Hello,
I am creating this thread in hopes of getting some general feedback/guidance from people. I am currently a junior at Northwestern University, majoring in Chemistry. I'm going to list my stats and relevant information below.
- 4.0 cGPA as of Winter 2014 - 3 quarters of English, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics - 5 quarters of biology (one 100 level, three 200 level and one 300 level) - 3 upper level chemistry courses.
- I have done research from the beginning of sophomore year, and intend on continuing with my current lab till I graduate. I continued my research during the previous summer, and intend dong the same this upcoming summer. My sophomore year I worked in a chemistry lab working on MOFs/material science. I didn't fancy the research much so I I switched to a biochem lab at the end of my sophomore year that focuses on tumor detection. I expect to be a 2nd-4th author on at least two publications by the time I graduate.
- I was a peer leader for a group of Gen Chem students, through my sophomore year, as part of a program that allows students enrolled in STEM disciplines to meet weekly to stimulate learning, etc. Meetings are led by students who have taken and performed well in the courses.
- I functioned as an unofficial TA for the Organic Chemistry at the start of my junior year upon the request of the professor I took the class under. Northwestern doesn't officially allow undergrads to TA courses; my job was to hold weekly review sessions, 1 on 1 review sessions for students struggling (not mandatory, I did these on a case by case basis), and answer questions via email.
- Recently hired by a selective tutoring company, that caters to high school students in the area.
- My Freshman year, I mentored a 10 year old boy as part of the YMCA's Project SOAR
- Active member of the pre-med fraternity on campus
- Vice-President and co-founder of a cultural organization on campus.
- I have worked at least one work study job since fall quarter of freshman year. Been forced to work two jobs concurrently since spring quarter of my sophomore year. I am counting some of the stuff listed above, that I was paid for, as a job (YMCA/Research was for workstudy in some quarters, and for credit in the others/Orgo review sessions (not the 1 on 1 sessions)). I have also worked as a gen chem lab aide (managing the stock room) since spring quarter of my sophomore year, and throughout my freshman year I worked with my physics professor manage and organize his lecture demonstrations/test and develop undergraduate labs.
- My LORs are extremely strong: 1) Orgo professor whom I hold review sessions for 2) Physics professor whom I worked for 3) My freshman adviser. I plan on getting further LORs from my current lab's PI and possibly from one of my other employers.
I am a green card holder who went to high school in a foreign country. Since most of my closest friends are situated elsewhere, I usually spend most of my vacation time travelling back home or visiting my high school friends in their respective universities. As such, I haven't really gotten around to doing volunteer work and shadowing, which are two of the areas in which I feel like I'm lacking. Shadowing has never appealed to me since it primarily involves following a physician who does things that you don't have the knowledge or expertise to understand, I understand why it's an important factor for medical schools, but my mother is a doctor, and I have spent a considerable amount of time in hospitals. I haven't done volunteer work in the traditional sense either, i.e, old homes, shelters, etc. I like to give back in my own way - donating 15% of my income to families back in my homeland (third world country) and helping underclassmen with their studies. (Note: I won't list the former on my application or talk about it during interviews because doing so feels unethical to me).
I plan on taking the MCAT this summer and apply to medical schools after graduation. I shifted my application cycle a year forward because I don't want to go to Med school immediately after college. I hope to pursue a Fulbright or some other fellowship during that 'gap year'.
I created this thread because I am uncertain about what my next step should be, apart from taking the MCAT. Do I need to do volunteer work in the traditional sense? Is shadowing necessary? What schools should I be aiming for? And most importantly, what else can I do to make myself a better applicant? Thus far, I've done things that I'm passionate about and have largely ignored things that don't interest me. However, I acknowledge that at this point I need to conform to the system a bit, and I was hoping to get feedback from others with more experience than myself on what I should do next.
I apologize if this post was a bit long and vague. Thank you in advance for your help!
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I am creating this thread in hopes of getting some general feedback/guidance from people. I am currently a junior at Northwestern University, majoring in Chemistry. I'm going to list my stats and relevant information below.
- 4.0 cGPA as of Winter 2014 - 3 quarters of English, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics - 5 quarters of biology (one 100 level, three 200 level and one 300 level) - 3 upper level chemistry courses.
- I have done research from the beginning of sophomore year, and intend on continuing with my current lab till I graduate. I continued my research during the previous summer, and intend dong the same this upcoming summer. My sophomore year I worked in a chemistry lab working on MOFs/material science. I didn't fancy the research much so I I switched to a biochem lab at the end of my sophomore year that focuses on tumor detection. I expect to be a 2nd-4th author on at least two publications by the time I graduate.
- I was a peer leader for a group of Gen Chem students, through my sophomore year, as part of a program that allows students enrolled in STEM disciplines to meet weekly to stimulate learning, etc. Meetings are led by students who have taken and performed well in the courses.
- I functioned as an unofficial TA for the Organic Chemistry at the start of my junior year upon the request of the professor I took the class under. Northwestern doesn't officially allow undergrads to TA courses; my job was to hold weekly review sessions, 1 on 1 review sessions for students struggling (not mandatory, I did these on a case by case basis), and answer questions via email.
- Recently hired by a selective tutoring company, that caters to high school students in the area.
- My Freshman year, I mentored a 10 year old boy as part of the YMCA's Project SOAR
- Active member of the pre-med fraternity on campus
- Vice-President and co-founder of a cultural organization on campus.
- I have worked at least one work study job since fall quarter of freshman year. Been forced to work two jobs concurrently since spring quarter of my sophomore year. I am counting some of the stuff listed above, that I was paid for, as a job (YMCA/Research was for workstudy in some quarters, and for credit in the others/Orgo review sessions (not the 1 on 1 sessions)). I have also worked as a gen chem lab aide (managing the stock room) since spring quarter of my sophomore year, and throughout my freshman year I worked with my physics professor manage and organize his lecture demonstrations/test and develop undergraduate labs.
- My LORs are extremely strong: 1) Orgo professor whom I hold review sessions for 2) Physics professor whom I worked for 3) My freshman adviser. I plan on getting further LORs from my current lab's PI and possibly from one of my other employers.
I am a green card holder who went to high school in a foreign country. Since most of my closest friends are situated elsewhere, I usually spend most of my vacation time travelling back home or visiting my high school friends in their respective universities. As such, I haven't really gotten around to doing volunteer work and shadowing, which are two of the areas in which I feel like I'm lacking. Shadowing has never appealed to me since it primarily involves following a physician who does things that you don't have the knowledge or expertise to understand, I understand why it's an important factor for medical schools, but my mother is a doctor, and I have spent a considerable amount of time in hospitals. I haven't done volunteer work in the traditional sense either, i.e, old homes, shelters, etc. I like to give back in my own way - donating 15% of my income to families back in my homeland (third world country) and helping underclassmen with their studies. (Note: I won't list the former on my application or talk about it during interviews because doing so feels unethical to me).
I plan on taking the MCAT this summer and apply to medical schools after graduation. I shifted my application cycle a year forward because I don't want to go to Med school immediately after college. I hope to pursue a Fulbright or some other fellowship during that 'gap year'.
I created this thread because I am uncertain about what my next step should be, apart from taking the MCAT. Do I need to do volunteer work in the traditional sense? Is shadowing necessary? What schools should I be aiming for? And most importantly, what else can I do to make myself a better applicant? Thus far, I've done things that I'm passionate about and have largely ignored things that don't interest me. However, I acknowledge that at this point I need to conform to the system a bit, and I was hoping to get feedback from others with more experience than myself on what I should do next.
I apologize if this post was a bit long and vague. Thank you in advance for your help!
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