Struggling to Stand Out

[kelminak]

Hi Pre-DO,

I just got my MCAT back and I got 7/12/9 = 28. That seems to be a fairly average number for getting into DO schools. My ideal school is PNWU due to proximity and mission, but after attending a presentation from their school, I don't feel like I have anything that is going to make me stand out. My GPA is low and I'm working to get that up to what he said was what their average is (3.3 sGPA, didn't say a cumulative). I've started the process to volunteer at my local hospital in a couple weeks and will work on shadowing heavily during this summer. I plan on applying the next summer (2016), so I'll ideally have the following stats:

Acceptable GPA >3.0c/3.3s
MCAT: 7/12/9 = 28
Hospital Volunteer Hours: >200
Shadowing: What I can accumulate over the next 2 years

All of these things seem like the standard things that all pre-meds do, and the presenter repeatedly spoke of "doing something to make your application stand out." However, I don't exactly know what it is schools are looking for in this regard and everyone seems really vague regarding this. Can anyone give some specific examples of what I could consider doing to make myself unique compared to other applicants?

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[radian313]

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[radian313]

Hi Pre-DO,

I just got my MCAT back and I got 7/12/9 = 28. That seems to be a fairly average number for getting into DO schools. My ideal school is PNWU due to proximity and mission, but after attending a presentation from their school, I don't feel like I have anything that is going to make me stand out. My GPA is low and I'm working to get that up to what he said was what their average is (3.3 sGPA, didn't say a cumulative). I've started the process to volunteer at my local hospital in a couple weeks and will work on shadowing heavily during this summer. I plan on applying the next summer (2016), so I'll ideally have the following stats:

Acceptable GPA >3.0c/3.3s
MCAT: 7/12/9 = 28
Hospital Volunteer Hours: >200
Shadowing: What I can accumulate over the next 2 years

All of these things seem like the standard things that all pre-meds do, and the presenter repeatedly spoke of "doing something to make your application stand out." However, I don't exactly know what it is schools are looking for in this regard and everyone seems really vague regarding this. Can anyone give some specific examples of what I could consider doing to make myself unique compared to other applicants?

Since you asked for examples, here are a few...these are things Ive done, I am also in this DO app cycle...


Work/ECs

Hospital Volunteer (3 months)
EMT-B Fire and Rescue
Fire station volunteer helping with Bingo nights and other community events such as Santa Claus runs during Xmas
International Student Union VP 2008
International Week 2009 Chairman
Secretary/Founding member- worked on coordinating logistics with Free Clinic and helped make meals for homeless shelters, also did fundraisers for international support to different needy countries
Research Assistant for PhD candidate
Student Justice for Honor Committee
Intramural Sports Team Captain 2009
Intramural Sports Team Member 2008
Emergency Medicine Club Member
Public Health Student Organization
Public Health Dept Website Blogger
Published Story School Magazine (non science)
Worked as an intern in the Dept of Family Medicine, making Public Health brochures for non profit organization/out reach program for at risk population of Baltimore, MD for preventable disease (this was part of my MPH program)

Work experience

Best Buy (Computers/Mobile)
Holiday Inn Front Desk
Bank Teller
Pharmacy Technician (CVS)
Pharmacy Technician (Walgreens)
Medical Assistant/Medical Scribe For Ophthalmologist
Medical Intern for DO (Urologist)
Medical Scribe for Level 1 Trauma Center/ED

 

[pollos]

Don't think at all you need as extensive as a list that the above poster has provided. Yes you need clinical exposure/volunteering/shadowing but find something you love outside of medicine and get involved in that. Finding those passions is what will make you stand out. Pretty much, do something with your time, show there is more to you than numbers. Also, although a 28 is a good score for DO schools, it is quite unbalanced which sometimes is undesirable for some schools.

 

[kelminak]

Don't think at all you need as extensive as a list that the above poster has provided. Yes you need clinical exposure/volunteering/shadowing but find something you love outside of medicine and get involved in that. Finding those passions is what will make you stand out. Pretty much, do something with your time, show there is more to you than numbers. Also, although a 28 is a good score for DO schools, it is quite unbalanced which sometimes is undesirable for some schools.

He said that at least at his school, they just consider the whole number and not the individual scores, so hopefully I'll be set in that regard. I wouldn't even have time for the list above, but I do appreciate the ideas. I have joined the pre-med club at our school, so hopefully I can get involved with some non-clinical volunteering. He did mention that people that only volunteer at a hospital make it look like they're just doing it to get into med school rather than having a passion for it, so that could be a good thing to add. Otherwise, I'm not really sure what else I can do, especially when I'm so late in the game that I don't have the time to do something *huge* that would require many years of involvement.

 

[radian313]

Don't think at all you need as extensive as a list that the above poster has provided. Yes you need clinical exposure/volunteering/shadowing but find something you love outside of medicine and get involved in that. Finding those passions is what will make you stand out. Pretty much, do something with your time, show there is more to you than numbers. Also, although a 28 is a good score for DO schools, it is quite unbalanced which sometimes is undesirable for some schools.

Yes you are correct, it shouldn't be this extensive at all. The OP asked for examples, hence I provided mine.

I think a good mix of leadership, clinical intensive stuff, and something with sports goes a long way. Great job on the 28 MCAT.

 

[radian313]

He said that at least at his school, they just consider the whole number and not the individual scores, so hopefully I'll be set in that regard. I wouldn't even have time for the list above, but I do appreciate the ideas. I have joined the pre-med club at our school, so hopefully I can get involved with some non-clinical volunteering. He did mention that people that only volunteer at a hospital make it look like they're just doing it to get into med school rather than having a passion for it, so that could be a good thing to add. Otherwise, I'm not really sure what else I can do, especially when I'm so late in the game that I don't have the time to do something *huge* that would require many years of involvement.

I apologize if I made it seem like you have to do all this. No way. I was just giving a list of things that could be done.

Like the other poster said, just do something you have a passion for and be sure to articulate it as to why you did what you did to help you motivate you into becoming a budding physician, they don't want bookworms, nor do they want a nice guy in a white coat, something of a cross b/w the two.

You'll do fine.

 

[pollos]

He said that at least at his school, they just consider the whole number and not the individual scores, so hopefully I'll be set in that regard. I wouldn't even have time for the list above, but I do appreciate the ideas. I have joined the pre-med club at our school, so hopefully I can get involved with some non-clinical volunteering. He did mention that people that only volunteer at a hospital make it look like they're just doing it to get into med school rather than having a passion for it, so that could be a good thing to add. Otherwise, I'm not really sure what else I can do, especially when I'm so late in the game that I don't have the time to do something *huge* that would require many years of involvement.

Yes you are correct, it shouldn't be this extensive at all. The OP asked for examples, hence I provided mine.

I think a good mix of leadership, clinical intensive stuff, and something with sports goes a long way. Great job on the 28 MCAT.

Didn't mean to downplay the MCAT score at all but in the way of the game most people apply to multiple schools so others may not view the 28 the same way. Remember an average is just an average and although PNWU said 3.3, it's okay if you are a little below! I think you are in good shape for them, you are taking the right steps towards becoming well-rounded. Keep it up!

 

[Buddy.the.Elf]

I believe you'll get a bit of preference since you're in the NW. Since their mission is working with the rural/underserved populations, it won't hurt to find a project working with those populations. It does not have to be medical. It could be anything relating to helping those populations (it helps if it's something you really enjoy and are passionate about). For what it's worth, I have an interview at PNWU with numbers similar to yours.