Help...i Need Some Major Advice!!!!!!!!!

[shevie]

Hi, I’m new here and need some advice. (“what are my chances?” kind of advice…) Heres my story
So I was pre-med throughout college but after graduating in 05, I took a job teaching high school English (I really needed a change of scenery). I took Physics post-bac that semester three nights a week (it wasnt required for my major) During this year off I also enrolled in Kaplan, but truth be told, my mind and heart were not there so I basically blew it off, justifying it in my mind by telling myself “I’m not interested in making a ten-year commitment right now, but being that I still love medicine, I guess I’ll go to PA school right now, I can do most of what I am interested in as a PA temporarily, and reconsider MD 5-10 years from now.” I applied to 3 PA schools on a whim a week before the deadline and got into all 3 (was supposed to start in Aug 06).
Last winter while teaching though, I also met my current husband, who was in college in Maryland, and we got married and I moved here for him to finish school and was fortunate enough to be offered a position at the NIH. During this time, I have come to the conclusion that being a PA will never placate me and my quest for knowledge and desire to become a physician. Sooooooooo I want to throw my hat in for 08, (Plan on taking Aug 12 MCAT following my Kaplan course which starts 5/20 and finishes 8/1 (I hope 2 wks is enough time between finishing kaplan and taking the mcat...)

but I want to know where I stand.

I would go to any school in the NY/NJ/CT/MD/DC area (around 20 schools)

Here are my stats:
21/F
-Bio Major, 3.5 GPA, 3.65 Science GPA
It may not be the highest GPA out there, but i consider myself pretty well-rounded...I have >170 credits when we only needed 120 to graduate. I know my grades are mediocre but I never got below a B- in anything...well actually except in summer chem II lab, because i missed the lab miderm b/c i had a really bad case of the flu and vomited 3x that morning---I had a bona fide note from an ID doc attesting (i called her at 5 am asking her if i was gonna die) but to no avail... anyway whatever. no point crying over spilt milk
- Deans list for 3 years in college
-Clinical Research-2 summers, 1 published article , spent spring 04 semester doing a clinical research internship through AECOM and the NY DOH
-Lab Research -2 summers (same lab), 1 published article, Currently completing a yearlong post-bac research internship at the NIH (hopefully will have an article out within the next six wks)

-2000+ hours Nursing Home volunteering (since I was in 10th grade...My dad manages and owns over 20 nursing homes. when I was in sixth grade I kindof felt "coerced" when my dad would say "why dont you come spend some time with some people where i work" but i grew to really enjoy spending time with the residents)
-appx 300 hrs shadowing experience (a little of everything...Internal Medicine, ID, Cardiology, Nephrology, Transplant Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Neurosurgery)
-extensive Tutoring (volunteer and paid), T.A., and teaching experience
-very involved with EC's in college (section editor for school newspaper, pre-med club, bio club president for two years-we organized lots of really neat events the one i was most proud of was breast cancer forum with experts from sloan kettering, survivors, children of survivors, and activists speaking to the entire student body it was really amazing)

In terms of public vs private schools the tuition isnt that much of an issue for me. Id prefer a research oriented institution over a non-research oriented one. But Ill take any school that gives me a yes....

Im pretty nervous about the MCAT...Verbal practice tests ive been doing consistently well on (8-12) before even starting kaplan, Bio theres room for improvement but I loved orgo so hopefully ill be ok, but im absolutely freaking about Physical Sciences. the only subject I hated more than Chemistry was Physics. I hate math and trig...and im freaking out....

So, what id really like from some peers, is some advice in terms of where I stand, competition wise? am I a competitive candidate?? And what kind of MCAT score should I be aiming for?


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

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[qtrlifecrisis]

Triple post -- my guess is mods will be on this in a second.

 

[SupergreenMnM]

Well, no one can really give you much more of a guess as to where you stand, you have lots of ECs (good) but an avg. (or slightly below) gpa; regardless though you will want to do well on the MCAT, study your butt off for it and get as high a score as you can. There is a degree of randomness in the application process so there is no such thing as a sure thing or a good enough score to get you into x institution. If you do well on your mcat you shouldn't have trouble getting in as you mentioned being flexible with the 'where' part. good luck!

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

I would say that if you were going to take the MCAT earlier (i.e., June 15 or before), and did well on it, and finished your AMCAS in June you would be in good shape. You have a decent GPA and great ECs, but not having a complete AMCAS until August will hurt alot. Early application (meaning as early as possible after AMCAS opens June 1) is the name of the game, and not being complete until August really makes things much tougher for anyone, especially for those of us who don't have a 3.9+.