How pleasing does my pre-med journey sound so far?

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goldy120

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Some of the stuff i say may be irrelevant but i don't know every single thing that factors into a good applicant so ill just spew out whatever lol

2nd year
African American
female
Physiological Sciences
3.38 GPA cum
3 clubs; premed one ( which i am on the executive board as social chair) , the univerrsity's boxing club, and an African club
so far have 60 volunteer hours at Cincinnati childrens ( way more to come)
I have my EMT certification
I have been on a missions trip in Washington DC
am enlisting in the military o be a combat medic in the nation guards
I have about 15 hours of shadowing
I tutor kids alot
ive works 2 years as a home Health care nurse

Lots to still be done, what do you guys think needs work? i know i need some research and internship on there lol what sounds good and what needs improvment

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GPA
 
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What do you mean you shadow kids a lot?

Your GPA is low. What is your sGPA? What did you do on your mission trips to DC? Are you going to do anything with the EMT certification? You don’t necessarily need research. You have more than enough to do to get your application in shape to apply without worrying about research. Focus on your GPA. I know you said “that’s a given” but that is really important. What are you doing to improve it?
 
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Get your GPA above 3.5 and get involved in a research that you can talk about in an interview.
 
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Why are you enlisting, when do you plan to apply?

You enlist to serve your nation, not to boost your application. If you have it backwards, you're gonna have a bad time.
 
What do you mean you shadow kids a lot?

Your GPA is low. What is your sGPA? What did you do on your mission trips to DC? Are you going to do anything with the EMT certification? You don’t necessarily need research. You have more than enough to do to get your application in shape to apply without worrying about research. Focus on your GPA. I know you said “that’s a given” but that is really important. What are you doing to improve it?
science gpa is a 3.45 so far and have my easier subjects ( Anatomy, Physiology, etc) yet to come. I have to retake English in which i received a C in. I had put a lot more attention into friends and partying than I was suppose to into my previous semesters, so with a shift of focus, i presume my GPA to be going no where but up from here on out..
Mission Trip; A lot with helping the homeless!
Emt; i plan on obtaining a part time job for the remainder of my undergraduate career!
Thanks for your honesty and advice!!
And i meant tutor of shadowing in which i fixed lol ( referring to kids)
 
Why are you enlisting, when do you plan to apply?

You enlist to serve your nation, not to boost your application. If you have it backwards, you're gonna have a bad time.
no no no, that question was just out of curiosity. I just don't wasn't anything to hinder my application. I plan to to enlist to 1.) have the joy in serving my country 2.) the free tuition, 3.) step out and try something new with my life. its an experience that ive always wanted to do!

I should be applying to med school 2020 or 2021
 
no no no, that question was just out of curiosity. I just don't wasn't anything to hinder my application. I plan to to enlist to 1.) have the joy in serving my country 2.) the free tuition, 3.) step out and try something new with my life. its an experience that ive always wanted to do!

I should be applying to med school 2020 or 2021
I see. I thought about military medicine a number of years ago. You should go to the military medicine forum or ask someone like @HomeSkool or @Matthew9Thirtyfive about enlisting before medical school. I anticipate they may recommend waiting until you graduate then applying for the Health Professions Scholarship Program. Once you enlist, you belong to the military, and your med school plans could be detailed in a matter of days with a deployment.

You should remove finances from the equation and consider whether you want to be a physician first or a soldier first. For me, I have a hard time making a 4+ year commitment after medical school before even knowing in what specialty I'd like to practice. Ever change your major in college? There are opportunities to join the military both during and after residency as well. No rush to decide now.

If you have considered this and still want to be a soldier, sign the dotted line.
 
Are you planning on enlisting and then attempting to apply to medical school with the goal of being a military physician? Or is your goal to do one enlistment, then get out and become a civilian physician? If the latter, it is definitely not a waste of time if you know what you're getting into. It will be rough, and you will have to take the MCAT while in, which will make studying difficult but doable. It may also force you to delay your application cycle until you ETS depending on what's going on.

If you're okay with all that, you will get a GI Bill (and possibly voc rehab), awesome experiences, decent pay eventually (will suck at first though, not gonna lie), and pretty good benefits. But don't enlist before you graduate. It will make finishing difficult. Additionally, have you thought of going in as an officer after graduation? Your pay will be better, and generally officers don't have to do a lot of the **** jobs enlisted folks have to do.
 
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I see. I thought about military medicine a number of years ago. You should go to the military medicine forum or ask someone like @HomeSkool or @Matthew9Thirtyfive about enlisting before medical school. I anticipate they may recommend waiting until you graduate then applying for the Health Professions Scholarship Program. Once you enlist, you belong to the military, and your med school plans could be detailed in a matter of days with a deployment.

You should remove finances from the equation and consider whether you want to be a physician first or a soldier first. For me, I have a hard time making a 4+ year commitment after medical school before even knowing in what specialty I'd like to practice. Ever change your major in college? There are opportunities to join the military both during and after residency as well. No rush to decide now.

If you have considered this and still want to be a soldier, sign the dotted line.
yes, the whole " military can throw you journey off track " thing is one of the things that has me second guessing.. but since it is national guard, i was assuming i wouldnt have a whole lot of deploymnts and if one were to stumble upon me, itd only be 9 months mx( a recuriter told me) . I switchin major is not a choice for me, science is my passion!! thanks for your reponses i trult appreciate them.. i searched in the miltary forum and they dont deem to hit m questions on the nail lol..
 
Why are you retaking English? There is no reason to retake a C.
Theres all the reason to retake that C in my opinion lol for medical your GPA can never be too high and also i simply dont feel like i deserved it.. everytime i look at my transcript i get re-pissed about it lol it must be gone
 
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Are you planning on enlisting and then attempting to apply to medical school with the goal of being a military physician? Or is your goal to do one enlistment, then get out and become a civilian physician? If the latter, it is definitely not a waste of time if you know what you're getting into. It will be rough, and you will have to take the MCAT while in, which will make studying difficult but doable. It may also force you to delay your application cycle until you ETS depending on what's going on.

If you're okay with all that, you will get a GI Bill (and possibly voc rehab), awesome experiences, decent pay eventually (will suck at first though, not gonna lie), and pretty good benefits. But don't enlist before you graduate. It will make finishing difficult. Additionally, have you thought of going in as an officer after graduation? Your pay will be better, and generally officers don't have to do a lot of the **** jobs enlisted folks have to do.
I plan on enisting in the National guard and then attemping to apply to med school as a civilan physician .And no i have not thought of that, just kind of want to serve my years as a combat medic. i don't care much for pay, just like helping people, that's all.
 
I plan on enisting in the National guard and then attemping to apply to med school as a civilan physician .And no i have not thought of that, just kind of want to serve my years as a combat medic. i don't care much for pay, just like helping people, that's all.

I get it. With a degree, you should go in as an E-3, in which case you’ll start out at $1931/month, or about $900 per paycheck after withholdings. I don’t really care about money either, but it’s nice to be able to afford things.

You should still finish your degree first and decide when you graduate if you still want to serve. You can always go to med school and join the reserves as a physician.
 
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Theres all the reason to retake that C in my opinion lol for medical your GPA can never be too high and also i simply dont feel like i deserved it.. everytime i look at my transcript i get re-pissed about it lol it must be gone


AMCAS will average both of your English grades so it will always be there. So if that’s why you are taking it don’t bother.
 
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AMCAS will average both of your English grades so it will always be there. So if that’s why you are taking it don’t bother.
Okay but taking it and getting an A and having a B average amongst the 2 rather than leaving it at a C isn't a foolish choice in my eyes.. don't tell me not to bother with attempting to raise my GPA
 
Okay but taking it and getting an A and having a B average amongst the 2 rather than leaving it at a C isn't a foolish choice in my eyes.. don't tell me not to bother with attempting to raise my GPA

You came to a forum to ask peoples advice and you have three people giving you the same advice about the unimportance of retaking an english class and you obviously aren't interested in listening to their advice so I'm a little confused what you came looking for?

Everyone applying is going to have the generic list of experiences you listed, with the exception of maybe the EMT certification which will definitely help you if you spend a lot of time working as an EMT. Otherwise, like everyone else is saying, really the only thing worth mentioning right now is your GPA. I know you said you plan to bring it up but just know that you'll need to bring it up to a 3.7 to be at the average GPA of matriculants. This is doable but definitely will be a hard feat from 3.38 if you are about to start your third year of college. So, as others said, GPA!
 
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You seem to have an answer for everything so I’m not sure why you posted. But whatever. I won’t bother replying again.
 
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You came to a forum to ask peoples advice and you have three people giving you the same advice about the unimportance of retaking an english class and you obviously aren't interested in listening to their advice so I'm a little confused what you came looking for?

Everyone applying is going to have the generic list of experiences you listed, with the exception of maybe the EMT certification which will definitely help you if you spend a lot of time working as an EMT. Otherwise, like everyone else is saying, really the only thing worth mentioning right now is your GPA. I know you said you plan to bring it up but just know that you'll need to bring it up to a 3.7 to be at the average GPA of matriculants. This is doable but definitely will be a hard feat from 3.38 if you are about to start your third year of college. So, as others said, GPA!
Yes I asked for advice, but that doesn't mean I have to accept every single one that's thrown to me.. my English grade was brought up and and I said I wanted to higher it, that should've been the end of that. You do realize that you just tried to shoot me down for saying I want to retake it regardless of what anyone says to raise my GPA and then went on to say I need to higher my GPA? Im looking for advice on my journey, not negatively going back and fourth.
 
You seem to have an answer for everything so I’m not sure why you posted. But whatever. I won’t bother replying again.
The only answer I've had was the one towards my GPA... we both know there's more to the application than that. I've accepted other people's advice on this thread, me not accepting yours doesn't mean you have to being negative energy.
 
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I get it. With a degree, you should go in as an E-3, in which case you’ll start out at $1931/month, or about $900 per paycheck after withholdings. I don’t really care about money either, but it’s nice to be able to afford things.

You should still finish your degree first and decide when you graduate if you still want to serve. You can always go to med school and join the reserves as a physician.
Gotcha ! Thanks, really helped me think about things on a diff perspective
 
You would help yourself far far more by taking another science course and getting an A in it than repeating an English course for an A. But whatever...you know best. :rolleyes:
 
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Yes I asked for advice, but that doesn't mean I have to accept every single one that's thrown to me.. my English grade was brought up and and I said I wanted to higher it, that should've been the end of that. You do realize that you just tried to shoot me down for saying I want to retake it regardless of what anyone says to raise my GPA and then went on to say I need to higher my GPA? Im looking for advice on my journey, not negatively going back and fourth.

I'm confused as to why you're taking advice that is counter to what you believe as "negatively going back and forth"... No one giving you the advice to not re-take the english class is trying to negatively impact you. I think the reason it doesn't make much sense to retake the english class is that it's not a prerequisite so if you're just looking to improve your GPA you might as well take an extra science class or another valuable class such as psychology of sociology since they have content on the MCAT. An A in these classes would have the same effect as an A in English.
 
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You would help yourself far far more by taking another science course and getting an A in it than repeating an English course for an A. But whatever...you know best. :rolleyes:
Why not do both and shoot for the highest possible GPA? If you guys aren't enjoying my responses in this thread than why keep coming back? Me not agreeing with you guys on thing out of my whole journey doesn't mean that I think I know more then you all or something lol save the sarcasm
 
I'm confused as to why you're taking advice that is counter to what you believe as "negatively going back and forth"... No one giving you the advice to not re-take the english class is trying to negatively impact you. I think the reason it doesn't make much sense to retake the english class is that it's not a prerequisite so if you're just looking to improve your GPA you might as well take an extra science class or another valuable class such as psychology of sociology since they have content on the MCAT. An A in these classes would have the same effect as an A in English.
Because that's all it comes down too, childish sarcasm and attitude which is negatively going back and fourth.. and NOW I see where you are coming from. That's all that had to be said but instead of any of you explaining what you just did you all acted like I thought I was better than your opinions because I didn't accept the advice. For what it's worth you're response helped thanks.
 
Because that's all it comes down too, childish sarcasm and attitude which is negatively going back and fourth.. and NOW I see where you are coming from. That's all that had to be said but instead of any of you explaining what you just did you all acted like I thought I was better than your opinions because I didn't accept the advice. For what it's worth you're response helped thanks.
I hate to play the "you started it card" but I think any responses your perceived as negative from us were a response to you saying "don't tell me not to bother at attempting yo raise my GPA" which to us came off as you not understanding that taking other classes instead would be more beneficial and being hostile toward us trying to explain it. Maybe if they had originally explained what I had explained the confusion wouldn't have been there but I just feel like I need to explain why about 3-4 people seem to feel like you're not very willing to take advice as I believe thats why.

Otherwise, my apologies if any of this came as negative as it wasn't my intention. I'm definitely not one to get on a forum just to troll people or make them feel bad.
 
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I hate to play the "you started it card" but I think any responses your perceived as negative from us were a response to you saying "don't tell me not to bother at attempting yo raise my GPA" which to us came off as you not understanding that taking other classes instead would be more beneficial and being hostile toward us trying to explain it. Maybe if they had originally explained what I had explained the confusion wouldn't have been there but I just feel like I need to explain why about 3-4 people seem to feel like you're not very willing to take advice as I believe thats why.

Otherwise, my apologies if any of this came as negative as it wasn't my intention. I'm definitely not one to get on a forum just to troll people or make them feel bad.
i took the " don't bother" dismissive which is why i began to get defensive. I probably misinterpreted the tone.. apology accepted and i apologize as well
 
yes, the whole " military can throw you journey off track " thing is one of the things that has me second guessing.. but since it is national guard, i was assuming i wouldnt have a whole lot of deploymnts and if one were to stumble upon me, itd only be 9 months mx( a recuriter told me) . I switchin major is not a choice for me, science is my passion!! thanks for your reponses i trult appreciate them.. i searched in the miltary forum and they dont deem to hit m questions on the nail lol..

If medical school is the priority stay out of the military. Recruiters also lie. Fellow friend of mine also national guard (whiskey) just got orders to the Middle East for at least 12 months (not including recoup time you get with your unit afterwards AND the jrtc prep time before that (~14 months).

Military will in fact throw you off your journey. It is ignorant to do it for the tuition benefit or to prep your application at this point. What’s more important? Med school or not? If you delay it, your only hurting yourself academically with space between your studies and schooling. “Soldiering” will in fact get in the way of your GPA (let alone med school).
 
I get it. With a degree, you should go in as an E-3, in which case you’ll start out at $1931/month, or about $900 per paycheck after withholdings. I don’t really care about money either, but it’s nice to be able to afford things.

You should still finish your degree first and decide when you graduate if you still want to serve. You can always go to med school and join the reserves as a physician.

National guard you’d come in as an E-4 with a degree.
 
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If medical school is the priority stay out of the military. Recruiters also lie. Fellow friend of mine also national guard (whiskey) just got orders to the Middle East for at least 12 months (not including recoup time you get with your unit afterwards AND the jrtc prep time before that (~14 months).

Military will in fact throw you off your journey. It is ignorant to do it for the tuition benefit or to prep your application at this point. What’s more important? Med school or not? If you delay it, your only hurting yourself academically with space between your studies and schooling. “Soldiering” will in fact get in the way of your GPA (let alone med school).
did you enlist while you were pre-pharm?
 
If medical school is the priority stay out of the military. Recruiters also lie. Fellow friend of mine also national guard (whiskey) just got orders to the Middle East for at least 12 months (not including recoup time you get with your unit afterwards AND the jrtc prep time before that (~14 months).

Military will in fact throw you off your journey. It is ignorant to do it for the tuition benefit or to prep your application at this point. What’s more important? Med school or not? If you delay it, your only hurting yourself academically with space between your studies and schooling. “Soldiering” will in fact get in the way of your GPA (let alone med school).
about the recruiters can lie and 14 month deployment thing... my recruiter told me i cant be deployed for over 9 months??? did he really make that up?!
 
did you enlist while you were pre-pharm?

No. I earned my degree then went to pharmacy school. Unforeseen circumstances happened with spouse and kids. Left with my GPA in good standing. Currently active duty (E-5) with plans at a future date to pursue PA school.

For your circumstance and reasons you are best to leave it alone. Focus on GPA and shadowing. Volunteer on the side but whatever you do protect that GPA. Even the Reserve drill billet will eat up more time then just 2 days a month and two weeks a year (especially for combat medics). It’s the biggest (next to infantry) occupational specialty for a reason.
 
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