gpa goes up by...

[deleted212503]

.01. WHOO HOO. I got 2 A's, 1 B, and 1 C this past semester which brought my overall gpa from a 3.22 to a 3.23. How great. My science gpa is 3.04... What are my chances? I'm going into my second semester of my sophmore year. Taking Cell bio, Ecology and evolution, orgo 2, orgo lab and a soc class. Going to start shadowing a family medicine doctor at a free clinic this upcoming semester and hopefully volunteer at the hospital this semester too. (I volunteered at the hospital in high school and all i did was baby sitting at the day care. Will I be doing the same thing if I do it now in college? And will the admissions office care if I volunteered at the hospital but not directly in the ER?) Lastly, might be working to pay up my loans. So again, what are my chances???

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[J ROD]

Not great if you do not at least get the GPA up to a ~ 3.4.

Plus, you need a strong MCAT.

The clincal volunteering part is just the norm. Everyone should have some.

 

[deleted212503]

er...not much of a help.

 

[J ROD]

er...not much of a help.

ER is helpful but most people do their clinical volunteering in the ER. So, you need it but almost all have it or something very similar.

Just try to do some volunteering where you actually get patient contact.

I get to cart patients around the hospital, do vitals, collect specimens, etc.

 

[Catalystik]

Your chances are poor for a US allopathic med school unless you get your GPA higher. Personally, I don't think you can afford to get less than an A- average each semester until you apply. Your stats are also subpar for DO medical schools. Your hospital volunteering won't matter if your stats don't beat the automatic cut offs that med schools use to screen applications.

 

[Mobius1985]

will the admissions office care if I volunteered at the hospital but not directly in the ER

One of my best volunteer experiences was working in the post-operative unit with their patients and with families. I really learned a lot, as the nurses were willing to talk about the different operations. I subsequently volunteered in the ER, where I mainly cleaned beds and held up the wall, which was completely useless as far as patient contact. So don't worry about not being in the ER. It's working directly with patients that is the important part. Just don't let them stick you in the gift shop.

 

[deleted212503]

so then when the person ask you which department you want to be in, what would you say to work directly with the patients?

 

[flip26]

so then when the person ask you which department you want to be in, what would you say to work directly with the patients?

Emphasize that you want "maximum patient contact."

A good one is a "patient escort" gig - ferrying patients to surgery, MRI, etc...also better than sitting around, or observing others - makes the time pass by...