How can I strengthen my application?

[myfunnyusername]

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Hi everyone,

I am a non-traditional career changer student, planning to apply for post-bacc programs this August/September. I work in tech right now and am doing ECs on the side. The biggest caveat that I see is that I am not a US citizen, which will make admissions to the post-bacc and then to medical school challenging (but I am determined!).

Here are my stats / life history :

• Undergraduate degree from a T1 liberal arts school with a GPA of 3.6, majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Psychology
• Big upward trend as I adjusted to the academic rigor while balancing it with being a student-athlete
• 1450 SAT
• Top student-athlete for the 4 years of college, with many accolades (All-American, Newcomer & Senior of the Year)
• Worked for 1.5 semesters in the Psych Child, Attachment, and Development Lab (when I was considering majoring in psychology or neuroscience)
• Have a history of working in big tech company (internship), and currently working at a small company as a product manager
• 50 hours of hospital volunteering, 30 hours of hospice volunteering (currently doing ~6 hours of volunteer work per week, so it will be higher)
• Getting my EMT license this month and hoping to start part-time volunteering sometime this summer
• Will get strong LORs from my varsity coach, high school science teacher, and a college professor

I am also trying to get shadowing experience ASAP before I apply. Is there anything else I can do to strengthen my application? Do you think I have a chance of medical school admission if I excel in a post-bacc program, do research, ace the MCAT, and continue with my volunteer work? It is unfortunate that I need to keep my tech job for my visa and to pay the bills, but I am nervous that I don’t have enough research experience. I want to get into a top post-bacc program as it will set me up well for medical school, and I am hoping to link!


Any advice on applying to post-bacc programs (thinking Bryn Mawr, Scripps, UVA, George Washington), the best course of action to improve my application, or anything else I can do in the meantime before I go to post-bacc would be super appreciated!

 

[gyngyn]

Any advice on applying to post-bacc programs (thinking Bryn Mawr, Scripps, UVA, George Washington), the best course of action to improve my application, or anything else I can do in the meantime before I go to post-bacc would be super appreciated!

You don't need an expensive post-bac to put together a strong application!
What is your AMCAS science gpa and what courses do you lack to prepare for the MCAT?

Grades and GPA Calculations

Grades and GPA Calculations

students-residents.aamc.org

 

[myfunnyusername]

@gyngyn I am a career changer, so I don't have a science GPA since I haven't taken any science classes. That's why I am thinking of doing post-bacc

 

[gyngyn]

I haven't taken any science classes. That's why I am thinking of doing post-bacc

You can do that without a high price tag...

 

[Goro]

You can do that without a high price tag...

What the wise gyngyn means, OP, is that you can take post-bac courses in a DIY format.