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Hi all,
I'm new to SDN. This is actually my very first time posting. I was hoping someone out there would be kind enough to read my post and offer some advice (or any necessary constructive criticism... or maybe even a few words of encouragement!). Thank you in advance!
A little about myself...
I earned both my BS and MS degrees in engineering from a prestigious engineering school (not a great pre-med/science school though) though. My undergrad GPA is 3.4 (great for engineering at my school, not great for med school applications). My science GPA is right around 3.2. I was able to improve during my grad degree and earned a 3.9 GPA. I took the MCAT towards the end of college and earned a 26Q. I am sure this was partly due to lack of studying (I was taking a full courseload and working part time and doing research for my Master's)... but regardless, I was disappointed in my score because I knew I needed to make up for my low GPA. I applied to many med schools and only received 1 interview, and 0 acceptances. I was totally crushed and decided to head out into the working world as an engineer. I was so upset and just wrote off the idea of going to medical school, telling myself "it's just not meant to be."
For the past 3 years, I have been working full time as an engineer at one of the top medical device manufacturers. I have had the idea of med school in the back of my head this entire time but wanted to wait until I was really 100% sure I wanted to travel down this path again before exploring this option. In a way, I am glad I didn't get accepted right out of college because I really feel like I've done a lot of self-exploration and growing the past few years. I feel like a different person than I did 4 years ago when I first applied. Anyways, here I am now, and I recently made the decision that I want to apply to med school next June 2011. I'm in it 100%, nothing's going to stop me! That gives me a little over a year to really focus on my application and try to make some sort of improvement (if that's possible?)...
Obviously, I realize I'll need to retake the MCAT and aim for a very high score. This alone is a little intimidating since I've been out of the academic environment for a few years now... I should mention that during college, I had many EC activities and volunteer experiences including working as an anatomy/physiology lab instructor at my university (during grad school), volunteering as a literacy tutor, working 3 years as a medical assistand in a Podiatrist's office and 1 years as an assistant in an OB-GYN office, volunteering in a local ER on the weekends, and volunteering as the Team Lead of our university's Peer Health Education center. However, for the past 3 years, I have ONLY worked. Work has consumed my life... I am a captain for my company's Emergency Response Team and have done small stints of volunteer work here and there... but it was only recently that I have committed to the idea of re-applying next June and therefore I have just been really focused on my career as an engineer and getting promoted, etc. for the past 3 years.
So, a few of my questions are:
1. By the time I apply, I will have worked for the same company for 4 years. I'm not sure how this looks. I'm loyal to my company, yes, but does this really offer me a wide range of experiences? Should I quit my job and try to work the next year as a researcher or something?
2. I know I didn't explain my entire past in detail, but is there something I am seriously lacking? I know I don't have any volunteer work abroad, but in all reality, I can't afford to do this right now... I know I need to start doing some type of volunteer work on a long-term basis.
3. For the MCAT, I am just really worried about trying to focus on studying for this when I have such an intense job. Would it be crazy to quit and find a part-time job someplace in order to study? I don't want med schools to look at this as me not being able to juggle multiple things at once, but given my record, I know what's going to happen if I try studying while working 60hrs per week at my job...
Thanks to all who read this. I really appreciate any advice you can offer. I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining... I know many of you nontrad applicants are in much more "nontrad" situations that me... have kids, etc. I feel like since I've made the decision to re-apply, I keep reliving the feelings of disappointment and failure that I've felt in the past. I'm really hoping this time around is different...🙂
I'm new to SDN. This is actually my very first time posting. I was hoping someone out there would be kind enough to read my post and offer some advice (or any necessary constructive criticism... or maybe even a few words of encouragement!). Thank you in advance!
A little about myself...
I earned both my BS and MS degrees in engineering from a prestigious engineering school (not a great pre-med/science school though) though. My undergrad GPA is 3.4 (great for engineering at my school, not great for med school applications). My science GPA is right around 3.2. I was able to improve during my grad degree and earned a 3.9 GPA. I took the MCAT towards the end of college and earned a 26Q. I am sure this was partly due to lack of studying (I was taking a full courseload and working part time and doing research for my Master's)... but regardless, I was disappointed in my score because I knew I needed to make up for my low GPA. I applied to many med schools and only received 1 interview, and 0 acceptances. I was totally crushed and decided to head out into the working world as an engineer. I was so upset and just wrote off the idea of going to medical school, telling myself "it's just not meant to be."
For the past 3 years, I have been working full time as an engineer at one of the top medical device manufacturers. I have had the idea of med school in the back of my head this entire time but wanted to wait until I was really 100% sure I wanted to travel down this path again before exploring this option. In a way, I am glad I didn't get accepted right out of college because I really feel like I've done a lot of self-exploration and growing the past few years. I feel like a different person than I did 4 years ago when I first applied. Anyways, here I am now, and I recently made the decision that I want to apply to med school next June 2011. I'm in it 100%, nothing's going to stop me! That gives me a little over a year to really focus on my application and try to make some sort of improvement (if that's possible?)...
Obviously, I realize I'll need to retake the MCAT and aim for a very high score. This alone is a little intimidating since I've been out of the academic environment for a few years now... I should mention that during college, I had many EC activities and volunteer experiences including working as an anatomy/physiology lab instructor at my university (during grad school), volunteering as a literacy tutor, working 3 years as a medical assistand in a Podiatrist's office and 1 years as an assistant in an OB-GYN office, volunteering in a local ER on the weekends, and volunteering as the Team Lead of our university's Peer Health Education center. However, for the past 3 years, I have ONLY worked. Work has consumed my life... I am a captain for my company's Emergency Response Team and have done small stints of volunteer work here and there... but it was only recently that I have committed to the idea of re-applying next June and therefore I have just been really focused on my career as an engineer and getting promoted, etc. for the past 3 years.
So, a few of my questions are:
1. By the time I apply, I will have worked for the same company for 4 years. I'm not sure how this looks. I'm loyal to my company, yes, but does this really offer me a wide range of experiences? Should I quit my job and try to work the next year as a researcher or something?
2. I know I didn't explain my entire past in detail, but is there something I am seriously lacking? I know I don't have any volunteer work abroad, but in all reality, I can't afford to do this right now... I know I need to start doing some type of volunteer work on a long-term basis.
3. For the MCAT, I am just really worried about trying to focus on studying for this when I have such an intense job. Would it be crazy to quit and find a part-time job someplace in order to study? I don't want med schools to look at this as me not being able to juggle multiple things at once, but given my record, I know what's going to happen if I try studying while working 60hrs per week at my job...
Thanks to all who read this. I really appreciate any advice you can offer. I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining... I know many of you nontrad applicants are in much more "nontrad" situations that me... have kids, etc. I feel like since I've made the decision to re-apply, I keep reliving the feelings of disappointment and failure that I've felt in the past. I'm really hoping this time around is different...🙂