- Joined
- Mar 27, 2008
- Messages
- 422
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I have an unusual personal history compared to many pre-meds, so I'll lay it out and you can tell me what you think about me bothering to even submit my applications this year.
I have worked since I was 15, consistently, with maybe two 2 month gaps of unemployment during that time.
I did Running Start for junior and senior year of high school. I was mostly a straight A student up until that point, but ultimately spent 3 years at the community college, didn't even get an associates degree, and had about a 2.0 GPA.
I took a three year break, worked at UPS as a loader/unloader/sorter, then a pretty hectic supervisory job. Then I quit cause I didn't feel like there was anything else to learn there and didn't want to get stuck there as a career. I worked as a cable technician for Comcast for another year and a half, and then finally decided to go back to school.
I did 5 quarters at a community college, got about a 3.8, got my associate's degree, and transferred to University of Washington. I got a 3.55 overall this year (junior year), but it would have been much higher if not for a 2.4 in organic chemistry during Winter quarter. I got a 3.84 this last quarter though, and have not been taking slacker courses by any means.
During that year at UW I worked in a lab for my organic chemistry professor, and was fortunate enough to be published in Science as a coauthor.
Other than that, my ECs aren't great other than my work history. I started volunteering for a student run organization that helps local high school students get into college (ours or others, doesn't matter), and only began volunteering at a hospital in April or so.
So, my grades are good enough I think, and my personal history shows a great deal of maturation, but my ECs are really poor. This is mostly due to a need to work, since I've had no financial assistance from my parents, but admittedly I could have done more. I assume I can get at least a 33 on the MCAT, which I take Aug 5, but I can't guarantee that. I think I COULD do much better if I got lucky, but again, it's so hard to estimate your actual score. If I WERE to get a 33, do you think that would be sufficient to apply to some decent schools, or would I be better served improving my ECs (and hopefully my GPA) and applying to some higher-level schools?
I'm kind of at a crossroads here, decisions decisions...
I have worked since I was 15, consistently, with maybe two 2 month gaps of unemployment during that time.
I did Running Start for junior and senior year of high school. I was mostly a straight A student up until that point, but ultimately spent 3 years at the community college, didn't even get an associates degree, and had about a 2.0 GPA.
I took a three year break, worked at UPS as a loader/unloader/sorter, then a pretty hectic supervisory job. Then I quit cause I didn't feel like there was anything else to learn there and didn't want to get stuck there as a career. I worked as a cable technician for Comcast for another year and a half, and then finally decided to go back to school.
I did 5 quarters at a community college, got about a 3.8, got my associate's degree, and transferred to University of Washington. I got a 3.55 overall this year (junior year), but it would have been much higher if not for a 2.4 in organic chemistry during Winter quarter. I got a 3.84 this last quarter though, and have not been taking slacker courses by any means.
During that year at UW I worked in a lab for my organic chemistry professor, and was fortunate enough to be published in Science as a coauthor.
Other than that, my ECs aren't great other than my work history. I started volunteering for a student run organization that helps local high school students get into college (ours or others, doesn't matter), and only began volunteering at a hospital in April or so.
So, my grades are good enough I think, and my personal history shows a great deal of maturation, but my ECs are really poor. This is mostly due to a need to work, since I've had no financial assistance from my parents, but admittedly I could have done more. I assume I can get at least a 33 on the MCAT, which I take Aug 5, but I can't guarantee that. I think I COULD do much better if I got lucky, but again, it's so hard to estimate your actual score. If I WERE to get a 33, do you think that would be sufficient to apply to some decent schools, or would I be better served improving my ECs (and hopefully my GPA) and applying to some higher-level schools?
I'm kind of at a crossroads here, decisions decisions...
