- Joined
- May 12, 2017
- Messages
- 344
- Reaction score
- 407
Hey everyone,
So some you reading this may have seen my previous post, "Pharm to MD." This is kind of a part II to that post.
So to summarize the aforementioned post for clarity:
I'm an undergraduate senior about to graduate. I have wanted to do medicine from early high school until beginning of junior year of college. During that time, I did some shadowing and volunteering at a clinic. But during college, overcome with self-doubt and anxiety, I abandoned medicine in lieu of pharmacy. Having taken the PCAT and applied to, interviewed for, and been accepted to pharmacy schools, I am just now gaining back my confidence and faith in myself. Because of this, I want to pursue what I actually want to do with my life.
TL;DR I am strongly considering deferring my admission to a pharmacy program for one year to gain experience and study/take the MCAT. If I do well on the MCAT and gain experience, I will skip pharmacy and pursue what I truly want to do by applying for the entering Fall 2020 cycle.
But what I want to know my chances being admitted to DO or MD programs for my *hypothetical* best-case scenario. I know it hasn't happened yet, but I'm genuinely curious.
Note: things with an astrics (*) before it will be things that I'm projecting and have not yet happened
GPAs:
3.62 (cGPA) and 3.44 (sGPA)
MCAT:
-*508
-Already made a 6-month study schedule with the Kaplan book series, so I hope to be getting at least 508.
-Historically on tests (using the PCAT as the basis for this), I do great in the reading/writing section, very well in math and chemistry sections, and good in biology sections
State residency:
Oregon; strong connections to New York and Vermont
Ethnicity/race:
White/Caucasian, non-Hispanic
Undergraduate institution:
-Portland Communiy College (dual credit program in HS)
-Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon (BS in biochemistry)
Clinical experience:
-150+ hours as a volunteer pharmacy technician for a charitable pharmacy (serves only low-income, uninsured patients)
-*200+ hours volunteering at a community hospital (I think it's technically a rural hospital?)
Research experience and productivity
-2 years of paid undergraduate work/reasearch in a biology lab
-Undergraduate research thesis (presenting at UG research symposium; will seek for publication in UG research journal; may be published by PIs at a later time)
-*1 year (at time of application) of paid clinical research
Shadowing experience and specialties represented
-PA (dermatology) 10 hrs
-MD (immediate care) 10 hrs
-DO (primary care) 8 hrs
-*MD (dermatology) 25 hrs
-*MD (internal med.) 25 hrs
-*Maybe more variety depending on networking with the connections I currently have?
Non-clinical volunteering
N/A
Other extracurricular activities:
-Student Health Advisory Committee during UG; largely involved in outreach and recruitment intiatives (talking in front of classes, tabeling, creating advertisements, interviewing applicants, etc.)
-Piano player; nothing professional, but for my own hobby and therapy
-Recreational runner
Relevant honors or awards
-Healthcare scholarship going into college (granted by the healthcare organization I volunteered for 200+ hours with during HS)
-Dean's List for 2 terms of UG
-Does being part of the honors college count as an honors?
Additional info:
I have a good amount of work experience that is customer service-based (worked at a grocery store) and some office-based experience (temping).
As I said, a portion of this is hypothetical, but I do want an honest opinion about what the gap year may mean for me chances.
Thank you very much!
So some you reading this may have seen my previous post, "Pharm to MD." This is kind of a part II to that post.
So to summarize the aforementioned post for clarity:
I'm an undergraduate senior about to graduate. I have wanted to do medicine from early high school until beginning of junior year of college. During that time, I did some shadowing and volunteering at a clinic. But during college, overcome with self-doubt and anxiety, I abandoned medicine in lieu of pharmacy. Having taken the PCAT and applied to, interviewed for, and been accepted to pharmacy schools, I am just now gaining back my confidence and faith in myself. Because of this, I want to pursue what I actually want to do with my life.
TL;DR I am strongly considering deferring my admission to a pharmacy program for one year to gain experience and study/take the MCAT. If I do well on the MCAT and gain experience, I will skip pharmacy and pursue what I truly want to do by applying for the entering Fall 2020 cycle.
But what I want to know my chances being admitted to DO or MD programs for my *hypothetical* best-case scenario. I know it hasn't happened yet, but I'm genuinely curious.
Note: things with an astrics (*) before it will be things that I'm projecting and have not yet happened
GPAs:
3.62 (cGPA) and 3.44 (sGPA)
MCAT:
-*508
-Already made a 6-month study schedule with the Kaplan book series, so I hope to be getting at least 508.
-Historically on tests (using the PCAT as the basis for this), I do great in the reading/writing section, very well in math and chemistry sections, and good in biology sections
State residency:
Oregon; strong connections to New York and Vermont
Ethnicity/race:
White/Caucasian, non-Hispanic
Undergraduate institution:
-Portland Communiy College (dual credit program in HS)
-Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon (BS in biochemistry)
Clinical experience:
-150+ hours as a volunteer pharmacy technician for a charitable pharmacy (serves only low-income, uninsured patients)
-*200+ hours volunteering at a community hospital (I think it's technically a rural hospital?)
Research experience and productivity
-2 years of paid undergraduate work/reasearch in a biology lab
-Undergraduate research thesis (presenting at UG research symposium; will seek for publication in UG research journal; may be published by PIs at a later time)
-*1 year (at time of application) of paid clinical research
Shadowing experience and specialties represented
-PA (dermatology) 10 hrs
-MD (immediate care) 10 hrs
-DO (primary care) 8 hrs
-*MD (dermatology) 25 hrs
-*MD (internal med.) 25 hrs
-*Maybe more variety depending on networking with the connections I currently have?
Non-clinical volunteering
N/A
Other extracurricular activities:
-Student Health Advisory Committee during UG; largely involved in outreach and recruitment intiatives (talking in front of classes, tabeling, creating advertisements, interviewing applicants, etc.)
-Piano player; nothing professional, but for my own hobby and therapy
-Recreational runner
Relevant honors or awards
-Healthcare scholarship going into college (granted by the healthcare organization I volunteered for 200+ hours with during HS)
-Dean's List for 2 terms of UG
-Does being part of the honors college count as an honors?
Additional info:
I have a good amount of work experience that is customer service-based (worked at a grocery store) and some office-based experience (temping).
As I said, a portion of this is hypothetical, but I do want an honest opinion about what the gap year may mean for me chances.
Thank you very much!
Last edited:
