Greatest Weakness + chances? Please help!

[auroraramses]

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Hello!
I was hoping to get some advice about areas of weakness that I can improve + any other criticism in general?

I will be graduating from a university that is ranked in the top 30 in the US with alleged "grade deflation"
I have a Biology (B.S) major and a neuroscience minor.
My cumulative gpa is 3.5
I took a practice mcat and I got a 500, but I'm studying for the MCAT right now and I am planning of taking it in march. I am aiming to score a 516. Hopefully!

I have more than 300 hours of clinical experience checking patients in, asking about their chief complaint, taking blood pressure, pulse etc. in a free community clinic.
I also have participated in a medical mission trip in Jamaica by doing triaging patients like this and shadowing doctors...( I got about maybe around 15-20 hours over there?)

I have shadowed at close to 30 hours probably in a hospital and I intend on shadowing more soon.
I also went on a service trip to Vietnam and to the Dominican Republic.

I did get research credit for 3 semesters in a lab doing bench work, but it honestly didn't go anywhere. I'm not sure how to sell or talk about it? I spent a whole semester observing another master student who knew how to do their project to learn from them about specific techniques. The next semester, I spent learning how to do certain methods by myself. Then the next semester the experiments didn't work/ I didn't find anything, because I was given the subjects with a different genotype than what I was supposed to have.

I have since been doing clinical research since May 2017, and I will continue until the spring which has been really rewarding. I have actually had a lot of patient contact through this study which has been amazing!

I also have worked since my sophomore at an on-campus job. I was a tutor for one semester, and i was a pre-orientation program leader for freshman.
I am also on an advisory board that promotes and organizes certain events on campus.

I want to apply in the summer of 2018, and work while I am waiting to hear back from medical schools.
These are the following jobs I am considering applying to.
-lab tech/lab assistant
-americorp positions ( maybe citi-year or working in a clinic)
-Clinical research positions
- Scribing
-EMT

There are the schools that I want to apply to so far: *=instate resident
-UNC Chapel Hill*
-Wake Forest Medical School*
-ECU*
-USC school of Medicine-Greenville
-VCOM
Still looking for other schools to apply to though!

Here is what I would really like some input on!
1) What are the weakest points of my resume? Research? Extracurriculars? Volunteer work?
Please be brutally honest.
2) What should I do to improve and become the most competitive applicant that I can be?
3) What are the chances of me getting into any of those schools that I listed?
4) Are there any schools that I should add to the list?
5) I know the higher the MCAT the better, but do you think that a 516 is high enough to aim for to get into UNC, ECU, or WakeMed?
6) Know of any other jobs I should look into?

Please feel free to be as critical AF... I need to be incredibly realistic.
Thanks so much!

 

[calivianya]

A 516 will be good for any of your three in-state listed. You'd have a good shot at ECU even if your MCAT doesn't end up being that high. I interviewed there this year with a MCAT score of 515, and I feel like I bombed the interview based on lack of primary care shadowing and community service - they grilled me on both. Got asked point blank why my shadowing wasn't in primary care, and was gently reminded that they are proud they graduated a huge percentage of the family medicine physicians currently working in North Carolina. I very clearly got the impression that they felt like I wasn't what they were looking for... expecting a rejection any day now.

Remember that ECU's matriculant median MCAT is only a 506, and I don't believe that's for lack of higher stats applicants... they care about experiences more than numbers. My advice to you is to get significant hours of shadowing in primary care and talk about that/your community service at the free clinic aggressively in personal statements/secondary essays.

That is good advice for VCOM as well, where a 500 would be perfectly acceptable because that's right at their median matriculant MCAT score. I would also play up your international experience in essays for VCOM... they are very proud of their international clinics. Current students on my interview day told me they straight up told their interviewers one of the reason they liked VCOM so much was because of the international work VCOM does, and they were accepted.

I don't think your 3.5 is lethal, but it is low. I'm assuming you're still finishing up classes now - do the best you can your last semester; maybe you can budge that just a bit higher.

It's hard to tell you additional schools until you get your MCAT score back. If you do score 516 or higher, you could apply to many mid-tier private schools.

I wouldn't stress the particulars of whatever job you get - you're already covered by your many hours of free clinic experience for patient contact hours. I'd go with whatever has the most flexible schedule and gives you the most money.

I would ask during interviews how flexible the job is with switching shifts/having time off at the last minute... it's not unheard of to get almost no notice (<2 weeks) before you have to show up and attend an interview. Make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot at your job in case you end up staying there longer than you're planning to.

Good luck!

 

[Goro]

Come back when you have an MCAT score, and then we can advise on schools.

Hello!
I was hoping to get some advice about areas of weakness that I can improve + any other criticism in general?

I will be graduating from a university that is ranked in the top 30 in the US with alleged "grade deflation"
I have a Biology (B.S) major and a neuroscience minor.
My cumulative gpa is 3.5
I took a practice mcat and I got a 500, but I'm studying for the MCAT right now and I am planning of taking it in march. I am aiming to score a 516. Hopefully!

I have more than 300 hours of clinical experience checking patients in, asking about their chief complaint, taking blood pressure, pulse etc. in a free community clinic.
I also have participated in a medical mission trip in Jamaica by doing triaging patients like this and shadowing doctors...( I got about maybe around 15-20 hours over there?)

I have shadowed at close to 30 hours probably in a hospital and I intend on shadowing more soon.
I also went on a service trip to Vietnam and to the Dominican Republic.

I did get research credit for 3 semesters in a lab doing bench work, but it honestly didn't go anywhere. I'm not sure how to sell or talk about it? I spent a whole semester observing another master student who knew how to do their project to learn from them about specific techniques. The next semester, I spent learning how to do certain methods by myself. Then the next semester the experiments didn't work/ I didn't find anything, because I was given the subjects with a different genotype than what I was supposed to have.

I have since been doing clinical research since May 2017, and I will continue until the spring which has been really rewarding. I have actually had a lot of patient contact through this study which has been amazing!

I also have worked since my sophomore at an on-campus job. I was a tutor for one semester, and i was a pre-orientation program leader for freshman.
I am also on an advisory board that promotes and organizes certain events on campus.

I want to apply in the summer of 2018, and work while I am waiting to hear back from medical schools.
These are the following jobs I am considering applying to.
-lab tech/lab assistant
-americorp positions ( maybe citi-year or working in a clinic)
-Clinical research positions
- Scribing
-EMT

There are the schools that I want to apply to so far: *=instate resident
-UNC Chapel Hill*
-Wake Forest Medical School*
-ECU*
-USC school of Medicine-Greenville
-VCOM
Still looking for other schools to apply to though!

Here is what I would really like some input on!
1) What are the weakest points of my resume? Research? Extracurriculars? Volunteer work?
Please be brutally honest.
2) What should I do to improve and become the most competitive applicant that I can be?
3) What are the chances of me getting into any of those schools that I listed?
4) Are there any schools that I should add to the list?
5) I know the higher the MCAT the better, but do you think that a 516 is high enough to aim for to get into UNC, ECU, or WakeMed?
6) Know of any other jobs I should look into?

Please feel free to be as critical AF... I need to be incredibly realistic.
Thanks so much!

 

[auroraramses]

Thanks for your input! I really appreciate it! I calculated this, and I honestly cannot get a higher gpa than a 3.56. I have pretty much accepted that my gpa won't change any more than that (unfortunately). I'm just going to do my best to compensate for it in any other way... Thanks so much!