WAMC? 3.6c, 3.5s, worked full-time, currently a Mayo Clinic lab tech. 2021 cycle. HELP

[laneypease]

Hi!

I graduated last spring (2019) with Bio major and a Chem minor. I worked full-time as a restaurant manager in college, volunteered as a sexual assault advocate in the emergency room as well as phone hotline for all four years of school (Maybe 400 hours?? Mix of clinical/non clinical) and was president of a club (The Women in Engineering and Science Club). I also did 60 hours of international clinic volunteer work in Nicaragua. I only did a few months of research in an ALS genetics lab because quite honestly, I didn't love it. (I prefer more direct patient influence, like my current clinical lab work)

I now work in a clinical genetics laboratory at Mayo Clinic on oncology cases, and will have a year of experience there before applying next fall for the 2021 cycle. I will also have a certification in cytogenetics through my job. I don't have shadowing experience... I've actually shadowed Genetic Counselors, but I decided I wanted to pursue medicine instead. I had decided against Med school as a pre-med undergrad, but have gone back to it again.

My cumulative GPA is 3.62, science is about 3.5. I plan on studying my butt off for the MCAT and I tend to test well, so fingers crossed.

SO... How am I looking so far? My GPA is low, but I also have a lot of work/volunteer experience. I plan on applying next summer/fall.

Summary:
3.62c
3.5s
350 hours clinical (?) volunteering (working with ER sexual assault victims)
60 hours international clinical volunteering
50 hours nonclinical (sexual assault hotline)
30 hours community outreach type volunteering (nonclinical)
2 years as president of a club
6 years customer service, including 2 years management
1 year clinical genetics laboratory experience, working with pathologists, including a certification in cytogenetics
4 months of research lab work, just grunt work
No shadowing
TBD MCAT score

Aspirations: MD/DO program in the Midwest

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Faha]

Accumulate 50 hours of physician shadowing, including primary care. Post your MCAT score here in the future.

 

[laneypease]

Probably a dumb question; but how do I go about that? With GC, I was able to find a shadowship program and shadow through that. I haven't found anything similar to that for MD. Is it just a matter of reaching out blindly and hoping you find a physician kind enough to accommodate a student?

 

[candbgirl]

You work at Mayo. Ask some of the docs if you can shadow. Ask them if they have a friend who is a primary care doc. You need some more nonclinical volunteering too. Don’t make too much of the international trip(s). They usually aren’t looked at positively by ADCOMS.

 

[Faha]

Probably a dumb question; but how do I go about that? With GC, I was able to find a shadowship program and shadow through that. I haven't found anything similar to that for MD. Is it just a matter of reaching out blindly and hoping you find a physician kind enough to accommodate a student?

Check and see which physicians at the Mayo Clinic do shadowing.