chances/advice for 2nd yr premed

[alexandertg6]

Hello this is both a what are my chances and a where do i go from here post

I am currently a 2nd year Bio major BS at UNC chapel hill with a GPA of about 3.4 and a science GPA of around 3.3 (this is only counting 3 semesters so far and 1 bad semester of freshman year... the other two semesters had a 3.5& 3.8 gpa both science and cumulative) but if current trends continue i should graduate with at least a 3.5... so as far as GPA is concerned assume 3.5

I have been volunteering and for a year working paid in the ER at a local hospital since sophomore year of highschool (total almost 4 years) so i have hundreds of hours of volunteer work logged (at least 300+)

I shadowed an internist and professor of medicine at Duke who was fairly high up in the administrative rankings for a year which allowed me to see some things that I may never see again after a full career of working in medicine along with several of the cardiothoracic surgeons (watched bypass surgery), a general surgeon, another internist...etc, long story short total of hundreds of hours of shadowing tens of physicians.

I work in an HIV lab in the Center For Aids Research at UNC med school department of microbiology and immunology on an infant HIV vaccine project and am working on getting my own project or something which i can hopefully get published

I am treasurer of a student organization similiar to habitat for humanity (but smaller and less well known)

As touched on above I worked for a year on the post surgery ward as a sitter which was great b/c I got to see everything that happened to a patient during 8 hrs and facilitated networking

I dont know if this is relevant but I went with the internist I shadowed to Greenville to a chiefs of staff meeting and was able to observe upper level negotiations between the veterans hospital and Brody school of medicine along with meeting the Dean of the med school (who im positive does not remember me)

My MCAT is yet to be taken but I am a very good test taker and tend to do very well on exams which are meant to test more mental acuity and thought process than knowledge regurgitation... and working in the school of medicine and with all the clinical experience i have i tend to get almost all the practice problems right so i HOPE i will do decently well... but for the purpose of guessing chances assume a fairly average MCAT

I am probably going to go on a trip next summer and work in an AIDS clinic somewhere in the world in an area which really needs it (leaning towards tanzania) and plan on working something on the order of doctors without borders if i get into medical school and graduate...IF.

how is it looking so far? and what more should i do to increase my chances? Which medical schools should i start looking at more closely (to fill any specific class requirements they may have early or whatever).

Seeing forums like this make me really nervous with people with GPAs much higher than mine and PhDs getting rejected, so i really need to stand out of the crowd... Advice?

thank you very much for your time in reading this,

Alex

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[canjosh]

Looking okay so far. Just try not to be neurotic and concentrate on getting your grades up. Don't make the mistake of assuming you'll do well on the MCAT with good test taking skills. Study harder than you've ever studied before.

Getting published would be awesome, but any research is good. Continue meaningful clinical exposure, volunteering, etc. But mainly, improve your objective stats. Good luck!

 

[bravofleet4]

don't assume any test score for MCAT. If you do that, you might as well just assume now you'll get into medical school. It's that big of a leap.

 

[alexandertg6]

yeah i definitely didnt mean to come across as overconfident on the MCATs.. i plan on studying like crazy for several months beforehand but have been studying consistently for almost a year already. As far as GPA goes im not worried cuz like everyone else i had a bad semester with excuses galore handy but bottom line it was a fluke and im making all As sophomore year. Also the majority of my difficult classes are out of the way (part of the reason for my fluke GPA freshman year was an overwhelming schedule... for a freshman), so i could see maybe a B or two until i graduate but i learned from my mistakes the majority of my grades should continue to be As, so i think realistically 3.5 gpa is a pretty conservative estimate (knock on wood)

 

[bravofleet4]

no prob. i was just emphasizing how much the MCAT can make or break you. It's one of those obstacles that if you stumble over can definitely delay your career in medicine for a while.

 

[Catalystik]

Teaching, leadership, and nonmedical/noncampus community service are areas to work on. You have time to maybe rise higher in the organization and build the Habitat for Humanity-like experience into something special. And don't forget sports, hobbies, and artistic endeavors. Your want your application to make you look well-rounded and interesting.

 

[alexandertg6]

teaching and nonmedical community service question... one of my friends does this group which helps with an afterschool program at a local elementary school, would that be a good idea or did you have a specific type of teaching in mind?

also i do have a short story i wrote which i did for fun but should i try to get it published or something? or just mention it to the interviewer? i really just did it for kicks but if it would help me get into med school... why not?

and one of my friends and i were thinking about trying to create a student organization next year and we would run it (maybe show some initiative and leadership)...

as far as sports go i play a lot for fun but nothing seriously (i just dont have the time) but i did in highschool?

and i know dont forget the MCAT

 

[Catalystik]

Teaching can be tutoring, mentoring, coaching, TA. If you're just "helping" with an after school program, it would be nonmedical community service, which would also be viewed well.

I would not list a short story you wrote unless it was accepted for publication by a noncampus publication.

Sports for fun is a hobby, so list it as that. HS activities aren't generally included unless they continued into the college years.

Creating a new organization would be great if you are leading more than just yourself and a friend. Attracting a lot of participants would be a good measure of peer leadership. Accomplishing something important in the community service realm would make it even better.

 

[alexandertg6]

great, thanks a lot for all the info. Any more is of course more than welcome cuz the more i know the better chance i have

 

[csheng89]

I'm a junior at duke right now looking to apply in this upcoming cycle. I can tell you that if you're a native north carolinian, then you have a huge advantage applying to UNC med school. I believe North Carolina has this unique law that states that UNC has to accept 80% in-state residents and Duke has to accept 20% in-state applicants. With your current extracurriculars and gpa and around a 35+, I think you have a good chance at UNC Med.

great, thanks a lot for all the info. Any more is of course more than welcome cuz the more i know the better chance i have

 

[canjosh]

I'm a junior at duke right now looking to apply in this upcoming cycle. I can tell you that if you're a native north carolinian, then you have a huge advantage applying to UNC med school. I believe North Carolina has this unique law that states that UNC has to accept 80% in-state residents and Duke has to accept 20% in-state applicants. With your current extracurriculars and gpa and around a 35+, I think you have a good chance at UNC Med.

That's not unique whatsoever. State schools (and private schools that have agreements to do so) generally have an in-state quota. For example, Texas public schools have a 90% quota, and Baylor is (I believe) at either 60 or 70%.

 

[csheng89]

Yes I know that and I never said it was unique. Of course state med schools accept a lot more in-state. I'm just telling him that it'll be easier for him to get in UNC, which is really good for a state school. Compare this to like Georgia which has crappy state schools. If I applied to UNC, I would be applying as an out-of-state, and so even if my stats are better than his, he would still have a better chance of getting into UNC.

That's not unique whatsoever. State schools (and private schools that have agreements to do so) generally have an in-state quota. For example, Texas public schools have a 90% quota, and Baylor is (I believe) at either 60 or 70%.

 

[canjosh]

Yes I know that and I never said it was unique. Of course state med schools accept a lot more in-state. I'm just telling him that it'll be easier for him to get in UNC, which is really good for a state school. Compare this to like Georgia which has crappy state schools. If I applied to UNC, I would be applying as an out-of-state, and so even if my stats are better than his, he would still have a better chance of getting into UNC.

Um, yeah ya did! I even bolded the part of the post and quoted it. "I believe North Carolina has this unique law...." The first step is denial...