Need advises to improve my application

[timont]

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Hello. This post will be lengthy. I appreciate all your help and time.

I am planning to apply for this coming application cycle. I feel that my profile is more fit for DO programs, but I just want to get my best chances to go to a medical school. I don't have a preference between an MD and a DO program. Many people say the Caribbean schools aren't good, so it makes me worry about applying there. I feel that my background makes me in a weird situation. So I hope to gain much inside from people.

I didn't think much about what I wanted to during college. I took some science classes and took a lot of music classes. My aunt is a lab-tech also; she recommended me to major in lab-tech. I gave it a try. During that time, I volunteered in a hospital, a library, and a clinic. I still wasn't sure what I was doing. With a lot of help and studying, I graduated with a 3.7.

After graduated, I worked as a lab-tech for two years, and I knew this job wasn't for me. During that time, I worked in the lab and blood bank in a hospital. There were many times that I saw patients and wished that they shouldn't be in the hospital in the first place. I yearned to help them most directly. So I went back to school to study for my Masters in Public Health.

I studied fulltime, so I dropped my fulltime job while taking on two part-time. I work part-time at a reference lab and a music school. I learned the importance of primary care doctors in disease prevention. Also, I met a doctor at graduate school, which ultimately inspire me to pursue medical school.

It wasn't easy to go back to study for the MCAT. I did horrible the first time, getting 497. I tried again and got 508 with 123-cars this time. I worry that my scores weren't good enough because of imbalance scores. Also, most of my volunteers and clinical experiences were a couple years old. I am living in CA and find it is difficult to find a shadowing opportunity as a non-traditional student. I am looking for another volunteer for the moment, but I am not sure that will help my applications due to the short time frame until June.

What would you recommend me to do in the meantime to most benefit my chance to get accepted? Should I apply to more than 20 schools? I don't have much money so that it would be a problem.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I think I need some hard numbers in order to best advise. Can you provide approximate number of hours and duration (from when to when) for the following?:

- Clinical experience (paid or volunteering)
- Nonclinical/community service volunteering
- Physician shadowing
- Research
- Employment
- other ECs

Your 508 MCAT and 3.7 is a good start for DO. Is English your first language? If not, that may help explain the imbalanced CARS score to a certain extent.

And, just to confirm, your undergraduate cumulative GPA is 3.7, correct? What is your science GPA?

 

[timont]

Thank you for your reply.

English is my second language. I've never seen a reading test as difficult as CARS. My undergrad GPA is 3.76. My science GPA is 3.58.

I list the hours in a similar format; hopefully, it's easier to read.

o Clinical experience paid ~ 2000 hrs+. I worked full-time in the blood bank 3 years ago.
o Clinical experience volunteer ~ 300 hr+. I interned as a phlebotomist full-time for two weeks. I volunteer as an escort for the remained hours 4 years ago.
o Community service volunteer ~ 100 hr+. I volunteered as a tutor for elementary children at the library 4 years ago.
o Shadowing ~ 0 hr. I have observed some emergency and surgery cases when working in the blood bank, but I could recall the hours since it was part of working in the hospital.
o Research ~ 400 hr+. I worked on a poster presentation for my final project of my Master's degree.
o Employment ~ 800 hr+ in reference lab as a lab-tech. 200 hr+ in music school as a music teacher.
o Extra Curriculum ~ Book Club, Hiking Club, gardening, playing music with a group

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you for your reply.

English is my second language. I've never seen a reading test as difficult as CARS. My undergrad GPA is 3.76. My science GPA is 3.58.

I list the hours in a similar format; hopefully, it's easier to read.

o Clinical experience paid ~ 2000 hrs+. I worked full-time in the blood bank 3 years ago.
o Clinical experience volunteer ~ 300 hr+. I interned as a phlebotomist full-time for two weeks. I volunteer as an escort for the remained hours 4 years ago.
o Community service volunteer ~ 100 hr+. I volunteered as a tutor for elementary children at the library 4 years ago.
o Shadowing ~ 0 hr. I have observed some emergency and surgery cases when working in the blood bank, but I could recall the hours since it was part of working in the hospital.
o Research ~ 400 hr+. I worked on a poster presentation for my final project of my Master's degree.
o Employment ~ 800 hr+ in reference lab as a lab-tech. 200 hr+ in music school as a music teacher.
o Extra Curriculum ~ Book Club, Hiking Club, gardening, playing music with a group

CARS is killer even for native English speakers. You must have had other strong subsection scores to pull a 508 despite a 123 CARS. Anyway, I think you have a mostly great looking app so far. Academically, you seem like you’re in good shape. I might try to get a few more nonclinical volunteering hours (at a soup kitchen or food drive or something like that) before June.

But the biggest problem I see is the zero shadowing hours. You absolutely must have shadowing before you apply or else you will likely tank your application. Cold call every doctor in your town if you have to. You should get 40 hours at a bare minimum, some of which should be with a DO. You’ll want to get a letter of recommendation from a DO, too. I think if you get some solid DO shadowing before your cycle starts, you have a good shot.

@Goro, other thoughts to improve their application for this upcoming cycle?

 

[CindyLieu]

Sometimes it hard to find people to shadow especially within a healthcare organization. Heres a few suggestions:

1. If you have a family physician start with them. Once you start shadowing with them, ask if they know someone else you might be able to shadow.
2. The problem with hospitals is that many require background checks to set foot in them. Sometimes on their websites they address a contact person to set up opportunities. sometimes it's the volunteer department that can help. If it's an academic teaching facility, they definitely should have a program....its just finding the right person
3. Try hospice or respite care, or nursing homes. To be honest, these are great opportunities rarely shadowed by pre-health students. Everyone loves the hospital or private practice, but in reality, nursing homes or hospice is where your patients can end up as well. You should know what they look like.
4. Call urgent care centers not part of hospital systems.
5. Call med schools. Not all but some have list of resources

Shadowing for any health professions app is important. Doesnt have to be a ton of hours but at least enough to show Schools that you have the slightest inkling of what you're trying to sign up for. Good luck🙂