Hey guys! I'm currently going through the dilemma of deciding whether or not to apply this cycle. I'm not sure if I'm ready to apply yet, because my research is so weak, and many of the schools where my MCAT fits the best are research-heavy. A second gap year would be completely unplanned for, but I was considering deferring my matriculation anyway (should I have applied) due to familial problems. Do you guys think I have a solid enough chance at my school list (particularly targets) if my PS is just average?
Year in school: Senior/soon to graduate
Country/state of residence: California
Major: Biology
cGPA: 3.82 sGPA: 3.76
MCAT: 524 (131/130/131/132)
Research: My weakness - ~80 hrs [5 months] in an animal ecology lab
Volunteering (clinical): ~300 hrs [1.5 years] at hospital - A valuable experience with extremely close/meaningful contact with patients (duties included bathing/feeding/taking vitals for patients)
Physician shadowing: ~8 hrs [1 day] with intensivist (actually experienced my first death here)
~18 hrs [2 days] with pediatrician/family medicine doctor
Non-clinical volunteering: ~150 hrs [2 years] camp for at-risk youth (1 year leadership)
~10 hrs (150 projected hrs for summer/gap year) [just started lol] in a diabetes outreach organization
~16 hrs [2 days] cancer relay org
Extracurricular activities: ~900 hrs club lacrosse [4 years] (1 year leadership)
~200 hrs in professional fraternity [2.5 years] (1 year leadership)
Employment history: ~1000 hrs [2 years] student night job
School List: I used WedgeDawg’s system to help create this list
Reach:
UCSF
UPenn
Pritzer
WashU
Stanford
Hopkins
Target:
UCLA
UCSD
UPitt
UMich
Baylor
Cornell
Vanderbilt
Feinberg
Lower Tier:
USC
Rochester
UVA
Dartmouth
Ohio
Einstein
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
Year in school: Senior/soon to graduate
Country/state of residence: California
Major: Biology
cGPA: 3.82 sGPA: 3.76
MCAT: 524 (131/130/131/132)
Research: My weakness - ~80 hrs [5 months] in an animal ecology lab
Volunteering (clinical): ~300 hrs [1.5 years] at hospital - A valuable experience with extremely close/meaningful contact with patients (duties included bathing/feeding/taking vitals for patients)
Physician shadowing: ~8 hrs [1 day] with intensivist (actually experienced my first death here)
~18 hrs [2 days] with pediatrician/family medicine doctor
Non-clinical volunteering: ~150 hrs [2 years] camp for at-risk youth (1 year leadership)
~10 hrs (150 projected hrs for summer/gap year) [just started lol] in a diabetes outreach organization
~16 hrs [2 days] cancer relay org
Extracurricular activities: ~900 hrs club lacrosse [4 years] (1 year leadership)
~200 hrs in professional fraternity [2.5 years] (1 year leadership)
Employment history: ~1000 hrs [2 years] student night job
School List: I used WedgeDawg’s system to help create this list
Reach:
UCSF
UPenn
Pritzer
WashU
Stanford
Hopkins
Target:
UCLA
UCSD
UPitt
UMich
Baylor
Cornell
Vanderbilt
Feinberg
Lower Tier:
USC
Rochester
UVA
Dartmouth
Ohio
Einstein
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
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