Hey everyone,
I'm getting ready to graduate from my college this upcoming spring and was hoping for some advice on where to apply and my chances in general. I only need to take 5 science credits to graduate so my GPA is pretty set in at this point. I've never really had a preference between MD or DO, I just want to be able to serve patients as best I can
GPA = 3.53c, 3.36sgpa
MCAT = 503, (122/129/124/128). I was debating retaking this to fix my chem section but my free study prep materials are due back by the first week of January. They wouldn't grant an extension and I cant afford to pay the $2,000 late fee. I'm hoping against hope that the 122 doesn't invalidate everything else i've done.
I'm an URM (Black/Mixed man) studying at Arizona State's honors college.
Activities:
Clinical:
I worked around 400 hours as a medical screener for a plasma center. This involved taking vitals, running basic blood tests, and making judgement calls on whether a patient was fit to donate.
Research:
I spent a semester assisting my BIO professor with his Bee lab. This didn't result in a publication but was still an opportunity for general field work which was good for applying scientific principles in a real world setting.
I've spent the past year co-authoring a thesis, we performed a content analysis of medical curriculums' education on the impacts of a warming climate as it relates to patient health. It's published in my universities thesis database, honestly i'm not quite sure if this counts as "published".
Volunteering:
During the COVID pandemic I volunteered as a contact tracer with the local health department, 100-150 hours.
30-50 hours volunteering at a COVID vaccine administration site.
I've spent 4 years as part of a community service club on campus. We help set up university events, run charity drives, and organize other charitable activities for the local community. I have no idea how many hours i've spent with them as they've never been consistent about taking attendance and I never mentally registered that it might be wise to keep an hours log.
Leadership:
I spent a year and a half as a mentor for incoming freshman at the honors college. I was responsible for holding monthly events, sending weekly emails, and being available 24/7 for a group of 15-25 students.
Spent a semester as an undergrad TA for a General Biology course
I was fortunate to be able to volunteer as an English tutor for a refugee program during my freshman year. I was paired with one refugee and was tasked with helping him learn to read and enunciate english articles such as news reports or books. It's been 5 years and (my regrettable freshman brain) didn't keep a log but my best conservative estimate would be 30-50 hours.
(Helping others learn has always been a personal passion of mine)
LORS:
1 science professor who's known me for 5 years now
2 natural science professors from my thesis team
A high ranking administrator at my honors college who taught me in the mentorship program
1 History professor from this semester
I also have a standing offer from my old manager at the plasma center, would this be helpful?
I plan on shadowing and volunteering in a local hospital this upcoming Spring now that my thesis and MCAT are done and I can breathe.
Extra Info (I'm not sure if any of this is pertinent but I leave it to your wise judgement):
My GPA trend is up and down. I finished my first 5 semesters with a 3.79. My next 3 semesters were a 3.2, 3.1, and 3.15 respectively. I make no excuse for this, it's something I have to live with and i'd be lying if i said it didn't weigh on me every day. It was a combination of losing my grandmother who basically helped raise me in a sudden and avoidable tragedy (I was told a few minutes prior to the start of a test so I wasn't mentally there and failed it), overconfidently taking a year of anatomy in one semester (anatomy 1 + AN/PHYS), and my hearing getting worse suddenly. This past semester i've bounced back somewhat finishing with a 3.47. So I don't think I have a trend, or if I do it's down and then slightly up?
I am disabled with a hearing impairment. I am capable of somewhat passing as non-disabled if necessary. I've had people tell me that I should mention this because it's a part of who I am but one of my doctor's warned me not to because he fears some schools might discriminate against me. What do you suggest I do?
Target schools:
All in state (AZ) schools MD and DO
Burrell NM
ARCOM
LECOM
PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia
I'm unsure if I'm competitive for HBCU's like Howard, Brown, and Morehouse
I'm hoping to apply extremely widely within reason so any help or school suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also please provide input on if I should apply to DO and/or MD.
Thank you for all your help!
I'm getting ready to graduate from my college this upcoming spring and was hoping for some advice on where to apply and my chances in general. I only need to take 5 science credits to graduate so my GPA is pretty set in at this point. I've never really had a preference between MD or DO, I just want to be able to serve patients as best I can
GPA = 3.53c, 3.36sgpa
MCAT = 503, (122/129/124/128). I was debating retaking this to fix my chem section but my free study prep materials are due back by the first week of January. They wouldn't grant an extension and I cant afford to pay the $2,000 late fee. I'm hoping against hope that the 122 doesn't invalidate everything else i've done.
I'm an URM (Black/Mixed man) studying at Arizona State's honors college.
Activities:
Clinical:
I worked around 400 hours as a medical screener for a plasma center. This involved taking vitals, running basic blood tests, and making judgement calls on whether a patient was fit to donate.
Research:
I spent a semester assisting my BIO professor with his Bee lab. This didn't result in a publication but was still an opportunity for general field work which was good for applying scientific principles in a real world setting.
I've spent the past year co-authoring a thesis, we performed a content analysis of medical curriculums' education on the impacts of a warming climate as it relates to patient health. It's published in my universities thesis database, honestly i'm not quite sure if this counts as "published".
Volunteering:
During the COVID pandemic I volunteered as a contact tracer with the local health department, 100-150 hours.
30-50 hours volunteering at a COVID vaccine administration site.
I've spent 4 years as part of a community service club on campus. We help set up university events, run charity drives, and organize other charitable activities for the local community. I have no idea how many hours i've spent with them as they've never been consistent about taking attendance and I never mentally registered that it might be wise to keep an hours log.
Leadership:
I spent a year and a half as a mentor for incoming freshman at the honors college. I was responsible for holding monthly events, sending weekly emails, and being available 24/7 for a group of 15-25 students.
Spent a semester as an undergrad TA for a General Biology course
I was fortunate to be able to volunteer as an English tutor for a refugee program during my freshman year. I was paired with one refugee and was tasked with helping him learn to read and enunciate english articles such as news reports or books. It's been 5 years and (my regrettable freshman brain) didn't keep a log but my best conservative estimate would be 30-50 hours.
(Helping others learn has always been a personal passion of mine)
LORS:
1 science professor who's known me for 5 years now
2 natural science professors from my thesis team
A high ranking administrator at my honors college who taught me in the mentorship program
1 History professor from this semester
I also have a standing offer from my old manager at the plasma center, would this be helpful?
I plan on shadowing and volunteering in a local hospital this upcoming Spring now that my thesis and MCAT are done and I can breathe.
Extra Info (I'm not sure if any of this is pertinent but I leave it to your wise judgement):
My GPA trend is up and down. I finished my first 5 semesters with a 3.79. My next 3 semesters were a 3.2, 3.1, and 3.15 respectively. I make no excuse for this, it's something I have to live with and i'd be lying if i said it didn't weigh on me every day. It was a combination of losing my grandmother who basically helped raise me in a sudden and avoidable tragedy (I was told a few minutes prior to the start of a test so I wasn't mentally there and failed it), overconfidently taking a year of anatomy in one semester (anatomy 1 + AN/PHYS), and my hearing getting worse suddenly. This past semester i've bounced back somewhat finishing with a 3.47. So I don't think I have a trend, or if I do it's down and then slightly up?
I am disabled with a hearing impairment. I am capable of somewhat passing as non-disabled if necessary. I've had people tell me that I should mention this because it's a part of who I am but one of my doctor's warned me not to because he fears some schools might discriminate against me. What do you suggest I do?
Target schools:
All in state (AZ) schools MD and DO
Burrell NM
ARCOM
LECOM
PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia
I'm unsure if I'm competitive for HBCU's like Howard, Brown, and Morehouse
I'm hoping to apply extremely widely within reason so any help or school suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also please provide input on if I should apply to DO and/or MD.
Thank you for all your help!
