How am I doing? Am i on track?

[DrHoosier]

Hi everyone. First off, a little about myself, I am going to be a junior this year, majoring in biology at a big state school in the Midwest (take a guess by my name). I am getting a little nervous knowing that after this year I might be applying to some medical schools. I wanted to get some feedback from other people who are going thru or have already gone thru the Med school application process. So Im just going to explain where I stand and I ask that you guys let me know if you think I'm on the right track.

My GPA after sophomore year is a 3.26 with a sGPA of about a 3.1. I realize this isn't a great GPA, but I also know that this year I will be taking a big chunk of my prereqs and I hope to increase my GPA to around a 3.4 by the time I apply.

As for the other typical requirements, I have over 300 hours of community service, both in medical and nonmedical settings, and I have shadowed about 5 doctors so far. I have good relationships with a few nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians, so I should be in a great position to get a letter of recommendation from them.

As for research, I have worked in 2 different labs as a part of a very selective research program at my university, so I think that will be an extra plus on my application.

I know you all cannot tell me much because I haven't taken the MCAT, but I really don't want to keep going down the premed path if I don't have a legitimate shot at getting in. I want to put all of my effort in this year and make the final push to applying, but I also want to do it when my chances are realistic.

Sorry for the long post but thank you for all of the help!

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[Goro]

Shoot for a 25 minimum on the MCAT, and with a 3.4 GPA, you should get some interviews. Do NOT take MCAT until you get your physics and Orgo Chem out of the way.
Have you shadowed a DO? If not, do so.
If you're from Indiana, keep in mind that a new DO school will be opening there in 2013.

Good luck.

Hi everyone. First off, a little about myself, I am going to be a junior this year, majoring in biology at a big state school in the Midwest (take a guess by my name). I am getting a little nervous knowing that after this year I might be applying to some medical schools. I wanted to get some feedback from other people who are going thru or have already gone thru the Med school application process. So Im just going to explain where I stand and I ask that you guys let me know if you think I'm on the right track.

My GPA after sophomore year is a 3.26 with a sGPA of about a 3.1. I realize this isn't a great GPA, but I also know that this year I will be taking a big chunk of my prereqs and I hope to increase my GPA to around a 3.4 by the time I apply.

As for the other typical requirements, I have over 300 hours of community service, both in medical and nonmedical settings, and I have shadowed about 5 doctors so far. I have good relationships with a few nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians, so I should be in a great position to get a letter of recommendation from them.

As for research, I have worked in 2 different labs as a part of a very selective research program at my university, so I think that will be an extra plus on my application.

I know you all cannot tell me much because I haven't taken the MCAT, but I really don't want to keep going down the premed path if I don't have a legitimate shot at getting in. I want to put all of my effort in this year and make the final push to applying, but I also want to do it when my chances are realistic.

Sorry for the long post but thank you for all of the help!

 

[KDT]

yeah +1 with the last post. bring it up to a 3.4 and get a good MCAT. If you are not able to increase your GPA to a 3.4 then you should at least aim for a good MCAT to off set that low GPA. Keep volunteering and not just short term volunteer, but really aim for long term volunteer opportunities. But yeah just keep up the studying to get your GPA up.