Need some advice-- PRE MED STUDENT

[SerNat]

Hi everyone, I am a URM( African American) student looking to apply to medical school for this upcoming cycle. I graduated from undergrad with a BS in Biology, minor in Chemistry in 2021. My cGPA was a 3.4 and sGPA was a 3.2. I am currently a graduate student at the University of Vermont, a candidate for the MMS degree. I wanted to get some feedback on my stats.
Undergrad cGPA: 3.4
Undergrad sGPA: 3.2
Strong upward trend the last 3 semesters (3.7-4.0 gpa)
I have 1000's of hours of volunteer hours and many shadowing experiences.
Working full time as a medical assistant, so I have clinical and non clinical experience.
Right now, the only thing I need to do is take my MCAT with a tentative date of June 2023
I look forward to everyone's feedback and I just want to know your thoughts. I am really focused on applying MD versus DO. Just want to know my chances and areas of greatest focus .. other than my MCAT

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[GoSpursGo]

Moving to WAMC.

Sounds like you have a lot of nonacademic experiences, which is great. Make sure you scale back from these experiences over the coming months to ensure you give your full attention to MCAT prep--nothing else matters at this point.

With a very strong upward trend it is possible to get into an MD school, with some states being easier than others. But I think it would be a mistake to avoid DO schools entirely with a 3.4/3.2.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? What is the breakdown of your shadowing hours, clinical volunteering and non clinical volunteering hours and employment hours ?

 

[SerNat]

What is your volunteering in?

It looks like you have no research? It's overrated, but even she research exposure is a good thing. You don't need to sink 2000 hours into it, but maybe 100 hours over the next year helping with a project a few hours per week will be helpful, if only that I'll teach you how to work in a research group and read journal articles.

Knock the MCAT out and you'll be well set imo.

Unfortunately, I do not have the research experience currently. I am working for a new clinic and collaborating with some of the doctors here on a coming project that I can potentially get that research experience with

 

[SerNat]

Moving to WAMC.

Sounds like you have a lot of nonacademic experiences, which is great. Make sure you scale back from these experiences over the coming months to ensure you give your full attention to MCAT prep--nothing else matters at this point.

With a very strong upward trend it is possible to get into an MD school, with some states being easier than others. But I think it would be a mistake to avoid DO schools entirely with a 3.4/3.2.

Thank you so much for the advice. I am not opposed to DO but don’t want to use my gpa solely to sike myself out of MD as a whole so I want to give myself a chance fully at MD. MCAT prep has been at the forefront lately as I have been afraid of the exam and I feel like that is the only thing holding me back

 

[SerNat]

Where is your state of residence ? What is the breakdown of your shadowing hours, clinical volunteering and non clinical volunteering hours and employment hours ?

I am a Louisiana resident.
Clinical volunteering over the past 4 years: 1500
Non clinical: 900
Employment hours: since graduating I’ve worked only clinical so that is well over 1000

 

[SerNat]

Unfortunately, I do not have the research experience currently. I am working for a new clinic and collaborating with some of the doctors here on a coming project that I can potentially get that research experience with

Volunteering has been food banks, habitat for humanity, tutoring, non profit organization aiming to help young adults find work/ provide necessary resources to help further their education, hospital volunteering, feeding ministries

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Let us know when you get your MCAT score. I agree this should be your primary focus, but you do have to balance time so you can write your secondaries and personal statement drafts. You should also spend some time with networking. If you are a Louisiana resident but not living in Louisiana right now, you need to connect back with the in-state schools at recruitment events (such as the upcoming AAMC/AMCAS virtual fair). Are you part of any mentoring organization for African-Americans aspiring for medicine?

 

[Faha]

You should receive MD interviews as long as your MCAT is at least 500. Post your actual score here when available in July and I will suggest schools.
Have your application completed before you receive your MCAT score so you can submit when your score is available.

 

[SerNat]

Let us know when you get your MCAT score. I agree this should be your primary focus, but you do have to balance time so you can write your secondaries and personal statement drafts. You should also spend some time with networking. If you are a Louisiana resident but not living in Louisiana right now, you need to connect back with the in-state schools at recruitment events (such as the upcoming AAMC/AMCAS virtual fair). Are you part of any mentoring organization for African-Americans aspiring for medicine?

Yes I am apart of a great mentoring organization and received a lot of great feedback. I’ve been working on my application so that I can submit when I receive my score! Thank you for your response

 

[SerNat]

You should receive MD interviews as long as your MCAT is at least 500. Post your actual score here when available in July and I will suggest schools.
Have your application completed before you receive your MCAT score so you can submit when your score is available.

Yes! Thank you so much I am currently working on that