MD Chances / School List Help

[dslick99]

Hey all,

I'm applying to medical schools this summer and could use some help with my school list, and would appreciate some input regarding my chances of getting in.

GPA: 3.54 (combined, my science GPA should be roughly similar), highly ranked public school
MCAT: 36 (13 PS 12 BIO 11 V)

Experience/Activities (biggest weakness):
~30 hours shadowing a local anesthesiologist
Active volunteer in high school, including ~50hrs of patient interaction at a nursing home
Received a couple of extracurricular entrepreneurship awards in college
Various random part-time jobs over the past few summers

I plan to focus my PS around my biomedical engineering perspective

Another possible weakness is that I will not have completed the second semester of chem labs until after applying, and am taking orgo labs this summer

School List (as of now):
Wake Forest (Legacy: Grandfather and uncle)
Eastern Carolina (Legacy: uncle)
Virginia
North Carolina

I would especially appreciate some safety school suggestions. Thanks for the help!

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[C.glabrata123]

Just FYI, your volunteer hours in high school are probably irrelevant - I was told not to include volunteering from high school in my AMCAS.

Check the MSAR to find schools that match your stats and are in a location you want. Try to make a list of about 20-30 schools depending on the money you have for applications. If you're an NC resident, apply to every school there. You could add VCU and other VA schools.

 

[ciestar]

If I'm reading correctly, your only clinical experience occurred in high school? That's not going to cut it. You have hardly any volunteering and virtually no clinical experience. You really need to fix that before you apply anywhere.

 

[dslick99]

If I'm reading correctly, your only clinical experience occurred in high school? That's not going to cut it. You have hardly any volunteering and virtually no clinical experience. You really need to fix that before you apply anywhere.

Yes you are correct, other than the shadowing which was in college. Do you still think this will be problematic?

 

[ciestar]

Yes you are correct, other than the shadowing which was in college. Do you still think this will be problematic?

Personally, I think it will be. You made no commitments to it at all in college. I'm no ADCOM but I'm sure that @gyngyn and @Goro will agree too. I really think you need to beef up your ECs before applying. They're very weak, consider a gap year to optimize your chances.

 

[Goro]

I concur. Most successful applicants have >100 hrs of clonical + > 100 hrs non-clinical ECs. You have to show us your altruism, plus that you know what you're getting into.

Personally, I think it will be. You made no commitments to it at all in college. I'm no ADCOM but I'm sure that @gyngyn and @Goro will agree too. I really think you need to beef up your ECs before applying. They're very weak, consider a gap year to optimize your chances.

 

[dslick99]

I concur. Most successful applicants have >100 hrs of clonical + > 100 hrs non-clinical ECs. You have to show us your altruism, plus that you know what you're getting into.

I should add that I have spent a lot of time outside of classes working on developing a more efficient hand sanitation device to reduce the incidence of HAIs (healthcare associated infections). Although this has not yet involved direct patient interaction, I believe that I can use this experience to demonstrate my interest in the field of medicine, and it will likely be the focus of my PS. In terms of hours, I would say that it has taken ~100 hrs, and I have won a couple of awards from my university.

Do you think that it would be a bad idea to apply before getting more experience? Because I would really like to avoid a gap year if possible.

And by the way thanks to everybody for your input

 

[Goro]

EVERYBODY applying to medical school is interested in Medicine; we get that. What you have yet to show is evidence that you've even laid a hand on a patient, much less want to be around them. If anything, you've got a track record of avoiding patient contact since high school.

What I am afraid of is that you'll get IIs, and then get permanent wait list positions, if not outright rejections. My students, who also take part in interviews, are particularly brutal on people with low clinical ECs.

I should add that I have spent a lot of time outside of classes working on developing a more efficient hand sanitation device to reduce the incidence of HAIs (healthcare associated infections). Although this has not yet involved direct patient interaction, I believe that I can use this experience to demonstrate my interest in the field of medicine, and it will likely be the focus of my PS. In terms of hours, I would say that it has taken ~100 hrs, and I have won a couple of awards from my university.

Do you think that it would be a bad idea to apply before getting more experience? Because I would really like to avoid a gap year if possible.

And by the way thanks to everybody for your input

 

[dslick99]

EVERYBODY applying to medical school is interested in Medicine; we get that. What you have yet to show is evidence that you've even laid a hand on a patient, much less want to be around them. If anything, you've got a track record of avoiding patient contact since high school.

What I am afraid of is that you'll get IIs, and then get permanent wait list positions, if not outright rejections. My students, who also take part in interviews, are particularly brutal on people with low clinical ECs.

Okay so then I guess my strategy should be to try to beef up my clinical experience this summer between now and time for interviews so that when I get to that point I am a little stronger in the clinical EC area? I understand that it won't go on my application but at least I could talk about that in the interview. I also know that it would be ideal if the experience had taken place over a year or two leading up to now rather than only this summer, but at this point that isn't an option.

 

[dslick99]

Okay so then I guess my strategy should be to try to beef up my clinical experience this summer between now and time for interviews so that when I get to that point I am a little stronger in the clinical EC area? I understand that it won't go on my application but at least I could talk about that in the interview. I also know that it would be ideal if the experience had taken place over a year or two leading up to now rather than only this summer, but at this point that isn't an option.

And another quick question- do you think it is worth it to include the experience from high school at all?

 

[Heplayer92]

And another quick question- do you think it is worth it to include the experience from high school at all?

My pre-health advisor (who checked with 2-3 adcoms at various places) told me NO. If they are important/significant to you, you can maybe throw them briefly into your Personal Statement. As for works/activities, those experiences don't count =( He also mentioned that during some secondaries, they give you a chance to provide "optional activities" and you may consider writing about meaningful high school experiences there.

Hope this helps, and best of luck!

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

You should only include experience you got during high school if it was something you continued during college. If it was "that" important to you, why didn't you continue it? From what I gather here, you should have some clinical AND non-clinical experience. If you have research, that helps too. Did you participate in any ECs? Those are good to add too.