Good numbers, not so great ECs

[yuiness]

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I know I posted not too long ago about my situation, but am now becoming increasingly paranoid about my ECs after having seen the stuff that a lot of other applicants have done. You can look at my MDapps for a summary of my application: http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=10898

Essentially, I started undergrad at the University of Toronto, but transferred after my first year to the University of Chicago. This was mostly because UofT was a giant school (40,000+ undergrads), which I felt really stifled my ability to get involved. Also, going to school in the US would make me eligible for US citizenship sooner (I'm a permanent resident). After I transferred, it took me a while to settle down, and I didn't start getting involved in ECs until towards the end of my Sophomore year. As a result, I don't really have anything that I've been involved in for years and years. The really significant EC that i do have, though, is my volunteer experience with kids that have sickle-cell disease. I spend about 7 hours each week, including 4-5 hours every Saturday. I also consider this a clinical experience because the program itself takes place in a children's hospital and, because the kids are in the hospital a lot, it's resulted in a lot of hospital visits.

The other thing I was worried about is: does it look bad for me to have a LOR from a summer research PI and not from my PI during the school year? The reason is that, during the school year, I only spend about 1-2 hours a day in the lab, and my PI spends most of his time in his office in a different building. As a result, I rarely see him. Also, the project that he had me working on is a bit a akin to playing to lottery--he has a huge list of compounds and we're testing them all to see whether any of them would be suitable to treat multiple myeloma. To be honest, I haven't gotten much out of the experience and am considering switching to a different lab in the fall. The LOR from the summer PI, though, should be glowing. Actually, all of my LORs should be pretty good, except possibly the biochem one, which should be at least average. My pre-medical advisor also seems to like me a lot, so I'm hoping for a good letter from her.

I'm working on getting some shadowing experience, but this will probably not happen until September because I'm working a full-time job this summer. I may also be involved in founding a chapter of Unite for Sight at my school, but this, again, will probably not happen until the fall.

My parents are pretty set on my going to a top 20 school and, being Chinese immigrants, don't seem to understand that getting in isn't just about having high grades. They basically think that I'll be golden because of my high GPA and MCAT, and I really don't want to dissappoint them. What do you think my chances will be for this?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Youll probably be fine as long as you have SOME clinical experience....40 hours of shadowing or whatever...Its hard to turn down someone with a 3.85 and 12 12 15....Might not get into a top 5 school, but you probably got a shot.

 

[Textuality]

I think you'll probably get interviews from at least 4 of the top 20 that you applied to, then it's up to you to rock the interviews. Having gone through the process, I think the interviews really do hold more sway than you might think, especially at the top tiers where they get their pick of the litter and everyone's numbers are competitive.

In any case, you've already picked your schools and applied, just do your best, and whatever happens, happens. No point stressing, might as well use that excess energy to prepare for the interview trail 🙂

 

[JLC]

its a little weird to not ask a rec letter from the lab where you supposedly should have worked more at. Harvard will expect a letter, although don't worry too much about it IMO, you'll do fine!

 

[yuiness]

its a little weird to not ask a rec letter from the lab where you supposedly should have worked more at. Harvard will expect a letter, although don't worry too much about it IMO, you'll do fine!

I know that Harvard is asking for a letter, and have been seriously considering removing them from my list anyway, just because I'm not horribly interested in attending Harvard and, having worked in about 4 different labs, I'm inclined to not bother with jumping through all the hoops of getting LORs from all of these labs for a place that isn't my first choice. For the other schools, though, do you think I should try to explain my situation somewhere in my application? Or maybe just explain it if asked? Also, do you think that the reasons I gave above would be a good enough explanation?

 

[chitownGpremed]

I know that Harvard is asking for a letter, and have been seriously considering removing them from my list anyway, just because I'm not horribly interested in attending Harvard and, having worked in about 4 different labs, I'm inclined to not bother with jumping through all the hoops of getting LORs from all of these labs for a place that isn't my first choice. For the other schools, though, do you think I should try to explain my situation somewhere in my application? Or maybe just explain it if asked? Also, do you think that the reasons I gave above would be a good enough explanation?

I don't see why it is so hard to get LORs? not having LOR from a lab you worked in looks very suspect. Even if the LOR is fabulous, as long as it isn't really negative it is way better than leaving it out all together. If you really think that the letter would really hurt, then you should omit the experience from your app altogether. Med schools understand the dynamic of labs - that there is 1 big-time PI and 25 peons running around and that it is hard to get face time unless you get a 1st author in Science (slight exageration). Most PI's are professional enough to know this and will write you a letter, even if it is formulaic. Either way, you are going to have to explain you experience at some point, so I really guess its up to you, but getting an LOR isn't too hard: just write an email, go in and speak to them, and it should be that simple.

 

[yuiness]

I don't see why it is so hard to get LORs? not having LOR from a lab you worked in looks very suspect. Even if the LOR is fabulous, as long as it isn't really negative it is way better than leaving it out all together. If you really think that the letter would really hurt, then you should omit the experience from your app altogether. Med schools understand the dynamic of labs - that there is 1 big-time PI and 25 peons running around and that it is hard to get face time unless you get a 1st author in Science (slight exageration). Most PI's are professional enough to know this and will write you a letter, even if it is formulaic. Either way, you are going to have to explain you experience at some point, so I really guess its up to you, but getting an LOR isn't too hard: just write an email, go in and speak to them, and it should be that simple.

I already have 6 LORs: 2 science, 2 non-science, 1 research, 1 volunteer, all of which have already been written. Besides the fact that most schools don't even allow more than that, I just really don't want to hold up my application by waiting on another one. Unfortunately, omitting the experience from my app is also impossible at this point because I submitted my AMCAS last month. I am also a little worried about this one PI's evaluation because I may have come off as a little flaky to him--since this was during the school year and I had a very challenging courseload, there were times when I had to prioritize my studies over the lab. I also originally told him that I would stay to work for him over the summer but, because he didn't have the funding to pay me, I ended up taking a last-minute job elsewhere.

 

[yuiness]

The other thing is that, in my school year lab, I worked about ~8hrs/wk for 10 months = ~288hrs at most. In my summer lab (which I have a LOR from), I worked ~45hrs/wk (conservative estimate) for 10 weeks = ~450hrs.

Also, the other two labs in which I worked, one was for one summer 3 years ago. I haven't kept in contact with the PI, but should be able to get at least a formulaic letter from him. The other is my current job at Abbott, where I've only been working for a few weeks so far. I'd most likely be able to get a decent rec, though... my managers seem nice. I just don't think that either of these would be work wasting an adcom's time on, especially since my other 6 letters will be must stronger and more relevant.