My turn my turn! :) BS Chem Eng, MS BioE, unimpressive UG GPA

[Brooke3]

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WA resident

Education:
BS Chem Eng from U of Washington, 3.3 GPA
MS BioE from UCSF/Berkeley, 4.0 GPA
(Master's in translational medicine program)
(still need to take year of bio w/ labs and year of OChem w/ labs)

MCAT:
TBD, took GRE got V 490 (of 800), Q 800 (of 800), W 4.5 (of 6)

Research:
1 year UG in BioE lab
6 months full time at Genentech (ChemE related stuff), 1 publication

EC:
100+ hours volunteering at SF General Hospital Emergency dept (very hands on)
Officer in club (SEBA), set up a mentoring program for engineers interested in business (start-ups, consulting, etc)
TA at Berkeley for intro bio class and for libreal arts physics (had to explain physics in layman's terms w/o use of eqns)
2 years as cheerleader at UW
3 years in marching band at UW
3 month internship in chemical sales (part time)
one 3 month and one 6 month internship with Kimberley Clark doing ChemE related stuff full time

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Additional info:
I wasn't passionate in UG and took plenty of time off to do internships out of state to make sure I was heading down the right path. Finally, I went to Genentech and loved biotech and became interested in oncology. Upon returning to school, I knew I needed some bio background so I started research in the BioEng dept and then went to UCSF/Berkeley (joint program) to do a master's in BioE that focuses on translational medicine. I had many of my classes with practicing physicians and became very interested in clinical research. As an engineer, I'm not qualified to work with patients and have learned that is something I'd really like in my career (by volunteering). I really want to be involved in clinical trials and be on the forefront of getting new cancer therapeutics to patients. (My master's project involved designing a detailed clinical trial and helping develop a drug delivery device to the brain for people with brain tumors.)

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Is my story compelling enough to make up for a less than stellar UG GPA? Will any adcoms give a hoot about my master's (seeing that it's directly related to medicine)? How much could the MCAT help me if I score well? Any school come to mind that I'd have a chance at? Any other advice or opinions welcome!!!

 

[TriagePreMed]

I have a feeling that the EC aspect of your application is weak. I would do a lot more volunteering and shadowing before applying.

 

[Brooke3]

Thanks for the advice. How many hours of volunteering do successful applicants generally have? I still have another year or two before I want to apply, so feedback like that is extremely helpful! 🙂

 

[TriagePreMed]

I say keep doing what you do and add some non-medical volunteering and shadowing.

 

[flodhi1]

WA resident

Education:
BS Chem Eng from U of Washington, 3.3 GPA
MS BioE from UCSF/Berkeley, 4.0 GPA
(Master's in translational medicine program)
(still need to take year of bio w/ labs and year of OChem w/ labs)

MCAT:
TBD, took GRE got V 490 (of 800), Q 800 (of 800), W 4.5 (of 6)

Research:
1 year UG in BioE lab
6 months full time at Genentech (ChemE related stuff), 1 publication

EC:
100+ hours volunteering at SF General Hospital Emergency dept (very hands on)
Officer in club (SEBA), set up a mentoring program for engineers interested in business (start-ups, consulting, etc)
TA at Berkeley for intro bio class and for libreal arts physics (had to explain physics in layman's terms w/o use of eqns)
2 years as cheerleader at UW
3 years in marching band at UW
3 month internship in chemical sales (part time)
one 3 month and one 6 month internship with Kimberley Clark doing ChemE related stuff full time

-------------------------------
Additional info:
I wasn't passionate in UG and took plenty of time off to do internships out of state to make sure I was heading down the right path. Finally, I went to Genentech and loved biotech and became interested in oncology. Upon returning to school, I knew I needed some bio background so I started research in the BioEng dept and then went to UCSF/Berkeley (joint program) to do a master's in BioE that focuses on translational medicine. I had many of my classes with practicing physicians and became very interested in clinical research. As an engineer, I'm not qualified to work with patients and have learned that is something I'd really like in my career (by volunteering). I really want to be involved in clinical trials and be on the forefront of getting new cancer therapeutics to patients. (My master's project involved designing a detailed clinical trial and helping develop a drug delivery device to the brain for people with brain tumors.)

---------
Is my story compelling enough to make up for a less than stellar UG GPA? Will any adcoms give a hoot about my master's (seeing that it's directly related to medicine)? How much could the MCAT help me if I score well? Any school come to mind that I'd have a chance at? Any other advice or opinions welcome!!!

100-200 hours clinical, 100+ volunteer, 50-100 shadowing is usually what I see people have listed

 

[Brooke3]

Oh- I didn't realize that non-clinical volunteering was that helpful. For cheerleading, we attended numerous community service events and worked to raise money for nonprofit organizations, probably at least 100+ hours. Do you think that's acceptable, or are adcoms more interested in volunteer work that involves underserved populations?

Additionally, how do people generally acquire 50-100 hours of shadowing? It seems like a huge commitment to ask of one physician- do most people just shadow someone once? Any advice on the subject would be amazing!

 

[Whatyousay]

Oh- I didn't realize that non-clinical volunteering was that helpful. For cheerleading, we attended numerous community service events and worked to raise money for nonprofit organizations, probably at least 100+ hours. Do you think that's acceptable, or are adcoms more interested in volunteer work that involves underserved populations?

Mention it in your application. Even if you're not working with underserved populations, volunteering/raising money for a nonprofit demonstrates a certain level of altruism and social engagement on your part, which is always a big plus.

Additionally, how do people generally acquire 50-100 hours of shadowing? It seems like a huge commitment to ask of one physician- do most people just shadow someone once? Any advice on the subject would be amazing!

The easiest way to go about this would be to ask your family doctor or family friends who happen to be doctors.