Here’s the main thread of my journey: I went to a military service academy for 2 years before dropping out (not sure this qualifies as military service even though I was technically enlisted & was honorably discharged after dropping out). I then went finished my undergrad in Canada in a French-immersion program, where I got a degree in political science. I rediscovered how much I wanted to become a physician after years of thinking I would never be smart enough to be doctor. I came back to the US to do a DIY post-bacc for medical school prerequisites & GPA repair and ended up finishing a chemistry bachelors in 2 years.
MCAT: 516
cGPA: 3.36
sGPA: 3.56 (4.0 DIY Post-bacc) ; I know my GPA is rough cumulatively, but I hope the stellar DIY post-bacc GPA helps a bit
Gap years: 3
Demographics: CT resident, White, non-Hispanic
Clinical: Work FT as a CRC currently (2000+ hrs; tons of patient contact, phlebotomy certified. We do the entire visit from taking histories, doing EKGs to dispensing drug, etc). I volunteered at an internal med clinic (40hrs) & volunteered at a hospital right before the pandemic (40h)
Total: 2000+ hrs
Research: 1 year in organic chem research lab (320hrs), 2 poster sessions, 1 thesis defense, no pubs (yet, this research will be published eventually ETA no idea)
Total: 320 hrs
Shadowing: 80h (EM, infectious disease, Oncology, ObGyn, Derm, Cardiology, Geriatics, Endocrinology)
Non-Clinical Volunteering: free ESL teacher for low-income hispanic people in my city (120hrs), volunteer translator for UN documents in French (30hrs), mental health counselor for my squadron (could be leadership as well, we organized community events - 120hrs)
Total: 270 hrs
Leadership: Shift supervisor at work FT for 1 year (2000+ hrs) , TA for organic chem (100hrs – is this leadership?) , contact point for undecided majors for the chemistry dept (50hrs), ran a study group for Homeric Greek for 6 months online (50hrs), mental health counselor within my squadron (X see above)
Total: 2200+
Misc: Line cook for many years while in school FT (5000+ hrs) (one job as a cook in a nursing home, learned the value of just sitting to chat or do puzzles with lonely seniors), tutor in physics, math, chem, etc for 2 years (200hrs), internship & 2 theses in polisci, 1 thesis in organic chem
Nothing else crazy outstanding to report. I have hobbies like piano, learning languages (especially niche ones like ancient Greek and Welsh), and crocheting little stuffed animals for women’s/children’s shelters. But I don’t know if any of these are worth mentioning except in passing.
Any places to improve here? Anything stick out as a red flag or worth emphasizing in my PS/secondaries?
School List: I don’t have a full school list yet (MD-centered if possible) and I’m looking to stay in an urban area.
I’m definitely applying to UConn, Quinnipiac, Yale (hail mary) as in-state schools + UNECOM, and probably as many realistic schools that are kind to non-trads. Duke, Loyola, and Rush are probably on there as well, but let me know if my service hours don't seem high enough. I’m waiting on fee assistance to get MSAR to nail all this down. Any other tips are greatly, greatly appreciated!
MCAT: 516
cGPA: 3.36
sGPA: 3.56 (4.0 DIY Post-bacc) ; I know my GPA is rough cumulatively, but I hope the stellar DIY post-bacc GPA helps a bit
Gap years: 3
Demographics: CT resident, White, non-Hispanic
Clinical: Work FT as a CRC currently (2000+ hrs; tons of patient contact, phlebotomy certified. We do the entire visit from taking histories, doing EKGs to dispensing drug, etc). I volunteered at an internal med clinic (40hrs) & volunteered at a hospital right before the pandemic (40h)
Total: 2000+ hrs
Research: 1 year in organic chem research lab (320hrs), 2 poster sessions, 1 thesis defense, no pubs (yet, this research will be published eventually ETA no idea)
Total: 320 hrs
Shadowing: 80h (EM, infectious disease, Oncology, ObGyn, Derm, Cardiology, Geriatics, Endocrinology)
Non-Clinical Volunteering: free ESL teacher for low-income hispanic people in my city (120hrs), volunteer translator for UN documents in French (30hrs), mental health counselor for my squadron (could be leadership as well, we organized community events - 120hrs)
Total: 270 hrs
Leadership: Shift supervisor at work FT for 1 year (2000+ hrs) , TA for organic chem (100hrs – is this leadership?) , contact point for undecided majors for the chemistry dept (50hrs), ran a study group for Homeric Greek for 6 months online (50hrs), mental health counselor within my squadron (X see above)
Total: 2200+
Misc: Line cook for many years while in school FT (5000+ hrs) (one job as a cook in a nursing home, learned the value of just sitting to chat or do puzzles with lonely seniors), tutor in physics, math, chem, etc for 2 years (200hrs), internship & 2 theses in polisci, 1 thesis in organic chem
Nothing else crazy outstanding to report. I have hobbies like piano, learning languages (especially niche ones like ancient Greek and Welsh), and crocheting little stuffed animals for women’s/children’s shelters. But I don’t know if any of these are worth mentioning except in passing.
Any places to improve here? Anything stick out as a red flag or worth emphasizing in my PS/secondaries?
School List: I don’t have a full school list yet (MD-centered if possible) and I’m looking to stay in an urban area.
I’m definitely applying to UConn, Quinnipiac, Yale (hail mary) as in-state schools + UNECOM, and probably as many realistic schools that are kind to non-trads. Duke, Loyola, and Rush are probably on there as well, but let me know if my service hours don't seem high enough. I’m waiting on fee assistance to get MSAR to nail all this down. Any other tips are greatly, greatly appreciated!
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