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Question?
- Thread starter thinker2021
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Hello!
I think you are doing swell, so far. Just keep getting those good grades and continue volunteering. I would possibly work on shadowing other specialties, it might look bad to have only shadowed one specialist for so long. Definitely get some Family Medicine shadowing in along with another speciality you might be interested in. All in all if things continue the way they have been you should be in a good spot!
I would also start thinking about your MCAT, when you want to test, etc. No need to start studying yet, but get a plan together. Also maybe put together a tentative school list.
Best of luck to you!
I think you are doing swell, so far. Just keep getting those good grades and continue volunteering. I would possibly work on shadowing other specialties, it might look bad to have only shadowed one specialist for so long. Definitely get some Family Medicine shadowing in along with another speciality you might be interested in. All in all if things continue the way they have been you should be in a good spot!
I would also start thinking about your MCAT, when you want to test, etc. No need to start studying yet, but get a plan together. Also maybe put together a tentative school list.
Best of luck to you!
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You're doing great!! Your GPA is solid! Do you want to go to top twenty schools?
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@thinker2021 well your GPA is great so keep that up. You'll need a killer MCAT score and definitely productive research.
Just so you know, even with a perfect app, you may not get into top twenties. You need to really make yourself standout as a great applicant. and as @Goro says, there is a frequent amount of inbreeding with the top twenties.
as @gonnif always asks, would you not go to med school if you didnt get into a top school?
Just so you know, even with a perfect app, you may not get into top twenties. You need to really make yourself standout as a great applicant. and as @Goro says, there is a frequent amount of inbreeding with the top twenties.
as @gonnif always asks, would you not go to med school if you didnt get into a top school?
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You're a competitive applicant GPA wise. By interbreeding, I mean Harvard undergrads usually go to Harvard med school... If you go to an Ivy league undergrad and do well, chances are you will go to an ivy league med school. I believe for the top twenties, you definitely need productive research.
Yeah that makes more sense but you shouldn't just do research to get into med school man. You should do what YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT!
and OK good, I'm just making sure. You're doing great thus far! Keep up the great work and you'll prob have acceptances to choose from
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So far, so goodHello! Thanks for reading
I'm a pre-med sophomore at a fairly well-ranked LAC. I don't have family in or many close connections to the medical field, so I am not super knowledgeable about this process. Since I'm early in my pre-med path, I wanted to get some advice on how things are going so far if I'm hoping to apply to allopathic med schools (maybe some top 20s?). Here are my stats thus far:
Majors: Bio, anthro, public health
GPA: 3.98 (have completed all bio pre-reqs, orgo 1 and 2, physics 1)
Research: started sophomore fall in a lab studying nervous system development, not sure what is going to come out of it in terms of publications/posters (I'm not super invested in research but feel like it's something I need to do?)
Shadowing: ~50 hours with an oncologist (I am working on getting more)
Clinical volunteering: Medical interpreter and outreach intern for a women's health program at a free clinic, screener for social needs (housing, food support, etc) for a local hospital's ED, campus peer health educator with a focus on sexual health
Non-clinical volunteering: ESL tutor for campus staff, college-prep mentor at a program for latino hs students
Summer: spent last summer in Chile working on health promotion curriculum for a women's shelter
Not a URM
That's what I have so far, so if you have any advice on things I should change/focus more on/add that would be helpful. Does it look at this point (assuming I stay on track) like I could eventually be competitive for some of the higher tier med schools? Any other advice for someone without extensive knowledge of the application process? Thanks again!
Hi internet friend! First off, I just wanted to tell you that I'm super proud of how well you're doing so far. At no point in my college career have I had a 3.98. You are remarkably well-involved and doing all the right things. Now, as a disclaimer, I will say that I have yet to apply for medical school, but I will also say that many of my senior friends who are getting into solid programs have profiles that frankly pale in comparison to yours.
Don't doubt yourself. You're doing wonderfully. Remember that this is the worst place to go for "how am I doing" because everyone here is super-stressed and convinced nobody gets into good medical schools when that's simply not the case. Not only are you doing well generally, but I truly believe that you're in great shape for your top 20 aspirations.
A note on research: If it doesn't light a fire in you after a year or so in lab, then get out. Go invest your time somewhere you want to be. Med schools like research, but more than that they like passion. If you're not passionate about your research, they may question your authenticity, especially when you could have spent time doing more volunteering, which potentially could be more constructive and enjoyable for you. People on here and in the media treat research as a must-have, but I tell you truly that I met some M1s and M2s during my summer research at A&M's med center who said they never touched research in undergrad. Now, I don't know the standards of the Ivies, or whoever you're applying to, but I would tend to estimate that, for most of them, they're more concerned with you learning things that are relevant to a future career as a physician and doing things that matter to you. If that isn't research, then you shouldn't invest an inordinate amount of time in it.
On the flipside, don't discount the value of research. Allow yourself the opportunity to enjoy it. You'll get more out of it, and you may fall so far in love with it you choose to pursue an MD-PhD. That's certainly been the case for me.
I'm sure I'll get a snide reply on this because that's the nature of these forums. But believe me when I tell you that you are doing not only well, but superbly.
Don't doubt yourself. You're doing wonderfully. Remember that this is the worst place to go for "how am I doing" because everyone here is super-stressed and convinced nobody gets into good medical schools when that's simply not the case. Not only are you doing well generally, but I truly believe that you're in great shape for your top 20 aspirations.
A note on research: If it doesn't light a fire in you after a year or so in lab, then get out. Go invest your time somewhere you want to be. Med schools like research, but more than that they like passion. If you're not passionate about your research, they may question your authenticity, especially when you could have spent time doing more volunteering, which potentially could be more constructive and enjoyable for you. People on here and in the media treat research as a must-have, but I tell you truly that I met some M1s and M2s during my summer research at A&M's med center who said they never touched research in undergrad. Now, I don't know the standards of the Ivies, or whoever you're applying to, but I would tend to estimate that, for most of them, they're more concerned with you learning things that are relevant to a future career as a physician and doing things that matter to you. If that isn't research, then you shouldn't invest an inordinate amount of time in it.
On the flipside, don't discount the value of research. Allow yourself the opportunity to enjoy it. You'll get more out of it, and you may fall so far in love with it you choose to pursue an MD-PhD. That's certainly been the case for me.
I'm sure I'll get a snide reply on this because that's the nature of these forums. But believe me when I tell you that you are doing not only well, but superbly.
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No problem friend! I know it's easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of this process but I personally have found that that's not the most healthy way to go about things. However, if I were you, I might try to read a few papers from labs outside of your current area of research work. I've been fortunate to be in a lab that really interests me, but it might be that you're simply not in the right field of research for you. But again, totally spitballing here. Also, if you do find that you want to try research in another field (say you're in microbiology but want to try something cardiovascular), there are a boat-load of programs available for that.
But again, it's not imperative. Good to have, sure, but not a be-all-end-all. The only reason I'm repping research so much is because I personally have loved it and plan to make it part of my career, but I know that's not everybody (in fact, it's only about 3% of people).
Anyways, good luck to you. It sounds like you have yourself in a great place but also have a really solid head on your shoulders, which is the most important thing. A lot of folks put themselves through hell just trying to get to medical school. I know some will disagree, but I personally don't think that's totally necessary. I hope you're taking care of you and making yourself a priority as well as all these things you're doing so well. Take care, and I hope that you have great success in this and in all things!
But again, it's not imperative. Good to have, sure, but not a be-all-end-all. The only reason I'm repping research so much is because I personally have loved it and plan to make it part of my career, but I know that's not everybody (in fact, it's only about 3% of people).
Anyways, good luck to you. It sounds like you have yourself in a great place but also have a really solid head on your shoulders, which is the most important thing. A lot of folks put themselves through hell just trying to get to medical school. I know some will disagree, but I personally don't think that's totally necessary. I hope you're taking care of you and making yourself a priority as well as all these things you're doing so well. Take care, and I hope that you have great success in this and in all things!
