Critique me, please!

[pichot]

3.4 cGPA
3.7 sGPA
29, 26, 29 MCATs
TX Resident
-50 Shadowing Hours, including about 8 hours with a DO.
-6 LORs. Not sure how strong they are, but they should all be 'positive' at least.
Orgo professor who's class I got an A in.
Favorite Sociology professor.
3 from former employers
1 from an M.D.
-mission trips to Brazil and El Salvador during college. El Salvador was strictly medical.
-400 hours of nonclinical volunteering during college. + 100 hours after graduating.
-150 internship at VA hospital
-youth camp counselor
-employed during college
-upward trend GPA. Made A's in all of my pre-reqs except Biochem with heavy course loads (19 or 15 hours)
-president of religious organization on campus/church
After graduating:
-Started Ebay business
-worked at father's psychiatric clinic for 6 months after graduating.
-currently waiting tables to get by, and volunteer when i get the chance through church.
-starting EMT-B course this summer with plans to do that until I get into accepted to medical school.

Last cycle I applied to ~20 M.D. schools and received one interview at an M.D. school and was wait-listed. I concluded that my PS was weak and rewrote it, along with all of my other essays. I've done a lot of research on Osteopathic medicine and finally had the chance to shadow a D.O. I decided that I would love to attend an Osteopathic school, will I get interviews despite not having a D.O. LOR and formerly applying to only M.D. schools?

Thanks!

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[Catalystik]

3.4 cGPA
3.7 sGPA
29, 26, 29 MCATs
TX Resident
-50 Shadowing Hours, including about 8 hours with a DO.
-6 LORs. Not sure how strong they are, but they should all be 'positive' at least.
Orgo professor who's class I got an A in.
Favorite Sociology professor.
3 from former employers
1 from an M.D.
-mission trips to Brazil and El Salvador during college. El Salvador was strictly medical.
-400 hours of nonclinical volunteering during college. + 100 hours after graduating.
-150 internship at VA hospital
-youth camp counselor
-employed during college
-upward trend GPA. Made A's in all of my pre-reqs except Biochem with heavy course loads (19 or 15 hours)
-president of religious organization on campus/church
After graduating:
-Started Ebay business
-worked at father's psychiatric clinic for 6 months after graduating.
-currently waiting tables to get by, and volunteer when i get the chance through church.
-starting EMT-B course this summer with plans to do that until I get into accepted to medical school.

Last cycle I applied to ~20 M.D. schools and received one interview at an M.D. school and was wait-listed. I concluded that my PS was weak and rewrote it, along with all of my other essays. I've done a lot of research on Osteopathic medicine and finally had the chance to shadow a D.O. I decided that I would love to attend an Osteopathic school, will I get interviews despite not having a D.O. LOR and formerly applying to only M.D. schools?

Thanks!

All DO schools don't require a DO LOR. AACOMAS DO schools won't know you applied last year unless you tell them.

Your shadowing hours sound fine. I'm not clear about what your clinical experience is, where you interacted with patients. What did you do on the medical mission, at the Psychiatry office, and during the VA internship exactly?

 

[pichot]

During medical mission I was a 'pill runner', assistant (was allowed to correct a hernia), performed triage for a day. Definitely what one might consider clinical experience. At the V.A. I was allowed to shadow the techs a lot, and occasionally saw the physician. Was able to walk patients from the waiting area up to the nuclear medicine clinic as well. At the psychiatry practice didn't really have much clinical exposure, however I did spend lots of time on the business side of things so I understand what goes on behind the scenes now.
I'm hoping that through the EMT-B program I will be able to provide a little more consistent hands-on clinical experience.

 

[Catalystik]

Helping the VA patients transfer from one department to another is definitely good clinical experience, too. Be sure to emphasize this in your description of the activity.

I hope you can get the EMT-B program done and then find a position where you can use the training. Update letters about this activity may sway adcomms positively on your file.

 

[COMedic2Doc]

I hope you can get the EMT-B program done and then find a position where you can use the training. Update letters about this activity may sway adcomms positively on your file.

+1. Something of fair note is to not rule out volunteer agencies as well. In this day and age of EMS, at least in my area, there are way more EMTs being produced each year than could possibly find a paying position (especially in the ER, which is challenging at best these days due to the # of applicants). Volunteer agencies still run a decent volume in many cases and this will show that you are trying to use your EMT for the adcoms imho. Good luck.

 

[Catalystik]

I agree. And getting experience through volunteering can eventually translate into a paid position in the field or in an ER, etc.