Keep me on track!

[Healthphreak]

So I've just recently started my pre-health adventures and want to know where I am lacking. Here is the rundown on me. (Keep in mind I'm probably going MD/DO or DPM and will do some more shadowing in the next few weeks to decide)

1. Military Intelligence for 6 years (25 yrs old)
2. Completed gen. ed. classes online (was always out of country)
- 4.0 GPA (doesn't matter was online)
3. Separated and now go to a University ( 1st year completed and all A's, avg 4-5 classes a semester)
4. Volunteering in the ED (40 hours so far, I add about 4-8 hours a week)
- Also volunteer in ICU and Outpatient surgery
5. Shadowed a DPM, MD, OD, PharmD, DDS (around 24 hours of shadowing per doctor with more on the way next Tues)
6. Should have 3 Letters of Rec after this semester. (From PHD, DPM, and OD, probably could get one from PharmD as well as I see him every week and he knows me now)
7. Haven't taken MCAT yet


So as of now I still have a decent ways to go and am not in any position of being rushed as the military pays for my undergrad anyways. These numbers will obviously continue to increase but what is lacking or area do I look bad in/need to improve? (obviously grades will need to stay high) I'd rather have these pointed out now so I'm not scratching my head in frustration weeks before my app down the road.


Thanks!

 

[Morsetlis]

You're like halfway through your pre-med career and still haven't taken the hard stuff yet: 1 year of bio, chem, ochem, physics, with associated labs. At a brick and mortar school where the professor speaks in a foreign accent and your labmates are incompetent fools who poke the thermometer through the calorimeter cup bottom.

Get good grades on those very very important BCPM classes, get a good MCAT.

As for Letters of Rec, it is an absolute imperative that you get 2 from science PROFESSORS who taught you in your science classes, and 1 from a non-science professor. Doctor letters are nice, but an accessory.

Continue the volunteering, that counts as clinical exp. The military stuff can be twisted into leadership or something. It certainly counts as service. That leaves research left to be done...

 

[Healthphreak]

I'm 1 yr into the University and went straight into the pre-reqs so all I have left pre-req wise is Chem and Physics, everything else is complete including labs if the class had one. After that I was planning on upper level science courses to make me look better.

1 of the letters of rec is a science professor (the PhD). Any preference on a non-science professor LOR or do they not care?

Does the research area matter and do I need to be consistent with this over a long period of time? (Currently only my Summers are really free as I am also married and have outside responsibilities)

Thanks for the help!

 

[ppfizenm]

I'm 1 yr into the University and went straight into the pre-reqs so all I have left pre-req wise is Chem and Physics, everything else is complete including labs if the class had one. After that I was planning on upper level science courses to make me look better.

1 of the letters of rec is a science professor (the PhD). Any preference on a non-science professor LOR or do they not care?

Does the research area matter and do I need to be consistent with this over a long period of time? (Currently only my Summers are really free as I am also married and have outside responsibilities)

Thanks for the help!

Research is important, especially at schools that place a great deal of emphasis on it in their curriculum.

A lot of colleges offer summer research programs for undergrads all over the country. Look into applying to some of them.

Also thought you said you were separated. If you are having troubles now and want to keep the relationship together med school may not be the best idea. It has a high murder rate for relationships from what I hear.

 

[Morsetlis]

The research area doesn't matter but at least you should like what you would be doing. The average for matriculants is 1 year of research, but of course that averages out the three guys who did a summer of research and the one guy who has a PhD and five pubs.

 

[Catalystik]

Also thought you said you were separated. If you are having troubles now and want to keep the relationship together med school may not be the best idea.

He meant that he's separated from the military now.

1 of the letters of rec is a science professor (the PhD). Any preference on a non-science professor LOR or do they not care?

It doesn't matter, but it might be more useful to have a faculty member who can comment on your written, verbal, and/or analytical skills. And you should have gotten an A and been actively participating in the class so they can rave about you using superlatives.

 

[Healthphreak]

Research is important, especially at schools that place a great deal of emphasis on it in their curriculum.

A lot of colleges offer summer research programs for undergrads all over the country. Look into applying to some of them.

Also thought you said you were separated. If you are having troubles now and want to keep the relationship together med school may not be the best idea. It has a high murder rate for relationships from what I hear.

I'm currently separated. As for my wife it's not an issue, thankfully we are pros at being separated because of deployments so 4 years of medical school won't be an issue. At least in medical school she would see me as opposed to a deployment lol.

 

[Healthphreak]

He meant that he's separated from the military now.

It doesn't matter, but it might be more useful to have a faculty member who can comment on your written, verbal, and/or analytical skills. And you should have gotten an A and been actively participating in the class so they can rave about you using superlatives.

Any clue if letters of rec from a previous employer would be good as well? I only ask because I've run so many shops, supervised so many people, and given well over 2,000 public speeches that I didn't know if having someone being able to talk and vouch for that would be good or not.

 

[Catalystik]

Any clue if letters of rec from a previous employer would be good as well? I only ask because I've run so many shops, supervised so many people, and given well over 2,000 public speeches that I didn't know if having someone being able to talk and vouch for that would be good or not.

Many ex-military will include a letter from a commanding officer that could address those positives and other nontrads use past employers similarly. You would also probably list these activities on your application and use past supervisory persons as your required contact for the activity.