University, Internships, and Everything Inbetween

[ma.t]

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Hello all,

I have been reading through the forums trying to find straightforward advice for my specific situation but to no avail. A lot of threads say differently than others and without any type of knowledge on the matter due to lacking connections, I am a little lost and would really appreciate some assistance.

I am a sophomore (junior by credit) at a state university (Texas State University) with pipe dreams of attending medical school upon graduation (does the university really make that much of a difference to admission committees?). I currently have a 3.52 GPA majoring in biology with a minor in biochemistry. Although only somewhat related, I have been a licensed pharmacy technician for the past two years and that has served as my medical background.

This summer I will be chipping away at my physics requirements as well as working and tending to my usual summer activities. Should I try and get an internship at a doctor's office/hospital, or should my pharmacy experience suffice for now? If so, how do I go about asking a doctor for an internship? I tried to land a gig with a doctor's office last summer, but without success and am somewhat at a loss.

When I compare myself to peers that attend much more prestigious and rigorous schools, I feel as though I do not compare and am looking for a little bit of advice on the matter. I am wondering if I should nix my plans for medical school now considering my GPA or if I should trudge on and follow through with my applications. My parents don't really support my decisions on studying science for my undergrad, so they refuse to really offer me any parental insight on the matter and I was hoping that somewhat older and much more intelligent than myself may be willing to help out an eager young mind.

 

[NeuResurgens]

I think the pharmacy job is good clinical exposure, but you need to shadow physicians. I don't know if this is what you mean by "internship," as actual internships in hospitals are not necessary for medical school. You'd be better served by shadowing doctors, and you can do this by calling their office and asking if they allow shadowing, asking friends who they've shadowed, etc. (there are more in depth threads about this that you can search for) Besides this, you need to pull up your GPA if you are looking to get into MD schools, so make sure to step it up in your future classes.

Yes, undergrad prestige matters, but it only matters so much. If you can get good stats, get a great grade on the MCAT and get good clinical experience and other good extracurriculars, being a Texas State vs. Ivy league will be a lesser factor that the AdComs consider.