Nontraditional (Young) Applicant WAMC and School List Help!!

[SciencyFriend]

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Education

Undergraduate Institution: Southeast Missouri State University-Rising Senior

• Major: Biomedical Science

MCAT: (Haven't taken yet, but average AAMC FL score of 518 129/131/130/128 across 4 exams under STC)

cGPA 4.00 | sGPA 4.00

Credits Applied: 94

• Upper level sciences: Advanced Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physiological Psychology, Animal Physiology, Microbiology

Ethnicity/Gender: White/Male

State of Residence: MO



Clinical Experience- ~40 Hours

• Volunteer work with addicts in rehab in the Teen Challenge Mid-America organization

Research Experience- ~150 Hours

• Research in Behavioral Entomology (1st author Publication in process, will be complete before application submission)
• Volunteer Moderator for undergraduate Student Research Conference hosted by Southeast Missouri State University

Shadowing Experience and Specialties Represented- 30 Hours

• Emergency Medicine
• Pediatric Cardiology
• Internal Medicine

Nonclinical Volunteering/Miscellaneous Volunteering- ~700 Hours

• Volunteer with BMDMI and other nonprofit religious organizations to provide medical aid and other services to underserved communities in El Salvador and Honduras
• Piano performance for local church band
• Volunteer for church-hosted community events (e.g. summer camps, seasonal gatherings, children’s programs)
• Judge for regional science fair, history fairs, and science marathon
• Opening week leader (helped move in new students, acted as an upperclassman mentor during orientation, gave campus tours)
• Storm Cleanup with Missouri Disaster Relief
• Event planner and coordinator for campus ministry
• Volunteer furniture distributor for international students
• Musical performer (piano) for group homes and long-term care facilities
• Caretaker for several relatives with mental illnesses (bipolar, Alzheimer’s, dementia)
• Served in sports/community health clinics in minority communities in Illinois and Canada

Other Extracurricular Activities

• Learning Assistant for Chemistry, Physics- 1.5 Years
• President of student Math Club- 3 Years
• Member of student rock climbing club- 6 months
• American Chemical Society Member- 1.5 Years
• Honors Society Member- 2 Years
• Member of Early Financial Development club- 1 Year
• Student Government Senator for STEM College- 1 month

Honors and Awards

• Dean’s Honors List
• Recipient of the Governor’s Scholarship

Other Pertinent Information

• Christian
• Nontraditional student (17)
• Pianist for 8 years, slowed down during college (maintained proficiency as keyboardist, stopped classical and jazz pursuits)
• Some experience (2 years in high school) with 2nd language (Spanish) but not fluent (working toward it)
• Strong LORs

School List:

• Missouri State (Columbia, Kansas City)
• St. Louis University
• Washington University (St. Louis)
• ATStill (D.O. School)
• Indiana University (Legacy, parent attended)
• Illinois State University
• UT Memphis

 

[mvsrocks]

You really really really need more clinical experience, especially to prevent adcoms from thinking that you're immature.

 

[candbgirl]

We can’t really give predictions without a MCAT score. When do you plan to,apply? Hopefully it’s for matriculation in 2022 or later. Your clinical experiences are very weak. You need 200 hours of clinical experiences or more. Your shadowing is low too. You need between 50-100 hours of shadowing. Your nonclinical volunteering in foreign countries might be considered voluntourism by ADCOMS and that’s not a good thing. You might want to consider leaving that off.
Your caretaking of relatives is expected-that’s what we do for relatives and family. But it shouldn’t be on your list of activities. You could talk about it if that activity brought you to medicine.

Why are you in such a hurry? Maybe you aren’t if you are simply trying to figure where you currently are and not planning to apply anytime soon. Take your time, grow up, have some fun and do it right.

 

[whosehouse]

My man, you have the perfect opportunity to take a couple gap years and do something really meaningful. With your stats (assuming 518 mcat) and if you take advantage of possible gap years, you have a real shot at T20s

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Please explain "Volunteer work with addicts in rehab in the Teen Challenge Mid-America organization" as clinical experience.

 

[SciencyFriend]

You really really really need more clinical experience, especially to prevent adcoms from thinking that you're immature.

Yep, I figured that clinical experience might be an issue. I'm currently pursuing a position at a local hospital to remedy the fact. What's a reasonable/expected number of hours for the application?

 

[SciencyFriend]

We can’t really give predictions without a MCAT score. When do you plan to,apply? Hopefully it’s for matriculation in 2022 or later. Your clinical experiences are very weak. You need 200 hours of clinical experiences or more. Your shadowing is low too. You need between 50-100 hours of shadowing. Your nonclinical volunteering in foreign countries might be considered voluntourism by ADCOMS and that’s not a good thing. You might want to consider leaving that off.
Your caretaking of relatives is expected-that’s what we do for relatives and family. But it shouldn’t be on your list of activities. You could talk about it if that activity brought you to medicine.

Why are you in such a hurry? Maybe you aren’t if you are simply trying to figure where you currently are and not planning to apply anytime soon. Take your time, grow up, have some fun and do it right.

I wanted to try for this August to matriculate in 2021, but if need be I can either postpone or reapply for the 2022 cycle (not sure if reapplication looks bad to ADCOMs). My MCAT date is in about two weeks, so we'll see about that soon. I'm trying to use these next few months to fill in areas of my application that are weak. Thanks so much for the heads up about clinical experience hours, I figured after reading several posts on this forum that I'd need more along with shadowing hours.

The abroad experiences were definitely not voluntourism, but I wasn't sure how to label them. The majority of our time was spent in clinic with patients, but we also hosted worship services, did building projects, and helped with community outreach/promotional events for churches in the area and the clinics, which is why I wasn't sure how to effectively label them. These mission trips were one of the largest reasons I'm pursuing medicine. Good point about the caretaking position, I'll be sure to make changes to that.

As for my "rush," I guess I'd just like to graduate on time with the rest of my class (granted most of them are 3-4 years older). Also, I've had several professors/docs write LORs for my application this year, so I feel I should be honoring the faith they have in my ability to apply. I understand your perspective about "growing up, having fun, and doing it right" but at the same time the road I'm on in education is still a very long one, and I'd prefer not to extend it unnecessarily.

Thanks so much for all the advice though, one of the downsides to attending a smaller university is that I don't really have a premed advisor (just a biology faculty member who doesn't really know the process) and have been doing a lot on my own.

 

[SciencyFriend]

Please explain "Volunteer work with addicts in rehab in the Teen Challenge Mid-America organization" as clinical experience.

I worked with several doctors and RNs as essentially a nurse assistant/scribe. I put patients in exam rooms, performed triage, helped perform labs, sorted pharmaceutical inventory, organized patient records, and did subjective interviews with patients. Most of our patients came direct from being in the Teen Challenge program or were uninsured residents with chronic illnesses.

 

[mvsrocks]

Yep, I figured that clinical experience might be an issue. I'm currently pursuing a position at a local hospital to remedy the fact. What's a reasonable/expected number of hours for the application?

Depends on what schools you are going for, but people on SDN will recommend 150 hours for average, 200+ for above average.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

You're seventeen?

What you've done - especially at such a young age - is impressive. My advice:

Don't take the MCAT. It would expire by the time you might use it. Take several gap years and do something you're passionate about. It would help you accumulate life experience and community service hours, which you sorely need now - at least, you need another hundred hours of clinical experience at a minimum. Go join Americorps and serve your community. Join the Peace Corps, if you think you can hack it; they might have concerns too about your maturity but if you and they think you can pull it off and it interests you go for it. Do research, maybe with the NIH. After you've done that and you're at least 20, then you might want to revisit if medical school is right for you. You at least want to be old enough to (legally) go to a bar with your classmates when you go to medical school!

Good luck, hopefully you'll be back posting here about your top-20 acceptance...if that is in fact what you want three or so years from now.

 

[candbgirl]

@SciencyFriend Illinois State University doesn’t have a medical school. University of Illinois does in Chicago, Peoria and Rockford. There is also a newish med school in a Champaign called Carle. Perhaps you meant one of those.