Early Decision Applying Next Year, need advice plz!

[integralx2]

So my school has a partnership with NEOUCOM.

http://www.neoucom.edu/audience/applicants/succeed/admi/csumdpartner


Major: Electrical Engineering
Minor: Chemistry
GPA : 3.53
Note: GPA for last 5 semesters was a 3.7 (19 credits per semester) (screwed myself first 2 semesters with a 3.2 average)
sCGPA : 3.33

MCAT : 30P (10 10 10)

40hrs of shadowing
100+ of tutoring (math,chem, engineering)
1yr of ACTUAL research in biomedical engineering field ( lead researcher) (probably 1.5 when I apply)

Vice President of 3 school organization.
Member of a few engineering and non engineering honor societies
I focused alot of my school projects we get to do toward medical field (EKG , EMG design )
State of residency : Ohio

I have only retaken 1 class , and got an A (freshmen year :\). I have shadowed for 40hrs. I have done volunteer work at a hospital for about 60hrs. I have a lot of hours through my church that I did for non-medical community service, if I had to include that its close to 60-70hrs.

I really want to go to NEOCOM since its local, and I love the area anyway.

Am I even competitive ? I been getting mixed results from advisors I talked to. Some told me they care about your major, some said they dont care. Also my GPA trend is like 3.7+ after my 3rd semester in college. The stupid first 2 semesters screwed me kinda hard. I figure if I apply early decision, I should have a very good shot. Its not like I dont have people skills. Any insight would be great . Also can I call the school and just ask them what are my chances lol ?

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[Catalystik]

You could try calling the school and asking to make a phone appointment with a dean to discuss your application, and then asking, "What can I do to improve my application to best appeal to your adcomms?" Even so, you may not get a straight answer. A lollipops and rainbows response that is overly optimistic may be misleading enough to cost you a second application cycle.

Keep in mind that very, very few are accepted EDP there. Only 15-30 per year are accepted outside of the BS/MD curriculum. Applying EDP when you are not an excellent candidate is very risky, as, if you don't make it, your application for all other schools is seriously late and won't get optimal consideration.

I grant you that your stats are close enough to the medians for acceptees that you have a decent shot at the school, considering your good upward grade trend, if you apply for regular admission.

Be sure your ECs fit the mission of the school: do you have experience in a rural area, at the minimum some shadowing of a rural doc? Do you aspire to primary care medical practice, which is the niche they want to fill? Can you get a total of 60-80 hours of shadowing before you apply, including primary care? Can you double, or ideally triple your clinical experience hours before applying? Have you got plans to complete the majority of their recommended upper-level Bio courses (per the website)? All these things can enhance your chances of an acceptance at NEOUCOM, but I think your better chances of getting in there are to apply to a number of schools that you're competitive at early through the usual application pathway.

The research is good, but only 39% of those accepted have done some, so they don't emphasize this much. Having some nonmedical community service is helpful; keep it up. The tutoring is terrific. You have something to mention for leadership, provided you didn't just watch the prez conduct meetings, so be sure you are leading, taking initiative, and coordinating groups of people to ge things done. Don't forget hobbies, sports, and artistic endeavors.

JMO.

 

[integralx2]

Thanks for the reply cat . I will probably then apply regular, only reason I asked because they have some sort of an agreement with my school, so I figured this would improve my chances by a very high amount.

 

[PremedGunner]

stats are average/low. ecs are average. they don't care about your major. i'd say you are competitiveish.