Options... what would you pick?

[JennyHavoc]

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Ok so... Here's my info: 1st degree: 3.07 Cum, 3.0 Science. 2nd degree & post-bac retakes: 3.4 508 MCAT.
I have 2 semesters of research in a neuroscience lab. Shadowed a DO. Will have ~100 hours in non-clinical volunteering by app time.

I know I need to add more clinical stuff (my 80 hospital hours are 4 years old at this point), so I will be trying to find something. Hospitals here are always full with volunteers though. Does anyone have any 'outside the box' options for clinical hours?

Academically, I have a couple options for next semester. What would y'all suggest?

Option 1) Re-take my C classes (Bio II, Chem II) and take an elective psych class in the field I want to get into... add 10 credits of undergraduate As.
Option 2) Gradate level Gross Anatomy. 6 credit cadaver lab course. It's taught by faculty from the medical school here and is taught in one of the school labs. Would that look 'impressive' or be helpful in getting my app in the door?
(This school has a "pathways" program that takes less-than-stellar pre-meds and does basically an SMP with guaranteed MD program acceptance if you pass. I would really like to take this route.)

Opinions?

 

[radian313]

Ok so... Here's my info: 1st degree: 3.07 Cum, 3.0 Science. 2nd degree & post-bac retakes: 3.4 508 MCAT.
I have 2 semesters of research in a neuroscience lab. Shadowed a DO. Will have ~100 hours in non-clinical volunteering by app time.

I know I need to add more clinical stuff (my 80 hospital hours are 4 years old at this point), so I will be trying to find something. Hospitals here are always full with volunteers though. Does anyone have any 'outside the box' options for clinical hours?

Academically, I have a couple options for next semester. What would y'all suggest?

Option 1) Re-take my C classes (Bio II, Chem II) and take an elective psych class in the field I want to get into... add 10 credits of undergraduate As.
Option 2) Gradate level Gross Anatomy. 6 credit cadaver lab course. It's taught by faculty from the medical school here and is taught in one of the school labs. Would that look 'impressive' or be helpful in getting my app in the door?
(This school has a "pathways" program that takes less-than-stellar pre-meds and does basically an SMP with guaranteed MD program acceptance if you pass. I would really like to take this route.)

Opinions?

No matter how many "out the box" clinical experiences you have, you need to raise both GPAs. Grade replacement.

But if you must know, they could be medical scribing, Volunteer EMT, free clinic medical assistant....

Again, the GPA needs a bit of a boost...

 

[parpar2222]

No matter how many "out the box" clinical experiences you have, you need to raise both GPAs. Grade replacement.

But if you must know, they could be medical scribing, Volunteer EMT, free clinic medical assistant....

Again, the GPA needs a bit of a boost...

what about me with a 3.27 cGPA and 3.11 sgpa and 507 mcat?
gGPA as of now in my MPH in Biostats program is a 3.83.

already applied and submit secondaries for some schools.

 

[Goro]

Clinics, nursing homes, hospice, Planned Parenthood.

Ok so... Here's my info: 1st degree: 3.07 Cum, 3.0 Science. 2nd degree & post-bac retakes: 3.4 508 MCAT.
I have 2 semesters of research in a neuroscience lab. Shadowed a DO. Will have ~100 hours in non-clinical volunteering by app time.

I know I need to add more clinical stuff (my 80 hospital hours are 4 years old at this point), so I will be trying to find something. Hospitals here are always full with volunteers though. Does anyone have any 'outside the box' options for clinical hours?

Academically, I have a couple options for next semester. What would y'all suggest?

Option 1) Re-take my C classes (Bio II, Chem II) and take an elective psych class in the field I want to get into... add 10 credits of undergraduate As.
Option 2) Gradate level Gross Anatomy. 6 credit cadaver lab course. It's taught by faculty from the medical school here and is taught in one of the school labs. Would that look 'impressive' or be helpful in getting my app in the door?
(This school has a "pathways" program that takes less-than-stellar pre-meds and does basically an SMP with guaranteed MD program acceptance if you pass. I would really like to take this route.)

Opinions?

 

[cactusnrocks]

I highly recommend hospice. I have been doing it for a long time now and it is an incredible experience that will teach you a lot about life.


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[DeezNutzonUrChin]

Clinics, nursing homes, hospice, Planned Parenthood.

Would admissions committee's recognize this person probably went to a tougher school than usual?

It seems pretty clear that her MCAT score is quite decent but his/ her GPA lags

 

[OrdinaryDO]

Would admissions committee's recognize this person probably went to a tougher school than usual?

It seems pretty clear that her MCAT score is quite decent but his/ her GPA lags

Doesn't matter.

 

[JennyHavoc]

No matter how many "out the box" clinical experiences you have, you need to raise both GPAs. Grade replacement.

But if you must know, they could be medical scribing, Volunteer EMT, free clinic medical assistant....

Again, the GPA needs a bit of a boost...

I'm not looking 'out the box' to stand out, I'm looking for those because every hospital and hospice I have called are jammed with volunteers, between the university students and old retired people. My city is largely populated by both. The only way I'm gonna get clinical hours is to think of something different.

I am aware the GPA side needs a boost, hence my second question. I am above the auto-screeen cumulative 3.0 cut-off every school references.
At this point, I am thinking about what would a human reviewing it like to see more: another semester of undergraduate As, or a graduate level gross anatomy class + lab, taught by the med school professors, with an A (6 credits). Personally I feel the second would be a little more "Hey look, I CAN handle medical school level coursework" and might be good for a letter of rec. I could be entirely wrong though.
Either one is going to show improvement in my GPA, though the second will create a clear dividing line between graduate vs. undergraduate GPA.

Oh, and while my school was not especially 'harder' than any other university, I definitely had extenuating circumstances that heavily influenced my first low GPA. That would be addressed in a personal statement, and I have seen quite a few ad-coms state that that can mitigate some of their issues with the GPA.

 

[drvfedorov]

outside the box: Create something on your own. In your region is there a similar health issue that most people seem to deal with? Are you passionate about a certain disorder/disease? If so, read up about it, go to your local church/other places of worship, elementary/secondary schools, care homes, basically where ever groups of people come together, and explain to them about what you have found, and what they can do to prevent it. Everyone loves knowledge, especially if you're coming from a place of passion.

 

[Goro]

Not necessarily.

Would admissions committee's recognize this person probably went to a tougher school than usual?

It seems pretty clear that her MCAT score is quite decent but his/ her GPA lags