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Hello. My last post was very long and detailed....you can go here if you'd like to see it: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=700216
DO stats - cumGPA:3.47; sciGPA: 3.22
I currently don't have that much volunteer experience. I volunteered quite a bit during my freshmen year with the ELI (English Language Institute) at my school helping foreign students to practice their English (aprox. 200 hours). I spent my sophomore year studying abroad in Ecuador and China.
The biggest problem I had is that during the second half of my time in China, I got really sick. I stayed sick throughout the next two years (apparently a medicinally induced autoimmune disorder followed by spinal fluid pressure problems). After the 1st year and a half, I began to recover substantially, but it is taking time to come back completely. I am mostly recovered now, but still suffer from fairly frequent, severe migraines.
During the time I was sick, I got several awful grades. As I had to maintain a full load to ensure my scholarships and medical insurance, I pushed through all the coursework. The second year back from abroad (my original senior year), I had to retake a large number of my basic science classes just so I could continue towards finishing my degree and maintain my full time student status. Most of my grades in the retakes did improve slightly, but not extremely significantly as I was still dealing with health issues (generally, F to D, D to C, etc.).
So, now is my fifth year of undergraduate studies. I ended up quitting the Honor's college (an extra $250 per term and I couldn't finish the required classes in time to graduate "with honors"). I had to switch my major from Biochemistry/Biophysics to Chemistry just to graduate during my fifth year. The only other useful thing I really did this last year was to volunteer around 50 hours (when I felt up to it) at the Humane Society because being around the animals made me happy and helped heal my soul.
So, overall, I don't have much in the way of ECs, no really good contacts for LORs, and a bad trend in my grades. My plan for the rest of this year are to pull the best grades possible (trying to get my study skills back on par to what they were before I was sick), make some contacts for LORs, and volunteer some more at the Humane Society (or finding clinical volunteer work if that is much preferred).
During the summer, I plan to become a CNA and start clinical paid work. I can also potentially retake some of my previous classes. I played with my GPA calculation, and retaking my lowest two scores could potentially bring my cum/sci GPA up to 3.55/3.41 (assuming A's in the retakes, of course). However, one of these classes I already retook once. How bad does it look to retake the same class twice?
My biggest question right now is whether to rush to apply for 2011 or wait until 2012. I would prefer getting my ducks in order and waiting until 2012. However, there is another important factor to consider. There is going to be a new medical school opening up just 35 minutes away from me that will have a charter class starting in 2011 (Western University Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon).
My thought is that since this is a charter class, the admissions process may be more lenient and fewer people may be applying. I am really tempted to rush my time frame so that I can apply during a less competitive year (as opposed to waiting until 2012 when it may be better known and more competitive). I mean, am I right in thinking that a brand new school with 100 seats might be less competitive than other schools? Do you think I should rush and apply in 2011? I would hate to wait until 2012 only to get rejected and find out I missed a better shot in 2011. Ideally, I don't want to get into medical school "by the skin of my teeth", but I'd rather barely get in than not get in at all. What do you think?
Questions:
1. How do DO schools look upon retaking the same class twice (I mean the live admissions people)?
2. Is Humane Society volunteering good/bad? Should I switch to clinical/medical volunteering?
3. Is the chance of getting into a new medical school good enough to rush my application for 2011 (and have less ECs, rushed LORs, last minute volunteering, etc.) or should I just relax knowing that my application will be much more complete, rounded, and competitive in 2012, so I should have a good chance of getting in then, too?
Thank you. I tried to make this post substantially shorter than the last. 🙂
DO stats - cumGPA:3.47; sciGPA: 3.22
I currently don't have that much volunteer experience. I volunteered quite a bit during my freshmen year with the ELI (English Language Institute) at my school helping foreign students to practice their English (aprox. 200 hours). I spent my sophomore year studying abroad in Ecuador and China.
The biggest problem I had is that during the second half of my time in China, I got really sick. I stayed sick throughout the next two years (apparently a medicinally induced autoimmune disorder followed by spinal fluid pressure problems). After the 1st year and a half, I began to recover substantially, but it is taking time to come back completely. I am mostly recovered now, but still suffer from fairly frequent, severe migraines.
During the time I was sick, I got several awful grades. As I had to maintain a full load to ensure my scholarships and medical insurance, I pushed through all the coursework. The second year back from abroad (my original senior year), I had to retake a large number of my basic science classes just so I could continue towards finishing my degree and maintain my full time student status. Most of my grades in the retakes did improve slightly, but not extremely significantly as I was still dealing with health issues (generally, F to D, D to C, etc.).
So, now is my fifth year of undergraduate studies. I ended up quitting the Honor's college (an extra $250 per term and I couldn't finish the required classes in time to graduate "with honors"). I had to switch my major from Biochemistry/Biophysics to Chemistry just to graduate during my fifth year. The only other useful thing I really did this last year was to volunteer around 50 hours (when I felt up to it) at the Humane Society because being around the animals made me happy and helped heal my soul.
So, overall, I don't have much in the way of ECs, no really good contacts for LORs, and a bad trend in my grades. My plan for the rest of this year are to pull the best grades possible (trying to get my study skills back on par to what they were before I was sick), make some contacts for LORs, and volunteer some more at the Humane Society (or finding clinical volunteer work if that is much preferred).
During the summer, I plan to become a CNA and start clinical paid work. I can also potentially retake some of my previous classes. I played with my GPA calculation, and retaking my lowest two scores could potentially bring my cum/sci GPA up to 3.55/3.41 (assuming A's in the retakes, of course). However, one of these classes I already retook once. How bad does it look to retake the same class twice?
My biggest question right now is whether to rush to apply for 2011 or wait until 2012. I would prefer getting my ducks in order and waiting until 2012. However, there is another important factor to consider. There is going to be a new medical school opening up just 35 minutes away from me that will have a charter class starting in 2011 (Western University Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon).
My thought is that since this is a charter class, the admissions process may be more lenient and fewer people may be applying. I am really tempted to rush my time frame so that I can apply during a less competitive year (as opposed to waiting until 2012 when it may be better known and more competitive). I mean, am I right in thinking that a brand new school with 100 seats might be less competitive than other schools? Do you think I should rush and apply in 2011? I would hate to wait until 2012 only to get rejected and find out I missed a better shot in 2011. Ideally, I don't want to get into medical school "by the skin of my teeth", but I'd rather barely get in than not get in at all. What do you think?
Questions:
1. How do DO schools look upon retaking the same class twice (I mean the live admissions people)?
2. Is Humane Society volunteering good/bad? Should I switch to clinical/medical volunteering?
3. Is the chance of getting into a new medical school good enough to rush my application for 2011 (and have less ECs, rushed LORs, last minute volunteering, etc.) or should I just relax knowing that my application will be much more complete, rounded, and competitive in 2012, so I should have a good chance of getting in then, too?
Thank you. I tried to make this post substantially shorter than the last. 🙂
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