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I'll be a senior this Fall. Most likely applying to both MD & DO but my top school is MSUCOM (in-state). I'm really drawn to the DO philosophy & approach. Would it be better to go to an MD school, though, if accepted to one in regards to residency/specialties? I'll be applying to all the Michigan schools and I would like to stay in Michigan. What OOS schools should I apply to?
Major: Human Biology with specialization in Health Promotion. Also in Honors college and have made Dean's list every semester.
Cumulative and science GPA:
cGPA: 3.76 AMCAS sGPA: 3.86 AACOMAS sGPA: 3.89 (My 3.5 in Calc II is the difference between the sGPA since AACOMAS doesn't count math)
MCAT score:
Took MCAT on 5/17. 25 (7 PS, 8 VR, 10 BS). Retaking 9/18
Clinical volunteer activities:
~130 hours total in 3 different departments: ER, Radiology, Orthopedics. Time span: Summer 2013 - Spring 2014
Physician shadowing (include specialties and total hours):
29 hours with an Orthopedic Surgeon, DO (my uncle)
32 hours with different specialties at local hospitals & clinics during spring break study abroad trip to Mexico.
Will be doing more shadowing this summer.
Research:
~105 hours as research assistant to 2 PhD students. Research consisted of actually working with children (testing gross and fine motor skills and for a certain gene) and high schoolers (concussion testing) (so no lab work). This was all Spring 2014 but can continue (and most likely will) with concussion research in the Fall. No name on posters/papers/abstracts.
Nonclinical volunteer activities:
Only about 50 hours with various things during college years.
In high school, I did non-paid tutoring in math to students; ~300 hours but how many schools look at high school ECs?
Employment:
~300 hours working as an usher (interacting with, directing, and supervising patrons) at school's event center from Sep. 2013 - Apr. 2014 and will continue working there next school year.
~340 hours as a dishwasher at a restaurant. Summer 2013
~360 hours as houseman and dishwasher at a banquet club. Summer 2012
Other ECs:
Member of Pre-SOMA for 3 years and will be on eBoard this upcoming year.
Intramural sports all 3 years.
LoR:
1 is being written by science faculty who also teaches at MSUCOM/CHM. I did very well in his class and he knows me well since it was a small class w/ a lot of interaction.
1 is being written by professor who led my study abroad trip and who is the director of IIH and associate dean of global health programs at my school.
Working on getting a LoR from DO physician first since a lot of DO schools want DO letter, then MD physician.
I've been thinking about applying next year because I feel my ECs are kind of lacking as well as lack of leadership (unless ushering counts as leadership?), so I would do more nonclinical volunteering this next school year. But, I would rather go straight from undergrad to med school (and also what my parents are pushing). Also, this Fall I'll be taking a clinical research in emergency medicine class which would be doing research at a local hospital for a whole semester. This would be more clinical experience and I could get a good LoR from that. If I were to take a gap year, I would like to do something with AmeriCorps.
One question about my study abroad: I received 3 credits and a 4.0 for the class and it's listed on my school's official transcript. Do I still list it as study abroad on AMCAS/AACOMAS even though the class was through my school?
Sorry for the all the questions. I'm just trying to figure out my options and if it's worth applying this cycle. All answers/comments will be greatly appreciated!
Major: Human Biology with specialization in Health Promotion. Also in Honors college and have made Dean's list every semester.
Cumulative and science GPA:
cGPA: 3.76 AMCAS sGPA: 3.86 AACOMAS sGPA: 3.89 (My 3.5 in Calc II is the difference between the sGPA since AACOMAS doesn't count math)
MCAT score:
Took MCAT on 5/17. 25 (7 PS, 8 VR, 10 BS). Retaking 9/18
Clinical volunteer activities:
~130 hours total in 3 different departments: ER, Radiology, Orthopedics. Time span: Summer 2013 - Spring 2014
Physician shadowing (include specialties and total hours):
29 hours with an Orthopedic Surgeon, DO (my uncle)
32 hours with different specialties at local hospitals & clinics during spring break study abroad trip to Mexico.
Will be doing more shadowing this summer.
Research:
~105 hours as research assistant to 2 PhD students. Research consisted of actually working with children (testing gross and fine motor skills and for a certain gene) and high schoolers (concussion testing) (so no lab work). This was all Spring 2014 but can continue (and most likely will) with concussion research in the Fall. No name on posters/papers/abstracts.
Nonclinical volunteer activities:
Only about 50 hours with various things during college years.
In high school, I did non-paid tutoring in math to students; ~300 hours but how many schools look at high school ECs?
Employment:
~300 hours working as an usher (interacting with, directing, and supervising patrons) at school's event center from Sep. 2013 - Apr. 2014 and will continue working there next school year.
~340 hours as a dishwasher at a restaurant. Summer 2013
~360 hours as houseman and dishwasher at a banquet club. Summer 2012
Other ECs:
Member of Pre-SOMA for 3 years and will be on eBoard this upcoming year.
Intramural sports all 3 years.
LoR:
1 is being written by science faculty who also teaches at MSUCOM/CHM. I did very well in his class and he knows me well since it was a small class w/ a lot of interaction.
1 is being written by professor who led my study abroad trip and who is the director of IIH and associate dean of global health programs at my school.
Working on getting a LoR from DO physician first since a lot of DO schools want DO letter, then MD physician.
I've been thinking about applying next year because I feel my ECs are kind of lacking as well as lack of leadership (unless ushering counts as leadership?), so I would do more nonclinical volunteering this next school year. But, I would rather go straight from undergrad to med school (and also what my parents are pushing). Also, this Fall I'll be taking a clinical research in emergency medicine class which would be doing research at a local hospital for a whole semester. This would be more clinical experience and I could get a good LoR from that. If I were to take a gap year, I would like to do something with AmeriCorps.
One question about my study abroad: I received 3 credits and a 4.0 for the class and it's listed on my school's official transcript. Do I still list it as study abroad on AMCAS/AACOMAS even though the class was through my school?
Sorry for the all the questions. I'm just trying to figure out my options and if it's worth applying this cycle. All answers/comments will be greatly appreciated!
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