I'll start with my stats, since they're probably what's throwing everything all wonky. uGPA/sGPA 3.0x (with approx. 270credit hours). grad GPA 3.93.
uGPA: 3.0x, sGPA: 3.07. I wasn't pre-med, and my poorest grades were in mostly non-premed classes which still counted as science--I failed several comp sci/eng classes that I took out of 'interest' and I barely passed a couple of architectural design/engineering classes. I also withdrew from classes during several of my early semesters, as it was before I qualified for financial aid for everything and it was outside of the number of classes I could afford.
I had an odd journey through undergrad at several universities. I started at MIT at 15, and I was honestly just too damn young to live on my own. I'd never spent a night away from home, and it was a recipe for disaster. Coming home was a huge punch to my confidence, and I basically coasted through random classes for the next 3ish years, at a CC and then at a 4-year. I met my (now) husband, and got it together, and got back into research. I was essentially planning on a PhD and had a lab already lined up, and was in--and then I shadowed my PI who was an MD-Ph.D. and I got stuck on this dream. I dropped the PhD for the (rushed) MS version instead, rocked it with mostly As (one A- and one B+) over 34 credits in one year (3.93 GPA), and graduated in 2018. I didn't qualify for FAP and didn't have money (MA's don't get paid well), so I got a job in biotech to save and also pay rent. I got a 525 on the MCAT (132/130/132/131) in June 2020, and (thought) I was pretty ready for this past cycle.
EC's wise I thought I was solid. I was a medical/surgical assistant for a year in 2017-18, and racked up nearly 1000 hours of patient contact. In the 2.5ish years since, I've been a research scientist in R&D working on gene therapy for orphan diseases and vaccine research. I also started volunteering at Hospice recently (projected to end of June is ~200, to end of June 2022 ~1200). From 2016-2018, I taught kids to read, and 2018-2020 I tutored high school kids and helped with college app prep (non-clinical volunteering total hours to date~1100-1200). I did a good bit of consistent research from 2010-2017 in cancer research labs, and I have a publication in JPET. I have a current NIH grant I'm funded by, with a paper in the works, but I don't expect it to hit publication until early October in all honesty.
I ended up submitting mid-July, but I didn't get verified until the end of September. There were problems with my MIT transcript--I'd never set up my alumni account, and it'd been almost ten years since I'd been there, and it was just a huge headache trying to get that transcript. Long story short, I really ran out of momentum by the time I finally got secondaries, but I submitted almost all of them by the beginning of November (most done by mid Oct, within 2-3 weeks of receipt). I added in one school late in Mid November and turned that secondary around in a few days, and I'm in their interview pool.
My dream school is still 'considering' me, and I'm in their interview pool too. I'm sending in a LOI/update there in the hopes that it might improve something, but I'm also facing reality--I'll probably have to re-apply. I don't know how to improve my application. I'm thinking of applying to a clinical research coordinator job that I meet all of the preferred qualifications for, to bring me back into a more medical/clinical role since I'd be working with doctors and patients, but that wouldn't start until June/July.
I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions! Thank you in advance!
