I can't decide, advice welcome, chance me

[Shinobiz11]

I'm pretty sure I am pre-med now, just need input on my app.

Academics
Taking the MCAT after I submit my app, prolly in July. Could be anywhere from 15-35, depending on my studying skills (and guessing ability).
cGPA= 3.55
sGPA= 3.29
GPA's are a little low because I lost interest during my sophomore year and my grades dropped. I had a 3.8 at the end of my freshman year (won the William J. Branstrom Freshman Prize) and 3.75 last semester, so its obvious that I can do well when I am focused/motivated, I assume this would be explainable or at least inferred from a transcript.

Research: Paid and volunteered on both of these projects
I worked on one molecular bio project last summer. Creating a phylogeny of a family of fish by looking for a certain gene in them. it was just doing genomic DNA isolation, PCR and gel-electrophoresis. Nothing too complicated or special, no publications or presentations. Kind of like an introduction to research.

Just started another molecular project regarding Hydrocephalus and its molecular basis. It's a pretty detailed and big project, and will probably go on for longer than i am in undergrad. I am the only student on it now and my professor said he wants me to do poster presentations this semester at 3 different conferences. I would be working throughout the summer and next year as well if I chose.

Shadowing
Podiatrists: >20 hours, clinic and OR
I followed around docs in the ED while volunteering but I don't think it counts as official hours, prolly less than 3 hours though.
Will shadow with FM doc when he is less busy, hopefully within the next few months,
Plan to spend spring break in Chicago shadowing with a number of doctors I know personally, (2 IM's, endocrin, PMR/Anesth, Rheuma) should be able to get some nice LOR's

Volunteering
ED volunteer: >60 hours (on and off since high school)
Mosque volunteer: >350 hours (since high school)
Volunteer tutor: program at my school for tutoring kids in AP bio/chem at a local high school.

Work Experience never had a real job... 🙁
tutor: biology and some chemistry at my university.
research assistant
high school tutor

Other EC's
President and founder of The Jam Club at my school. Just started this semester, we play music together, faculty and students. Plan to do some fundraising and charity events throughout the semester. I handle the administrative stuff and organize events, media management, make posters and fliers.

Music is huge for me. I play multiple instruments(guitar, bass guitar, drums/percussion, piano, clarinet [played violin and cello for some time as well]). I use to be really into music and played in junior orchestras in high school, but I stopped in the 10th grade. I wish I could get back into it, but it is very time demanding. I love jamming with friends whenever we have free time, so I started the club at school so it could happen more often.

My faith and religion is also huge for me and very influential in my life. It turned my life around; without it, I wouldn't be anywhere. Along with this, it has given me the opportunity to make friends from all over the world. Plan to write about it in my PS.

I do A LOT of other things that I am not sure if I can officially list. I am super versatile, but not really good at one specific thing. I am learning martial arts (kung-fu, combat shuai chiao, and tai-chi) from a friend who is a master, but its not thru a dojo/school. i recreationally do art (drawing, painting, graphic design), sports (soccer, basketball), cook/bake, archery, gaming. I've done farm work here and there with animals, even slaughtered them and processed them (gutted, cut the meat up and everything). I really just don't have the free time to do things in a organized manner.
speak Spanish proficiently and can read Arabic ( i understand a little bit, plan to learn more), learning French as well.
I am a URM (50% Hispanic).
Plan to apply to most Michigan schools (including MSU-DO) Indiana, and a number of schools in Ohio/Penn/Illinois, UConn, and possibly Brown (maybe). Will add more to the list; just trying to figure out where I want to go and which schools would be a good fit for me and my future wife.

Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[CrimsonKing]

Can't really chance you without an MCAT, but I can try to offer a little insight. It seems like you are a person who likes to develop a lot of interests and stay as versatile as possible. With that quality, I would recommend against Podiatry unless you are dead-set on working with the feet for the rest of your life.

If you pursue medicine you can still end up working on feet as an Orthopedic Surgeon, but you may also develop many other interests that you would want to pursue, maybe even as a general internist or primary care doc who doesn't specialize in one particular system.

Try shadowing some more physicians in different fields (MD or DO) and really think hard on what I've said above.

Best of luck.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Can't really chance you without an MCAT, but I can try to offer a little insight. It seems like you are a person who likes to develop a lot of interests and stay as versatile as possible. With that quality, I would recommend against Podiatry unless you are dead-set on working with the feet for the rest of your life.

If you pursue medicine you can still end up working on feet as an Orthopedic Surgeon, but you may also develop many other interests that you would want to pursue, maybe even as a general internist or primary care doc who doesn't specialize in one particular system.

Try shadowing some more physicians in different fields (MD or DO) and really think hard on what I've said above.

Best of luck.

Right, that's what I've been thinking lately.
Can I get some input on my EC's though...I know I obviously need more clinical experience, but does everything else seem in order?

 

[pre med 2014]

Don't put your podiatry experience on your medical school applications

 

[SOMBound13]

GPA's are a little low because I lost interest during my sophomore year and my grades dropped.

Hmmm...seems like you're going to have to convey, in some convincing way, that if you "lose interest" at various points while in med school or your future career, that you won't "let things slide".

 

[Temperature101]

I'm pretty sure I am pre-med now, just need input on my app.

Academics
Taking the MCAT after I submit my app, prolly in July. Could be anywhere from 15-35, depending on my studying skills (and guessing ability).
cGPA= 3.55
sGPA= 3.29
GPA's are a little low because I lost interest during my sophomore year and my grades dropped. I had a 3.8 at the end of my freshman year (won the William J. Branstrom Freshman Prize) and 3.75 last semester, so its obvious that I can do well when I am focused/motivated, I assume this would be explainable or at least inferred from a transcript.

Research: Paid and volunteered on both of these projects
I worked on one molecular bio project last summer. Creating a phylogeny of a family of fish by looking for a certain gene in them. it was just doing genomic DNA isolation, PCR and gel-electrophoresis. Nothing too complicated or special, no publications or presentations. Kind of like an introduction to research.

Just started another molecular project regarding Hydrocephalus and its molecular basis. It's a pretty detailed and big project, and will probably go on for longer than i am in undergrad. I am the only student on it now and my professor said he wants me to do poster presentations this semester at 3 different conferences. I would be working throughout the summer and next year as well if I chose.

Shadowing
Podiatrists: >20 hours, clinic and OR
I followed around docs in the ED while volunteering but I don't think it counts as official hours, prolly less than 3 hours though.
Will shadow with FM doc when he is less busy, hopefully within the next few months,
Plan to spend spring break in Chicago shadowing with a number of doctors I know personally, (2 IM's, endocrin, PMR/Anesth, Rheuma) should be able to get some nice LOR's

Volunteering
ED volunteer: >60 hours (on and off since high school)
Mosque volunteer: >350 hours (since high school)
Volunteer tutor: program at my school for tutoring kids in AP bio/chem at a local high school.

Work Experience never had a real job... 🙁
tutor: biology and some chemistry at my university.
research assistant
high school tutor

Other EC's
President and founder of The Jam Club at my school. Just started this semester, we play music together, faculty and students. Plan to do some fundraising and charity events throughout the semester. I handle the administrative stuff and organize events, media management, make posters and fliers.

Music is huge for me. I play multiple instruments(guitar, bass guitar, drums/percussion, piano, clarinet [played violin and cello for some time as well]). I use to be really into music and played in junior orchestras in high school, but I stopped in the 10th grade. I wish I could get back into it, but it is very time demanding. I love jamming with friends whenever we have free time, so I started the club at school so it could happen more often.

My faith and religion is also huge for me and very influential in my life. It turned my life around; without it, I wouldn't be anywhere. Along with this, it has given me the opportunity to make friends from all over the world. Plan to write about it in my PS.

I do A LOT of other things that I am not sure if I can officially list. I am super versatile, but not really good at one specific thing. I am learning martial arts (kung-fu, combat shuai chiao, and tai-chi) from a friend who is a master, but its not thru a dojo/school. i recreationally do art (drawing, painting, graphic design), sports (soccer, basketball), cook/bake, archery, gaming. I've done farm work here and there with animals, even slaughtered them and processed them (gutted, cut the meat up and everything). I really just don't have the free time to do things in a organized manner.
speak Spanish proficiently and can read Arabic ( i understand a little bit, plan to learn more), learning French as well.
I am a URM (50% Hispanic).
Plan to apply to most Michigan schools (including MSU-DO, but prolly not CMU), Indiana, and a number of schools in Ohio/Penn/Illinois, UConn, and possibly Brown (maybe). Will add more to the list; just trying to figure out where I want to go and which schools would be a good fit for me and my future wife.

Thanks.

Great chances with a 26 mcat score for DO. And 33+ mcat would do MD.

 

[aspiring20]

Great chances with a 26 mcat score for DO. And 33+ mcat would do MD.

mostly agree. 33+ is a great MCAT score

however, the op's sGPA is only 3.29, which is rather low. fortunately, the cGPA of 3.55 is fine.

so the bottom line is whether a 3.55/3.29 coupled with a 33+ MCAT along with great ECs (as OP's ECs are great) will be enough for MD matriculation. i think it should be enough provided the OP applies early and broadly.

 

[Aerus]

Don't put your podiatry experience on your medical school applications

Why not? It's perfectly reasonable to list it. If OP was interested in medicine, testing your interest in other fields in health is actually a good way to confirm that you want to be in MEDICINE and not podiatry, dentistry, optometry, etc.

 

[Shinobiz11]

I plan to talk about my podiatry experiences because it was almost going to happen. It made me realize what I really wanted to do with my life and why I went back to the MD/DO route.
If i do well again this semester, my core should be at 3.6 and science at 3.4.

I plan to apply early, take the MCAT in July, so I have ~3 months after the semester ends to study and practice for it. I guess it all depends on that score. 😕

My "slide" was an emotional time for me. I'm in a long distance relationship, and at that time I was just miserable and lonely. My grades weren't awful, but they were lower than normal. I was just unfocused and unmotivated, like a lovesick chold, all I wanted was to be with my SO; school wasn't a priority in my mind. I basically did the bare minimum and got mostly B's. I was also just trying to graduate ASAP, and wasn't thinking about the future. I eventually had an epiphany and realized no matter what I did, I was going to have to work hard. When I know what I want, I know I can earn it.

Aerus....Hero of Time....sigh 🙁
I miss Zelda so much. All my consoles are broken 🙁 never got to play Skyward Sword either

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile