tradnontrad2
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It would help to know your specific responsibilities at the hospice. Overall, the 300 hours of non-clinical community service are a little on the lower but acceptable end for brand-name schools. Not impossible, but we don't have full details of what you did.
I'm sure you can leverage your skills gained from research and apply them to your start-up consulting(?). I'm interested in why there is a hard pivot back to medicine. Quite a few medical schools like to shape future med-preneurs, so I hope you have done your homework.
I'm sure you can leverage your skills gained from research and apply them to your start-up consulting(?). I'm interested in why there is a hard pivot back to medicine. Quite a few medical schools like to shape future med-preneurs, so I hope you have done your homework.
I would recommend finding a more positive way to convey an answer to "why medicine, now?"
I came in as a political appointee on state government and was constantly asked why I would leave. It seemed like a really stupid question to me at the time (because from my perspective, medicine was always the plan and I probably would not have expanded my horizons the way I did if medical school admissions were more straightforward).
I struggled because I felt that what I was being goaded to say was that medicine was the only thing I could see myself doing and I would be unhappy doing anything else. I think this is an unreasonable claim to make, even for people who are clear on their motivations toward medicine. I also felt it was insincere to imply that medicine is a panacea, the final frontier of careers that leaves everyone satisfied and fulfilled. Having worked in medicine for such a long time, I knew that wasn't true, either (and would probably elicit eye-rolls).
Internally, there were things about government I didn't like, but considering I was using those experiences as positive reasons to admit me, it did not make logical sense to poo-poo on the entire industry... especially if it's something many schools on your list care about and view as a core "value."
I ended up explaining it by offering a quick anecdote of a particular complaint I had. Our program had rejected an applicant for services over a clinical note read incorrectly by one of our staff. As an executive, I could not intervene because I did not have the requisite credential of physician to overturn the decision. I could, however, lead a rule-making session to ensure denials are not processed on medical grounds without a physician countersignature, and encourage the family to reapply.
I then made the argument that health governance without the requisite practical experience will always pose an unbridgeable gap between myself and the populations I wanted to serve. There were recurrent points where my work depended on clinical judgment I could not legitimately supply, and I wanted to close that gap rather than work around it. I wanted to become a doctor now because there are self-evident, every day ways in which my current roles reinforce my aspirations, this one just being one of many.
That way, I can claim that I am willing to leave my role because I feel incomplete without the education I need to be effective, without saying that the whole idea of government is stale, unfulfilling, and vacuous. And, bonus, I never have to make that claim directly.
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I think we are collectively giving you homework to improve your application. But your AMCAS submission in response to our feedback will be what matters. No, I'm not convinced you have clearly articulated your responsibilities at hospice or any non-clinical volunteering. You haven't given me a reason to push your application up for a potential interview. Your hours are light for a high-metrics candidate who wants to attend a brand-name school until I get more details.
We're not hiring you to do work in a research lab. We want to know if you understand what the scientific method is, if you can read dull research papers, and whether you want research to be a major component of your future career.
I think the hospice will be read as clinical (fantastic experience though) as what you described was my *only* clinical experience aside from shadowing. So I’d try to get another 100-150 nonclinical hours with the underserved. Continuing with the Salvation Army is probably fine, assuming you find it meaningful.
My other big question would be if your MCAT is still valid. There’s a big difference between taking it as a student and taking it as an adult with responsibilities.
I’m just a dude who is going to med school this summer. As a career changer I wish I would have applied to less T20s, but you have the research I didn’t. I would encourage you to have a good answer to “why medicine now?” It took me a few months to put that on paper on a compelling way even though I knew the pieces were there.
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I don't know if I would apply the word "unique" here. You're a non-trad with metrics, ECs, and work experience, similar to most other non-trads. Perhaps if you were a left-handed Olympic pentathlete nun. But anyways...
The two major errors I see repeated by non-trads are:
1. Overestimating the value of their work experience. Yes, leadership, decision-making, people skills, maturity, all good things to bring to the table. But they aren't a golden ticket that will have T5 adcoms salivating over your app like Pavlov's dogs.
2. Underestimating the value of service/non-clinical volunteering (same as many traditional premeds).
Your school list is definitely top heavy. Given how competitive the process is, even lower tier schools have students with impressive numbers and interesting backgrounds. Apply to all the NY schools. Dump Indiana and MUSC.
It would be better. This is where the MSAR can be extremely useful.
I say dump them because you’re OOS for both schools.
My thoughts are that your research and clinical experience hours are "fine" and will only be limited by the quality of your reflections.
If I were in your position, I would be focusing amost all of my efforts on nonclinical volunteering with the underserved. I wouldn't, like, quit my job. But I wouldn't be adding things that were not nonclinical volunteering with the underserved.
MUSC has ~7% OOS, Indiana ~16%. Successful OOS applicants typically have very strong ties to the state.
USF and Cincinnati each have almost 40% OOS. Those are better odds.
Miami is private and therefore has no mandated IS preference.
What @moltmannfanboi said.
Do you have the MSAR?
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