reapplicant needs a bit of advice

[hayden]

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Hey folks, just wanted a little feedback if anyone cares to give me some. I applied to medical schools to get in for 2006 and at the moment I have a few wait lists to show for it, so i'm not exactly counting on anything. My dilemma is of course what to do while I reapply for 2007. I currently work in a transplant immunology research lab which includes a little bit of clinical exposure because we use human subjects in our research. I just got my first publication as a first author. The weakness in my application is that i don't have much clinical or volunteer experience, so i'm not sure if i should stay on in the lab and possibly start volunteering at the local hospital or to drop the lab job and get a job working at the hospial or something like that. I've done shadowing for a summer in the past, i have a bit of volunteer experience in the community. My MCATS are 29, with 10's and 9 on verbal, science and all around gpa is 3.5-3.6, so i'm not exaclty worried about that stuff. I plan to apply early as possible to as many schools as possible. Any suggestions?

 

[brcleats12]

Hey folks, just wanted a little feedback if anyone cares to give me some. I applied to medical schools to get in for 2006 and at the moment I have a few wait lists to show for it, so i'm not exactly counting on anything. My dilemma is of course what to do while I reapply for 2007. I currently work in a transplant immunology research lab which includes a little bit of clinical exposure because we use human subjects in our research. I just got my first publication as a first author. The weakness in my application is that i don't have much clinical or volunteer experience, so i'm not sure if i should stay on in the lab and possibly start volunteering at the local hospital or to drop the lab job and get a job working at the hospial or something like that. I've done shadowing for a summer in the past, i have a bit of volunteer experience in the community. My MCATS are 30, with 10's all around, science and all around gpa is 3.5-3.6, so i'm not exaclty worried about that stuff. I plan to apply early as possible to as many schools as possible. Any suggestions?

You want to have an overall package. Strengths in any of the topics will show that you more to offer to the table than others. I believe that you should pursue clinical/volunteer experiences to round off your applicancy. Congrats on getting on a few waitlists. Even that is applaudable 👍

Good luck with the rest of the application process.

BTW, AMCAS is up.

 

[hayden]

Thanks for the advice, my thinking as of now is to continue doing my research (i'd feel bad leaving in the middle of it and i think it shows commitment to it by staying) but also starting to volunteer at the hospital with patients and look for any other clinical opportunity to get involved with asap. I'm also considering retaking the MCAT, because while i know a 30 is a good score, if i did better, i think i'd have a lot better chance to get in. Any suggestions out there as to what kind of opportunity in a clinical environment could be feasible while working full time in a lab?

 

[RxnMan]

Thanks for the advice, my thinking as of now is to continue doing my research (i'd feel bad leaving in the middle of it and i think it shows commitment to it by staying) but also starting to volunteer at the hospital with patients and look for any other clinical opportunity to get involved with asap. I'm also considering retaking the MCAT, because while i know a 30 is a good score, if i did better, i think i'd have a lot better chance to get in. Any suggestions out there as to what kind of opportunity in a clinical environment could be feasible while working full time in a lab?

I think it's simpler than you think - just ask one of the docs you work with to follow one of your patients in the hospital. Or shadow the doc. Or ask your supervisor to change your duties around to get more clinical experience. If you're in a hospital, and your co-workers know your ambitions, then they'll probably be happy to help you.

 

[t33sg1rl]

If you have any kind of patient contact in your research work, then you're good to go. I had NONE of the traditional stuff-didn't shadow, didn't spend 10 minutes volunteering ANYWHERE-and interviewers loved my "clinical experience", which consisted of several years doing clinical research, including recruiting and interviewing patients OVER THE PHONE. That's right, I never saw a live one, but the schools just ate up all that "patient contact".

Although, in the interests of full disclosure, my personal statement was about how meaningful my work with the patients was, and how we touched each other's souls in the pursuit of medicine, etc etc. I downplayed the science/research stuff-publications will speak for themselves.