Specific questions about the application process

[AbbeyRoad708]

Hey everyone. This is my first post. I've read a few threads like these before, and saw a bunch of very helpful responses. I was hoping I might be able to get some feedback as well. I apologize in advance for the length of the post, but I am nervous and have some questions about the process.

I am currently a second semester sophomore at Mizzou for undergrad (by credits), even though this is my third year of school. My first semester, I had some family issues at home and dropped all of my classes. I came back my second semester and finished with an A, B-, C and an F. I took a year off to reevaluate my goals (I was not initially in school to be a doctor, and didn't think I had any interest in the Health Professions). Long story short: I decided to go to medical school, went back to Mizzou and have yet to get so much as an A-. I took a replacement course for the F, and so my cGPA is hovering around a 3.7, with my sGPA at a 4.0. I was very lucky to get it figured out before it was too late. I am very excited about going to medical school, I can't see myself anywhere else, and I will do everything in my power to get there. That being said, I am more ignorant than I would like to be about the application process.

So, 1st question:
Is it worth it to spend an exorbitant amount of money on MCAT preparation?

There are offered courses here like Kaplan that cost upwards of $1,200 and the books and practice tests alone are hundreds of dollars. I consider myself an intelligent student with good study habits, and have always scored well on standardized tests (34 on the ACT on one try, even though I know that has not bearing or predictive value for the MCAT). However, I know the test is very difficult, very grueling, and I hear horror stories all the time of very intelligent and prepared students who score in the mid 20's. Also, I work full time, I am financially independent and paying student loans, and am on a very strict budget. I would gladly spend the money if it was vital to performing well, but only if it was necessary. So, how effective are these courses, and is it really that much better than studying and taking disciplined practice tests on your own?

2nd question:
How important are EC's/Research/Shadowing?

I realize that although I still have time to beef my resume, time is running out. I haven't really talked in depth with any advisors on campus recently (my advisor laughed in my face when I told him I wanted to go to medical school after my 2.1 GPA freshman year), and never really considered too much community service and research as I work full time in a pathology lab and am a full time student. How much do I realistically need, assuming I continue to perform well in school and end with a ~3.8 GPA? I have yet to take the MCAT as well, so I know it is hard to predict, but with, say, a 30Q and a 3.8, how much is research and community volunteering looked at, and how many hours of each do you really need? Again, I work full time and go to school full time, so I don't have much free time and it's difficult (though not impossible) to schedule in volunteer work. I have shadowed 10 physicians in various specialties, volunteered about 2 hours a week at a local food bank over the course of 18 months, and am planning to go to a week long school sanctioned trip to New Orleans to help build houses. I have zero research. Will this hurt my chances for matriculation into an allopathic medical school? As a caveat, I'm not being picky here; I would love to have options, but the most important thing is that I move on my path towards a medical degree, the capacity of which is not necessarily incumbent upon a Top 10, or even Top 50 school. Also, do I need to ask for some sort of proof that I have done the service I put on my application? Or do I just put down the name of the food bank organization and trust the medical school examiners to follow up and validate my claims on my application?

Additionally, if insufficient research and volunteer hours will hurt me, can anyone suggest some of the former that look good on a resume? Maybe something that one of you guys did? I'll jump through any hoops to make it to medical school. I just need to know which ones to jump through.

Last question:
What sort of attributes are worth putting on my application that will look good, and what is pointless?

I know schools try to look at you as a person as well as just statistics (or at least I would like to think so). What is worth putting on the application? I am a musician and have performed at some local Columbia bars/music venues. I am a 12 year martial artist and martial arts instructor. I worked as a summer camp counselor in Israel for 3 months with young children to help teach them English (and I aspire to be a Pediatrician). I currently work in the processing department of a Pathology lab and help run the centrifuge unit. Are any of these type of things good to put on an application, or would it look arbitrary or random?

Thanks so much for your attention. I am very nervous about both the MCAT and later then interview process, but I am confident that I will find a way to make it happen. I feel that once I get to speak to the interviewers I can make a great impression; I just want to make sure I get myself into a situation to give myself a chance to make a good impression and show how dedicated I am. Sorry again for the novel. I appreciate the feedback.

ZW

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[stera]

hmmmmmmmm its really nice step.
any way your post is really helpful for others..


so keep posting.........

 

[stera]

hmmmmmmmm its really nice step.
any way your post is really helpful for others..


so keep posting.........

 

[Catalystik]

A) I took a replacement course for the F, and so my cGPA is hovering around a 3.7, with my sGPA at a 4.0.

1) So, 1st question:
Is it worth it to spend an exorbitant amount of money on MCAT preparation? So, how effective are these courses, and is it really that much better than studying and taking disciplined practice tests on your own?

2)nd question:
How important are EC's/Research/Shadowing?

How much do I realistically need, assuming I continue to perform well in school and end with a ~3.8 GPA?

I have shadowed 10 physicians in various specialties, volunteered about 2 hours a week at a local food bank over the course of 18 months, and am planning to go to a week long school sanctioned trip to New Orleans to help build houses.

I have zero research. Will this hurt my chances for matriculation into an allopathic medical school?

Additionally, if insufficient research and volunteer hours will hurt me, can anyone suggest some of the former that look good on a resume? Maybe something that one of you guys did? I'll jump through any hoops to make it to medical school. I just need to know which ones to jump through.

3) Last question:
What sort of attributes are worth putting on my application that will look good, and what is pointless?

I am a musician and have performed at some local Columbia bars/music venues. I am a 12 year martial artist and martial arts instructor. I worked as a summer camp counselor in Israel for 3 months with young children to help teach them English (and I aspire to be a Pediatrician). I currently work in the processing department of a Pathology lab and help run the centrifuge unit.

A) Just a comment, that AMCAS will include the F in your application GPA, even if your college has a forgiveness policy. Does your 3.7 include everything?

1) It's certainly possible to self study for the MCAT using prep books and practice tests. It requires great discipline, but it can be done. You can access a free practice test on the AMCAS website to get a ballpark figure of where you stand and how much work you need to do. I'd also suggest you do many practice tests, being sure you consistently score in your target range, before taking the real thing. I never used any study materials at all and did just fine.

2) & 3) GPA and MCAT score get your application through a school's preset criteria before the rest of your application considered. ECs are essential to a good application and determine if you're offered an interview.

Research is not required, but 60% list it. If you don't have it, you should be stronger in other areas. The minimum here is a 3 month summer gig. It helps to demonstrate your scientific curiosity.

Teaching is desirable; you have that.

Your Shadowing sounds excellent in variety, but you didn't list total hours. Can you estimate that? It is listed under the Other category.

You have non-medical Community Service which will be viewed very positively.

You have something to put under Artistic Endeavors. I'd put martial arts under Teaching or Hobbies.

Your Path lab job will be looked at as medically relevant and would be listed under Employment.

Do you have something to list for peer Leadership? Not an essential, but nice to have.

Clinical Experience-Zero! You need to work on that. This is an essential. The average applicant has 150 hours working directly with sick people. You can do this as a volunteer, job, or clinical research. If you could work in the lab with patient contact, like as a phlebotomist, that would be viewed in this category. More than just an hourly total, adcomms will want to see a period of time, on the average 1.5 years, where you gained this experience, to demonstrate that you've explored a medical vocation and have good reason for choosing medicine. Shadowing is not sufficient; you need to talk to sick people. You might get by with less, but I wouldn't take the risk if you won't have any research.

 

[AbbeyRoad708]

The F was my first semester in a 2 hour class. My University offers replacement grades, and I retook the class for an A. Even if they see it and factor it in, it can't bring my GPA down very much, fortunately. I'm hoping to continue my current trend, and if so I can finish my degree with a ~3.75 cGPA (~3.9 sGPA) even with the initial F.

Research is not required, but 60% list it. If you don't have it, you should be stronger in other areas. The minimum here is a 3 month summer gig. It helps to demonstrate your scientific curiosity.

Would you recommend asking my professors if I could get in on one of their research projects? Maybe putting my name on a 3-6 month medically relevant research project would help my make my application look a little more well-rounded?

Your Shadowing sounds excellent in variety, but you didn't list total hours. Can you estimate that? It is listed under the Other category.

Only around ~120. I shadowed most of the doctors just twice so that I could get more variety in specialties. I can get this number up if necessary.

Do you have something to list for peer Leadership? Not an essential, but nice to have.

Not really at the moment. I was captain of my wrestling team in high school. Is that even worth adding?

Clinical Experience-Zero! You need to work on that. This is an essential. The average applicant has 150 hours working directly with sick people. You can do this as a volunteer, job, or clinical research.

Good to know. I'll see if I can cut my hours in half at the lab, and maybe take a part time job in a hospital in some capacity. Will that give me a bit more weight?

And finally, does working full time add any forgiveness to my resume? I know a lot of my competition is fortunate enough to have no job, and volunteer a lot of their time to come off altruistic in their resumes. Unfortunately I cannot afford this luxury if I want to eat. Do medical schools take this into consideration, or do I just need to book it to get my EC's to par over the next 2 years before I apply?

Thanks for the input. It's been a huge help.

 

[Catalystik]

1) Would you recommend asking my professors if I could get in on one of their research project? Maybe putting my name on a 3-6 month medically relevant research project would help my make my application look a little more well-rounded?


2) Only around ~120. I shadowed most of the doctors just twice so that I could get more variety in specialties. I can get this number up if necessary.


3) Not really at the moment. I was captain of my wrestling team in high school. Is that even worth adding?


4) Good to know. I'll see if I can cut my hours in half at the lab, and maybe take a part time job in a hospital in some capacity. Will that give me a bit more weight?

5) And finally, does working full time add any forgiveness to my resume?

1) Yes, I recommend this.

2) Your shadowing is excellent already and you need not do more unless it interests you.

3) Don't list high school activities. Sorry, it won't help.

4) As much as you possibly can, I'd try to shift duties in the hospital to some area where you'll have patient contact. And as soon as possible.

5) Working full-time will get you forgiveness for some things, but not for the essentials. Really the clinical experience is the only thing you MUST develop. More community service would help you too. If you can work in some research in addition, it makes your application stronger, but this is elective, where the others are not. If you could do some clinical volunteering, just 2-4 hours per week, it would count toward both community service and clinical experience.

 

[AbbeyRoad708]

Thanks again for the input. This is the kind of stuff they just don't tell you about in school. I'm glad I came here.

Yes, I recommend this.

OK, I'll see if I can get some sort of summer research position. A least I'll have something to add in that category. Is the best way to find research opportunities from University professors? Do you think there is maybe some sort of list I could draw upon? I don't really know how to go about finding a good research project to volunteer for.

As much as you possibly can, I'd try to shift duties in the hospital to some area where you'll have patient contact. And as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, I work in a private lab that doesn't operate out of a hospital. I'll have to apply to the University hospital. I have a contact who was the director of Peds at the UMC hospital and so I'll have to see if he could give me a recommendation.

Don't list high school activities. Sorry, it won't help.

Yeah, I didn't think so. I guess I can leave "peer leadership" out and take the hit.

Really the clinical experience is the only thing you MUST develop. More community service would help you too. If you can work in some research in addition, it makes your application stronger, but this is elective, where the others are not. If you could do some clinical volunteering, just 2-4 hours per week, it would count toward both community service and clinical experience.

Great idea. I can definitely do 4-5 hours a week most weeks for the next 1.5 years. It'd give me a little less time to study for the MCAT, but I'll manage just fine if I spread it out on Saturday and Sunday. That would give me more than 200 hours in both clinical experience and community service. I already have more than 100 hours volunteering at a food bank. Would this make me a much more competitive applicant?

 

[Catalystik]

1) I don't really know how to go about finding a good research project to volunteer for.

2)I can definitely do 4-5 hours a week most weeks for the next 1.5 years. It'd give me a little less time to study for the MCAT, but I'll manage just fine if I spread it out on Saturday and Sunday. That would give me more than 200 hours in both clinical experience and community service. I already have more than 100 hours volunteering at a food bank. Would this make me a much more competitive applicant?

1) You could ask current professors if they have or know of a colleague who has openings in their lab. Or, see if your school has a website on research at your institution like mine does for each department. Often they link to abstracts so you can get an idea of what work each prof is doing. See what intersts you, email the PI (Principal Inverstigator) asking to meet, attaching copies of your CV and transcript, and ask for a place in their lab. If you email 14 people, you might get 2 responses, based on what seems typical. You can volunteer, or take a research seminar and get credit, or get paid for doing research and still have it count as Research.

2) Clinical volunteering is what is usual and customary. Having additional non-medical volunteering that you've shown dedication to over a period of time helps you stand out. Adcomms like to see passion about your involvement in an activity.

 

[AbbeyRoad708]

Great, thanks. I'll get started right away.

Do I need to ask for some form of proof from the organization that I have donated my time? Or do the adcoms just follow up any claims I make in my resume by investigating (i.e. calling the organization)?

 

[Catalystik]

Just keep track of your hours and have contact information available, as all places don't keep track for you. The application requests organization name and address and contact person. Then average hours per week. You can add a phone number or email after the narrative that describes what you did and your total hours.