My Chances of Post-Baccing That Thang Up

[deleted393700]

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Hey all,

I was hoping you could help me figure out my chances of getting in to a really great post-bac like Johns Hopkins or Goucher (which I still haven't figured out how to pronounce) both of which are my top choices. Below are my stats. I was also hoping that you guys could help me out with a second thing. I've been mulling over why I want to be a doctor, and it's rather complex and esoteric, and while I am not inviting you to criticize (nor do I mean to incite discussion or forum unrest), rather, I was hoping if you might be able to tell me if you think it's a good answer or not - one that I could give to an admissions committee in an interview.

STATS:
Undergrad: University of Rochester, 3.61, Religion Major with Honors and Highest Distinction, Cum Laude, Religion Honors Society. My GPA is 3.61 because there was a sharp uphill pattern. My first (and lowest) semester was a 3.33, last (and highest) was a 3.93, Dean's List all but the first, did every activity possible on campus...seriously.

Graduate: Full Scholarship at Harvard Divinity School, earning a Master of Theological Studies. I've had a little bit of trouble academically, including detecting a learning disability my first semester here. As a result, GPA 3.13.

REASON FOR MD:
(Again, please don't rip this to shreds, I just want to know if it's a good answer or not). I want to be a doctor because having studied the philosophical, abstract, and metaphysical possibilities of the mind and consciousness, I am fascinated by the physical intricacies and complexity of the human body (particularly the nervous system) which makes those realizations possible. My motivation for studying either is the same for both; the desire to understand everything about people. I think that by understanding both the meaphysical and the physical aspects of people, I will be able to best help people, a desire which comes as a result of understanding the metaphysical. I choose to help people physically because it seems to be not only one of the most meaningful ways to do so, but also because it is the only prerequisite to meaning making and other social behavior. In other words, by helping people be healthy (physically), I would give them the opportunity to have meaningful lives (metaphysically).

I know that's a roundabout way of explaining it, I just wanted to make sure I clearly layed it out so that it could be understood. I'm still working out how to phrase it so that it's more accessible, but I have a little less than a year to do that, so it's not my concern. My question is basically, Do you think this answer is too out there and weird to be considered a good answer for an admissions committee or should I come up with a more standard less idiosyncratic answer?

Do I have a shot of getting into those programs with those grades?

Thanks in advance for your help!

PS. I should mention that while I spent two summers working in a lab doing some totes legit research on cholera in high school, I have little to no lab experience after that. I will start volunteering at a local hospital this fall.

 

[DrMidlife]

Your grades are good enough to get you into a good postbac.

I want to be a doctor because...I will start volunteering at a local hospital this fall.

This is a problem. There's no credibility in a philosophical motivation until you've smelled some patients. Please start clinical volunteering sooner than this fall, if you can, so that you have exposure to clinical medicine right away. Generally a good premed postbac won't let you in until you've clocked serious clinical volunteer hours.

If you haven't been there yet, the nontrad forum may be a good source of general info. There are a few former pastors/ministers there, not so much Harvard Div, but you're not alone.

Best of luck to you.

 

[deleted393700]

Unfortunately I'm not able to start volunteering any sooner than the fall. I've already signed up for an intensive Sanskrit program. This is in fact one of my application's major weaknesses, as I see it. I was also thinking of potentially enrolling in an EMT course and doing some volunteer work as a volunteer EMT. I'm sure somewhere in the Boston area would be looking for volunteers. I'm interested in end of life care as well so I was thinking I could volunteer at a hospice on the weekends, possibly.

If I volunteered at a hospital and took the EMT course, would that be enough?

 

[DrMidlife]

Unfortunately I'm not able to start volunteering any sooner than the fall. I've already signed up for an intensive Sanskrit program. This is in fact one of my application's major weaknesses, as I see it.

Your med school app lacks Sanskrit?!?

Clinical volunteering is typically a 4 hour a week commitment. Usually 100 hours is considered a reasonable amount of exposure.

I was also thinking of potentially enrolling in an EMT course and doing some volunteer work as a volunteer EMT. I'm sure somewhere in the Boston area would be looking for volunteers. I'm interested in end of life care as well so I was thinking I could volunteer at a hospice on the weekends, possibly.

If I volunteered at a hospital and took the EMT course, would that be enough?

If you're postponing clinical exposure to learn Sanskrit, for goodness' sake don't also postpone it to take an EMT course. Just get going.

Clinical volunteering, in a nutshell:
1. Find a big hospital or clinic website's volunteering page
2. Do what the page says. If it's going to take more than a month to get started, go back to #1.
3. Start pushing stretchers and escorting patients as soon as they'll let you. Expect there to be an orientation and HIPAA training. Expect to be a peer with high schoolers doing the same thing, initially.

From such a gig, you can get contacts to do shadowing, and you can get access to things you're interested in. If you're outgoing, this is a piece of cake.

One thing you might look into, that would be rather unique on a med school app, would be working as a volunteer chaplain in a hospital. There's a lay ministry, named after an apostle, but I can't remember what it's called (and Google is not helping). In your case I think this would be more interesting than doing EMT - you'd own the bedside. In med school admissions EMTs are a dime a dozen.

What I want to re-emphasize is that you need to get into a clinical setting to see if you can stand it. You're going to run into politics, administrativia, addicts, corporate malaise and who knows what else. Find out if you can stand it as early as possible, so that you can wisely invest your time. Or not.

Best of luck to you.

 

[deleted393700]

Sanskrit is for my work in Hinduism.

Your advice is really great - I did find a big hospital here in Boston and that's what I'm starting in the fall, since I'll be out of town until then. I have already signed up for the orientation portion of it.

Unfortunately my lack of religious conviction precludes me from becoming a hospital chaplain, however I might still be able to do some Humanist chaplaincy things. That sounds really great.

Thanks!