Looking for advice, please.

[arc5005]

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I'm posting about a friend's predicament; he is feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

Stats:
Non-trad, 30 years old, male, white
GPA: ~ 3.6ish both cGPA and sGPA
MCAT: 516
ECs:

• Project Coordinator with name on a few publications from working there for 3+ years, has some patient interaction over the phone and in person from this position.
• 80+ hours shadowing with MDs (specialty), 20+ hours shadowing with DOs (primary care).
• Volunteering is where we think his application is hindered, as most of his volunteering has been with animals.

Predominant medical interests: internal med or peds subspecialties.

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Currently he has only applied to MD. He completed his primary in August, but has since been fighting two serious illnesses that have set him back. Both illnesses have caused a cumulative of 5+ weeks off from his job. Because of this he has been filling out his secondaries pretty slowly. He still has about 3-4 more MD secondaries to complete, but is still currently battling Mono (second major illness to hit this fall), and is pretty exhausted and tired. He just recently got a couple rejections, particularly from our local state MD which we both thought would be his best chance, and now he is feeling extremely discouraged; however, he only applied to about 15 MD schools. He has no real financial assistance from family, and the application process has been expensive for him which is why he did not apply to more schools.

Questions:

1) Is it too late to add more MD schools to his application?

2) Should he put in an app to maybe 4-6 DO schools since he is primarily interested in peds/IM subspecialties? He feels like other than his volunteering his application is good for MD, and is worried that DO might hinder trying to get a fellowship in IM or peds. If so, which DO schools would you recommend?

3) Or should he just pick up a volunteering position that is more clinical or underserved, such as in a hospital or in a homeless shelter - use this to beef up his application for next year, and apply as early as possible? He is worried because he'll be in his 30's next year.

Thank you for any advice.

@Goro

 

[AttemptingScholar]

I'm posting about a friend's predicament; he is feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

Stats:
Non-trad, 30 years old, male, white
GPA: ~ 3.6ish both cGPA and sGPA
MCAT: 516
ECs:

• Project Coordinator with name on a few publications from working there for 3+ years, has some patient interaction over the phone and in person from this position.
• 80+ hours shadowing with MDs (specialty), 20+ hours shadowing with DOs (primary care).
• Volunteering is where we think his application is hindered, as most of his volunteering has been with animals.

Predominant medical interests: internal med or peds subspecialties.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Currently he has only applied to MD. He completed his primary in August, but has since been fighting two serious illnesses that have set him back. Both illnesses have caused a cumulative of 5+ weeks off from his job. Because of this he has been filling out his secondaries pretty slowly. He still has about 3-4 more MD secondaries to complete, but is still currently battling Mono (second major illness to hit this fall), and is pretty exhausted and tired. He just recently got a couple rejections, particularly from our local state MD which we both thought would be his best chance, and now he is feeling extremely discouraged; however, he only applied to about 15 MD schools. He has no real financial assistance from family, and the application process has been expensive for him which is why he did not apply to more schools.

Questions:

1) Is it too late to add more MD schools to his application?

2) Should he put in an app to maybe 4-6 DO schools since he is primarily interested in peds/IM subspecialties? He feels like other than his volunteering his application is good for MD, and is worried that DO might hinder trying to get a fellowship in IM or peds. If so, which DO schools would you recommend?

3) Or should he just pick up a volunteering position that is more clinical or underserved, such as in a hospital or in a homeless shelter - use this to beef up his application for next year, and apply as early as possible? He is worried because he'll be in his 30's next year.

Thank you for any advice.

@Goro

1) Yes, far too late. He should have been done with secondaries closer to August, not primary. I sense timing is one of the reasons he is not having luck.

3) You can get into medschool in your 30s, and applicants should always assume they will have to reapply. Your friend should begin work in a hospital or clinic as soon as he is healthy.

I have no advice on DO, but I suspect your friend is rather late to start an application there, as well.

 

[Goro]

I'm posting about a friend's predicament; he is feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

Stats:
Non-trad, 30 years old, male, white
GPA: ~ 3.6ish both cGPA and sGPA
MCAT: 516
ECs:

• Project Coordinator with name on a few publications from working there for 3+ years, has some patient interaction over the phone and in person from this position.
• 80+ hours shadowing with MDs (specialty), 20+ hours shadowing with DOs (primary care).
• Volunteering is where we think his application is hindered, as most of his volunteering has been with animals.

Predominant medical interests: internal med or peds subspecialties.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Currently he has only applied to MD. He completed his primary in August, but has since been fighting two serious illnesses that have set him back. Both illnesses have caused a cumulative of 5+ weeks off from his job. Because of this he has been filling out his secondaries pretty slowly. He still has about 3-4 more MD secondaries to complete, but is still currently battling Mono (second major illness to hit this fall), and is pretty exhausted and tired. He just recently got a couple rejections, particularly from our local state MD which we both thought would be his best chance, and now he is feeling extremely discouraged; however, he only applied to about 15 MD schools. He has no real financial assistance from family, and the application process has been expensive for him which is why he did not apply to more schools.

Questions:

1) Is it too late to add more MD schools to his application?

2) Should he put in an app to maybe 4-6 DO schools since he is primarily interested in peds/IM subspecialties? He feels like other than his volunteering his application is good for MD, and is worried that DO might hinder trying to get a fellowship in IM or peds. If so, which DO schools would you recommend?

3) Or should he just pick up a volunteering position that is more clinical or underserved, such as in a hospital or in a homeless shelter - use this to beef up his application for next year, and apply as early as possible? He is worried because he'll be in his 30's next year.

Thank you for any advice.

@Goro

This is a lost cycle for your friend. Tell him to withdraw all his apps, because he's going nowhere. My own student interviewers would eat him alive. His ECs tell us that he may be a kind person, but that he wants to be a vet, and has no idea of what he's getting into.

So, option #3 is for him all the way.
Tell him this:
What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!

“This is not the application of a person who dearly wants to be a physician. It is the application of someone who wants to be a doctor as long as it is convenient,”

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.