
CA Resident
ORM

At the time of my application last year I had:
-<10 hrs shadowing completed
-220 hours planned shadowing to be completed during the summer (but couldn't write much about it on the application since only started for a few days when I submitted my primary) *any thoughts on this?
-1 summer of research
-60 hr volunteering in hospital in HS (I know.. HS)
-12 hr volunteering tutoring (had started only a few months before Jun)
-Involved in a undergrad organization (~80 hrs)

Over the past year:
-completed shadowing, great experience! I think i can write about this in PS next year actually shadowed more hours than I had predicted >250 hrs
+~80 more hr of tutoring
+ 2 quarters research in lab
+ Undergrad counselor
-graduated woohoo!

Looking to the future:
Have been looking/applying for jobs, probably in a research lab since that's what I can probably best due given my skill set. Planning to volunteer a lot in a hospice or hospital over the next year. Trying to learn Spanish on my own

I feel like I did not succeed because:
-Had not completed enough clinical shadowing at the time of primaries, what do you guys think? How would an adcom consider shadowing done post-primary, would it count for anything?
-Not enough volunteering
-I'm not that good at sounding confident/smooth in interviews though I usually don't have problems holding a conversation.
-Probably should have polished secondaries more.

Thoughts? Advice on which jobs are viewed more favorably by adcoms?

Thank you~

 

[qwertysdn]

Thanks for the advice!