- Joined
- Jul 25, 2014
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 1
**This is already posted in the non-trad forum.
Profile:
Non-URM, rural/blue-collar/first-gen college background
MCAT 33 (11/9/13) (P/V/B)
Undergraduate: affordable/mediocre state school in the South, Chemical Engineering,
-cGPA 3.55, sGPA (3.4-3.5... unverified AMCAS)
Graduate (non-thesis masters): mid-tier state school in the South, Chemical Engineering,
-cGPA 3.4
-originally intended to do PhD, but PI ran out of lab funds, so I transitioned out with a non-thesis masters
Graduate (PhD): respectable state school in the South, Graduate Program in Cancer Biology
-cGPA 3.65
-will have finished PhD before matriculating
Research: Obviously I'm stacked on research. I had 3 separate undergraduate research projects with one resulting in a first author publication on drug design. Dozens of poster and oral presentations. My time in cancer biology PhD has yielded one publication so far. I expect 2 more by the time I finish up. The place where I got the non-thesis was basically a waste of time with no publications and constantly having to explain why I left. The one plus was that it gave me the opportunity to re-focus my research interests in biomedical science, where I am a thousand times happier.
Non-clinical community service: 190 hrs between three different groups (mentoring/meal delivery/meal prep). Not sure if it helps that I've always had a hand in community service without any original intention to go to med school.
Leadership: 600 hrs split between two groups that I founded. One was a politically oriented group that I risked marking as a significant experience since I spent several years rising through the ranks of the national organization coordinating other groups. I pointed out that my experiences actually made me more understanding of other people's beliefs and tried to be vague about the actually beliefs/activities of the group.
Paid employment: 1100 hrs. Nothing special. The school where I had the aborted chemical eng PhD gave me a job as an assistant lab manager in the year in between going my next PhD program.
Shadowing: 40+ hrs with three MDs. Two of these are my "co-mentors" on my PhD project who I have worked with for the past 3 years and expect to provide decent LORs.
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Cons:
-Late(ish) AMCAS submission. Submitted late July and expect to be verified before the end of August.
-No clinical volunteer work. I'm currently in training to volunteer in oncology at the hospital where I do my research, and would probably have 2-3 months of clinical volunteer work to talk about by the time I received any interviews in Nov./Dec.
-Mediocre personal statement. Looking back, there are not obvious flaws, but I never had anyone review it. It's a hodgepodge story of a kid from a blue-collar background who hadn't thought about being an MD until he began doing research under MDs and who has a passion for using science to directly impact people's lives. Yes, I did accidentally use the word "passion" in my PS. And began it with a story about my PI telling a woman she had several dozen breast cancer mets in her brain as a way to contrast his work as an MD against my work as a researcher.
-Having to explain why I want to have four degrees.
-Low end undergrad GPA.
-9 verbal on MCAT
-LORs (maybe): Two from my MD co-mentors who I have shadowed will probably be ok. Planning to get one from my undergrad prof/research mentor, one from a guy who knows my leadership skills in the political organization I used to work for (try to de-emphasize political specifics and focus on leadership), and one from a pastor who I worked with nearly 6 hours nearly every Sunday for the last 1.5 years (it was a start-up church where we had to setup/tear-down stage/AV in a rental space every week---- try not to emphasize anything other than community involvement and interaction with others).
----------
My personal opinion of my application is that I have a lot of weak areas to overcome if I get interviews. I think I'm on the borderline of an acceptable applicant. I'd prefer to matriculate in the next med school class to avoid having to add another year in between finishing my PhD and going to med school. I'm not sure how much I'd be disadvantaged as a non-trad re-applicant. Other than going to Africa to combat Ebola and retaking the MCAT, I'm not sure what I could do during a gap year to improve my app.
Opinions appreciated.
-------
Anticipated schools to apply to (lots of reaches, still looking for safety):
Pitt
Emory
UNC
UAB
Rochester
Wake
Brown
UVA
MUSC
UF
Georgetwn
Dartmouth
VCU
TJU
Profile:
Non-URM, rural/blue-collar/first-gen college background
MCAT 33 (11/9/13) (P/V/B)
Undergraduate: affordable/mediocre state school in the South, Chemical Engineering,
-cGPA 3.55, sGPA (3.4-3.5... unverified AMCAS)
Graduate (non-thesis masters): mid-tier state school in the South, Chemical Engineering,
-cGPA 3.4
-originally intended to do PhD, but PI ran out of lab funds, so I transitioned out with a non-thesis masters
Graduate (PhD): respectable state school in the South, Graduate Program in Cancer Biology
-cGPA 3.65
-will have finished PhD before matriculating
Research: Obviously I'm stacked on research. I had 3 separate undergraduate research projects with one resulting in a first author publication on drug design. Dozens of poster and oral presentations. My time in cancer biology PhD has yielded one publication so far. I expect 2 more by the time I finish up. The place where I got the non-thesis was basically a waste of time with no publications and constantly having to explain why I left. The one plus was that it gave me the opportunity to re-focus my research interests in biomedical science, where I am a thousand times happier.
Non-clinical community service: 190 hrs between three different groups (mentoring/meal delivery/meal prep). Not sure if it helps that I've always had a hand in community service without any original intention to go to med school.
Leadership: 600 hrs split between two groups that I founded. One was a politically oriented group that I risked marking as a significant experience since I spent several years rising through the ranks of the national organization coordinating other groups. I pointed out that my experiences actually made me more understanding of other people's beliefs and tried to be vague about the actually beliefs/activities of the group.
Paid employment: 1100 hrs. Nothing special. The school where I had the aborted chemical eng PhD gave me a job as an assistant lab manager in the year in between going my next PhD program.
Shadowing: 40+ hrs with three MDs. Two of these are my "co-mentors" on my PhD project who I have worked with for the past 3 years and expect to provide decent LORs.
------
Cons:
-Late(ish) AMCAS submission. Submitted late July and expect to be verified before the end of August.
-No clinical volunteer work. I'm currently in training to volunteer in oncology at the hospital where I do my research, and would probably have 2-3 months of clinical volunteer work to talk about by the time I received any interviews in Nov./Dec.
-Mediocre personal statement. Looking back, there are not obvious flaws, but I never had anyone review it. It's a hodgepodge story of a kid from a blue-collar background who hadn't thought about being an MD until he began doing research under MDs and who has a passion for using science to directly impact people's lives. Yes, I did accidentally use the word "passion" in my PS. And began it with a story about my PI telling a woman she had several dozen breast cancer mets in her brain as a way to contrast his work as an MD against my work as a researcher.
-Having to explain why I want to have four degrees.
-Low end undergrad GPA.
-9 verbal on MCAT
-LORs (maybe): Two from my MD co-mentors who I have shadowed will probably be ok. Planning to get one from my undergrad prof/research mentor, one from a guy who knows my leadership skills in the political organization I used to work for (try to de-emphasize political specifics and focus on leadership), and one from a pastor who I worked with nearly 6 hours nearly every Sunday for the last 1.5 years (it was a start-up church where we had to setup/tear-down stage/AV in a rental space every week---- try not to emphasize anything other than community involvement and interaction with others).
----------
My personal opinion of my application is that I have a lot of weak areas to overcome if I get interviews. I think I'm on the borderline of an acceptable applicant. I'd prefer to matriculate in the next med school class to avoid having to add another year in between finishing my PhD and going to med school. I'm not sure how much I'd be disadvantaged as a non-trad re-applicant. Other than going to Africa to combat Ebola and retaking the MCAT, I'm not sure what I could do during a gap year to improve my app.
Opinions appreciated.
-------
Anticipated schools to apply to (lots of reaches, still looking for safety):
Pitt
Emory
UNC
UAB
Rochester
Wake
Brown
UVA
MUSC
UF
Georgetwn
Dartmouth
VCU
TJU
