MD & DO Deleted

[rawrosaur]

hi 🙂

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[Faha]

You could include your hospice hours under non clinical volunteering. What was the Institutional action where you attended school ?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I recognize that waiting for another cycle may make me far more competitive, and I would like to hear if anyone feels strongly that I should wait and why. I am applying both DO and MD.

You are on target with the weaknesses of your application. Having more stability in your clinical and nonclinical experience will strengthen your application.

Which experiences are you finding personal meaning in your activities? How many hours have you completed? I don't usually consider anyone who spent fewer than 50 hours as really enough to gain insight about the position. (That's about 7 days of full time work.) One should get a feel for a job after about 250 hours (4-5 weeks full-time).

How is your student conduct office documenting your IA?

 

[AJS59]

Agreed with the above. It sounds like you have a strong narrative and mission fit that'd make for a good personal statement/secondaries, but I would give it some more time, both to give yourself some space and so that you can apply from the best possible position (assuming your MCAT isn't expiring, of course).

Is the IA in question your no-contact order? If so, not sure if you'd need to explain it but given that you are the survivor here I don't see any schools holding that against you. When it comes around to the application, you can included a blurb to explain why some of your grades were low and it appears you have a very valid reason for that.

Finally with regards to the letter, my understanding is that you're not marked complete at any school until all application materials are received (these include your primary, secondary, transcripts, MCAT, any situational judgement tests, and yes, your letters of rec.). Given that it wouldn't be wise to delay your application, I'd lead towards using the professor who already agreed to it, and maybe also contacting your psych PI as they may be able to give a stronger one. I would also consult with your undergrad's prehealth office as they may provide further assistance and/or facilitate a committee letter (mine did)

 

[rawrosaur]

You are on target with the weaknesses of your application. Having more stability in your clinical and nonclinical experience will strengthen your application.

Which experiences are you finding personal meaning in your activities? How many hours have you completed? I don't usually consider anyone who spent fewer than 50 hours as really enough to gain insight about the position. (That's about 7 days of full time work.) One should get a feel for a job after about 250 hours (4-5 weeks full-time).

How is your student conduct office documenting your IA?

Hi MrSmile, thanks for the reply and advice. Apologies for typos and lack of formatting as I am on mobile.
The paid clinical position is very meaningful to me because it’s been a great place to grow and my first experience working with a team larger than twenty people. However, I have heard UAB does not like paid positions very much. I really enjoy volunteering at the soup kitchen since my family grew up with food insecurity and financial strain; having nutritious food easily available to me is important especially since I have an eating disorder. I find being able to serve food to those in need highly meaningful and have completed 21 hours. I should definitely have more than 50 hours by the time I submit my application in June, but I am still worried adcoms will look at the start dates and feel that it was disingenuous. I also find choral activities, and especially being a leader in them, meaningful due to how closely singing ability can be tied to self-esteem, and I am always trying to raise people’s self esteem (in a genuine way). I love to share the experience of making music and have requested to be more involved in the employee choir as a volunteer. I will be starting with the women’s homeless shelter on Thursday as part of their volunteering board, and will be involved in food preparation, fundraising, and group therapy, which will be meaningful to me due to the population I’ll be serving, and per your advice will be trying to gain more than 50 hours before June as well.

It is a little unfortunate I was not proactive(?) enough to have these activities start earlier than they are, but I did only just figure out my personal mission recently (about Nov 2023). My family and spouse are highly supportive of me trying to get in this cycle due to me being older, and I do not mind having to be a reapplicant despite knowing it may lower my chances next cycle. My parents are already in their 60s and I’d like for them to see their grandchildren before they can’t see them anymore (I have asked many other women in medicine about the difficulties of having children during residency and am prepared to do that). If you truly think I would benefit far more greatly from waiting a cycle please feel free to give it to me straight! I am not really invested in prestige (just my best possible option to make match easier for me, I guess).

As far as I was made aware, there are no records of no-contact directives at that university unless there was legal action taken, of which there were none. I have someone from prehealth advising asking on my behalf about details regarding reporting and what records if any exist but have not heard back yet.

If it helps, I am definitely planning on boosting any hours needed in the next two months. I applied to be a hospital volunteer at UAB but it seems they are swamped and haven’t heard back yet even after following up. I will be seeking other opportunities this weekend.

Again, thank you for the help (and anyone else’s).

 

[rawrosaur]

Agreed with the above. It sounds like you have a strong narrative and mission fit that'd make for a good personal statement/secondaries, but I would give it some more time, both to give yourself some space and so that you can apply from the best possible position (assuming your MCAT isn't expiring, of course).

Is the IA in question your no-contact order? If so, not sure if you'd need to explain it but given that you are the survivor here I don't see any schools holding that against you. When it comes around to the application, you can included a blurb to explain why some of your grades were low and it appears you have a very valid reason for that.

Finally with regards to the letter, my understanding is that you're not marked complete at any school until all application materials are received (these include your primary, secondary, transcripts, MCAT, any situational judgement tests, and yes, your letters of rec.). Given that it wouldn't be wise to delay your application, I'd lead towards using the professor who already agreed to it, and maybe also contacting your psych PI as they may be able to give a stronger one. I would also consult with your undergrad's prehealth office as they may provide further assistance and/or facilitate a committee letter (mine did)

Thanks for the advice and input. I am reaching out to my psych PI and to a professor I had two psych classes with. My MCAT was taken September 2023 so should be safe for a while.

Yes, the IA is the no contact order through the Title IX office. I worry that it may need to be reported as the perpetrator actually was the one who instigated the order against me. From memory I believe the office was very inclined to go through with the order due to reports from other students about an altercation where I was being shoved and my account of the relationship, but memory may serve me wrong. I am currently in contact with the advising office as well and they are helping me with a lot of this, but they can no longer provide a committee letter due to me being out of school too long. I’ve really liked the advice I was seeing on this forum and wanted second and third opinions/varied perspectives, so that’s why I am also here instead of just relying on the advising office.

Thanks so much for the input and clarification on submitting applications!

 

[rawrosaur]

You could include your hospice hours under non clinical volunteering. What was the Institutional action where you attended school ?

Hi Faha, I gave a quick summary about the IA in the reply quoted below. I will include hospice hours under non clinical volunteering, thank you so much for the input.

Thanks for the advice and input. I am reaching out to my psych PI and to a professor I had two psych classes with. My MCAT was taken September 2023 so should be safe for a while.

Yes, the IA is the no contact order through the Title IX office. I see it being needed to be reported as the perpetrator actually was the one who instigated the order against me. From memory I believe the office was very inclined to go through with the order due to reports from other students about an altercation where I was being shoved and my account of the relationship, but memory may serve me wrong. I am currently in contact with the advising office as well and they are helping me with a lot of this, but can no longer provide a committee letter due to me being out of school too long. I’ve really liked the advice I was seeing on this forum and wanted second and third opinions/varied perspectives, so that’s why I am also here instead of just relying on the advising office.

Thanks so much for the input and clarification on submitting applications!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As far as I was made aware, there are no records of no-contact directives at that university unless there was legal action taken, of which there were none. I have someone from prehealth advising asking on my behalf about details regarding reporting and what records if any exist but have not heard back yet.

If your student conduct office does not have an institutional action against you, you don't have one. A no-contact directive does not usually fall under an "institutional action" by itself. Let me know if your prehealth advisors say otherwise.

The paid clinical position is very meaningful to me because it’s been a great place to grow and my first experience working with a team larger than twenty people. However, I have heard UAB does not like paid positions very much.

Most schools don't care if you get paid or not. Ask UAB directly rather than rely on hearsay. Working in a NICU is clinical experience, but sure... find some other experiences where your patients can try to talk with you. That said, your hospice work shows the other life extreme so it's not that critical.

I really enjoy volunteering at the soup kitchen since my family grew up with food insecurity and financial strain; having nutritious food easily available to me is important especially since I have an eating disorder. I find being able to serve food to those in need highly meaningful and have completed 21 hours. I should definitely have more than 50 hours by the time I submit my application in June, but I am still worried adcoms will look at the start dates and feel that it was disingenuous.

I don't think adcoms will think the work is disingenuous, but they may wonder why this activity started so recently if you would find it meaningful. No one is going to debate your childhood challenges as impactful experiences, and if you only recently had time, that's fine. However, the screen-out of 150 hours by submission is common. The more hours you have in an activity, the easier it is to argue its significance and meaning in your "narrative." Where you spend your time is where your passions lie.

Keep going with your shelter volunteer work. This combined with your food distribution activity needs to be 150+ hours to avoid getting screened out, and the closer you get to 250-300, the better.

The Weather on Your Application Journey - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Other Impactful Experiences Essay: Exploring Your Unique Story - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

It seems based on your comments, UAB is the closest and most convenient place where you would attend medical school. I would connect with their admissions team and any student orgs, including any women-in-medicine mentoring groups, about your approach.

It is a little unfortunate I was not proactive(?) enough to have these activities start earlier than they are, but I did only just figure out my personal mission recently (about Nov 2023).

That's okay. There are a lot of people who don't figure that out until they are older anyway and have had several impactful life experiences (which it seems you have had). This could even change after you graduate from medical school. What I want to know is how you are investing in yourself given that you have a debt number that will stare you in the pocketbook.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Alabama
South Alabama
Belmont
Alice Walton (when it opens)
TCU
Tulane
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
Albany
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
For DO schools I suggest these:
ACOM
WCU-COM
CUSOM
VCOM (all schools except Monroe)
PCOM (all schools)
AZCOM
DMU-COM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
MU-COM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
LECOM

 

[rawrosaur]

If your student conduct office does not have an institutional action against you, you don't have one. A no-contact directive does not usually fall under an "institutional action" by itself. Let me know if your prehealth advisors say otherwise.


Most schools don't care if you get paid or not. Ask UAB directly rather than rely on hearsay. Working in a NICU is clinical experience, but sure... find some other experiences where your patients can try to talk with you. That said, your hospice work shows the other life extreme so it's not that critical.

I don't think adcoms will think the work is disingenuous, but they may wonder why this activity started so recently if you would find it meaningful. No one is going to debate your childhood challenges as impactful experiences, and if you only recently had time, that's fine. However, the screen-out of 150 hours by submission is common. The more hours you have in an activity, the easier it is to argue its significance and meaning in your "narrative." Where you spend your time is where your passions lie.

Keep going with your shelter volunteer work. This combined with your food distribution activity needs to be 150+ hours to avoid getting screened out, and the closer you get to 250-300, the better.

The Weather on Your Application Journey - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Other Impactful Experiences Essay: Exploring Your Unique Story - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

It seems based on your comments, UAB is the closest and most convenient place where you would attend medical school. I would connect with their admissions team and any student orgs, including any women-in-medicine mentoring groups, about your approach.


That's okay. There are a lot of people who don't figure that out until they are older anyway and have had several impactful life experiences (which it seems you have had). This could even change after you graduate from medical school. What I want to know is how you are investing in yourself given that you have a debt number that will stare you in the pocketbook.

Hi Mr.Smile,

Thanks again for your input, especially for those articles. I skimmed them, liked them a lot, and will refer to them throughout the writing process. I will reach out to UAB admissions and ask about the paid experience. As for finding exposure to actual patient encounters, I will be able to float to other units in the hospital by the end of this month, so I will definitely be picking up shifts in other departments to supplement. I got some exposure to caring for adult patients during clinicals in my CNA course, 32 hours. Is this worth mentioning as an activity in its own section on the application? (I was planning on doing so.)

The work at the soup kitchen started recently partly due to my financial position becoming more stable and partly due to spending time settling in after moving. Volunteering where I lived before was difficult due to my lack of transportation. Will this come off as an "excuse" to adcoms/is it off-putting to you to hear that? If so, can I try to find a better way to spin it?

What I want to know is how you are investing in yourself given that you have a debt number that will stare you in the pocketbook.

I didn't quite understand this, could you clarify? Sorry for not understanding.

Thanks again Mr.Smile, I appreciate how detailed you are responding to my thread 😀

 

[rawrosaur]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Alabama
South Alabama
Belmont
Alice Walton (when it opens)
TCU
Tulane
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
Albany
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
For DO schools I suggest these:
ACOM
WCU-COM
CUSOM
VCOM (all schools except Monroe)
PCOM (all schools)
AZCOM
DMU-COM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
MU-COM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
LECOM

Thank you so much Faha. I appreciate your taking the time to make this list!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I didn't quite understand this, could you clarify? Sorry for not understanding.

How are you planning to manage the debt incurred for attending medical school, especially given your personal or family finances?

 

[rawrosaur]

How are you planning to manage the debt incurred for attending medical school, especially given your personal or family finances?

This is certainly a concern of mine. I have some interest in the HPSP scholarship and already attended an informal info session with an army branch recruiter and MD. If I am able to gain admittance to UAB my tuition cost should be very manageable with student loans. I do have the gracious support of my s/o and parents towards living expenses (s/o is happy to let me consider costs of application and tuition first in managing my finances, and my parents should have some more financial freedom by the time I matriculate, and have already stated they want to help).

 

[candbgirl]

DUAL ENROLLMENT counts when submitting your transcripts.

 

[Idkwhattocallit]

Do you qualify for FAP? That could certainly help when paying for your medical school application fees. Also, maybe it's just me but I don't understand how those subsection scores add to a 519 (128+128+128+131 = 515)? Also this is my personal opinion but there is a "impactful experiences" section and a "ses disadvantages" section where you can go into more detail about some of your circumstances that would be able to ease (hopefully most) worries that the AdCom would have about your level of commitment to these activities. Best of luck on this cycle - I hope you get in!

 

[rawrosaur]

Do you qualify for FAP? That could certainly help when paying for your medical school application fees. Also, maybe it's just me but I don't understand how those subsection scores add to a 519 (128+128+128+131 = 515)? Also this is my personal opinion but there is a "impactful experiences" section and a "ses disadvantages" section where you can go into more detail about some of your circumstances that would be able to ease (hopefully most) worries that the AdCom would have about your level of commitment to these activities. Best of luck on this cycle - I hope you get in!

I believe my parents’ income would put me just barely above FAP :’( and my scores were actually 129, 129, 129, 132, sorry!

 

[rawrosaur]

Hi @Mr.Smile12 @Faha and anyone else,

I would really appreciate some input on this crossroads I have now encountered.

My nurse assistant position is on weekends. I was applying for weekday laboratory jobs to help with income and one that researches Rett Syndrome (which primarily affects females) reached out to me with the intent to hire. The PI seems very enthusiastic for me to join. However, due to work classifications at UAB, I would not be able to keep my nurse assistant role in the neonatal unit if I were to accept the laboratory position. The lab does pay a little more. I am just concerned it does not fit in with my application theme (direct service to and involvement with women). You said I should find other experiences where patients can try to talk with me- I could possibly find other volunteering opportunities that may provide this if I join the lab and quit the nurse assistant job, but then I am concerned about the constant hopping around I have exhibited in my application.

Also, I went to a UAB tour day, and they really emphasized service commitments. Keeping my nurse assistant job would let me devote a lot of time to volunteering since I work weekends. But the full-time lab position would possibly limit that. At the same time, I am now on the board for the women's shelter, and having weekends open would allow me time to attend events that can help with networking and fundraising for the shelter.

I am really struggling with this decision and would love some insight.

 

[AJS59]

Hi @Mr.Smile12 @Faha and anyone else,

I would really appreciate some input on this crossroads I have now encountered.

My nurse assistant position is on weekends. I was applying for weekday laboratory jobs to help with income and one that researches Rett Syndrome (which primarily affects females) reached out to me with the intent to hire. The PI seems very enthusiastic for me to join. However, due to work classifications at UAB, I would not be able to keep my nurse assistant role in the neonatal unit if I were to accept the laboratory position. The lab does pay a little more. I am just concerned it does not fit in with my application theme (direct service to and involvement with women). You said I should find other experiences where patients can try to talk with me- I could possibly find other volunteering opportunities that may provide this if I join the lab and quit the nurse assistant job, but then I am concerned about the constant hopping around I have exhibited in my application.

Also, I went to a UAB tour day, and they really emphasized service commitments. Keeping my nurse assistant job would let me devote a lot of time to volunteering since I work weekends. But the full-time lab position would possibly limit that. At the same time, I am now on the board for the women's shelter, and having weekends open would allow me time to attend events that can help with networking and fundraising for the shelter.

I am really struggling with this decision and would love some insight.

I think as long as you get the experiences that matter that's what you should focus on, even if it doesn't fit into a "neat" box.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi @Mr.Smile12 @Faha and anyone else,

I would really appreciate some input on this crossroads I have now encountered.

My nurse assistant position is on weekends. I was applying for weekday laboratory jobs to help with income and one that researches Rett Syndrome (which primarily affects females) reached out to me with the intent to hire. The PI seems very enthusiastic for me to join. However, due to work classifications at UAB, I would not be able to keep my nurse assistant role in the neonatal unit if I were to accept the laboratory position. The lab does pay a little more. I am just concerned it does not fit in with my application theme (direct service to and involvement with women). You said I should find other experiences where patients can try to talk with me- I could possibly find other volunteering opportunities that may provide this if I join the lab and quit the nurse assistant job, but then I am concerned about the constant hopping around I have exhibited in my application.

Also, I went to a UAB tour day, and they really emphasized service commitments. Keeping my nurse assistant job would let me devote a lot of time to volunteering since I work weekends. But the full-time lab position would possibly limit that. At the same time, I am now on the board for the women's shelter, and having weekends open would allow me time to attend events that can help with networking and fundraising for the shelter.

I am really struggling with this decision and would love some insight.

You would need a private meeting with someone at UAB about your entire resume, but I never penalize an applicant for earning money. No one should take a vow of poverty to go to medical school.