I would just like to know what would my chances be...

[gsaldana10]

Hello everybody, I am planing to apply into different Med. schools and I would like to get feedback from people who know more about this stuff than me. here is what I have accomplished so far. Thanks in advance.

GPA. 3.92/4.0 Junior at University of Illinois at Chicago
MCAT: 33 (I haven't taken the MCA yet, but I am aiming for a 33 or above)
Major: Biochemistry
Research experience:
I have been working in a lab as research assistant for about 12 months now.
Also, I have had an internship at DePaul University for a summer.
Extra curricular activities:
I have some done some poster presentations related to my previous research at DePaul University as well as 9 months of volunteer work at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (GI Lab).
I have also volunteer as a TA for a community college for 2 semesters straight.

Extra (no sure if this would make a difference):
Fluent in Spanish.
First generation college student.
I am American Born Peruvian.
I have not taken the ACT nor SAT as I did my high school in Peru never had the chance to take either one.

So, yeah this is all I've gotten. I have not taken the MCAT yet; the score is hypothetical and assuming I do get this score, what would my chances be to get into the following med schools? What If I want to apply to a MD/PhD program? Do I have a remote chance of getting into one of these schools?

Northwestern Medical
University of Illinois @ Chicago
University of Chicago
Loyola University

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated Thank you all

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[aspiring20]

Hello everybody, I am planing to apply into different Med. schools and I would like to get feedback from people who know more about this stuff than me. here is what I have accomplished so far. Thanks in advance.

GPA. 3.92/4.0 Junior at University of Illinois at Chicago
MCAT: 33 (I haven't taken the MCA yet, but I am aiming for a 33 or above)
Major: Biochemistry
Research experience:
I have been working in a lab as research assistant for about 12 months now.
Also, I have had an internship at DePaul University for a summer.
Extra curricular activities:
I have some done some poster presentations related to my previous research at DePaul University as well as 9 months of volunteer work at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (GI Lab).
I have also volunteer as a TA for a community college for 2 semesters straight.

Extra (no sure if this would make a difference):
Fluent in Spanish.
First generation college student.
I am American Born Peruvian.
I have not taken the ACT nor SAT as I did my high school in Peru never had the chance to take either one.

So, yeah this is all I've gotten. I have not taken the MCAT yet; the score is hypothetical and assuming I do get this score, what would my chances be to get into the following med schools? What If I want to apply to a MD/PhD program? Do I have a remote chance of getting into one of these schools?

Northwestern Medical
University of Illinois @ Chicago
University of Chicago
Loyola University

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated Thank you all

is this volunteer work more research, or is it patient exposure (aka clinical/hospital volunteering?)

your grades are outstanding, and you seem to be on track for a good MCAT score. however, i am not seeing any clinical ECs on your app, and these are some of the most important ECs for med schools.

so i would focus on clinical ECs (hospital volunteering, shadowing, etc) while continuing everything else.

i think you're in great shape right now, so keep up the good work!

 

[gsaldana10]

thank you for replying aspiring20,
my volunteer activity is indeed a hospital volunteer work, with some patient exposure.

 

[Goro]

Score >30 on MCAT and chances will be outstanding!

Hello everybody, I am planing to apply into different Med. schools and I would like to get feedback from people who know more about this stuff than me. here is what I have accomplished so far. Thanks in advance.

GPA. 3.92/4.0 Junior at University of Illinois at Chicago
MCAT: 33 (I haven't taken the MCA yet, but I am aiming for a 33 or above)
Major: Biochemistry
Research experience:
I have been working in a lab as research assistant for about 12 months now.
Also, I have had an internship at DePaul University for a summer.
Extra curricular activities:
I have some done some poster presentations related to my previous research at DePaul University as well as 9 months of volunteer work at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (GI Lab).
I have also volunteer as a TA for a community college for 2 semesters straight.

Extra (no sure if this would make a difference):
Fluent in Spanish.
First generation college student.
I am American Born Peruvian.
I have not taken the ACT nor SAT as I did my high school in Peru never had the chance to take either one.

So, yeah this is all I've gotten. I have not taken the MCAT yet; the score is hypothetical and assuming I do get this score, what would my chances be to get into the following med schools? What If I want to apply to a MD/PhD program? Do I have a remote chance of getting into one of these schools?

Northwestern Medical
University of Illinois @ Chicago
University of Chicago
Loyola University

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated Thank you all

 

[Lucky Louie]

Actually, I think you'll need an amazing MCAT score if you're hoping to get into any MD/PhD program. More like 37+

 

[gsaldana10]

thanks for replying! Yes, I am debating whether I want to do research or just work at a hospital. To be honest I do not know what the difference between these two are. All I can tell is that with the MD/PhD you basically end up with 2 Doctoral degrees (is that correct?). Can you in like 2 or 3 sentences describe the difference between going into med school and getting into a MD/PhD program? Thank you.

 

[gyngyn]

thanks for replying! Yes, I am debating whether I want to do research or just work at a hospital. To be honest I do not know what the difference between these two are. All I can tell is that with the MD/PhD you basically end up with 2 Doctoral degrees (is that correct?). Can you in like 2 or 3 sentences describe the difference between going into med school and getting into a MD/PhD program? Thank you.

MSTP programs require a sophisticated understanding of the process which translates science into clinically useful interventions. Realistic competitors for the few available positions have MCAT and gpa scores that are higher that the averages for the MD only programs at the same school. They also have a validated committment to research.

 

[penguinism]

thanks for replying! Yes, I am debating whether I want to do research or just work at a hospital. To be honest I do not know what the difference between these two are. All I can tell is that with the MD/PhD you basically end up with 2 Doctoral degrees (is that correct?). Can you in like 2 or 3 sentences describe the difference between going into med school and getting into a MD/PhD program? Thank you.

If you're not sure, don't go MD/PhD. It's an extra 3-4 years of school, and you need to have a serious commitment to research. You can still do research with just an MD.

 

[gsaldana10]

Thanks everybody for your awesome replies, I will be spending my summer studying for the MCAT. I do however have a last question. I've recently been told that shadowing physicians is a good thing to do before applying to med school. I would love to find an opportunity to shadow a physician but I am afraid I am late to do so as I am applying to Med School hopefully this Fall (for Fall 2014), so I guess my question is, would Med schools mind that by the time I apply I will have had only shadowed for a couple of months?

 

[487806]

Thanks everybody for your awesome replies, I will be spending my summer studying for the MCAT. I do however have a last question. I've recently been told that shadowing physicians is a good thing to do before applying to med school. I would love to find an opportunity to shadow a physician but I am afraid I am late to do so as I am applying to Med School hopefully this Fall (for Fall 2014), so I guess my question is, would Med schools mind that by the time I apply I will have had only shadowed for a couple of months?

You're fine. Try to aim for 50+ hours

 

[gsaldana10]

Thanks! I have one more question, (and yeah this is the last question hehe) I have been told that med schools actually look at the classes you took and consider people who took the 'hardest' classes during undergrad. Is this true? For example, I decided to take calculus based physics over algebra based physics because I actually liked the challenge, some people told me med schools like that, whereas others told me they dont care, as long as you take a year of physics. so what are your thoughts on that?

Thank you all.

 

[487806]

Thanks! I more question, (and yeah this is the last question hehe) I have been told that med schools actually look at the classes you took and consider people who took the 'hardest' classes during undergrad. Is this true? For example, I decided to take calculus based physics over algebra based physics because I actually liked the challenge, some people told me med schools like that, whereas others told me they dont care, as long as you took physics. so what are your thoughts on that?

Thank you all.

As long as you did well, it doesn't really matter.

 

[Goro]

Strongly concur. However, we can suss out if you're trying to avoid hard classes to pad or protect your GPA. I do know some people who place emphasis on performance on years 3-4, but it's NOT universal.

As long as you did well, it doesn't really matter.