Is It Too Late?

[tzhbf]

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After having the opportunity to study abroad in a Chinese Medical school and basically follow students during their rotation for a semester, i've realized that medicine is the field
truely right for me. I got interested in Medicine at the begining of second semester my junior year, but due to lack of time i did not start gaining clinical experience, voluteering hours. So that half semester spend in China is my only true clincal exposure. I have taken the MCAT and scored a 29 and my Science GPA is 3.4. I will be graduating college this winter. I need to know if it is too late to get into medicine at this point with only a half semester left and with basically no
medicine related experience on my portfolio.
THank you all

 

[tzhbf]

I forgot to add that i am a biological sciences major and have completed all the preq of medical school other than organic chemistry 2.

 

[Kappy1]

It is not too late to apply. Over the next two months is when the bulk of applicants apply. I not sure how MD or DO schools will look at your Chinese experiance. I would speak to the schools your interested in going to, and see if they accept it. The schools may want you to have the American perspective, eventhough there may not be that much of a difference. (I never been to China and I have no idea how medicine works over there. Whether or not it is different and if it is how it is different I can't tell you.) It should definitely count as an EC regardless and could only help you.

If you have the chance over this coming year even while applying get some American Clinical experiance. Volunteer for a hospital ER or other department. You can even add that into your application afterwards or send that information to the school itself as the application cycle moves along. I hope you are accepted to the school of your choice. Good Luck!!!!

 

[FutureDocDO]

After having the opportunity to study abroad in a Chinese Medical school and basically follow students during their rotation for a semester, i've realized that medicine is the field
truely right for me. I got interested in Medicine at the begining of second semester my junior year, but due to lack of time i did not start gaining clinical experience, voluteering hours. So that half semester spend in China is my only true clincal exposure. I have taken the MCAT and scored a 29 and my Science GPA is 3.4. I will be graduating college this winter. I need to know if it is too late to get into medicine at this point with only a half semester left and with basically no
medicine related experience on my portfolio.
THank you all

It is pretty late in the cycle to apply. You can try but with average numbers I think you should wait and apply early next cycle. Good luck.

 

[JasonUD]

I wouldn't say its late in the cycle, you're just not early. The cycle started June 1st and its June 27th today! I know NYCOM doesn't even start to interview until November.

Try to get your applications done ASAP. You're MCAT is pretty good, 29 is above average for most, if not all, DO medical schools and your GPA is about average. Your Chinese Medicine experience is different from what most applicants experience. Try to be sure you find a DO (or and MD) in America to shadow soon and have his letter sent in to the schools you apply to. Get your applications in soon, definitely by mid-July, and I think you'll be happy with your results.

Also, so long as you had direct patient contact in China I would think it would be accepted as clinical experience. I think the major reason for the need to have clinical exposure is to be sure that you can handle being around sick people. Try to find some American doctors to follow around for a few days though and try volunteering in a hospital if you have time for the rest of the summer.

Good luck.

 

[Boner]

It is pretty late in the cycle to apply. You can try but with average numbers I think you should wait and apply early next cycle. Good luck.

Not true at all. It is still quite early in the cycle. However, despite it not being too late to apply, you need medically related experience. Whether it's shadowing physicians (strongly recommended), volunteering in a hospital, being an EMT, hospice work, etc... you need some sort of experience to show you have a continued and tested interest in medicine.

 

[prionsRbad]

It is pretty late in the cycle to apply. You can try but with average numbers I think you should wait and apply early next cycle. Good luck.

Late in the cycle?

Late is in October/November! Most schools wont even send out interview invites until then! Right now, ALL schools are letting applications sit on people’s desks until the 2007 applicants are taken care of. I wouldn’t even expect to hear from most schools about secondaries until late July.

SDN can get sooo dramatic! 😱

 

[DocOB]

It is pretty late in the cycle to apply. You can try but with average numbers I think you should wait and apply early next cycle. Good luck.

I pray to God you're being sarcastic. How can you have over 1300 posts and make a reply like that?

 

[FutureDocDO]

I pray to God you're being sarcastic. How can you have over 1300 posts and make a reply like that?

I thought he was referring to this year's starting class. My bad.

It is still early for next year's entering class.