Fearful of an average application...

[erb327]

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Edited for privacy.

Thanks everyone for helping!

 

[flip26]

GPA and MCAT are OK.

No research is OK. This is overrated on SDN.

Your low volunteering and clinical exposure is not OK, and the timing of it is a problem, too. Basically, if you plan to apply this cycle, it is expected that you have already done a sufficient amount of these activities prior to submitting, in the belief that these activities serve to inform you about the profession, etc. However, if you are not applying until 2011, you should be in pretty good shape if you follow through with your plans.

Finally, your home state is a problem, too. Being an average applicant in the northeastern US is a big problem. What I mean is, if you lived in just about any other region of the country (except, perhaps, California), you would be in pretty good shape. But there are a ton of wannabes in the northeast, and they all want to stay in the northeast...

Therefore, apply broadly and to a lot of schools not located in the northeast. What are the 10 schools that "suit" your app? You really need to be looking at 15 to 20 schools, half of them not in the NE corridor between DC and Boston...

 

[Catalystik]

any suggestions of how I could boost my application, knowing that I have plenty of time (year and a half) before I submit any applications?

Consider that about 1.5 years of clinical experience (about 150 hours total) is average for applicants, and you have 16 months before you would ideally submit your application in June 2011. At only 8 hours per month without time off during breaks, you'll fall a bit short with your current plan.

Your shadowing is well above averge (you really don't need more, unless you're having fun and time is not an issue). You have teaching. You have some nonmedical community service and could improve things there. You would benefit from a stronger leadership activity, and in fact might consider getting more involved in your community somehow and becoming a leader in that organization, maybe in fund raising efforts, so as to help yourself stand out more. Even a summer's worth of research would help your application, but it isn't essential.

 

[erb327]

What are the 10 schools that "suit" your app?

Thanks for the response flip, I really appreciate it. I do realize that I need to hold true to my plans for the next year and a half before applying to medical school in order to boost my volunteering/clinical experience. I am quite excited to have these experiences.

As for your question, I want to begin by saying that maybe "suit" was the wrong word to use. I have a list of ~10 schools that I am interested in applying to that I believe will be in my range (in terms of statistics found in the MSAR guide). These schools are:

1. UMass
2. UNC
3. Wake Forest
4. Drexel
5. Jefferson
6. Penn State
7. Temple
8. UVM
9. UConn
10. Georgetown
11. BU

Edit: I will be adding quite a few "safety" schools onto my list that may not be in my top 10 choices. However, I have not delved into the specific list too much, as I am trying to completely prepare my application before I realistically choose the schools to which I will apply.


I realize that even some of the schools on the list may be out of my reach, but I am at least interested in them at the time being. I wanted to post on these forums to see how I could possibly enhance my application, but I'm slowly beginning to lose confidence that I will be viewed as average (especially in the Northeast). I am 100% prepared to do all I can to better my application over the next ~16 months, while gaining significant insight into the career itself.

 

[erb327]

Catalystik, thank you for the response! You're right. I should definitely plan to gain more clinical experience, especially since I have such a large window of time before my applications are due. Would you have any recommendations of how to go about gaining this clinical experience? I am not sure where to look to gain hours over the summer/during vacations (aka I do not know what specifically will count as "clinical hours").


Also, I plan on continuing my non-medical community service over the next 16 months, as there are many opportunities that my school offers. I will be sure to take advantage of many of them. This is also something that should be done whether applying to medical school or not, so I am actually looking forward to these experiences.

As for the leadership experience, would the type of organization/club matter? As I stated before, I am the president of the Table Tennis Club. I founded this club recently and we have ~15 members. We are planning on taking a trip to a national tournament next year, which will require significant fundraising. Would this count? I would be heading these fundraising efforts. If not, I will do my best to find other opportunities where I can get involved. I really want to use the next 16 months to my advantage as best I can, which is why I sought help on these forums.

Thanks again!

 

[JJMrK]

If I were you, I would consider delaying your application a year to get more clinical experience and possibly participate in some research. Your numbers are fine and maybe even slightly above average, but your EC are probably below average.

 

[JJMrK]

I guess I missed the fact that you are already planning on taking a gap year. I think that will help you quite a bit.

 

[Catalystik]

Catalystik, thank you for the response! You're right. I should definitely plan to gain more clinical experience, especially since I have such a large window of time before my applications are due. Would you have any recommendations of how to go about gaining this clinical experience? I am not sure where to look to gain hours over the summer/during vacations (aka I do not know what specifically will count as "clinical hours").

As for the leadership experience, would the type of organization/club matter? As I stated before, I am the president of the Table Tennis Club. I founded this club recently and we have ~15 members. We are planning on taking a trip to a national tournament next year, which will require significant fundraising. Would this count? I would be heading these fundraising efforts. If not, I will do my best to find other opportunities where I can get involved. I really want to use the next 16 months to my advantage as best I can, which is why I sought help on these forums.

Thanks again!

Clinical Experience
You can get clinical experience with sick people through the workplace, for class credit, data gathering for a clinical trial, or via volunteerism. It can be gained at a free, family-planning, or private clinic, hospice, hospital, VA, residential home, rehabilitation facility, nursing home, as a first responder, among others. Keep doing what you're already doing, but maybe add in something else over breaks. It seems that nursing homes are much less rigid in their requirements for one to begin volunteering compared to hospitals, and may be easier to get starting in quickly.

Leadership
As long as your description of the activity demonstrates that you have indeed been a leader, then adcomms will view it as such. Hopefully your passion for the activity will shine through. Be sure to designate tasks; that's what leaders do. You might also offer to arrange and ref a local kids tournament through a Boy and Girls Club or after-school childcare, or a nursing home, or other community service organization. (Community service leadership is viewed as higher on the food chain, so to speak.)

 

[flip26]

Thanks for the response flip, I really appreciate it. I do realize that I need to hold true to my plans for the next year and a half before applying to medical school in order to boost my volunteering/clinical experience. I am quite excited to have these experiences.

As for your question, I want to begin by saying that maybe "suit" was the wrong word to use. I have a list of ~10 schools that I am interested in applying to that I believe will be in my range (in terms of statistics found in the MSAR guide). These schools are:

1. UMass
2. UNC
3. Wake Forest
4. Drexel
5. Jefferson
6. Penn State
7. Temple
8. UVM
9. UConn
10. Georgetown
11. BU

Edit: I will be adding quite a few "safety" schools onto my list that may not be in my top 10 choices. However, I have not delved into the specific list too much, as I am trying to completely prepare my application before I realistically choose the schools to which I will apply.


I realize that even some of the schools on the list may be out of my reach, but I am at least interested in them at the time being. My dream school is Dartmouth, but I do realize that is quite a stretch. I wanted to post on these forums to see how I could possibly enhance my application, but I'm slowly beginning to lose confidence that I will be viewed as average (especially in the Northeast). I am 100% prepared to do all I can to better my application over the next ~16 months, while gaining significant insight into the career itself.

Drop UNC - huge waste of money as an OOS applicant.

Instead, add EVMS and VCU - same neck o' the woods, and much more accepting of OOSers.

Don't miss NYMC - not everyone's fave, but this is as good a safety as you will find in the NE.

Also - take a look at Einstein - great school that has a bit of trouble attracting students to the Bronx. Plus you should be looking at all of the SUNYs...

And as I said earlier, look for some schools that are not located within 100 miles of the eastern seaboard...look at the Chicago area schools, and consider SLU in St Louis...and there are several schools in Ohio that get lots of action from the OOS crowd (OSU, Cincinnati)...

With your stats, and considering your state of residence, you should be shooting at submitting 20 primaries. Schools in the Top 25 will pretty much be a total waste for you...concentrate your efforts on schools ranked lower than say 30 or 40, and also on schools that are not ranked at all...I don't give a crap about rankings, but the reality is that the rankings do correlate with competitiveness in admissions.

My example, FWIW: I have a 3.9+/33 and a stronger EC profile than you, and I had zero luck getting interviews with the 6 or so Top 20 schools that I applied to. Sure, apply to a couple of them if you want, but this end of the rankings scale should not be the focus of your app. Your list is a good start...

Good luck.

 

[mcoste08]

Okay, I apologize ahead of time for asking such a dumb question. But what exactly is the MSAR? And how can I access it to find out which schools are the best fit for my stats?

 

[flip26]

Okay, I apologize ahead of time for asking such a dumb question. But what exactly is the MSAR? And how can I access it to find out which schools are the best fit for my stats?

It is a book published by the AAMC with information on all allo schools. Check around at your school - there will be copies floating around.

I bought one directly from AAMC - they are published each year, seems like they are available in April...

 

[Catalystik]

Try the prehealth advising office and the library reference desk for the MSAR.