Good evening.
I am an international student seeking advice and a realistic opinion about my chances of getting into medical school.
I am an international student seeking advice and a realistic opinion about my chances of getting into medical school.
- Background, I am from Spain, studied in Illinois, and got a bachelor's in Biology (B.S.) and a chemistry minor. I started my bachelor's in 2018 and finished in May 2022.
- My cumulative GPA is 3.105 and my science is 3.0 I believe. I am aware this is not a competitive GPA, but I have a pretty decent upward trend going from a 2.2 in my first semester to a 3.8 in my last one averaging a 3.1. Got As in very advanced classes like O chem II and BCHm 365. This trend was due to my very low level of English and my complete disregard for grades being important for med school. It wasn't until the end of my sophomore year that I realize how important were grades and the situation changed.
- Took the MCAt back in September and got a 507, retook back in April and got a 506, I was convinced it went much better but nope... I hope this doesn't kill my chances
- Fluent in Spanish, English, and Bosnian
- When I graduated in 2022 I was hired by a pharma company. I am in the genome research center and specifically in genomic medicine. We focus on oncology and immunology, and we do data analysis of clinical trials, cell culture, and many other things. there is no patient-to-patient interaction but I think it is still very cool since we are the ones that basically come up with new treatments and drugs.
- Ecs:
- Relevant for Med School
- Around 1000 hours of volunteering at the Hospital of Barcelona in the ICU, and 50 in a hospital in Belgium. Also around 100 in a food bank in Spain.
- 300 hours of shadowing the Hospital of Barcelona and also around 40 in Belgium
- 3 peer-reviewed publications
- Analytical chemistry and environmental science, 3rd author (experimental research)
- Anaesthesiology online journal, 2nd author. Literature review.
- MPDI. Vaccines. A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, and PubMed about pregnancy and covid 19
- Currently working on 2 more, they should get published soon
- Less relevant for medical school
- Golf team during undergrad
- Worked 20 hours a week (max for international students) as an athletic facility assistant
- Research during the school year (lead to the chemistry publication)
- Some possible comments that I can clarify
- Didn't do clinical hours in the United States because especially after covid shadowing and volunteering positions were impossible to get as an international. Also, there is always the risk of the us government thinking you are working illegally or you are working more than volunteering, and that can cause problems. This is why I choose to do everything I could in span during my free time.
- I also have shadowing hour at dentistry (maxillofacial surgery) should I include this or would it hurt my chances...
- Conclusion. Low GPA, meh MCAT, decent Ecs. Is this enough, I just want to get into a med school, to be honest, I don't really care where, I would just like to avoid any med schools that are not on the mainland. I am also international and that makes it tougher since only a handful of schools accept internationals.
