I feel like I'm not doing enough.

[onakasuita11]

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I feel like I'm way below par than most of the other people on here and I want to know if what I am doing is decent enough to gain an acceptance into med school.

I have a 3.72 and am at a community college. I will be transferring to Rutgers in the fall.

I have been volunteering at a local hospital on and off since junior year of high school. I will have about 350-400 hours by the end of summer. Since I lived at home, it was easy to get those hours. Do people usually volunteer or shadow when they're living at a university or just doing summers.

I also plan on shadowing a couple doctors starting in March/April and continuing through the summer. How do most people figure out that shadowing is a big extracurricular for med school? I found out recently when I started talking to people about med school and after researching med schools. Now I feel like I'm just going to do it to get into med school. I've had so much contact with doctors during my volunteering and I feel like I know a lot about being a doctor already.

In addition, I am a peer tutor in chemistry at my school and am the leader of the whole tutoring program. I have a scholarship to go to my school (NJ Stars) and they have a community service club in which we tutor elementary students, fundraise for good causes, volunteer at a soup kitchen, etc. I'm also part of the phi theta kappa honor society.

I have no research experience due to my being at a community college, but I can honestly can not imagine myself getting involved in anything such as that. My interest is not anything in the category of academic medicine.

So when I read all these "What are my chances?" threads, all the people have research and all these cool and interesting activities. Mine are all boring. How can I stand out from the crowd or is what I am doing ok?

 

[aSagacious]

I have a 3.72 and am at a community college. I will be transferring to Rutgers in the fall.

Good move there

I have been volunteering at a local hospital on and off since junior year of high school. I will have about 350-400 hours by the end of summer... Do people usually volunteer or shadow when they're living at a university or just doing summers.

That's right on par with the average number of volunteer hours. Yes, many students volunteer while they take classes (albeit only 4-5 hours a week).

I have no research experience due to my being at a community college, but I can honestly can not imagine myself getting involved in anything such as that. My interest is academic medicine.?

You just contradicted yourself. You said that you couldn't imagine getting involved in research, then proceeded to say that you are interested in academic medicine (which is almost exclusively research).

So when I read all these "What are my chances?" threads, all the people have research and all these cool and interesting activities. Mine are all boring. How can I stand out from the crowd or is what I am doing ok?

There's only so much you can do as an undergraduate. Many of the opportunities that students brag about on the threads are serendipitous at best, and are exceedingly difficult to come by. I'm not, by any means, discouraging you from keeping your eyes open. Just don't be abashed if something does not present itself to you so plainly.

 

[onakasuita11]

You just contradicted yourself. You said that you couldn't imagine getting involved in research, then proceeded to say that you are interested in academic medicine (which is almost exclusively research).

Oops, sorry, I corrected it in my original post. Thanks for replying. I'm just so stressed about this. One aquaintance of mine just became an EMT, and I feel I should do something of that sort. Ugh, I don't know.😕

 

[Catalystik]

Your ECs are developing nicely for someone who has yet to transfer to a four-year school. About 50 total hours of shadowing is the average. If you already feel like you've seen and done it all, try to mostly pick docs to shadow who have a different specialty than you've been exposed to. But still follow someone in primary care, no matter what, which means pediatrics, family med, internal med, Psych, or OBGYN.

About 60% of applicants list research on their application. Even if only a summer's worth, it does make your application stronger.

 

[TheComebacKid]

I feel like I'm way below par than most of the other people on here and I want to know if what I am doing is decent enough to gain an acceptance into med school.

First, you need to stop comparing yourself to other applicants, especially SDNers. A lot of people post on here just to stroke their own egos while trying to cope with the "neurotic-ness" associated with applying to medical school.

Your GPA is really good, in fact it's a little above average for most accepted applicants. Give yourself some credit, pulling off that kind of GPA is not easy, even at community college. If you keep up your grades, you will inevitably prove to medical school that your ability to succeed academically was not restricted to just community college, but at a big state university like Rutgers. In addition, I'm assuming that you are a NJ resident, your chances of getting into one of the two state schools is very favorable, although if you keep up your GPA stats, you will probably get other acceptances too.

Note that what I'm saying is based primarily off of your GPA. If you can break a 30 on the MCAT and throw in a bunch of good EC's into the mix, you will probably be heavily considered for an interview at some good schools.

Also, it's good that you are striving to make your application more unique by looking at different types of ECs, but to be honest, if you have good grades and MCAT scores, you really don't need to have cured cancer to make yourself stand out. I think the tutoring is a great EC because it shows your ability to be a leader while being compassionate and helping others.

Maybe clinical research is something worth considering? I think clinical research is a great option because it gives the impression that not only do you have a desire to contribute to the ever-expanding world of science, but you have the desire and ability to interact with people. If you do not like bench research, do not torture yourself by putting yourself through it. It can be excruciating for people who don't enjoy it. Also, depending on the PI you work for, they may essentially just use you and work you to your breaking point. As a result, grades suffer, you get tired, and you don't get to be happy doing something that you enjoy. Be weary of those things.

Stay on course, I think you are doing great so far!

 

[onakasuita11]

First, you need to stop comparing yourself to other applicants, especially SDNers. A lot of people post on here just to stroke their own egos while trying to cope with the "neurotic-ness" associated with applying to medical school.

Your GPA is really good, in fact it's a little above average for most accepted applicants. Give yourself some credit, pulling off that kind of GPA is not easy, even at community college. If you keep up your grades, you will inevitably prove to medical school that your ability to succeed academically was not restricted to just community college, but at a big state university like Rutgers. In addition, I'm assuming that you are a NJ resident, your chances of getting into one of the two state schools is very favorable, although if you keep up your GPA stats, you will probably get other acceptances too.

Note that what I'm saying is based primarily off of your GPA. If you can break a 30 on the MCAT and throw in a bunch of good EC's into the mix, you will probably be heavily considered for an interview at some good schools.

Also, it's good that you are striving to make your application more unique by looking at different types of ECs, but to be honest, if you have good grades and MCAT scores, you really don't need to have cured cancer to make yourself stand out. I think the tutoring is a great EC because it shows your ability to be a leader while being compassionate and helping others.

Maybe clinical research is something worth considering? I think clinical research is a great option because it gives the impression that not only do you have a desire to contribute to the ever-expanding world of science, but you have the desire and ability to interact with people. If you do not like bench research, do not torture yourself by putting yourself through it. It can be excruciating for people who don't enjoy it. Also, depending on the PI you work for, they may essentially just use you and work you to your breaking point. As a result, grades suffer, you get tired, and you don't get to be happy doing something that you enjoy. Be weary of those things.

Stay on course, I think you are doing great so far!

Thanks! That's very reassuring. 🙂

 

[JustUseYourHead]

I didn't even read your stats, so take that with a grain ofsalt.

People who post their stuff on here asking are typically attention ******. the "I have a 3.9 GPA and a 37 MCAT and i won the nobel prize, cured cancer, walk on water, and raise the dead, do i have a chance" ... it's ridiculous. Don't compare yourself with these people. If you were to take the averages of what people actually score on here, then the average MCAT would be like 35, the average GPA would be like 3.85, the average USMLE step 1 would be 235, and it goes on and on.

Besides, med school applications are a crap shoot anyway. You never know who is looking a your application. Obviously, if you're grades are well below the average and your MCAT is well below the average, it's probably not gonna happpen, but if you're right at the average, or a little below, then you're fine