Hello! I am a senior a small private school and am applying for fall of 2013. I am very interested in they physician's role in public policy/public health. I want to work with underserved populations as my parents were refugees from a war who came here with very little.
Biology major, Public Health minor
Grades:
3.72 cGPA, 3.60 sGPA with an upward trend my last 5 quarters (averaging 3.85)
Honors Program
MCAT:
10 BS, 10VS, 10PS. I am nervous about this score as I am not sure it is competitive enough for CA schools
ECs:
Clinical
-volunteered at free medical clinic during summer. I had the opportunity to shadow nurses and primary care physicians. approx. 100hrs
-healthcare ethics intern for 1 school year. I rotated in 5 areas of a hospital and shadowed nurses and physicians (oncology, NICU, pediatrics, wound care, family medicine). approx. 150 hrs
Volunteering
-soup kitchen associated with free medical clinic I worked at during summer. approx. 20hrs
-homeless shelter as part of housing policy course for 2 months. approx. 20hrs
Research
-I am not particularly interested in science research. I have had the opportunity to see statistical analysis and other research methods through my research in the humanities
-assistant with public policy professor studying intersection between homelessness, crime, and incarceration.
-writing senior thesis/reseraching policy and clinical recommendations for reducing TB in area
Leadership
-student government for 3 years. elected student body vice-president in last year. I was extremely involved with the school, staff, faculty, student organizations etc. approx. 15-20hrs/week
-orientation leader during summer after freshman year. Assisted incoming freshman and their parents. 40hrs/week
Other
-D1 cross country and track for 4 years. 20-25 hrs/week
LOR
I am really nervous about the 2 required science LORs. There aren't any professors that I am particularly close with. However, going to a smaller school there are professors that know me by name and remember who I am. Is there a good way to approach them?
What schools should I be looking at? What are some activities I can do during my gap year that can strengthen my application?
Any thoughts/comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!!!
Well, you have some advantages and disadvantages:
Positive:
-your parents' situation will probably weigh significantly in your favour (applying as disadvantaged?)
-you have a decent
number of extracurriculars
-uptrends in GPA are always good
-your cGPA isn't bad at all
-you have a significant leadership position and you are a D1 athlete
-from the sound of things, you probably have a lot to put in a personal statement, which will gave you a huge boost if you do it well
Negative:
-Volunteering for only one summer may be seen as a bit shallow
-Volunteering in the soup kitchen and homeless shelter, while admirable, isn't terribly original and probably won't stand out, especially considering how little time you spent there
-good LORs can make or break an application very easily
-Your MCAT score isn't bad, but it is definitely below average for UC schools
-A bit of research would probably help, but isn't critical if you aren't applying to research focused schools.
The best advice I can give is to try and get some more non-clinical volunteering in, consider doing some research, make sure your application materials (essays, activities descriptions, and so-on) are all brilliant, and try very very very hard to get some good LORs.
Hope that helped.
