Suggestions?

[mcatrat]

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I am relatively new to this forum. Sorry if this is kind of long, but it is just a quick run down of where I'm at. I was wondering if there is anything else that I need to do or could be doing in preparation for applying to medical school. I graduated from a state university receiving a BA in psychology. I received Dean's List and Semester honors each semester that I attended. Currently my cGPA is 3.76 and my sGPA is 3.61. I am finishing physics 2 this semester (currently have an A) and organic chemistry 1 and 2 starting next Fall semester. I will be a certified EMT-B by June and will be volunteering at my local station. I started research this semester with the med school I would like to attend (only state school) and will do it for another year or so. I am also part of the pre-med club, and have shadowed a family physician that I know well. I teach Sunday school and do other volunteer work at my church. I am a pilot, and have been a flight instructor for the past 4 years with close to 1000 hours of instruction given. I play in alot of basketball leagues and tournaments as well as run 5k-mini marathon races every so often. I have not taken the MCAT yet, but plan on taking it next spring semester. What kind of score should I be aiming for? I should also mention that I basically just have the bare minimum science class requirement for med school (1 year of physics, chem, bio, and organic). Thank you for your input.

 

[Mobius1985]

Your extracurriculars are coming along nicely. Don't forget that a leadership experience is desirable. Shadowing another 1-2 specialties would be good if you can get it in. It looks like you really don't have any clinical experience yet, except for via classroom work perhaps. Does this mean you'll only have one year of patient contact by the time you apply? The EMT work will also be a community service as you will be a volunteer, along with the church work. You'll have research, sports, and teaching to list. If you maintain your GPA where it is, you'll be fine.

Chances of an acceptance for those applying through AMCAS for the last three years having a GPA of 3.76, were as follows: MCAT 27-29=59.6%, MCAT 30-32=76.8%, MCAT 33-35=83.7%, MCAT 36-38=86%.

 

[mcatrat]

What would be some examples of good leadership activities? I am the chief flight instructor for the club i teach at, could that count as leadership? Right now I do not have any clinical exposure except for shadowing and EMT. I was hoping EMT would take care of the amount of clinical I would need (volunteering about a year) plus the year and half of research.

 

[Mobius1985]

I would list the flight instructor experience under the Teaching/Mentoring category unless being a "Chief Flight Instructor" involves administrative duties, coordinating and leading meetings, making schedules, disciplinary meetings, etc, in which case, you're good to go.

A year of EMT experience is on the light side, but if intense (not sitting and waiting for a call during most of the shift), will hopefully be sufficient. You could consider detailing some of the training activities you participated in prior to becoming certified to make the time longer. You could also consider supplementing this with another clinical activity in a completely different venue, like a nursing home or free clinic for two hours every other week for a year to show a breadth of experience.

For other leadership ideas, consider reading through the MDAPPS links listed under many members' avatars.