Just finished freshman year, please help

[gigi405]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi guys, I just finished my freshman year at Stony Brook. My cGPA is 3.79 and my sGPA is 3.87. I have decided to pursue the pre-med and was wondering how can I make my application as strong as possible. I have some shadowing experience but nothing too major. My dream school is Columbia Med, but with my current stats it looks impossible. Should I spend this summer preparing for the MCAT or doing something else?
Thanks

 

[gsw2114]

Hi Gigi! Great job freshman year! Why do you say it's impossible with your current stats? You have an impressive GPA, and plenty of time to work on ECs, research, and shadowing. I would say between first and second year, it's a good time to start research or get clinical exposure (or both!)

 

[Lannister]

Good GPA.
Good MCAT.
Shadowing.
Clinical volunteering.
Non-clinical volunteering.
Research.

That's all you need.

Do not start studying for the MCAT yet.

 

[md-2020]

Good GPA.
Good MCAT.
Shadowing.
Clinical volunteering.
Non-clinical volunteering.
Research.

That's all you need.

You forgot the obscene amount of luck and those pesky intangible factors

 

[Espressso]

Dude.

Enjoy your summer.

Holy neurotic

 

[dboyhaaan]

You're fine, calm down.

 

[Crayola227]

6/10 humblebrag

because they didn't brag in more depth about their shadowing, but they did say Columbia was the dream school, but gave no reasons
however, they did slip in the prestige of their current school and ask if they should study for the MCAT this summer (my favorite forced humility)

 

[Stagg737]

Hi guys, I just finished my freshman year at Stony Brook. My cGPA is 3.79 and my sGPA is 3.87. I have decided to pursue the pre-med and was wondering how can I make my application as strong as possible. I have some shadowing experience but nothing too major. My dream school is Columbia Med, but with my current stats it looks impossible. Should I spend this summer preparing for the MCAT or doing something else?
Thanks

 

[MilaKunisDoe]

My dream school is Columbia Med, but with my current stats it looks impossible.

Wait....Univ. South Carolina-Columbia or Columbia P&S?

 

[Lyoness]

Enjoy the journey towards entering medical school. This will reflect on your application. Don't stress out about gpa. Set small goals, keep medical school as the main goal, but that goal is way out of your reach right now. What you can achieve right now is giving your classes the best effort and building good relationships with your professors.

Also, do shadowing, volunteering, etc., but avoid being a cookie-cutter applicant. Find something unique and achieve something with it. Good luck!