Preparing for Reapplication: Feedback

[Wayfinder]

Thank you in advance to anyone who reads this, I know what I wrote below is long, it really does mean a lot.

Current Stats
3.8 cGPA/sGPA : Biomed Major @ local state university
508 MCAT (127/124/127/130)
Secondaries in the first week of September
FL Resident, White, Female, first-gen college, Disadvantaged, rural
Applied to UF, UCF (R), USF, UM, FSU, FIU, FAU, NOVA MD, Tufts(R), Temple, Drexel, Vermont (R), Rosalind Franklin (R), Loyola, Kaiser, GW (R), Georgetown (R), Wake Forest (Interviewed on Waitlist (will be waiting from May 1st- July 3rd)), NYMC (hold), Quinnipiac (R)

ECs on Primary:
5,000 Hours in Medical Camping Industry, Mixture of non-clinical volunteering, and clinical work experience (some positions very similar to CNA providing personal care + making sure medicine is taken etc).
Working with the mentally and physically disabled along with children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The majority of these hours have been with children, acting similarly to a life coach (but with the responsibility of their physical safety).
I have taken up many leadership positions with my roles, helping train individuals and leading large group programming, and have also helped a multimillion-dollar fundraising team.
All of these camps had doctors and nurses on-site that I worked with.

230 Hours of Biomedical research + poster (tissue culture + project design)
150 Hours of Hospital Volunteering
400 Hours as Teaching Assistant/ Supplemental Instructor at university level (Biochem, microbio, anatomy, and research methods)
120 Hours shadowing (a mixture of specialists and primary care)
1000+ hours Art (as Hobby but talked about sharing the experience with children)

Other: Was caregiver to a grandmother with Parkinsons's for several months, and also worked at McDonald's for a few months in-between jobs.

New ECs:
1,400 hours as Public Title I High School Biology teacher (I expect to add another 850-1000 hours by the end of the school year). Teaching general and AP bio. Helping students bridge poverty with education, helping with their personal endeavors, dealing with situations of student homelessness, DCF, childhood hungry, learning to support ESOL students, learning to work in an under-resourced environment and guiding students in general life skills and morality.
Continued volunteering in Medical Camping Industry (150 hours since secondaries) (potentially another 70-150 by June 1st)
Planned shadowing for spring break (10 hours)

Letters of Rec: Will be hard to get new ones now that I have been apart from the university for almost 2 years, and my current employer is unable to write me one (they are aware of my short time commitment but not about med school)
Current Letters were 3 teachers I do have a close relationship with, 1 from my previous camp director, 1 from an MD (if anything this might be the one I replace)

Personal Statement: Talked about my experience being ill with an undiagnosed illness as a teenager, the anger and isolation I felt, and then relating it to the children I have worked with and channeling my experiences into being able to help them with emotional support. Hinted at my interest in sub-specializing in pediatrics, and going into academic medicine (due to wanting to handle nuanced medical cases like mine was), as well as my interest to continue working with nonprofits. (I am worried mentioning academic med with my limited research experience, and lower MCAT might have been a mistake).
I just for the last 8 eight years have been interested in going into peds oncology, rheumatology, neurology etc; and currently do not see that changing after 5000+ hours working with the population and their parents, and shadowing. I did say that I am open-minded because I am always willing to try something new, but I felt that being honest about the direction I am leaning towards was important to my why medicine.

Secondaries: a bit rushed (wrote all 20+ in a 5-day time span) did have them read by 2 individuals (English major that does not know me well, and friend), plan to pre-write.

Interview: I felt decent about it. I wove a lot of my personal experiences into every answer in a way I thought was fluid and felt I connected to everyone I spoke to. I did stumble a little with umm the first minute or two, the MMI format was new.

I want to get into MD, particularly now that Step 1 is P/F. I do not know how much truth there is to it, but I have been told you want 512+ if you are applying strictly MD (and that would put me at the 50% for more schools). I am going to try to retake my MCAT but am trying to fit it in (I work a rough 70+ hours a week (stopping fights, getting screamed at, teaching tested subjects, etc) and volunteer 12 hours a week). The only thing is if I retake the MCAT (which I will only do when I see substantially higher practice tests (514+) I do not see it happening until this summer after I hope to resubmit my primary.
Is this wise, or should I wait another year? I am 24 now, and I must admit 2 more years out of school worries me (right now I will be 33 when I am done with schooling if I somehow get in off the waitlist, being 35 I feel is pushing it, with starting a family if that is something I decided I wanted to do).

So, for the upcoming year, I am going to try to land a research position. I have tried in the past, as it is something that genuinely interests me, but did not have the money to move, so I hope more options will open up with the money I have been able to save. If not, I was thinking about either teaching for another year (and save more money and provide some stability for the kids, even though the job is wearing me out) or go back to working in the medical camping industry (which is where my heart is, even if it will not do anything to advance my resume).

Should I re-apply this upcoming cycle?

Should I re-apply before retaking the MCAT?

Are there any tips on re-application school lists? (Can I reapply to the majority of my list and then add another 10+ or so schools?)

Is there anything at all that I am missing? Suggestions to where I went wrong the first time, that another set of eyes might be able to catch? I can only imagine where my own biases might be clouding something super obvious.

Thank you for any advice you might have. I know this was long but being removed from the premed community it really means a lot to hear another’s opinion.

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[Faha]

I am surprised you did not receive any interviews from your Florida schools. When you reapply I suggest including DO schools and all these MD schools:
All your Florida MD schools
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Georgetown
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Wake Forest
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Creighton
TCU-UNT
Also include DO schools and I suggest these:
LECOM Bradenton
VCOM (all schools)
CUSOM
AZCOM
DMU-COM
MU-COM
CCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you in advance to anyone who reads this, I know what I wrote below is long, it really does mean a lot.

Current Stats
3.8 cGPA/sGPA : Biomed Major @ local state university
508 MCAT (127/124/127/130)
Secondaries in the first week of September
FL Resident, White, Female, first-gen college, Disadvantaged, rural
Applied to UF, UCF (R), USF, UM, FSU, FIU, FAU, NOVA MD, Tufts(R), Temple, Drexel, Vermont (R), Rosalind Franklin (R), Loyola, Kaiser, GW (R), Georgetown (R), Wake Forest (Interviewed on Waitlist (will be waiting from May 1st- July 3rd)), NYMC (hold), Quinnipiac (R)

ECs on Primary:
5,000 Hours in Medical Camping Industry, Mixture of non-clinical volunteering, and clinical work experience (some positions very similar to CNA providing personal care + making sure medicine is taken etc).
Working with the mentally and physically disabled along with children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The majority of these hours have been with children, acting similarly to a life coach (but with the responsibility of their physical safety).
I have taken up many leadership positions with my roles, helping train individuals and leading large group programming, and have also helped a multimillion-dollar fundraising team.
All of these camps had doctors and nurses on-site that I worked with.

230 Hours of Biomedical research + poster (tissue culture + project design)
150 Hours of Hospital Volunteering
400 Hours as Teaching Assistant/ Supplemental Instructor at university level (Biochem, microbio, anatomy, and research methods)
120 Hours shadowing (a mixture of specialists and primary care)
1000+ hours Art (as Hobby but talked about sharing the experience with children)

Other: Was caregiver to a grandmother with Parkinsons's for several months, and also worked at McDonald's for a few months in-between jobs.

New ECs:
1,400 hours as Public Title I High School Biology teacher (I expect to add another 850-1000 hours by the end of the school year). Teaching general and AP bio. Helping students bridge poverty with education, helping with their personal endeavors, dealing with situations of student homelessness, DCF, childhood hungry, learning to support ESOL students, learning to work in an under-resourced environment and guiding students in general life skills and morality.
Continued volunteering in Medical Camping Industry (150 hours since secondaries) (potentially another 70-150 by June 1st)
Planned shadowing for spring break (10 hours)

Letters of Rec: Will be hard to get new ones now that I have been apart from the university for almost 2 years, and my current employer is unable to write me one (they are aware of my short time commitment but not about med school)
Current Letters were 3 teachers I do have a close relationship with, 1 from my previous camp director, 1 from an MD (if anything this might be the one I replace)

Personal Statement: Talked about my experience being ill with an undiagnosed illness as a teenager, the anger and isolation I felt, and then relating it to the children I have worked with and channeling my experiences into being able to help them with emotional support. Hinted at my interest in sub-specializing in pediatrics, and going into academic medicine (due to wanting to handle nuanced medical cases like mine was), as well as my interest to continue working with nonprofits. (I am worried mentioning academic med with my limited research experience, and lower MCAT might have been a mistake).
I just for the last 8 eight years have been interested in going into peds oncology, rheumatology, neurology etc; and currently do not see that changing after 5000+ hours working with the population and their parents, and shadowing. I did say that I am open-minded because I am always willing to try something new, but I felt that being honest about the direction I am leaning towards was important to my why medicine.

Secondaries: a bit rushed (wrote all 20+ in a 5-day time span) did have them read by 2 individuals (English major that does not know me well, and friend), plan to pre-write.

Interview: I felt decent about it. I wove a lot of my personal experiences into every answer in a way I thought was fluid and felt I connected to everyone I spoke to. I did stumble a little with umm the first minute or two, the MMI format was new.

I want to get into MD, particularly now that Step 1 is P/F. I do not know how much truth there is to it, but I have been told you want 512+ if you are applying strictly MD (and that would put me at the 50% for more schools). I am going to try to retake my MCAT but am trying to fit it in (I work a rough 70+ hours a week (stopping fights, getting screamed at, teaching tested subjects, etc) and volunteer 12 hours a week). The only thing is if I retake the MCAT (which I will only do when I see substantially higher practice tests (514+) I do not see it happening until this summer after I hope to resubmit my primary.
Is this wise, or should I wait another year? I am 24 now, and I must admit 2 more years out of school worries me (right now I will be 33 when I am done with schooling if I somehow get in off the waitlist, being 35 I feel is pushing it, with starting a family if that is something I decided I wanted to do).

So, for the upcoming year, I am going to try to land a research position. I have tried in the past, as it is something that genuinely interests me, but did not have the money to move, so I hope more options will open up with the money I have been able to save. If not, I was thinking about either teaching for another year (and save more money and provide some stability for the kids, even though the job is wearing me out) or go back to working in the medical camping industry (which is where my heart is, even if it will not do anything to advance my resume).

Should I re-apply this upcoming cycle?

Should I re-apply before retaking the MCAT?

Are there any tips on re-application school lists? (Can I reapply to the majority of my list and then add another 10+ or so schools?)

Is there anything at all that I am missing? Suggestions to where I went wrong the first time, that another set of eyes might be able to catch? I can only imagine where my own biases might be clouding something super obvious.

Thank you for any advice you might have. I know this was long but being removed from the premed community it really means a lot to hear another’s opinion.

Age is just a number, and while I can't say you should discount it completely, where you start a family is a strong consideration to your choice of schools and residencies. I wouldn't let the USMLE Step 1 status sway your application strategy to include DO schools, especially with a unified match in the future.

So how much advice before applying did you get from medical students you networked with for the key schools you had the highest interest in? Hopefully you did some recruitment fairs and met with students through the fairs, admissions staff, or AMSA meetings/open houses. How much have you followed up with interest to your in-state applications or with other schools of high interest and affinity?

 

[Wayfinder]

I am surprised you did not receive any interviews from your Florida schools.

Hi @Faha Thank you for your response and list. I will incorporate these schools into my school list for the next cycle.
Do you think it would be beneficial for me to reapply June 1st and submit an MCAT retake 2-3 months later (assuming my practice tests are up, and my score as improved?) Is there an MCAT I could aim for to re-apply only MD? Or at this point is it imperative to have DO schools on my list as a re-applicant?
Also, do you think I should steer clear from mentioning my interests in academic medicine for the next cycle?
Thank you again for your help. It really does mean a lot navigating this process

 

[Wayfinder]

Age is just a number, and while I can't say you should discount it completely, where you start a family is a strong consideration to your choice of schools and residencies. I wouldn't let the USMLE Step 1 status sway your application strategy to include DO schools, especially with a unified match in the future.

So how much advice before applying did you get from medical students you networked with for the key schools you had the highest interest in? Hopefully, you did some recruitment fairs and met with students through the fairs, admissions staff, or AMSA meetings/open houses. How much have you followed up with interest to your in-state applications or with other schools of high interest and affinity?

Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to read this and your help. It means alot

To be honest, very little. Besides for a few friends I had in medical school at FSU, UF, FIU, and UCF, I did not speak to many. They told me to apply but in hindsight, most of them were URM or highly interested in primary care, which might have played a bit of difference in their application. This cycle my friends that were more successful either applied earlier with primary care apps or had MCAT 512+

For the schools I applied to I sent updates in January if they had the option to, and briefly stated my interest in the school while submitting the update. I figured since secondaries were sent in September teaching for a few months was necessary before writing about it.
I have not done any recruitment fairs and never felt comfortable at AMSA meetings in undergrad. I live currently in a pretty rural area, an hour/ an hour and a half away from many opportunities, so it is hard to get to said opportunities currently.

Is there any follow up I should do at this point in the cycle? Or should I when I reapply next cycle, make sure I send updates more often and earlier?

 

[candbgirl]

Hi @Faha
...
Do you think it would be beneficial for me to reapply June 1st and submit an MCAT retake 2-3 months later (assuming my practice tests are up, and my score as improved?)

It will not be beneficial to submit your application on June 1 and then submit your new MCAT score 2-3 months later.
Apply with MCAT score you want them to use in reviewing your application. Schools are under no obligation to wait until you take and receive your new MCAT. By the time they get your new score a decision on extending an interview, putting you on hold , rejecting you or anything else could have been made.

 

[Wayfinder]

It will not be beneficial to submit your application on June 1 and then submit your new MCAT score 2-3 months later.
Apply with MCAT score you want them to use in reviewing your application. Schools are under no obligation to wait until you take and receive your new MCAT. By the time they get your new score a decision on extending an interview, putting you on hold, rejecting you or anything else could have been made.

That makes sense, so even if the score came in late July/ early August, it would make sense to just submit later. At this point looking at my application what would be more beneficial, applying on day one, or retaking the mcat, but making sure my application and mcat score are both in earlier than this cycle? Or should I really wait another year, make sure I can get my MCAT up, and apply June 1st, 2021? I can potentially try to re-take the MCAT this spring but with 80+ hours of commitments a week I don't know how realistic it is to see my score increase.

 

[candbgirl]

That makes sense, so even if the score came in late July/ early August, it would make sense to just submit later. At this point looking at my application what would be more beneficial, applying on day one, or retaking the mcat, but making sure my application and mcat score are both in earlier than this cycle? Or should I really wait another year, make sure I can get my MCAT up, and apply June 1st, 2021? I can potentially try to re-take the MCAT this spring but with 80+ hours of commitments a week I don't know how realistic it is to see my score increase.

You have to decide if you want to keep reapplying or if you take a year or two and then submit the best possible application. You don’t know how you will score on the retake. You can certainly reapply in June 2020. You need to be open to DO schools and you need to have significantly improved your application.

I just reread your OP . You have lots of stuff but it’s mainly in two area: Medical Camping Industry and teaching. I think the medical camping is interesting and certainly great for the people who benefit from the experience. But they aren’t really patients. They are campers with medical needs. This would be a great activity for your nonclinical volunteering. But I’m not sure how clinical it actually is. Maybe you should try volunteering or working at a hospital or a hospice center. Those people are patients. You need some direct contact with them sick, injured and dying.

Your teaching is just that. You get paid for it and you are working with Title 1 students but it’s teaching and a job. It’s not nonclinical volunteering. There is a spot for teaching on the application(I think) so you will be able to include this but think about changing up your application. Use the Camping stuff for your nonclinical volunteering( did you volunteer or was it a paying job) and find a real clinical sight to work at. It can be a paying job or volunteer job.

I might be totally wrong, I am tired but after reading your OP twice it seems you have no clinical experience with the sick, injured and dying. And no nonclinical volunteering because what you seem to have listed isn’t service to the underserved/unserved in your community.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to read this and your help. It means alot

To be honest, very little. Besides for a few friends I had in medical school at FSU, UF, FIU, and UCF, I did not speak to many. They told me to apply but in hindsight, most of them were URM or highly interested in primary care, which might have played a bit of difference in their application. This cycle my friends that were more successful either applied earlier with primary care apps or had MCAT 512+

For the schools I applied to I sent updates in January if they had the option to, and briefly stated my interest in the school while submitting the update. I figured since secondaries were sent in September teaching for a few months was necessary before writing about it.
I have not done any recruitment fairs and never felt comfortable at AMSA meetings in undergrad. I live currently in a pretty rural area, an hour/ an hour and a half away from many opportunities, so it is hard to get to said opportunities currently.

Is there any follow up I should do at this point in the cycle? Or should I when I reapply next cycle, make sure I send updates more often and earlier?

You're at a point where you are either going to network with students who you will meet as a student next year or you will meet as an applicant. Either way, there's no reason why you shouldn't continue to reach out and talk to other current medical students to see if there is anyone at those schools who share a similar background to yours. You should do recruitment fairs, and there may be many open houses run by AMSA chapters or admissions offices. Visit your friends so they can give you a tour of the school.

 

[Wayfinder]

You have to decide if you want to keep reapplying or if you take a year or two and then submit the best possible application. You don’t know how you will score on the retake. You can certainly reapply in June 2020. You need to be open to DO schools and you need to have significantly improved your application.

I just reread your OP . You have lots of stuff but it’s mainly in two area: Medical Camping Industry and teaching. I think the medical camping is interesting and certainly great for the people who benefit from the experience. But they aren’t really patients. They are campers with medical needs. This would be a great activity for your nonclinical volunteering. But I’m not sure how clinical it actually is. Maybe you should try volunteering or working at a hospital or a hospice center. Those people are patients. You need some direct contact with them sick, injured and dying.

Your teaching is just that. You get paid for it and you are working with Title 1 students but it’s teaching and a job. It’s not nonclinical volunteering. There is a spot for teaching on the application(I think) so you will be able to include this but think about changing up your application. Use the Camping stuff for your nonclinical volunteering( did you volunteer or was it a paying job) and find a real clinical sight to work at. It can be a paying job or a volunteer job.

I might be totally wrong, I am tired but after reading your OP twice it seems you have no clinical experience with the sick, injured and dying. And no nonclinical volunteering because what you seem to have listed isn’t service to the underserved/unserved in your community.

Hi, thank you again for your help!

For the medical camping hours, I broke it up into 4 sections.
I have 1700 hours of volunteering I counted towards non-clinical volunteering.
I considered a large bulk of the paid work 1800 hours of clinical employment due to the nature of working with doctors and nurses as well as providing personal care. (though these were the hours I felt I could go heads or tails with)
One position I held for summer (700 hours) had much overlap with what a CNA does and I considered that clinical.
I considered 800 hours in a leadership position under leadership.
Would my hospital volunteer hours and that not be enough? I could be massively wrong, that is why I am asking.
I could look into scribing or clinical research positions starting in June, or even hospital outreach positions where I bridge camp and the hospital.

As for teaching, I am only paid for 40 hours a week, and I spend another 10 hours a week tutoring my students in all subjects, in addition to another 20 lesson planning, grading, and calling parents. I mentioned that I tutored students for free in my updates, but could I include this separately in my application as non-clinical volunteering? (not the additional 20 hours of unpaid labor, but the 10 hours of free tutoring?)

 

[Wayfinder]

You're at a point where you are either going to network with students who you will meet as a student next year or you will meet as an applicant. Either way, there's no reason why you shouldn't continue to reach out and talk to other current medical students to see if there is anyone at those schools who share a similar background to yours. You should do recruitment fairs, and there may be many open houses run by AMSA chapters or admissions offices. Visit your friends so they can give you a tour of the school.

I understand now, Thank you. I know I share a lot of similarities with my friends that are currently in med school, but I will take your advice and try to pick their brains more to understand more about what the school wants. Do you have any tips for figuring out when open houses might be open, as a non-student?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I understand now, Thank you. I know I share a lot of similarities with my friends that are currently in med school, but I will take your advice and try to pick their brains more to understand more about what the school wants. Do you have any tips for figuring out when open houses might be open, as a non-student?

If your friends in medical school don't know people in AMSA or the admissions office... (I can't do all your work for you... your friends should be able to help). There also is usually a virtual medical school fair (one by AAMC, one by AACOM) held once a year online.
Recruiting fairs are usually held about the same time of the year on various campuses by prehealth advisors.

 

[Wayfinder]

If your friends in medical school don't know people in AMSA or the admissions office... (I can't do all your work for you... your friends should be able to help). There also is usually a virtual medical school fair (one by AAMC, one by AACOM) held once a year online.
Recruiting fairs are usually held about the same time of the year on various campuses by prehealth advisors.

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction! I will start poking around

 

[candbgirl]

I’m still really confused , even with your new explanation. When did you work in a hospital ? It looked like everything was at the Camp. Obviously I’m wrong but it might well be confusing to people that review your application too. Maybe the issue is how you are explaining stuff. And what is the leadership you mare talking about.
I really don’t even want to get into the clinic stuff. I will say I spent lots of summers at Muscular Dystrophy camp and burn camps. It never once entered my mind to consider it clinical in nature. Sure I did self care, and lifted kids, held hands when bandages were changed of burned kids but the kids were campers. I was a volunteer counselor. The kids were not patients and I was not a CNA.


I know you are only paid for 40 Hours a week. Just like every teacher. I saw that you do extra stuff with your students. And that’s good but every teacher I’ve ever known, especially high school teachers, do these same things for their students. It really is considered part of the job in many places. Can you count it on your application ? Sure but be careful, many people will find it interesting that this extra stuff isn’t included in your job .And if a reviewer has a son or daughter who is a teacher they might take offense . There is no accounting for preconceived biases people have. Now if you did these activities at a community center and some of the kids you work with just happen to be your kids at school, that’s different. Is that what you do? I get the impression, you stay at school and do this work. Again, maybe it’s how you are explaining it.

You need to take a step back and reevaluate your activities. You have obviously worked very hard and I understand you don’t want to change things or add things, but maybe you should consider it. Do you have a mentor you can talk to? Someone you can show the whole package to and get some help/advice? It might be helpful for you to talk it out.

You said you sent an update in January. Did you ever think that maybe they just looked at it and thought he still doesn’t have what we expect? What he needs to be competitive?

 

[candbgirl]

If your friends in medical school don't know people in AMSA or the admissions office... (I can't do all your work for you... your friends should be able to help). There also is usually a virtual medical school fair (one by AAMC, one by AACOM) held once a year online.
Recruiting fairs are usually held about the same time of the year on various campuses by prehealth advisors.

That online fair is very soon. There is a thread about it I just read. It’s on the pre-med general forum.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I’m still really confused , even with your new explanation. When did you work in a hospital ? It looked like everything was at the Camp. Obviously I’m wrong but it might well be confusing to people that review your application too. Maybe the issue is how you are explaining stuff. And what is the leadership you mare talking about.
I really don’t even want to get into the clinic stuff. I will say I spent lots of summers at Muscular Dystrophy camp and burn camps. It never once entered my mind to consider it clinical in nature. Sure I did self care, and lifted kids, held hands when bandages were changed of burned kids but the kids were campers. I was a volunteer counselor. The kids were not patients and I was not a CNA.


I know you are only paid for 40 Hours a week. Just like every teacher. I saw that you do extra stuff with your students. And that’s good but every teacher I’ve ever known, especially high school teachers, do these same things for their students. It really is considered part of the job in many places. Can you count it on your application ? Sure but be careful, many people will find it interesting that this extra stuff isn’t included in your job .And if a reviewer has a son or daughter who is a teacher they might take offense . There is no accounting for preconceived biases people have. Now if you did these activities at a community center and some of the kids you work with just happen to be your kids at school, that’s different. Is that what you do? I get the impression, you stay at school and do this work. Again, maybe it’s how you are explaining it.

You need to take a step back and reevaluate your activities. You have obviously worked very hard and I understand you don’t want to change things or add things, but maybe you should consider it. Do you have a mentor you can talk to? Someone you can show the whole package to and get some help/advice? It might be helpful for you to talk it out.

You said you sent an update in January. Did you ever think that maybe they just looked at it and thought he still doesn’t have what we expect? What he needs to be competitive?

Yes, I'm going to agree with this analysis too. As much as those types of summers is very therapeutic for patients, it's not exactly the same as being in a hospital or clinic environment. Yes, those types of camps are required to have some health care specialists on-site, just as every sports venue has a small triage room or few. But you don't evaluate emergency procedures on-site, which is why you take people to a hospital. It's therapy-related care, similar to physical therapy, as would similar programs like therapeutic riding (horses).

From the description of teacher, that was your employment, not non-clinical volunteering.

From the original post

for the last 8 eight years have been interested in going into peds oncology, rheumatology, neurology etc; and currently do not see that changing after 5000+ hours working with the population and their parents, and shadowing.

So what hospitals did you shadow that allowed you to go into pediatric wards in these specialties? How exactly did you work with these patients and caregivers while in the clinic? What insights did you gain from physicians about the very difficult discussions that happen? You probably have some answers, but the question is whether the screeners and interviewers agree with your perspective of these encounters as clinical experience. I suspect many more screeners did not see it that way.

 

[Faha]

You can apply this June and hopefully your new MCAT score will be significantly higher. However, schools will evaluate your application based on your current score. You should definitely include DO schools.

 

[Wayfinder]

Thank you all for your help!
Even though I did ask one adcom about my camp hours a few years ago, that was just one person's viewpoint.
I am realizing many would see these hours differently.
I will work on seeing what I can get done MCAT wise and clinical hours between now and mid-may. If I cant pull it off then I will re-evaluate if it is still advantageous to reapply this upcoming cycle and if I am able to make any significant changes by then. I am thinking if I really need to get my MCAT up 5+ points and get some more consistent hospital hours to add to the 150 hours hospital volunteer hours I did at the beginning of my college career, I might need a few months of not working as much as I am.
To get these few months would I still be a strong enough applicant if I reapplied later getting all my secondaries in by labor day, but with these changes, if I could pull them off slowly between now and early July? Or if it was the case I couldn't pull this off by may that I should wait another year? Or is it too hard to say?
I will also try to reach out to more friends in medical school and really focus on my activity section this time around to make sure that my descriptions are accurately explaining everything that I did in the job.
Also, @candbgirl thank you! I see that the fair is tomorrow, so I will try to get off work early enough to attend!