Good stats with very few EC's...chances?

[DualDocDreamer]

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Hi all,
I am considering applying DO this cycle but I'm curious as to what my chances look like since my EC's are pretty poor. I have an ~3.4 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, and 32 MCAT. However, I have only a handful of hours shadowing (seriously like 10-20 hrs), no medical volunteering, a couple of UG club memberships and 1 summer of research experience. Do I have a chance of getting into any DO programs based mostly on my stats? Would volunteering at this point help me or would adcom's view it as a negative since I would be doing it so close to applying? I know I should have tried to get more EC's during undergrad, but I didn't decide on medicine until late in my UG career so my last 2 years of school consisted of 15-18 credit hours of upper level science courses each semester while also working to pay the bills, which left little time for EC's. With all this being considered, do I still have a chance? Thanks in advance for any constructive replies!

 

[FutureDrB]

Hi all,
I am considering applying DO this cycle but I'm curious as to what my chances look like since my EC's are pretty poor. I have an ~3.4 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, and 32 MCAT. However, I have only a handful of hours shadowing (seriously like 10-20 hrs), no medical volunteering, a couple of UG club memberships and 1 summer of research experience. Do I have a chance of getting into any DO programs based mostly on my stats? Would volunteering at this point help me or would adcom's view it as a negative since I would be doing it so close to applying? I know I should have tried to get more EC's during undergrad, but I didn't decide on medicine until late in my UG career so my last 2 years of school consisted of 15-18 credit hours of upper level science courses each semester while also working to pay the bills, which left little time for EC's. With all this being considered, do I still have a chance? Thanks in advance for any constructive replies!

Your stats are obviously good and I'm sure you have a chance of being accepted without an extensive list of ECs. However, you may be asked by Adcoms what you did with your spare time in college. People with ridiculous stats (3.9 GPAs and 35 MCATs) sometimes lack social skills, because they are too focused on maintaining their grades, etc. I'm not saying you're that type of person, obviously I don't know you.

Being a "well-versed" individual helps your application. Volunteering not only shows that you want to be an active member of your community, but also demonstrates that you have social/communication skills. Hospital/medical volunteering simply shows you understand what you're getting into.

Whatever you do, don't say, I was too busy with school and work to take part in ECs. There are plenty of people on this forum, myself included, who have careers, and still go to school full time, raise children, and take part in all kinds of extracurricular activities.

I don't ever think it's too late to volunteer, especially if you have limited volunteer/shadowing experience thus far. So go find something to do! Good luck to you.

 

[MedNation907]

I think you surely have a chance of getting in somewhere but I also think the lack of volunteering won't go unnoticed by most places. I'll leave the more objective reasoning to someone who knows more than I.

Would volunteering at this point help me or would adcom's view it as a negative since I would be doing it so close to applying?

Absolutely not, that would be silly. I would definitely be volunteering right now if you can swing it with your job and everything. The only possible negative drawn from this is the simple fact that you're having to make up for practically no volunteering during your UG.. volunteering itself however would not be viewed negatively and could only help your application.

 

[Goro]

Time for a gap year!

Pay attention:
You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanism side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.
I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.




I am considering applying DO this cycle but I'm curious as to what my chances look like since my EC's are pretty poor. I have an ~3.4 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, and 32 MCAT. However, I have only a handful of hours shadowing (seriously like 10-20 hrs), no medical volunteering, a couple of UG club memberships and 1 summer of research experience. Do I have a chance of getting into any DO programs based mostly on my stats? Would volunteering at this point help me or would adcom's view it as a negative since I would be doing it so close to applying? I know I should have tried to get more EC's during undergrad, but I didn't decide on medicine until late in my UG career so my last 2 years of school consisted of 15-18 credit hours of upper level science courses each semester while also working to pay the bills, which left little time for EC's. With all this being considered, do I still have a chance? Thanks in advance for any constructive replies![/QUOTE]

 

[DualDocDreamer]

Thanks everyone! My only concern with taking a gap year is that will mean I will have to retake the MCAT, which I am hoping to avoid. Plus I am pushing 30 so I already feel behind. I'm basically just trying to decide if I want to give it a try this cycle or not with what I have at this time. I appreciate the suggestions to help with my decision!

Time for a gap year!

Pay attention:
You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanism side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.
I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.




I am considering applying DO this cycle but I'm curious as to what my chances look like since my EC's are pretty poor. I have an ~3.4 cGPA, 3.9 sGPA, and 32 MCAT. However, I have only a handful of hours shadowing (seriously like 10-20 hrs), no medical volunteering, a couple of UG club memberships and 1 summer of research experience. Do I have a chance of getting into any DO programs based mostly on my stats? Would volunteering at this point help me or would adcom's view it as a negative since I would be doing it so close to applying? I know I should have tried to get more EC's during undergrad, but I didn't decide on medicine until late in my UG career so my last 2 years of school consisted of 15-18 credit hours of upper level science courses each semester while also working to pay the bills, which left little time for EC's. With all this being considered, do I still have a chance? Thanks in advance for any constructive replies!

[/QUOTE]

 

[j4pac]

Is there anything holding you back from spending...say...a week with a physician shadowing?

You have a phone I would assume...you have the Internet...make calls until someone is willing to take you. Persistence...

 

[Goro]

30? You're just a baby! Some of my all time best students have been in their 30s and 40s.

Thanks everyone! My only concern with taking a gap year is that will mean I will have to retake the MCAT, which I am hoping to avoid. Plus I am pushing 30 so I already feel behind. I'm basically just trying to decide if I want to give it a try this cycle or not with what I have at this time. I appreciate the suggestions to help with my decision!

[/QUOTE]