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Hi all - I would love a general sense of my chances and any other pertinent advice. I didn't do so well in college, but 2 years later I have "seen the light" as it were and have been working my butt off to compensate. All comments/suggestions/etc are appreciated. Unfortunately taking more undergraduate level classes is not an option for me right now.
Graduated from Northeastern in 2013 (applying next cycle to begin in 2017)
Country/state of residence - New Jersey
Schools to which I am applying - Definitely the 3 NJ state MD schools; not quite sure otherwise (would love advice here); schools I have 'flagged' include Albany, Rush, U Vermont, Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, NYU, and a couple of SUNYs.....I'll also likely throw in a couple of fliers, but these are ones I see as potentially reasonable
Cumulative GPA - 3.3
Science GPA - 3.2
Note on GPA - I did get all As my senior year both semesters and have been doing great in my grad program, so I may get some "upward trend" credit there...
MCAT Scores - First take is September 12th. I know this is a big missing piece to the puzzle, but I also know without an excellent score I am hopeless, so lets assume I get a quality score for now (or I will be considering other career options anyway...)
Research – published 1 paper in undergrad; worked/working in industry and clinical research for about 5 years cumulatively
Volunteering – by time I apply I will have: 100 hours tutoring GED students in the rehabilitation program of a state run psychiatric hospital; 150 hours volunteering in a local homeless shelter; completed at least 1 if not 2 research projects on accessibility of cancer care in Malawi with a group called Global Oncology; worked in "Peer Health Exchange" something like 40 hours (taught health class in poor high schools)
Physician shadowing – Shadow an oncologist at my job for at least a few hours every week; by time I apply I will have ~100 hrs of dedicated shadowing (this does not include the 'incidental' shadowing related to clinical research job)
Extracurricular activities - my biggest boon here is likely that I have produced a full length album of original music, performed live all over New England, and founded/ran a live music event production company for 4-5 years. In all honestly this was a large distraction from my collegiate performance, but I gained many networking and leadership skills. A large piece of my personal statement will be that I was successful in this area but did not feel fulfilled and am seeking a more wholesome career.
Employment history - currently employed at Dana-Farber; began as a clinical research coordinator and was promoted to regulatory coordinator about 1.5 years in; job offers direct patient contact and daily exposure to clinical and academic medicine; will have been here 3 years when I apply
Graduate degrees - currently working on a Masters degree in Biology (3.9 GPA; all science/math classes)
Graduated from Northeastern in 2013 (applying next cycle to begin in 2017)
Country/state of residence - New Jersey
Schools to which I am applying - Definitely the 3 NJ state MD schools; not quite sure otherwise (would love advice here); schools I have 'flagged' include Albany, Rush, U Vermont, Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, NYU, and a couple of SUNYs.....I'll also likely throw in a couple of fliers, but these are ones I see as potentially reasonable
Cumulative GPA - 3.3
Science GPA - 3.2
Note on GPA - I did get all As my senior year both semesters and have been doing great in my grad program, so I may get some "upward trend" credit there...
MCAT Scores - First take is September 12th. I know this is a big missing piece to the puzzle, but I also know without an excellent score I am hopeless, so lets assume I get a quality score for now (or I will be considering other career options anyway...)
Research – published 1 paper in undergrad; worked/working in industry and clinical research for about 5 years cumulatively
Volunteering – by time I apply I will have: 100 hours tutoring GED students in the rehabilitation program of a state run psychiatric hospital; 150 hours volunteering in a local homeless shelter; completed at least 1 if not 2 research projects on accessibility of cancer care in Malawi with a group called Global Oncology; worked in "Peer Health Exchange" something like 40 hours (taught health class in poor high schools)
Physician shadowing – Shadow an oncologist at my job for at least a few hours every week; by time I apply I will have ~100 hrs of dedicated shadowing (this does not include the 'incidental' shadowing related to clinical research job)
Extracurricular activities - my biggest boon here is likely that I have produced a full length album of original music, performed live all over New England, and founded/ran a live music event production company for 4-5 years. In all honestly this was a large distraction from my collegiate performance, but I gained many networking and leadership skills. A large piece of my personal statement will be that I was successful in this area but did not feel fulfilled and am seeking a more wholesome career.
Employment history - currently employed at Dana-Farber; began as a clinical research coordinator and was promoted to regulatory coordinator about 1.5 years in; job offers direct patient contact and daily exposure to clinical and academic medicine; will have been here 3 years when I apply
Graduate degrees - currently working on a Masters degree in Biology (3.9 GPA; all science/math classes)
