Hello!
I'm fairly lost in making up my school list and I was wondering how a few things looked on an application.
I have a BS in Neuroscience with a 3.66 GPA from UIC. I ended up with a 30 on the MCAT (12v, 8 ps, 10 bs). I have LORs from science profs, MD's, and DO's (I think I want to take the DO route after shadowing a pediatrician and looking more into it). I am set up to retake the mcat May 31st, but I was wondering if it was necessary (not going to lie, my physics grades were A's...but my PS -.-). I am getting a 31 average on my practice mcats, but that is no guarantee.
200 hours shadowing a gastroenterologist
100 hours shadowing a pediatrician (DO)
100 hours shadowing a pediatrician (MD)
30 hours shadowing a podiatrist
I regularly shadowed over 20 types of doctors via the pre-med program at my school.
I was the treasurer of a pre-med club at UIC. I have worked over a year and a half as a CNA and for an ophthalmologist. I worked in a memory care nursing home for 3 months. I manage my own small business (how does this look/is it worth putting down on applications?) and have had it since the age of 16. I also have a large blog (more than one million unique pageviews) promoting literacy and diversity in reading. I have over 100 of my review excerpts in traditionally published books.
I have over 12 years of weekly volunteering experience at a local nursing home, 6 years from my church, and 3 years from my local library. I formed a literacy program for an marginalized/at risk school in Chicago and *might* be getting them funds for their programs (fingers crossed)! I traveled to over 6 schools in Chicago to give lectures based around health (std's, obesity, etc...). I did 3 years of undergraduate research in a neuroscience lab and won a research award/money for it. I was a science/math tutor for 2 years in the Honors college at my university. I speak Spanish at a communicative level (good enough for regular use). My GPA shows a 4.0 the first two years and then a strong upward trend (had trouble in orgo third year).
I did withdraw from 2 classes (both organic) but did not receive a grade for those classes. How much will my PS score hurt me?
My school list so far:
UIC
Rush
Southern (home is south of I 80)
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
University of Iowa (one of my LORs helped found the school and suggested applying-I'm not sure because it does not look OOS friendly)
University of Wisconsin
University of Alaska
DO:
Midwestern
DMU-COM
<- do I have a good chance at most DO schools? Do most exclude OOS applicants? Is it worth it to apply to MD with my PS without retaking? I know my list is lacking; I am having a hard time choosing OOS schools to apply to when they seem to accept <15% OOS applicants. Are my chances of getting in decent? Should I focus my essay more on the disadvantaged populations I've been helping with books or stick to my hospital/nursing home experience?Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
I'm fairly lost in making up my school list and I was wondering how a few things looked on an application.
I have a BS in Neuroscience with a 3.66 GPA from UIC. I ended up with a 30 on the MCAT (12v, 8 ps, 10 bs). I have LORs from science profs, MD's, and DO's (I think I want to take the DO route after shadowing a pediatrician and looking more into it). I am set up to retake the mcat May 31st, but I was wondering if it was necessary (not going to lie, my physics grades were A's...but my PS -.-). I am getting a 31 average on my practice mcats, but that is no guarantee.
200 hours shadowing a gastroenterologist
100 hours shadowing a pediatrician (DO)
100 hours shadowing a pediatrician (MD)
30 hours shadowing a podiatrist
I regularly shadowed over 20 types of doctors via the pre-med program at my school.
I was the treasurer of a pre-med club at UIC. I have worked over a year and a half as a CNA and for an ophthalmologist. I worked in a memory care nursing home for 3 months. I manage my own small business (how does this look/is it worth putting down on applications?) and have had it since the age of 16. I also have a large blog (more than one million unique pageviews) promoting literacy and diversity in reading. I have over 100 of my review excerpts in traditionally published books.
I have over 12 years of weekly volunteering experience at a local nursing home, 6 years from my church, and 3 years from my local library. I formed a literacy program for an marginalized/at risk school in Chicago and *might* be getting them funds for their programs (fingers crossed)! I traveled to over 6 schools in Chicago to give lectures based around health (std's, obesity, etc...). I did 3 years of undergraduate research in a neuroscience lab and won a research award/money for it. I was a science/math tutor for 2 years in the Honors college at my university. I speak Spanish at a communicative level (good enough for regular use). My GPA shows a 4.0 the first two years and then a strong upward trend (had trouble in orgo third year).
I did withdraw from 2 classes (both organic) but did not receive a grade for those classes. How much will my PS score hurt me?
My school list so far:
UIC
Rush
Southern (home is south of I 80)
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
University of Iowa (one of my LORs helped found the school and suggested applying-I'm not sure because it does not look OOS friendly)
University of Wisconsin
University of Alaska
DO:
Midwestern
DMU-COM
<- do I have a good chance at most DO schools? Do most exclude OOS applicants? Is it worth it to apply to MD with my PS without retaking? I know my list is lacking; I am having a hard time choosing OOS schools to apply to when they seem to accept <15% OOS applicants. Are my chances of getting in decent? Should I focus my essay more on the disadvantaged populations I've been helping with books or stick to my hospital/nursing home experience?Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
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