Plan B - in case I don't get accepted this round

[theriddlerxd]

Hi guys!

I'm getting a little leery of my chances of actually getting accepted to medical school next year, so I'm working on a plan B. I have an overall GPA of 3.66, MCAT of 514. I have 3 years of full-time animal research experience, >200 hours of clinical experience, and ~8 hours of shadowing experience. I'm starting a new clinical volunteer experience this week, and am working on getting more shadowing hours before the end of the year. I plan to continue shadowing/volunteering until I get into medical school, but my question is this - should I get a new job in clinical research or get my masters degree?

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[gizmoo]

Have you gotten any IIs yet? Also, are you still in school?

 

[Frogger27]

Hi guys!

I'm getting a little leery of my chances of actually getting accepted to medical school next year, so I'm working on a plan B. I have an overall GPA of 3.66, MCAT of 514. I have 3 years of full-time animal research experience, >200 hours of clinical experience, and ~8 hours of shadowing experience. I'm starting a new clinical volunteer experience this week, and am working on getting more shadowing hours before the end of the year. I plan to continue shadowing/volunteering until I get into medical school, but my question is this - should I get a new job in clinical research or get my masters degree?

Your stats, clinical experience, and research look really good! Shadowing is low but depending on your clinical experience it may be okay (although I would try to get it closer to ~50 hrs, particularly a PCP if you can). How much community service to people less fortunate than yourself do you have?

 

[theriddlerxd]

Have you gotten any IIs yet? Also, are you still in school?

I had one II at my state school and was waitlisted. And no - I graduated in 2015.

Your stats, clinical experience, and research look really good! Shadowing is low but depending on your clinical experience it may be okay (although I would try to get it closer to ~50 hrs, particularly a PCP if you can). How much community service to people less fortunate than yourself do you have?

I have ~60 hours community service to people less fortunate than myself

 

[JustAPhD]

Don't get a masters degree unless you really want one. It's not going to help your app much if at all.
With your stats you realistically should get into somewhere. What did your school list look like?

 

[Frogger27]

I had one II at my state school and was waitlisted. And no - I graduated in 2015.


I have ~60 hours community service to people less fortunate than myself

that is a little on the low side... Everything else seems really good! I would pick some sort of community activity you think you will enjoy and get involved over the course of the next 1.5 years (assuming you do not get accepted, which you still might!). Commitment to a particular cause is always looked upon favorably.. You could start now and double that number through June/July.

Also think about how you want to sell yourself to adcoms. Make sure there is consistency in your application. If your research has been studying Autism, maybe try volunteering with people with disabilities. Having consistency in an application is a key part that a lot of people do not understand.

 

[Mclovin0351]

that is a little on the low side... Everything else seems really good! I would pick some sort of community activity you think you will enjoy and get involved over the course of the next 1.5 years (assuming you do not get accepted, which you still might!). Commitment to a particular cause is always looked upon favorably.. You could start now and double that number through June/July.

Also think about how you want to sell yourself to adcoms. Make sure there is consistency in your application. If your research has been studying Autism, maybe try volunteering with people with disabilities. Having consistency in an application is a key part that a lot of people do not understand.

I can second the consistency piece. It was a major part of how I rewrote my application when I reapplied and the themes underlying all my essays were common interview topics.

 

[Turkishking]

A masters wouldn't necessarily help you. I would increase the number of clinical volunteering and shadowing. You could get the masters, but it's useless.

 

[Frogger27]

A masters wouldn't necessarily help you. I would increase the number of clinical volunteering and shadowing. You could get the masters, but it's useless.

over 200 hours of clinical is fine... OP needs more community service

 

[theriddlerxd]

My 200 hours of clinical experience is at a local mental hospital, helping to rehabilitate patients and improve their social skills. Would you consider this community service, or should I be doing something else in addition to this?

 

[Goro]

I second this.

A masters wouldn't necessarily help you. I would increase the number of clinical volunteering and shadowing. You could get the masters, but it's useless.

 

[gizmoo]

My 200 hours of clinical experience is at a local mental hospital, helping to rehabilitate patients and improve their social skills. Would you consider this community service, or should I be doing something else in addition to this?

If you are counting that as clinical experience, I don't think you can double down and say that it's community service as well. I would find a non-clinical community service activity instead to boost those hours.

 

[Stagg737]

In your signature it looks like you only applied to 4 schools? If that's the case, you were setting yourself up for failure from the start. Apply to at least 10-12 schools, preferably 15-20 with your GPA and consider DO schools as a back-up if you're willing to go that route.

 

[theriddlerxd]

In your signature it looks like you only applied to 4 schools? If that's the case, you were setting yourself up for failure from the start. Apply to at least 10-12 schools, preferably 15-20 with your GPA and consider DO schools as a back-up if you're willing to go that route.

I actually applied to 15 schools - sorry that that wasn't clear!

 

[Noxy]

I second this.

Why in the world does my pre-med committee at my undergrad tell every pre-med that has below a 3.7 gpa that a masters is the only way into med school, if med school admissions don't even care about them?! Must be about the money. They tried telling me my only hope was to get my masters in biology and then apply in 2 years. Yeah right.

 

[Goro]

Because they're *****s?

One can get into med school with a 3.5 GPA.

Why in the world does my pre-med committee at my undergrad tell every pre-med that has below a 3.7 gpa that a masters is the only way into med school, if med school admissions don't even care about them?! Must be about the money. They tried telling me my only hope was to get my masters in biology and then apply in 2 years. Yeah right.

 

[MarshMedic]

Why in the world does my pre-med committee at my undergrad tell every pre-med that has below a 3.7 gpa that a masters is the only way into med school, if med school admissions don't even care about them?! Must be about the money. They tried telling me my only hope was to get my masters in biology and then apply in 2 years. Yeah right.

 

[MarshMedic]

Because they're *****s?

One can get into med school with a 3.5 GPA.

Mine said I needed to go back and repeat coursework to up my GPA, currently deciding which of my acceptance letters to throw at their face.

 

[Noxy]

Seriously. My school has a kind of SMP thing but not really. The requirements are ridiculously high. 505/3.5 gpa for the career enhancer program BUT you get a certificate of completion with no interview or any relationship with the med school at my school AT ALL! Just kind of crazy to me

 

[MarshMedic]

Seriously. My school has a kind of SMP thing but not really. The requirements are ridiculously high. 505/3.5 gpa for the career enhancer program BUT you get a certificate of completion with no interview or any relationship with the med school at my school AT ALL! Just kind of crazy to me

When I first looked at postbacs I found one like that. Only take people with a 3.7+ etc. Like, those kids aren't the ones who need a structured postbac lol. They want all the money without any of the risk of those kids not getting into a school.

 

[Noxy]

When I first looked at postbacs I found one like that. Only take people with a 3.7+ etc. Like, those kids aren't the ones who need a structured postbac lol. They want all the money without any of the risk of those kids not getting into a school.

Those programs for SURE!! I'm not going to lie after about 30 minutes of their nagging about my failing cGPA (3.5~) they had me fooled for about 2 minutes about their bio masters, until I realized I didn't have their like 30k per year or WHATEVER they were asking for and I realized that I didn't believe them anyway lol.

 

[Waillin]

For plan B: Reapply MD and DO, MS/PhD, Physician Assistant, Podiatry, Pharmacy, Optometry, Dentistry, MPH, go into research...etc

 

[RightTwix]

I feel that your app looks great (besides maybe the community service, but that shouldn't have been a deal breaker if you emphasized what you gained from the experience) and you should have gotten more interviews. Something to consider is if you applied to too many reach schools, and not enough schools that had an entering class that had comparable stats to yours. Stats aren't everything, but I think aiming to fit into the 50th percentile of matriculants in a school is a good gauge for at least a few schools.

It could be that why you want to be a doctor and everything you've gained/learned from your experiences isn't coming across in your essays. A big part of the application is selling yourself and getting the people reading your app to connect with you and see what their school values in your writing. I'd definitely look back at everything you've written and have other people look and see what they got from your essays. Can they feel what you were trying to convey? That's something I think set's people apart from others. Good writing can make all the difference.

 

[RightTwix]

the most common mistake among reapplicants is applying again too soon

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ear-wamc-advice-please.1191695/#post-17595427

Definitely agreed with that! My plan for if I had to reapply was to wait at least two years. Gives you time to really improve your app and show growth.